Czech-Tex Easter

At Easter time, Martina hangs the Czech Easter eggs, known as kraslice, in the front hallway of our house. These beautifully hand-decorated Easter eggs are a Czech tradition, and the ones we have were sent by Martina's mother several years ago. Considering how fragile these decorated egg shells are, the fact that every one of them arrived from Europe intact could be classified as a postal miracle. I would like to extend a warm thanks to Ceska Posta and the United States Post Office for the gentle handling of the kraslice package.

In the introduction to Waylon County: Texas Stories, I discuss "the ways an immigrant community changes to address the realities of a new land." When I was first drafting the introduction, there were a couple of sentences about immigrant communities and how food ways change due contact with other cultures and the availability of various ingredients. Although I liked the sentences and the idea, they did not make the final draft. 

Yesterday Martina reminded me of these deleted sentences when she made us deviled eggs. Although deviled eggs are of European origin, neither of us ever saw them anywhere in the Czech Republic, and the only deviled eggs either of us ever recall eating were here in Texas. To make the eggs, Martina looked online, found a recipe, and quickly adapted it to the ingredients currently available in our kitchen. And, for the record, she made the best deviled eggs I believe I have ever eaten. In case you are interested, here are the ingredients Martina used for the "deviled" part of the deviled eggs. 

hard boiled egg yolks

Dijon mustard (though I think Dusseldorfer would also be great)

mayonnaise

hot chow chow (drained)

If you would like to know more about "kraslice," here is a great article I found online.

http://www.tresbohemes.com/2016/03/czech-easter-egg-designs/