Carnival/Apokries 2012

Carnival season is over once again, it has passed quickly. It seems the older the kids get, the more hurried my life gets...I know, it's inevitable. This year we had several parties to attend so the kids were able to wear their costumes more than once. 

Alexandra's first costume- she dressed as a princess- not a particular princess- just a princess. She became irritated when people would ask her which princess she was. 

The wigs don't stay on long once they get to the party- we're quite familiar with Princess Alexandra. 

Izabella's costume - the package said that it was a rock star of sorts, but no one could figure it out. She's not interested in anything girly so this was perfect for her. 

Alexandra as Hannah Montana. 

Foti dressed as Anakin Skywalker again this year, he loves Star Wars. He had a fantastic time throwing confetti and other party paraphernalia at me. 

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Clean Monday

First Day of Lent 

  After all of the parties and other carnival activities we always look forward to Clean Monday/Katheri Deftera so that we can fly our kites and eat lagana. Traditionally, lagana is only eaten once a year.

The forecast called for rain, and it did rain all morning. The picnic we planned to attend was scheduled for 11:00 am but we decided to forgo the picnic and just wait for the rain to stop so that we could fly our kites. 

It turns out that it stopped raining around noon so we decided to venture out for our lagana and also pass by the picnic. Lucky for us, the picnic was still in progress-although there were very few people out. We tried to fly our kites before we ate our food but funny enough, there was hardly a breeze. So, we ate. 

Enjoying our fasolada. 

The fasolada at our local picnic was made by my friend's father. It was delicious & warm, perfect for such a gloomy day. 

Foti loved the fasolada. LOVED it. 

Someone brought an empty yogurt container so that they could take some fasolada home- what a great idea! Anyway, look at those huge pots of fasolada and that beautiful, homemade Imiglikos. The wine was sweet and went down easy- too bad I had to drive and fly kites or I might have indulged in a second cup. 

Picnic fare...taramosalata, picantiki salad, olives,  Makedonikos halvas and lagana to accompany the fasolada. Everything was tasty. 

After the picnic we drove to a different beach to try flying our kites again. It was a little easier to get the kites up in the air this time but much more difficult to keep them flying because it became extremely windy. 

Crash. 

Iza's kite flew very well. 

***

After spending a few hours in the cold wind we returned home to eat more of the traditional foods. I originally planned to make more salads but since we had already eaten a little at the picnic, we didn't need much. I made fasolada early in the morning and it was simmering for hours. I've been using my friend Maria's recipe for the last few years and we love it. Although, I have to add that I didn't use celery in this batch and I was worried that there might be a difference in taste. It wasn't a noticeable difference and it turned out absolutely delicious. 

Alexandra loves lagana! 

***

~Kali Sarakosti~

Apokries 2011~ Clean Monday

Cute isn't she? This was the first of many hats and masks that she would bring home from school during Apokries/carnival season, which has kept us busy for the last few weeks. 

 My little bird says, "Chiou, chiou." 

I'm on the PTA/syllogo at Alexandra's school and we made soutzoukakia sandwiches for the children on Tsiknopempti or "Charred Thursday." Tskinopempti is the beginning of Apokries/Carnival in Greece.  Each sandwich consisted of 2 small soutzoukakia  and fries. We served the children at around 11:00am because many of them are finished with their day by noon. Alexandra is always thrilled when I'm at school helping with these events. What's really cute is that a lot of the children refer to me as "Ms. Alexandra" because they don't know my name but they know that I'm her mother. 

She had a wonderful time. 

One week later we had a costume party to attend. The kids were so excited and  I have to say that shopping for new costumes this year was a lot of fun. Alexandra was an angel, Foti a ninja, Izabella was Hannah Montana(again), and I wore a festive hat that Alexandra selected especially for me. 

At the party. 

There was a clown that entertained the children for a few hours. Here's Alexandra with her "weiner." 

By the end of the night, the balloons lost their cool shapes...somehow. 

So the costume party was over and we had the weekend ahead. This year we didn't go to Kozani or anywhere to see a parade. The weather forecast  for the weekend was cold and snowy so we decided to stay close to home. 

And the forecast for Clean Monday/Katheri Deftera was even less promising.  

The morning was dreary and gray. I started cooking the traditional  bean soup, fasolada, early so that it would be ready and warm when we returned from flying our kites. It's tradition to fly kites on Clean Monday and you can usually look up and see kites in the air everywhere throughout the day-which wasn't the case in our area this year. Since we didn't fly kites last year because of the snow and cold we experienced in Kozani, we promised the kids that nothing would keep us from going out this year.

As soon as we left the house to fly our kites it started to rain, then snow and then it rained again. But it didn't matter, we were going to stick with our plans. So, we drove to a beach nearby and found a nice open area, which was easy since there was only one other family at that location braving the cold weather, it was very quiet. I have to admit that this was the first time in my life that I flew a kite on a beach over the water. Very cool, except when you see your kite going down! Luckily, we were able to maneuver our kites away from the sea a few times and I'm happy to report that none of them took a dive. 

Alexandra flying her kite. 

 It's the first time she managed to keep one up on her own. 

Foti is always totally into it. I bought him a new kite this year and he couldn't wait to fly it.  

Although we managed to keep this one up in the air for a bit, we were mostly disappointed by its performance. 

His old- but trusty Spider-man kite flew much better. 

Foti flying his Spider-man kite. 

 Here's a shot of Izabella flying her Dora kite. She's had this one since she was two years old. It's still flying strong, even in the rain & snow. 

Izabella taking a break from the wind and snow. 

