Bright Monday

My sister, Susanna, sewed these dresses for her 2 girls and my 2 girls!

I have used several different recipes for cheese-pascha, this year I actually made homemade cream cheese, which is like creamy ricotta, by using whole milk and buttermilk (set it on low for an hour or two in the crockpot ).

I also made lemon cheese, by adding the juice from 2 lemons to a half gallon of milk then heated it to 185-200'F, until there is a definite separation of curds and whey. Pour into a colander lined with cheese cloth (I put a bowl under to save the whey, it's a great source of protein, you can use a cup of it when you're making bread...our dog laps it up like it's the best thing she's had...and lastly, I'll pour some on my rosebush with any extra). Tied the corner of the cloth up and let drain 1-2 hours.This year I used the recipe my mom uses:

Cheese-pascha

3 lbs farmer's cheese (instead I used my homemade cheeses)

1/2 lb salted butter (softened)
1/2 c. raisins (I didn't put any in my cheese-pascha, just decorated it with them after)

1/4 lb finely chopped almonds (didn't use them this year)

1 3/4 cups sugar
3 egg yolks (I made macaroons with the left over egg whites)

1 whole egg

1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (scraped the seeds from the center of a vanilla bean instead)

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs. Combine with cheese (adding nuts and raisins, if desired) and cream. Cook in large pot over medium head until mixture bubbles, stirring occassionally (about 1/2 hour). When cool, add vanilla, place mixture in mould lined with cheese cloth. Refridgerate and allow to drain, unmould and decorate! Spread on top of kulich and enjoy!!!

Here's the recipe I use for kulich:

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This is my basket with cheese-pascha and kulich. I also dyed the eggs using onion skins, they turned out beautifully.