Vasilopita-Βασιλόπιτα: The Queen of Greek Cakes and the New Year

Vasilopita - Βασιλόπιτα

In my family New Year's Eve and New Year's day would not be the same without Vasilopita. It is a Greek cake which is baked just before New Year's Eve and eaten as soon as the year has changed just after midnight. A coin is placed in the cake and the one to find the coin in their piece is the lucky one for that year.

My fondest memories of New Year's Eve have always included two things: family and Vasilopita. Minutes before midnight my family would gather in the living room. As the count down begun, my father would make his way slowly towards the main light switch and as the rest of us were shouting "..3..2..1..Happy New Year" he would switch off the main and the power would go off momentarily before he would switch it back on again and join us to kiss and hug each other and wish everyone "Happy New Year". 

Minutes later we would find ourselves gathered around the table where my mother had placed the Vasilopita she had made earlier that day. In a moment which I can only describe as 'holy' my dad would take the knife and cross the top of the cake three times (holy trinity) to bless it before cutting it. The first piece is always reserved for the Mother of Christ and Christ, the second one for our Home, the third one for residents's jobs, and then the next pieces for each family member separately starting from the eldest one to the youngest one. So, the fourth one for my dad, fifth for my mom, sixth for my brother, and seventh for myself. The rest of the pieces were reserved for other family members of the house or of the family. Once every piece was cut, it was given to each member of the family. Then each one had to take a bite of their piece to find out who would be the lucky one for that year.

This tradition I like to keep alive with my own family. I always bake a Vasilopita for New Year's Eve and together with some Finnish traditions we create our own unique celebration and a whole new blend of culture.  

The story behind the Vasilopita dates back thousands of years. It is said that this tradition is part of a religious tradition linked to the Greek Bishop of Cappadocia (in Central Anatolia or Asia Minor) Vasilios the Great. The Prefect (administrative official) of Cappadocia wanted to concur the area and ransack it. The only way to save the area was for the rich people to collect their most valuable items and offer them to the Prefect in exchange of peace. But, as of a miracle, the Prefect and his army disappeared and area was saved. However, the valuable items were still gathered together. Vasilios the Great, not knowing to whom each item belonged, decided to hide each valuable item inside bread loafs he ordered his servants to make. Then the next day, after mass, he had each bread distributed to each resident in the area. This tradition was honored each year after this incident and a coin started being placed in the cakes thereafter. After the Bishop's death, the same tradition was carried out as a commemoration of his death and is celebrated on the 1st of January.

The recipe for my mom's Vasilopita can be found here.

Enjoy and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!! 

Finnish Christmas Feast

Christmas Ham 

Christmas is just around the corner and the preparations for the Christmas Eve lunch are in full speed.

According to tradition, Finns gather together with other family members on the 24th of December to enjoy the Christmas lunch, to welcome Santa in their homes, exchange the gifts Santa will bring to them and spend some quality time with their loved ones. This same ritual is repeated on the 25th sans the gifts. The time between the 24th and the 27th of December is supposed to be a time to relax, be with family and just take it easy and unwind.

On the morning of the 24th of December the family enjoys the traditional Christmas porridge which is warm rice porridge sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. It is customary to add a peeled almond to the mixture. Being white, te almond blends in with the wtite rice porridge and it is almost invisible. The person who will find the almond in their porridge is the lucky one for the year to come.

The Christmas lunch menu consists of Christmas Ham (recipe below), rosolli salad (which consists of boiled carrots, beetroot, pickled cucumber, and onions, all cut in cubes), carrot, potato, and turnip casseroles (prepared in the oven), mushroom salad, potato salad, beetroot salad, boiled potatoes, roast beef (which is first boiled in beef stock with onions, black peppers and bay leaves), gravlax (raw salmon cured in salt), and Christmas bread (rye bread which is sweeter than the normal rye bread.

The delicacies of the Christmas lunch vary depending on each family's traditions and the region they come from.

Christmas ham, potatoes, roast beef in sauce, carrot casserole (in the oven), and bread. 

Christmas Ham recipe:
2-3 Kg ham
roasting oven bag
carnation cloves
mild mustard
breadcrumbs

Place some cloves on the surface of the ham and then put the ham in the roasting oven bag. Place an oven thermomenter on the ham piercing it through the bag. Cook the ham in 100 degrees for about 2-3 hours. The ham is ready when it has reached 80 degrees. If your ham is more than 2-3 kilos then you can calculate one hour per kilo for the cooking time. Once the ham is ready, let it cool down for a couple of hours. Take the net if there is one and dry it with a towel. Spread some mild mustard on the surface and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Place in the oven again and let it get some colour. Once it is brown enough take it out. The ham is served cooled.

Christmas lunch

Christmas desserts may also vary from family to family. I prefer my mother-in-law's mint-chocolate ice cream as it is easy to prepare and it is a favorite with the kids. Moreover, one can offer some glöggi, which is warmed mulled wine served with almonds and raisins, as well as some gingerbread cookies and Christmas tarts, which is a star shaped or snowflake shaped pastry filled with prune jam.

Christmas tarts and gingerbread cookies 

 Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year to all of you!

Top of the morning to ya!

Porridge- the champion of breakfasts.

Ever since I moved to Finland, more than a decade ago, my attitude towards porridge has changed dramatically. To put it simply, I went from never trying it to eating it regularly ;) So much so that I actually enjoy it as breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Semolina porridge with blueberries,
 strawberries and juice of berries.

There is, however, one tiny detail. I only like a specific type of porridge. When I started tasting different types of porridge I noticed a few things. Texture matters to me, so I was unable to actually enjoy porridge that had chunks in it. A smoother texture was always a better experience for me. The best one is semolina porridge (Mannapuuro/mannasuurimo/Σιμιγδάλι). In the shops here in Finland, one can find dark wheat or white wheat. After having tried both, I lean towards the dark wheat semolina.

All porridge types are a great nutrition treasure. Wheat and grains are rich in calcium, magnesium, iron and, of course, fiber. Therefore, the dish has nutritional value, the intake of calories is low and it is a dish which will not leave you hungry.

Wheat

Some people might enjoy adding some sugar to porridge but there are other ways of jazzing the dish up. I gave up the consumption of sweets, candy, and baking goods 9 months ago so I have been avoiding sugar as much as possible. To give a kick to my porridge I am adding blueberries, strawberries, kisel (sweetened juice of berries), or honey. I prefer honey as it is a more natural sweetener to processed juice of berries.

Grains which are used to make porridge are semolina,rice, buckwheat, barley, corn, polenta etc. In Finland, I am used to the rice porridge, wheat (all types of wheat) porridge, and semolina porridge. 

As a kid, growing up in Greece, I was not used to eating porridge. However, I noticed one similarity with the rice porridge. The Finns make rice porridge by boiling it in milk and eating it warm by adding a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on top. It is a dish which I have seen more being consumed over Christmas but rice porridge is also a common breakfast dish. In Greece, we have something similar, called rizogalo/ ριζόγαλο (rice milk) only we eat it cold and only with cinnamon on top. So, we let the rice mixture set in the fridge overnight first before we add some cinnamon on it. It is considered more of a dessert dish rather than a breakfast dish. 

Go on! Give porridge a go. I promise you will enjoy it and feel better about your healthier start to your day.