Tag: Holiday baking

Vasilopita (Βασιλόπιτα)

~ miakouppa ~ 43 Comments
Vasilopita

Vasilopita (or Basilopita) is a perfectly sweet and flavourful New Year’s Cake!

Ever wonder why, in most Greek families, names seem to be on repeat? At any given family function you are likely to find 4 Marias, 3 Costas and about 7 Georges.  That’s because Greek parents have traditionally always named their children after their own parents.  So, two siblings who each have daughters, may very well name their girls after their common mother, for example.  Many Greek names are also names of Saints, making the Nameday (the day during which we commemorate the life of a given Saint) a much bigger deal amongst many Greeks than birthdays could ever be.  Each of us is named after one of our grandmothers, and one of our Greek names (Vasiliki) is also associated with Saint Basil the Great, who is commemorated on January 1st, the day of his death.

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Kourabiethes (Kουραμπιέδες)

~ miakouppa ~ 23 Comments
Kourabiethes (kourabiedes) are a Greek almond shortbread type cookie that is coated in icing sugar.

Kourabiethes (kourabiedes) are a Greek almond shortbread type cookie that is coated in icing sugar.

Who doesn’t dream about a white Christmas? We certainly do! Thankfully, living in Canada means that most years, our dream comes true.  It is rare that December 25th rolls around without a blanket of beautiful, white, fluffy snow covering everything!  If you have never made snow angels on Christmas morning, we really hope that you get to one day!  Our parents grew up in Greece however, a country not known for frosty winters and snow storms.  So, in their villages, the whitest and fluffiest thing they could hope for at Christmas time, were kourabiethes (kourabiedes).

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