Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Happy 2018!


 Happy New Year, dear readers!

You may remember the Greek tradition of
baking a St. Basil's cake, to ring in the new year.


As always, our 2018 'vasilopita', or St. Basil's cake, scented the entire house with a sweet, lemon-y aroma, and added a serving of holiday cheer to the open shelving in the kitchen, which was fittingly and festively dressed in all its Christmas cuteness.



Thank goodness, just a few days earlier, Liberty and I had gone on a long walk uphill, through vineyards and olive groves, to the next village over, a kind of preventative measure against expected calorie damage,


since aside from the St. Basil's cake, there were other seasonal sweets that were enjoyed at Christmas teas and gatherings. Above, we enjoyed a Greek brew amid the spectacular views of the sky, sea and valley below - a lovely break before all the busyness that was in store!


And, although we didn't hike, but drove, up to a beautiful, mountainous village, inland, to celebrate 2018 with our annual  
New Year's day lunch, at one of our favourite restaurants,



we made sure to feast on healthy fare, amid some richer dishes. Doesn't this Cretan winter salad look divine? It was drizzled with an olive oil/honey/balsamic dressing, and featured farmer's cheese, dried figs, BBQ mushrooms and sweet peppers, a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds and a few honeyed sesame cubes... so refreshing and delicious!


 Hope you enjoy this short video of our exhilarating hike
 to that heavenly village in the sky. May 2018 be filled with 
happy horizons of clear, bright light, for you and yours!

Thanks for visiting!

xx
Poppy


24 comments:

  1. Delicious views from top to bottom! Happy New Year, Poppy!! xoxo

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  2. "...preventive measure against expected calorie damage." Indeed, walking helps preventing weight gain. It won't ,however,help much in weight loss. To lose weight , one has to... count calories.

    The Cretan salad looks appetizing, and the landscape in your little video is absolutely captivating!

    May 2018 be the best year ever for us all!

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  3. Looks so beautiful Poppy. Happy New Year to you too.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  4. It was great to hear your lovely voice in the video, Poppy! You live in such a beautiful area and I always enjoy when you show us your island.
    The salad looks delicious. That mixture is right along my alley.
    Happy New Year! Have a happy and healthy 2018 with lots of wonderful moments to remember.
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  5. So nice to watch this video accompanied by your voice, you really live on an island of outstanding beauty. That wintersalad sounds and looks delicious, could be one of my favorites too.
    Wish you ALL THE BEST for 2018 Poppy, until next time on the blog.

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  6. Dear Poppy, Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year.

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  7. So beautiful! Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year! xo

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  8. Oh Poppy, it was such a joy to hear your sweet voice on the beautiful video! We see each others' faces in our photos but rarely get a chance to hear the voices. The cake looks amazing and I think I almost smelled the lemon! Happy New Year to you, sweet friend!

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  9. Oh my, I want to visit Greece! I think the food, the air, the views would suit me well. Lovely to "hear" from you!

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  10. That salad makes my mouth-water! No baking of the St. Basil's cake here yet, I don't have a round cake pan!! ;-) Maybe next year. . . Happy New Year, Kali Chronia!! xxx

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  11. Beautiful! How I would love to go village walking. :) Happy New Year!

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  12. Happy New Year, Poppy! I very much enjoyed that video -- would have loved to enjoy the hike, too!!

    Do you have your own special recipe for vasilopita that has been handed down through the family? I still have yet to bake one -- maybe next year. And I will need to find a recipe.... does it always have lemon?

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  13. Hi GretchenJoanna,

    I do have a scrumptious recipe for the vasilopita I've been baking in recent years which I found here:

    http://whippedtheblog.com/2009/01/04/vasilopita-greek-new-years-cake/

    It easily divides in half, if you wish to make a smaller cake, and if you aren't fond of lemon, you can omit it, unless you prefer orange. I definitely think that citrus adds that fragrant sweetness, but it's up to you. Try it and let me know how it turns out!

    All the best in health and happiness to you and yours for 2018!

    Poppy

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  14. I can't believe I commented on the email that tells me you have a new post! good grief! I know not to do that! my auto-pilot is not very bright some days!
    I would love a piece of that beautiful cake right now. especially with a cup of black coffee. lemon is heaven to me in anything. and what a lovely way to start a new year! it will be a good one PoppyK! XOXO♥

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  15. The salad looks delicious ...
    Happy New Year Wishes

    All the best Jan

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  16. What a fantastic way to welcome the new year, Poppy. I love the look of that salad, I'm going to try and recreate it at home. And the weather looks nice!
    Amalia
    xo

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  17. Beautiful as ever.
    Happy horizons be yours too, dear Poppy.
    xo

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  18. Beautiful post - Happy New Year. I do hope that 2018 will bring you much happiness.

    Lots of hugs,
    Mary

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  19. Happy New Year, dear Poppy! May 2018 be filled with all the beauty that your gorgeous photographs show here and the perfect balance of crisp greens sweet treats, mountain views and swims in your beloved sea, blue skies in the mornings and blessed rest at night.

    Love to you,
    Dewena

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  20. Best wishes for a lovely 2018 and I just love your pictures! Pictures nr 4...wow!
    Love from Titti

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  21. Happy New Year! I love your photos. Such a lovely place you live in. :) Kit

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  22. Happy New Year to you Dear Poppy! What a lovely share and the salad does look wonderful. I would enjoy everything about it and might write down what was in it and prepare one as close to this one as possible. How delightful to see the film clip and to hear your sweet voice. That was very nice and after being friends on here for quite a long while, it was like a special gift to hear your voice now too. Take care my friend and enjoy your surroundings. Here we are having snow, gray skies and 13' today. Tomorrow the high will be 7'...Hugs to you~

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  23. Thanks for sharing the beautiful landscapes. Wishing you good health in 2018.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate hearing from all of you! Have a great day!