Foodie Friday - Behold The Lamb...

I'm sure I would have loved my husband even if he wasn't of Polish descent, but he is and happily so am I. Our families kept the same traditions, so there was never an awkward moment when we had to figure out how to marry customs.

One of the traditions that we both grew up with, was a lamb carved out of butter that graced our breakfast tables on Easter morning. Our fathers carved the lamb out of a pound block of butter, but I've managed to scale back to a mini 1/4 pound version.
Here are the ingredients and tools.
First step is to make the basic form. This is one stick of butter that has been cut into various shapes and repositioned. At this point, we call him the sphinx and he's already getting soft, so he goes back in to the fridge to firm up a bit.

Next step is to soften all of the hard edges. I liked his basic shape, so I shaved bits of butter from a 2nd stick to create better curves. He started to get soft again, and had to be re-chilled.
Now we create a 'woolly coat' with the tines of a fork.
After yet another stint in the refrigerator, I transfer the little guy into a 'traveling bowl'. He's going to be going to church to be blessed on Saturday at noon, along with the rest of the traditional foods that will be part of our breakfast on Easter morning. (I hope to be able to take photos this year so I can share the tradition of the blessing of the baskets with all of you. It really is a lovely ceremony.)

Finally our little lamb is ready for some eyes, which are whole cloves with the center bud removed. He also gets a bit of something red to create a mouth. We used to use a piece of jelly bean, but this year I used a tiny sliver of dried cranberry.

We add a little parsley for grass, and his flag, and he's done. I love opening the fridge and seeing that sweet face. It's a gentle reminder of why we celebrate Easter.
You can now buy ready made lambs in the dairy section at the grocery store, and you can also purchase butter molds, but somehow it just wouldn't be the same. Watching the lamb take shape is like watching the fulfillment of the Easter promise unfold. We need to experience it every year. It's part of who we are.

Please stop by Designs by Gollum, and discover who else may be sharing some of their 'foodie' Easter traditions. Our hostess, Michael Lee, will have Mr. Linky ready to assist you.

A Happy and Blessed Easter to All... Nancy