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. 

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Thanksgiving~No Turkey But Lots of Drumsticks

Izabella made me a special sign without any help so she didn't realize Thanksgiving is one word~she's so incredibly sweet. Lucky, lucky me. 

~~~

Thanksgiving has come and gone once again and I suppose I can now call this an annual post since many of you are interested in how we've celebrated our holiday and I'm always happy to share.  It's our third Thanksgiving in Greece and I think I've finally figured it out. I don't get stressed about it anymore, not like I did the first year that we were here. I was searching for a turkey off & on for a few weeks, a frozen turkey that is.(for my new readers- Greeks typically only eat turkey around Xmas, therefore it's not widely available or easy to find anytime before December )  I could've probably ordered a fresh one but I can't even begin to imagine how much that might have cost-since I've inquired before. Last year I think my local butcher said that a fresh turkey would cost about 70 euro for 7 kilos- not what I want to spend for a busy weeknight celebration. Now, if I was planning to have guests I'd probably pay whatever I had to, but that wasn't the case. So I searched for a few weeks, but didn't really go out of my way since I knew that a local grocery store always carries turkey drumsticks and I'd be perfectly happy roasting those if there was no frozen turkey to be had, which at the end of the day was the case. Before I purchased the drumsticks I bought a chicken as plan B- but alas, there were enough drumsticks to roast for my family of five. I bought the last six in the butcher's case. 

Just out of the oven...

Since I only had drumsticks to roast without a whole turkey to stuff, I placed the drumsticks on top of the stuffing and everything turned out absolutely delicious. And with these six drumsticks I had enough turkey drippings to make gravy that lasted through Friday's leftovers. 

You can see here how the drumsticks were so tender that they fell apart as I removed them from the  pan.

Along with the turkey and stuffing I made mashed potatoes and corn with dinner rolls on the side. I decided to skip salad altogether because we eat salad almost every day and I thought since there was so much food no one would eat it. But I was wrong, my salad eating little man, Foti, asked where the salad was as fixed his plate. Next year there'll be salad. And not having salad wasn't the only hitch, Alexandra wouldn't try any of the food except for the turkey and the rolls- she said, " take that other stuff off my plate." I was shocked by her demand but I suppose it's only natural for these foods to be foreign to her since she was only 10 months old when we moved here and I only make mashed potatoes & stuffing twice a year. OK, I might make mashed potatoes four times a year, but it's not enough for her to become accustomed to the flavors and textures of these foods. She didn't even like the corn, which was hard for me to believe. Most kids like corn, right? Again, it's not something we eat regularly and she's only 4 years old so I guess I can't blame her for being put off by food that she's not used to. Maybe she'll want to try something new on Christmas. 

For dessert I made an apple pie which I served with vanilla ice cream. The kids loved the apple pie so that was a winning choice. Izabella is my photographer and we laughed so hard when we saw this first photo of me holding the pie and Gigi begging for some. This is a Gigi photobomb- we have many of these. 

So Izabella insisted in taking another photo, without Gigi's little paws and here is our second attempt. My pie isn't picture perfect, let me remind you that I'm much better at cooking than baking and although my pie looks deflated, it was 100% delicious. 

We also enjoyed some cookies and cinnamon rolls that a friend of mine made. She insisted that I swing by to pick these up on my way home from the school. She didn't have to twist my arm. She's extremely thoughtful, I'm thankful for that. 

Our weather has been incredibly mild and my rose bushes are flourishing- so I was lucky enough to have beautiful roses from my own garden for our Thanksgiving table. Love my roses! 

Here's a photo of Gigi looking impatiently at me, waiting for her share of turkey. I know you can't see her eyes here, but trust me... it's the look.  

One last photo before dinner...a new favorite of mine. 