It did get very cold and after about an hour of fun we were frozen so we packed up and went home where I immediately served hot chocolate and coffee, a perfect way to warm up. And since everyone was hungry it was time for lunch. 

I served lagana, which is traditionally served on only one day each year...Clean Monday. 

Here's the fasolada I made. I've used Maria's recipe for the last few years and the kids love it. It's just as delicious as it looks. 

We also had olives and a side of  "paprika" to spread on our lagana. 

And finally, Makedonikos Halvas. 

Izabella dips her lagana into her fasolada. 

After lunch we lit a fire and relaxed- watching the wicked weather outside while staying cozy and warm inside.  This was one of the the quietest Apokries seasons that we've had since living in Greece and it was wonderful. Kali Sarakosti.

***

~Kyra Sarakosti~

Alexandra's Kyra Sarakosti  ~with no mouth which represents fasting, her hands are crossed in prayer and she has seven feet to represent the seven weeks of Lent. A foot is removed after each Saturday that passes until Easter. 

***

Maria

It was midsummer  when she told me that she would be travelling to Thessaloniki and since it's near my home, we agreed that we would meet. It was a must, since we'd been blog friends for about a year. I was anxious to meet her as I find her an inspiration. She's an amazing writer and I find myself consumed by her posts. I prefer to read them in the morning as I sip my coffee since they're usually entertaining, informative and as I've already said, inspiring. 
I've tried her recipes and many of them have become favorites and staples on my table. I join her in solidarity as a mother of young children and an expat that's trying to teach our good eating habits by offering healthy choices and homemade meals on a daily basis. I've learned so much about the natural foods available at my footsteps, foods l probably would have never considered eating as I thought they were only weeds that I needed to get rid of. She's someone I can send an email that consists of a mere sentence or less...and she knows exactly what I'm talking about. She's funny, intelligent, thoughtful and adorable. She's Maria Verivaki, the Mediterranean Kiwi of Organically Cooked. 

Maria on my balcony.

Early in September, Maria and her family embarked on a vacation that was quite different for them. They  took a ferry boat from Crete to mainland Greece so that they would have the opportunity to explore the hidden treasures of Greece at their own pace. We expected her to be in our area the during first weekend of September. The two of us explored different places to meet and we had originally settled on meeting at the mall in our area. On the day that we had planned our visit, she and her family were set out for Halkidiki. So, I thought about it a little more and then I thought about the children. Sure, we could meet someplace neutral it would be nice, but what about he kids? If we were to meet at the mall my kids would start wandering off or begging for something 10 minutes after we had arrived, it's inevitable. Then, I thought about her kids. They have been in a car off and on for a few days and were probably tired. So, I decided to invite them to our home for coffee as it's on the way back to the city, where they were staying. After I made my suggestion, she agreed that it would be a nice change.

I met Maria and her family in the center of my town since it's usually much easier for us to have first-time visitors follow us to our home, given we don't have an address. Naturally, I recognized her immediately. She was standing beside her car so I parked behind hers, hopped out and gave her a great big hug. Next, I was introduced to her husband Dimitri and then her children. The children were having a spat in the backseat of the car and she looked at me and asked, "would you mind taking the kids in your car"?  Of course I didn't mind and besides, I knew they'd love to watch a little bit of a movie on the DVD player. They were thrilled with DVD player but it's such a short drive to my home that they only got to watch the previews before the actual movie began. Nevertheless, they were instantly happy.

When we arrived at my home Gigi greeted the family at our gate and then our kids, followed by Kosta. Our kids were so excited to have visitors because they rarely have others to play with at home since we virtually have no neighbors. Well we do, but most of them are chickens and dogs.
So, the children became acquainted quickly and off they went. We didn't see or hear much of them for the entire evening. Our husbands sat together on the balcony and discussed...well...who knows what- for hours. Everyone got along so well, it was wonderful.
 Over coffee we  had so much to talk about, it seemed as if we'd known each other for much more than only a year. We laughed a lot and every now and then we would stop our conversation because we'd hear something drop upstairs. We'd stop talking long enough to make sure that the kids were fine and then continue right where we left off.

Maria enjoys Gigi's  & Alexandra's company...

I had a peek in Foti's room from the balcony and found two young warriors...

The children exhausted after playing for hours. They watched a movie to wind down. 



Maria's husband, Dimitri, with Kosta

All of us had such a nice time but then it started to get late and everyone, especially the children seemed to be pretty tired. It was bittersweet to see them leave, we wished that they could have stayed for days! We've already discussed what we'll do the next time we meet here, unless we end up in Crete first, you never know!

Here's a nice photo of myself with Maria...


~~~~~


Maria's Gigandes

The aroma of gigandes baking is enticing...


I've been making gigandes for years and they were good. All of my friends in the U.S. loved when I made them and my sister used request that I make them. I used to make gigandes based on a recipe from one of my favorite cook books and although they were good, for me, they were never quite right.
Since I love Maria's recipes I decided to try her version of gigandes.  What she adds in hers, that I had never put in mine, is tomato paste. I had never used it in mine and it makes a huge difference in the consistency of the sauce by adding richness and more flavor.  Also, she adds sausages to her beans. So far, I haven't used sausages but I can imagine that the beans with the sausages combined are delicious. But my family loves her recipe! I make these at least once every few weeks. Thank you Maria!

Maria's Gigandes Recipe is here .


-More favorite recipes from Organically Cooked-


Avgolemono
Fasolada
Falsolakia
Lemon cake

...well... just to name a few .There are so many!

Visit Maria's other marvelous blog :
One Day in Hania