Happy Easter! Say it with food.

This is the best yeast bread recipe
I have made!

Czech/Bohemian Braided Egg Bread - "Houska"

I made this for my family for Easter tomorrow. I made a double batch, which is good, because we can already tell it will be addicting and we have to share it between 12 people tomorrow!!

I got the free recipe at About.com. Here is the specific recipe link.

I omitted the golden raisins and instead minced a large container of candied cherries in my food processor. I added them to the batter instead. I did reserve about a 1/4 cup of the cherries for a glaze, not included in the recipe.

My glaze was about 4 cups of powdered sugar to 4 tablespoons of warm water and the cherries. I brushed it on when the bread first came out of the oven and was VERY hot.

The bread is very slightly pink inside, but is sweet and doesn't taste like the cherries. They add only a very slight and occasional flavor.

Glad I made 4. One for me, 3 for the other 11 people
on Easter.

I have a good friend named Linda who had a few words of wisdom the other day. She said, "You know why middle aged women begin to gain so much weight, don't you?" I looked at her, thinking of all the scientific evidence for weight gain as we age, loss of muscle mass, etc. As I was puzzling over an answer, she interrupted my thoughts. She smiled and said, "By now, we have become so good at cooking that we can't resist our own food!"

Maybe she's right. But, oh! It tastes so good.

Now, if you will excuse me, my coffee is waiting and my bread is still warm. ; )

Happy, blessed Easter, my friends.