The Easter Basket of special foods (described below) is arranged on Holy Saturday and taken to church, where the parish priest performs a special blessing ceremony with prayers and sprinkling with Holy Water. Some churches perform their basket blessing on Easter Sunday, after the Morning Resurrection Liturgy.
Even if you have never been a big fan of red beets, I highly recommend this recipe, and I am sure you will LOVE it.
I had this salad at my friend’s house and loved it much more than the regular red beet vinaigrette we prepare at Easter, hence it became my favorite way to use red beets in a salad.
Ukrainians love their Borscht.
This quick and easy version of preparing a Ukrainian Red Beet Borscht was shared by my cousin from Ukraine.
Once my garden produces an abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, the time is right to cook Botvinka. Soups are very popular in Eastern Europe and are the first course of a lunch or dinner meal, just like tossed salads in the U.S.
The name for this soup derives from the description of the tops (botvinka – leaves, and stalks) of very young red beet plants, which are the major ingredient in this soup. This dish is full of goodness of fresh, young, green leafy vegetables, and because they are so tender, they require very short cooking time.
Most Catholic Christians already celebrated Easter this year on April 21st.
However Orthodox Christians, and some Catholics whose churches still follow the Julian Calendar, will celebrate Easter this Sunday, April 28th.