Ahhhh, cheese, one of life’s greatest pleasures! The ideal start or end to a delicious meal but also perfect on it’s own. Cheese and I love each other. And what better time to share the love, any kind of love, than Christmas? [READ MORE]
tagged ‘Christmas’
Christmas food for thought
in Food for thought, Inspiration -
We’re a little over a week away from Christmas and I have finally fully embraced the festive spirit. I’ve done my fair share of baking, written cards, placed poinsettias around the house and chosen outfits for the holidays. Our weekend plans are low key but in the same festive pre-Christmas mood: there’s a little bit of shopping left to be done, more baked goods to play with, preparations for a friend’s Christmas party (I’ll be making caramel corn and the tastiest guac) and hopefully an evening spent at home with some wine and Scrooged. Hope your plans are similarly festive and relaxed, y’all! [READ MORE]
Buttery & nutty Greek Christmas cookies (kourampiedes)
in Desserts, Taste -
This year I’ll be spending the holidays in London. It’s the first time I won’t be in Greece with my family and I’m feeling pretty bittersweet about it. See, I really love my loud, overbearing, inspiring, always-in-your-face family. I love and miss them constantly. Plus, they really know how to do Christmas. There’s always beautiful decorations all around the house, tons of hugs, tons of energy (I mean, tons of energy, which translates to heated debates on just about anything, arguments, long embraces, lots of frantic running around), tons of delicious food and presents. I know I’ll miss out on all these- but then again, I’ve been living in London for over ten years now and I’ve never spent the holidays here. It’s about time I gave it a try and created some new traditions, don’t you think? [READ MORE]
New Year’s cake (Vasilopita)
in Desserts, Taste -
Vasilopita (Basil pie) is the highlight of the season’s festivities for me; the dessert is named after St Basil, a very wealthy and generous man living in Cappadocia in the 4th century who, as the story goes, decided to distribute his fortune to those in need, by making small pies and hiding money or jewelry in each one of them.
Chestnut, leek & sage soup
in Savoury, Taste -
For the past few years, I spend New Year’s Eve at my parents house, with family and close friends of my parents. I always anticipate this night mostly because of the food- even though past 12 o’clock things usually deteriorate for me: by that time I have eaten so much, I can hardly move; and yet, instead of staying in and watching Home Alone or Charmed for the gazillionth time while rubbing my belly, I usually have to go out and meet my overenthusiastic, and usually quite drunk friends, for whom apparently the highlight of the night is not food. [READ MORE]
Earl Grey muffins
in Breakfast, Desserts, Taste -
Christmas morning is one of my favourite times of the year. It’s always spent in our house in the mountains, just the four of us, opening presents, while consuming copious amounts of coffee and dragging the monstrous breakfast we have prepared to almost lunch time. [READ MORE]
Gift Guide: for the cool minimalist
in Inspiration -
This gift guide is inspired by my favourite cool minimalist, my sister. I always marvel at her dedication to the ‘less is more’ rule: from the way she dresses (she has an endless collection of plain, white, cotton tees, along with an impressive number of blazers, which she simply accessorize with beautiful scarves and few jewellery pieces), to her gorgeous apartment, filled with carefully selected items (and God forbid you dare move anything in there- she watches everyone like a hawk) and her cooking. Apart from a minimalist, Alkyoni is also the best gift-giver, so here’s hoping I won’t embarrass myself this year and get her something she will actually like. [READ MORE]
Gift Guide: Men
in Inspiration -
Even though the two main men in my life (my father and my boyfriend) are terrible to shop for, the men’s department in most stores is usually my favourite section. So compiling this list (which, granted includes items that are not strictly for men) was so fun and easy-hopefully, shopping for my two picky men will be equally as easy and fun. [READ MORE]
Gift Guide: for the One and Only (aka mom)
in Inspiration -One of the reasons I love the holiday season so much is the gifts that come with it. A couple years ago, a few days before Christmas and while I was giving my dad an elaborate speech about the benefits of recycling, he told me, in his usual deadpan in-your-face manner, that another great way to recycle would be to buy less. As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point; there could be a lot less shopping, spending and consuming going around, especially during the holidays. In that frame of mind, and because I really really love presents, I have compiled 5 gift guides of few selected items, all under £ 50: for your mom (she deserves her own list, don’t you think?), for guys, for your minimalist friends, one for foodies/ cooks and one for books and music. Even though they are not holiday specific (unless edible, I actually find seasonal gifts kinda useless, even annoying), I hope that they will inspire your Christmas shopping and get you in the holiday spirit: less spending, more love. That’s the spirit.
