Save Some Easter Eggs, Make Pocket Sandwiches

Let’s talk Easter. Easter is, first and foremost, a Christian celebration of great significance. But after the church services, our thoughts turn to three foods: ham, eggs and chocolate.

We all know about ham. Simply put, it’s the rear leg of a hog, usually cured through salting, smoking and/or drying. Stud the ham with cloves and present it for a traditional dinner.

Then there are eggs. Most eggs eaten today are hen’s eggs. At Easter, we hard-boil them, color them and hide them in our yards for the kids to find. It’s great fun.

Lots of people make egg salad sandwiches with the eggs, such as today’s exceptionally good mixture served in pocket bread. (Just remember not to leave eggs out at room temperature for more than two hours, or they won’t be safe to eat.)

And chocolate. What would the comic strip character, Sally Forth, do on Easter Sunday if she couldn’t eat her daughter’s chocolate bunny ears? We love our chocolate, whether it’s shaped like eggs, bunnies or any of a multitude of other candy forms.

So celebrate with church, ham, eggs and chocolate. And have a very happy Easter weekend.

Egg Salad Pockets

From “365 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes” (John Boswell Associates, 1995).

6 hard-boiled eggs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery

1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion

2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream

1 tablespoon reduced-fat mayonnaise dressing

2 teaspoons horseradish mustard teaspoon salt

4 (6-inch) nonfat onion pita rounds

4 leaves green leaf lettuce

4 tomato slices, 1/4 cut inch thick

1 cup alfalfa sprouts

Scoop out egg yolks; discard 3 of them or save for another use. Coarsely chop or mash the remaining 3 egg yolks with all of egg whites. Place in a medium bowl. Add celery, onions, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard and salt. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Cut a thin slice off each pita round. Open up to form a pocket. Tuck in a lettuce leaf and a tomato slice. Spoon 1/2 cup egg salad into each. Top each with 1/4 cup sprouts.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 273 calories, 7 grams fat (23 percent fat calories), 159 milligrams cholesterol.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

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