This week on Food 4 Plot, I was lucky enough to talk to Sarah K. Stephens, author of the riveting domestic thriller - A Flash Of Red. Sarah talks a little about writing and shares a wonderful Easter egg recipe that is reminiscent of her Eastern European heritage. You will definitely want to try this one out with your kids. It's much more natural and organic than the dye we generally use at Easter, so I'm excited to try this one out.
2. Tell a little about yourself as a writer.
I’m the author of the psychological thriller, A Flash of Red, published by Pandamoon Publishing and currently available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Interested readers can preview the first chapter on my blog -
As a writer, I enjoy writing books that I would prefer for myself as a reader—stories with a driving plot and flawed characters who surprise you with the choices they make. I’ve also written a number of short stories, published in journals from Five on the Fifth to (parenthetical), which trend towards exploring the darker sides of human connection. As a developmental psychologist in my other professional life, I find myself drawn in my writing to explore the difficult and troubled facets of what makes human beings so complex and, sometimes, seemingly unknowable.
2. Are there any foods or drinks that you like to snack on while writing? Any food that inspires you in some way?
Aside from coffee—which I tend to drink by the cupful when writing--I am inspired by all forms of pastry and baked goods. Anything you can form and knead with your hands, any opportunity for mixing sugar and butter together into a creamy base for cookies and cakes. I love it all. And I think the unique amalgam of baking—that you begin with solitary ingredients that combine together to create something entirely special and unique—lends itself well to comparisons with writing itself, where entire new worlds can be created from distinct words and sentences.
3. Tell a little about yourself- culturally speaking - Does your family celebrate your ethnicity with certain foods?
My family is of Russian, Czech, and Latvian heritage. Much of our foods during holidays reflect this Eastern European heritage, with lots of dill, potatoes, and enriched breads. We are heading into the Lenten (and then Paschal or Easter) season soon, and our family celebrates this journey with a variety of special meals. During Lent, we focus on eating more vegetable-based dishes, such as noodle soups with fresh dill and parsley mixed in with carrots and other root vegetables. When we leave Lent in celebration of the Easter holiday, one of our favorite recipes is the creation of Latvian Easter Eggs.
Latvian culture is very much based in natural ingredients and in mimicking the colors and visual aesthetic of nature in food. Latvian Easter Eggs very much follow in this tradition—instead of using artificial dyes to create brightly colors eggs, fresh herbs and red onion skins are used for a much more subdued (yet still quite beautiful) end result.
Latvian Easter Eggs
You will need:
Red Onion Skins
A mixture of White and Brown Eggs
Any green leafy herbs—we prefer parley, sage, cilantro, and dill
New nude knee high stockings
Directions:
Fill up a large pot with the onion skins, cover with water, and bring to a boil.
Nip off sections of the leafy herbs and wrap them around the eggs.
Carefully place the eggs, keeping the herbs wrapped around the egg, inside the stocking such that the fabric grips the egg and herbs and keeps everything in place. You can also tie thread around the eggs and herbs first, if you have trouble keeping the herbs in place.
Repeat the process with both white and brown eggs, filling each stocking with 4-5 eggs before tying off the end of the stocking.
Carefully place the wrapped eggs in the boiling water with the onion skins.
Boil for approximately 10 minutes uncovered.
Let the eggs sit in the water as it cools, for up to 2 hours. The longer you let the eggs sit, the darker the dye on the shell will be.
Remove the eggs from the nylons and rinse the herb remnants off.
Enjoy your beautiful (and natural) Easter Eggs!
