Easter 2016: And all the people said, "Amen, let's eat!"

Easter 2016 combined many traditions from the last few years: I "danced" in the light of Christ wearing my custom-made rainbow stole to start two of the services at church; Dear Husband and I ate Easter breakfast in the church kitchen of dyed eggs, milk, and fresh cinnamon rolls; and there was potluck--two this year! One each for lunch and dinner. Wanting to be sensitive to people's various dietary needs, I decided to bring a vegan and gluten-free broccoli salad adapted from my MIL's recipe. You can of course use regular mayo and even add crumbled bacon if you like.

Vegan and Gluten-Free Broccoli Salad

2 heads broccoli, 1/2 red onion, a bunch of red grapes, 1/2 cup raisins--all chopped and mixed. Dressing is 1 cup vegan mayo, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon prepared mustard (I used "spicy brown mustard"), and a little sugar or sweetener to taste (I used Truvia). Mix, chill 2 hours, enjoy! Recommended: John Oliver's Last Week Tonight on YouTube during all the prep.

At our second potluck, M. introduced us all to Resurrection Rolls. This is a great Youth Group snack/teaching point. Here's the recipe, complete with irreverent interpretation.

Ingredients: 1 package of crescent rolls, torn into chunks; 8 regular-sized marshmallows; 1/4 cup melted butter; white sugar; cinnamon.

Directions: The marshmallow is Jesus. Anoint his body with burial spices (the melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon standing in for myrrh and frankincense). Flatten out a chunk of dough and entomb him completely, taking care to seal any cracks. Consign Jesus to Hell at 375F for 10 minutes (or follow package directions). Et voila! When they come out of the oven, each roll should form a hollow--empty--tomb. Best Love Feast ever.

We ended the night with three rounds of a cooperative "board" game called Forbidden Island. The scenario is a group of treasure hunters contributing unique skills to acquire four objects before the island sinks. I loved the team-work of maximizing turns and negotiating steps to out-pace the rising tide.

Look at all these happy Easter people! P. is wearing the lei because it was her first-ever Easter egg hunt. It's the same set of plastic eggs with inspirational quotations and corny jokes, now filled with some of my surfeit of chocolate.