Happy Easter
Dear All,
I just want to wish you all a very blessed Easter holiday. I hope that you will have time to draw close to family and friends and to reflect on the rich symbolism of this special time of year. Easter means many things to many people. To Christians the day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and promises hope of a new life for believers.
Some historians place the holiday long before the birth of Christ and claim that the early church merely pre-empted an ancient pagan holiday that welcomed the new birth of spring and honoured the goddess of the moon. Go figure. Then again I am by birth half American Indian and can definitely relate to the goddess of the moon as well as I can relate to Christ my other half.
To our children Easter in Canada would have been the season of the Easter bunny and egg hunts. However in Belize we have created many of our own celebrations. But whatever view you take you can't escape the fact that Easter represents new beginnings and fresh starts. I hope that this Easter you are filled with the hope of a new day and the promise of a new life.
And what would Easter be without glazed ham? Here is my favorite recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Sincerely,
Alexia
Broker/Owner at Arabella Chambers Real Estate
Alexia's Easter Ham
7-8 pound fully cooked smoked ham
1 cup genuine maple syrup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard whole cloves
Combine syrup, vinegar, and mustard. Place ham, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Pour about 1½ cup mixture over ham and bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325º oven for 1½ hours. Baste every 30 minutes with additional sauce. Remove ham from oven and score fat into diamond shapes. Insert a clove into each diamond. Bake ham an additional 30 minutes.
Alexia’s Tip#1: I boil my ham in beer J however may be more appropriate for other holidays or family meals.
Alexia’s Tip #2: For my Belizean friends who have no access to maple syrup – combining ½ cup of vinegar with 1 cup of brown sugar will do the trick. J
Alexia’s Tip#3: When scoring the fat into diamond shapes, bathe the meat with a butter mixture in which you have added clove powder; cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and brown sugar. This would be ideal if roasting the ham in apple juice.