So as you can see we had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving dinner. I was organized in preparing this year and everything rolled along just as I had planned. We watched the Macy's Day parade via live feed online, made a few phone calls to friends and family, did homework and went to bed on time since the kids had school the next morning. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I miss celebrating with my family and friends in the U.S. because although I have started my own family tradition here in Greece, it doesn't compare to the beautiful  chaos of spending time with my immediate family or being spoiled by my mother's lemon meringue pie. (she normally makes  one just for me! ) I'm hoping that my kids will have fond memories of Thanksgiving and if we're still in Greece when they're older- I hope that they continue this important tradition. Now, on with the rest of the holiday season...ENJOY! 

Alexandra's 4th Birthday & Name Day

Today is our little Alexandra's 4th birthday and Name Day.  We celebrated her birthday at home on Saturday  night, she had a wonderful time. 

Alexandra chose this cake. Originally, she wanted something with unicorns & monkeys...and grass on it. I'm really glad she took the time to look through the catalog and settle for the Dalmatians. 

When came time to blow out the candles she went for the challenge and tried to blow out the sparklers! 

What was on the table this year?

Tiropita

Spanikopita

Loukanopita

Olives

Melanzanosalata

Greek Potato Salad 

Tomato-Basil Bruschetta

Feta cheese squares...

Peanut butter & Jelly minis for the kids...

Sausage, crackers, Kalamata olive tampanade

and my favorite this year-tomato/basil/mozzarella  hor d'oeuvres. I couldn't stop eating these! 

We had a lot of leftovers so I didn't have to cook on Sunday which was fantastic since we were away all morning having coffee with very special visitors. 

It was a wonderful weekend full of celebration that we shared with our very special friends and family. 

Happy Birthday & Happy Name Day my sweet Alexandra! 

χρόνια πολλά!

A Look at our Easter

Chocolate bunnies &  traditional red Easter eggs given to the children by our neighbors.

Easter was a week ago and I've finally got my act together so that I could post some photos from our celebration. It's been quite a busy week given the kids are home from school. 

Our Easter was very quiet this year. Friends that have spent the last two Easters with us moved back to the U.S. two weeks ago and another family that we invited informed us, on Friday, that they would be going away to a  spa resort for the weekend  instead. I ordered the lamb on Thursday. So, we had a much bigger lamb than we needed but everything always works out in the end. 

Enjoy the photos...

The coffee table ready for Easter. 

Here's a photo of Alexandra before church on Saturday night. The lambatha(candle) she was holding was decorated by her with her Yia Yia & Thia's help. The kids received many lambadas this year, typically they are given to children by their God parents/oi noni. 

A quick family photo before church. Foti is missing because he was sleeping. He was so tired and we didn't want to wake him up. Last year he went to church tired and he was so difficult that we learned to just let him sleep. 

Here's Izabella with her lambatha and the pretty dress that her Nono/God father bought for her. 

After the church service Alexandra is holding the Holy Light and ready to play tsougrisma. Izabella's egg cracked last so she'll have good luck for the year. 

Outside of the church after midnight- everyone is leaving with their lambathas to bring home the Holy Light. 

The children decorated their eggs with Yia Yia and Thia, they were so proud. Izabella's is the one with the face, Foti's with the ribbon and Alexandra's with the flowers. 

Early in the morning on Easter Foti helped Kosta clean and prepare the lamb for the souvla/spit.

Ready to go... sharing a proud "guy" moment. 

Myself with my proud little man. A proud "mom" moment. 

Foti enjoys snacking on tyropita near the lamb. Gigi wants a piece but we don't allow her to eat our food. Poor Gigi. 

Izabella spent a lot of time with her tortoise on Easter. 

Homemade Restina given to us by our neighbor. Actually, it's mine. No one enjoys it more than me!

Pouring myself a glass of Retsina. 

The lamb is ready! Time to eat...finally. 

A quick shot of the table. I was in a hurry to eat so I snapped this very fast because I was hungry! 

Finally, here's a shot of a pear blossom. We roasted the lamb near our pear trees that were in full bloom and thoroughly enjoyed their blossoms. Later in the evening we had friends stop by for coffee and dessert which was a nice way to end the day. 

Related Links: 

Easter in Greece-Greek Customs

Preparing for Easter

A Little More Easter