Happy Easter

Approved by the Florida Orange Bird

Last year, on March 19 (scroll down), I took Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's excellent Hot Cross Buns recipe and changed several ingredients to give it a little Florida-orange-grove flair. This year I took the transformation one step further, replacing the lemon zest with even more orange zest, and soaking the raisins in Cointreau.

This year, as last year, we are giving half the buns to a friend who seems to love them as much as we do.

I'm not too big on religion, but I put a lot of stock in ritual. I love the idea of marking the seasons with celebratory foods and traditions that come around only once a year. And these--these are worth waiting a year for.