Greek Easter

The building is progressing well under Panagiotis' management. It MUST! It is nearly the time of year when he shifts his business from construction to landscaping, gardening and running his seaside restaurant and guest cottages. Now the decisions that need to be made are coming in a flurry. Do we want marble toppings on the walls surrounding the terraces or do we want them rounded and covered in stucco? I'd never thought about it but it seems it is an important question because where does one set drinks and plates of food when one is outside? There will be tables surely, but wouldn't it be convenient to have a marble ledge in addition? Always the thought is for food and for convenience. I like the way these people think! The tiles we selected for the floors are no longer in stock. What do we want instead? Given that we selected the purple interior door color to "go with" the floor tiles, should we reconsider using purple? Aqua is more universal and is sure to complement whatever terracotta tiles we now select. Back to the internet for searches. Do we want niches in the walls for icons as a nod to the local traditions? I don't think so, but then again, will we regret NOT having them? Do we want two refrigerators and one freezer or two freezers and one super sized refrigerator? Stainless steel fronts or white or black? Our evenings speed past as we research, consider, discuss, decide and then sleep on it before sending our decisions by email to Panagiotis.

Our breakfast talk now is of our future life in Greece. MG and I always make it a practice to have breakfast together. Even on mornings when I don't need to arise early and the covers feel so heavy, I still roll out to join him for breakfast. It makes a beautiful start to the day to sit across from the one you love, chit chat, feel the sun streaming in the window, hear the birds in the background and eat what my mother would call "a breakfast that sticks to your ribs."

The other morning MG wondered aloud, "Where will we eat breakfast when we are living on the island?" We enjoyed coming up with locations such as, side by side at the dining room table facing the sea or on the front terrace when the weather is fine, or on the terrace off our bedroom when we want a change. Note to self: I'll need lots of trays.

With Greek Easter approaching we also mused about how we would celebrate that holiday when living in Greece. In Boston, we annually have a table full of family and friends that typically includes the two grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law's mother and grandmother, mother's "new" husband, "new' husband's grown children with significant others, MG's ex-wife, plus assorted friends for a total of 12 to 14 people.

I spend 3 days in preparations that include developing the menu and selecting recipes, placing the order with the butcher for lamb, food shopping, advance sous chef work and cooking, hard boiling and dyeing eggs, and setting the table. We gather around 3 PM for cocktails and appetizers of hummus, pistachios and Greek olives. MG will have already hidden, challengingly well, the eggs, candies and miscellany for the grandchildren's egg hunt. In previous years I dressed up in a too elaborate, somewhat believable and very hot Easter Bunny costume and accompanied the children on the hunt. It involved a lot of pantomime plus back-breaking squat jumps. It became a bit too much with things needing attention in the kitchen and me hopping about in the back garden sweating jelly beans. Some years I was able to fob it off on an unsuspecting adult child of "new" husband's. Soon everyone began arriving late, in hopes, I suspect, that an earlier arrival would have been recruited to wear the costume. By the time the grandchildren were 9 and 5 the costume was retired.

In recollecting his childhood Easter meals in Athens, MG remembers everyone gathering in the outside garden, drinking, talking, smoking, snacking and taking turns turning the crank for the lamb as it roasted on a spit over an open fire. Here we don't roast a whole lamb over a spit outside, but I have found a fantastic recipe that everyone raves about for Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese stuffed Lamb with Red Wine Sauce. Dinner also includes potatoes, a green salad, and two vegetables that I vary from year to year. After dinner, a dessert course of Greek baklava, galactobureko and kataifi with strong coffee, lots of stories and talking. However, before the children pass out from sugar overdose, we play the game "crack-the-egg" or chugrisma ton avghon. The children love this tradition their Papou has continued from his childhood and new guests are always delighted to be introduced to it.

I hard boil, dye red (it must be red...to symbolize the blood of Christ?), rub with olive oil, and finally, buff to a shine, enough eggs for each guest to have one egg. First everyone selects their egg from a bowl. The game begins with two people tapping their eggs together, either pointed end to pointed end or rounded end to rounded end. One egg will crack and the holder of the uncracked egg is the winner, who then goes on to challenge-tap someone else. An egg is "dead" only when both ends are cracked. The game continues until there remains only one egg with one uncracked end left. That egg is declared the winner. It sounds so silly, but we really have a good time doing it. Funny how one of the grandchildren always manages to pick the winning egg (wink, wink) Eating deviled eggs the next day is the consolation prize for everyone else!

I truly am looking forward to Easter next year in Greece to see the genuine, non-Americanized traditions unfold in real time. Our family will mix and dine, laugh and play chugrisma ton avghon with new friends and neighbors. MG and I will discuss over breakfast final details for the event and probably reminisce about past Greek Easter celebrations in Boston. Truth be told, I'd much rather take a turn with the spit than wear that bunny suit again.