Some scenes from Easter weekend + A Spring Panzanella Salad

I hope you had a fun weekend. Ours was festive...filled with candy eating, egg hunting, good food, and friends.

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We started our weekend with the Bunny Bounce at Woodland Park Zoo where Jack had as much fun visiting all of the animals as he did "hunting" for Easter eggs (as you can see in the photos the eggs for the toddler hunt were not exactly hidden!) and meeting the Easter bunny. Then, on Saturday afternoon, we planted a magic jelly bean in the yard in anticipation of waking up on Easter morning to a surprise where the jelly bean was planted...

As you can see, on Easter morning, Jack found a fun surprise of a chocolate M&M bunny, jelly beans, and Toy Story stickers where we planted the magic jelly bean! He was an excited little boy! We spent the record-breaking warm afternoon (it reached 70 degrees in Seattle!) with friends in the sunshine. The kids hunted Easter eggs while salmon cooked on the grill. It felt like summer...it was lovely.

I will leave you with the recipe for a Spring Panzanella Salad that I made for dinner. It looked pretty on our Easter table and tasted like Spring. The asparagus replaced the typical tomatoes found in a Panzanella salad, and lemon and feta added the perfect brightness. 4 large eggs 4 thin slices of rustic white bread, lightly brushed with olive oil then torn into 1-inch pieces 1/4 cup olive oil 1 pounds asparagus, peeled A handful of baby carrots 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Juice of half a lemon 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard Salt + Pepper 6 cups arugula and spinach, mixed 1/4 pound feta, crumbled 4 large red radishes, very thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Hard boil the eggs- fill a medium saucepan about 2/3 full of water and add your eggs (preferably at room temperature). Bring the water to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover the pan with the lid. Let side in hot water for about 12 minutes, then immediately plunge the eggs into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and to prevent the putrid greenish color from forming on the yolk. Peel and thickly slice the eggs.

Spread the bread pieces on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, until crisp.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the asparagus and carrots until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, cool and cut the asparagus in half lengthwise, julienned the carrots.

In a small bowl, whisk the 1/4 cup of olive oil with the vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard; season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the carrots, toasted bread, greens, and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and toss. Garnish with the asparagus, eggs, and radish.