One day, out of the blue, a student asked, “Can you yodel?” So I yodeled the chorus of a walking song who’s first words are “After Easter come sunny days that will melt all the snow.” Our snow has long since melted, but the aftermath of Easter leaves some people too tired to think of ‘dieting’. So we will plan some simple meals for you.

Easter-After Breakfast 296 calories     8.9 g. fat    16.1 g. protein    18.6 g. carb     This is a simple breakfast for the day after Easter, using a few left-overs from the dinner table and Easter Basket.

1 two-oz egg, hardboiled                                                                                                                                         ¾ oz ham [ left over from Sunday’s dinner]                                                                                                          ¼ cup Yorkshire Pudding batter with added herbs. HINT: This batter is left over from ‘Not the Elgin Marbles‘ [posted Mar 24, 2015] and you put some in the freezer. Add a pinch of thyme and a pinch of basil.                                                                                                                                 2 oz pineapple OR ¼ cup mixed berries pinch of chopped mint leaves                                               5-6 oz fruit smoothie or natural apple cider                                                                                         blackish coffee or tea or lemon in hot water

Whip batter with a rotary beater. Pour batter into a mini-muffin pan, bake at 400 for 13 minutes. Warm the ham or not. Mix the fruit with the mint. Plate the ham, egg, and fruit. Brew your hot beverage, prepare your smoothie. Sit down and relax with your easy breakfast of left overs.

Nothing could be simpler than thawing out frozen soup!   Remember when we made this one? That was back in November, and you froze some, right?  Or maybe you have some other Fasting soup in the freezer — this is the day to haul it out!

Seafood Chowder   275 calories    11.2 g. fat    15.2 g. protein    15.9 g. carb     GF        This makes 10 one-cup servings. It freezes nicely, but it is great to share! My husband found the recipe in Yankee magazine. He prepares this every year. It is wonderful. The directions look long and involved but the results are worth it.

4 strips thick-cut bacon, diced                                                                                                                            1 medium Spanish onion, finely diced                                                                                                                           1 pound baking potatoes, peeled + cut in ½” cubes                                                                                     2 pounds steamer clams in their shells                                                                                                      one lobster, 1 and ½ pounds                                                                                                                                1 pound scallops                                                                                                                                                      1 pound shrimp, peeled                                                                                                                                        1 quart whole milk                                                                                                                                                                   4 Tbsp butter                                                                                                                                                                 2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped                                                                                                                           ¼ tsp paprika                                    salt + pepper to taste

In a medium skillet or saute pan cook the diced bacon until brown and crisp. Remove bacon and reserve. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat and add the onions. Cook slowly over low heat, stirring, until translucent [10 mins?]. Set aside with the bacon in a large bowl.

In a separate saucepan, cover cubed potatoes with salted water and boil until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and add to the bacon/onions.

Put clams in a large pot and add 1 quart water. Heat to boiling, cover, and cook until clams open, about 3 minutes. Remove the clams but leave the liquid in the pot. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with paper towel. Remove the clams from their shells and cut them into smaller pieces if necessary. Add to the potatoes, onion, and bacon.

Put the strained clam broth back into the empty pot and bring to a boil. Add the lobster head-first into the boiling broth. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove lobster and let cool. Crack the shell to remove the meat. Cut the meat into 1/2” chunks and add to the previous ingredients.

Heat the broth until boiling. Add the scallops and shrimp. Reduce heat to low. Simmer about 3 minutes, until the scallops + shrimp are just cooked through.

Add all the previously cooked ingredients, along with the milk, butter, parsley and seasonings. Heat until steaming but not boiling.

Cover and cool. Let the pot sit in the ‘fridge or on a cool back porch for 12-24 hours. This really enhances the flavors. HINT: if you are serving a portion of this soup now, freeze what is left over in freezer containers which are the same size as a serving. When ready to serve, heat to steaming hot but do not boil.