CHRISTMAS DAY with greeks

Christmas Day in our cross-cultural house. 

Food  -

Turkey - roasted the traditional English way with bread and sage stuffing

Brussel sprouts - boiled, but not to death

Potatoes 1 - smashed the Jamie Oliver way.  Alongside pumpkin and sweet potato

Potatoes  2- the greek way with oil and lemon juice

Lamb - roasted the traditional greek way.  With oil, oregano and lemon juice.  Not a mint leaf in sight

Gravy - made the Jamie Oliver way.  Never again.  I placed the turkey on a bed of carrots, onions and garlic and pureed the vegetables along with the juices to make the gravy.  It tasted like vegetable soup.  Fortunately we had wine and bisto and managed to shock it back to a form of recognisable brown sauce.

No tzatziki.  No greek salad.  But we did have a lettuce salad, with rocket, spring onions, dill, lemon juice and olive oil

Good French Sauv Blanc, the usual greek wine out of a barrel

The table set oh so nicely.  Matching plates, proper wine glasses and real Christmas crackers

The 'Christ-bread'.  Soon to be blessed with the sign of the cross and cut by the traditional man of the house

In mid-feast.

Only eight of us, family and friends, sat down to eat but the rest of the family arrived soon after.  Presents were opened and the children sent outside to play in the wintery winter sun.

                                        

The boys, denied their electronic toys, used their imaginations and skills, pulled Grandads shed to pieces and made a cart out of a trolley and I'm not sure what else.  It had a number plate, a control panel, a spare tyre and a couple of jaw bones to add to its wonder
                               

We live on a slight hill so it was perfect for a thrilling 'high speed' sprint, wearing a crash helmet of course, but no seat belts on this horseless carriage.  Any spills were into the olive groves and the long grass

Tall people and short people all had a go

And the men partied on

A new face in the kitchen.  She looks happy to be there.  This was a 'before'  photo!

We all had another chaotic, tiring and extremely enjoyable day.  There was no sweet/pudding to have with our coffee but fortunately one of our friends brought a big box of traditional sweet, sticky baklava, something everyone loves. I should have made a trifle darn it. Next year.

It's all over, till next year.  Hope all your Christmases were just as pleasurable.