Friday, April 13, 2012

Almost Easter...



Easter is almost here and we've been very busy enjoying spring and preparing for the holiday.I'm posting a few photos to share some of what we've been doing with all of you. 

Alexandra picked wild flowers when we visited the archaeological site, Dion. 
You can see her "Martis" bracelet.  The bracelet is made of red and white thread symbolizing a white complexion with rosy cheeks. The superstition is that children wear these bracelets so that the sun of early spring doesn't burn their cheeks. 

Alexandra's wild flowers. 

Some Easter Candles(Lambathes) on display. 

 One of my oldest and dearest friends, Brian,  came to visit and was impressed by all of the lamb he saw in the Kapani Market downtown. 

 Alexandra enjoys a koulouri while shopping.

We always get koulouri when we go downtown. 

 A little Easter shopping downtown. 

Yia Yia visited and made stefania(wreaths)  out of spring wild flowers for the kids. It's traditional to hang them on the front door of your home. We have one on all three doors  of our right now- one for each child. 

Foti  coloring Easter eggs.  

My lilacs are ready to blossom. 

The white lilacs seem to be a little bit ahead of the purple ones. 

                                                                       Apple blossoms. 

The kithonia(quince) blossoms are just about ready to open. This is one of my favorite blossoms. 

My friend Connie made tsoureki and gave some to us. Very delicious! 

This is the ultimate tsoureki made by Thia Nitsa.  We look forward to this every year. 
We'll be hosting dinner at our house this year, I have a little more shopping to do and a lot of cooking ahead. 

I'd like to wish everyone celebrating this weekend a very Happy Easter ! 


Καλό Πάσχα!


















Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Cupcakes






 My oven was out of commission for a while but now it's fixed. I had baking withdrawal, sort of. I'm aware that I bake a lot but wasn't really aware of how much I took having a working oven for granted. I missed baking cookies, cakes and brownies for the kids. I had to buy most of the sweets, which are ok, but it's hard to beat homemade baked treats. So, I'm back to baking regularly. 

Cupcakes are one thing that the kids love to have because although they're gaining popularity in Greece -they're not easily found. I whipped up a batch yesterday and they loved them. Here's the recipe that I used and have been using for a while. 


 For all who celebrate Easter this week...Happy Easter! 
We'll be having our Easter next week and I'm looking forward the feast.