Easter Day (Celebrating Job’s Birthday)

As I sit here this evening, stuffed to the gills with the amazing food I was able to help make, and later consume this evening, I think of how privileged and lucky I am to be part of such an amazing family. A family that welcomed me into their arms, and helped me acclimate to a new country, a new life, and a family who is always there for each other. It’s really special to be a part of this family.

Today, Job and I woke up and started cooking almost right away.

We (and by we I mean Job) decided that we should make a Porchetta. We (Job) found a nice recipe from Jamie Oliver. We decided to make sides of brussel sprouts and some rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes. We also melted some dark, milk, and white chocolate bars into a chocolate bark and added some of the salted caramel we made the other day along with some hazelnuts and some pink himalayan salt. And everything came out spectacularly.

Job also made a bread which we didn’t eat, but I’ll show you a picture 🙂

Some time after four, Job’s parents arrived with the special birthday taartjes that they never forget to supply for any birthday we celebrate with the family. We ate the cakes together, chatted and caught up with them which was really nice.

They had to bring out Tess, the beautiful chocolate lab, and only a few minutes after they left, the doorbell rang (which made us jump with surprise as we were not expecting it) and Liselot, Bram and Moos came upstairs.

Moos was very excited which was really fun to see. He ran around and jumped up and down and was overall very happy. Bram and Liselot are doing well also!

Moos saw the birthday gift for Job sitting on our green chest and of course was very excited to open it. We told him it was for Job, which was okay with him, but he really wanted Job to open it. To take his mind off of it for a few minutes, oma gave Moos some easter gifts. (Moos got a “big fish book” (it was a book with a whale on it) and some yummy bunny chocolates.) Moos played a bit and then he saw Job’s present again and asked if Job was going to open it.  We all obliged and Moos brought the very heavy gift over to Job. We jointly got Job the pasta maker KitchenAid attachment.

We chatted and talked a bit and then it was time to eat. Right as we finished making sure all of the food was ready, Joris arrived. Perfect timing!!!

Dinner was, as the Dutch say, “Echt gezellig!” Really nice, cozy, warm, being around family. There is no real english translation for the word. We chatted, laughed, had some serious conversation, talked about our future plans, and things of the past.  It was nice to be together and spend time with each other. We all lead such busy lives and have such packed schedules that it often takes a month to plan a time when we can all see each other, so I think for all of us, it was nice to have time together.

We finished with a speculaas cake that Joris brought back from his recent trip in Gent, Belgium.

I’m still full… and it’s almost two hours later… what a lovely evening!

How did you celebrate Easter/Passover? Do you guys like it better with the photos scattered throughout the post or in a gallery at the end? Let us know in the comments below or feel free to comment on our facebook or twitter!

Side note: Job’s birthday is on Tuesday.  We just celebrated it today because that’s when the whole family could get together.