Easter Goodness!

Happy Sunday everyone! My posts have been delayed as i am feeling not so hot at the moment. The change in weather has left me feeling somewhat yucky.
Tomorrow is when the majority of Greeks begin their fast - including me, what's on the menu you may ask? I'm not one to follow traditional Greek recipes - but I am a major fan of Vegan recipes that my friend makes. Delicious recipes to follow on another post... For now enjoy the Easter goodness at Paradise Catering. I'm so not with it, that i've got the pictures going in a backwards order, oops.

Tsoureki - for Easter all our Tsoureki have a red egg nestled on top.

Koulourakia - Easter Biscuits

Koulourakia in the making, with egg wash

This is how it's done folks! I wasn't going to let myself have a little rant today. But it makes me so cross when 'large' corporate companies think they can just swoop in and take over the Zakharoplastio industry - yup i'm talking about one big fat Chocolatier who also dips their fingers in cakes and Greek breads (as if selling chocolates isn't enough), using ready-made ingredients & a cheap price tag to sell their business. Oh that and shiny windows, decor & fancy packaging to lure everyone in.
I just wanted to say that there are many cake shop businesses in my area who have been around for years, i'm talking like anything between 25-40 years - they're not big cake shops, they're local independent business' who are run by families alike and these guys know their stuff. The taste factor difference between the mass produced and cakes from independent cake shops are huge.
Please don't take us for complete muppets and sell us slices of cakes/ Πάστες which are loaded with mouse and topped with cheap chocolate (which sticks to the inside of your mouth) leaving one super thirsty and think it's ok.

The piece of cake on the top left is apparently 'Black Forest', seriously...

Getting Eggy

Fast forward almost a week later and I can honestly say everyday feels like groundhog day. Yes, I actually feel like the dude who wakes up, the same time every morning and has the same experiences day after day. Only today it feels like i'm getting closer to the end of decorating each egg individually. Yay! I have countless paper cuts, have become a pro with the glue gun and am beyond tired.
Although there's a few more boxes to finish off, here's a sneak peek of where we're at with the chocolate eggs bunnies and roosters. I believe sometime next week we'll be starting on the Tsoureki...

Easter Eggs by the dozen...

Easter, only one of the biggest celebrations in the Greek calendar is only a mere 4 weeks away, eek. The only reason i'm totally freakin' out is because i've been left with chocolate Easter egg, bunny and hen decorating. Yup, it's a big job that requires patience and not liking the smell of chocolate, which is well difficult for me (as chocolate is my Kryptonite) and i just so need to get into the creative groove right now as the clock is ticking. (Images above are from last year)

I picked up nearly all the bits i needed and am ready to go with the wrapping, which is the MOST arduous and fiddly job ever. I started in the morning and with almost over 180 chocolate whatevers in need of wrapping, ribbon tying and decorating, i think i won't be done til Saturday at the earliest. Woah!

The difference between these little chocolate beauties than the 'Cadbury's' version or shall i say Supermarket version is that they are handmade and the chocolate used is of a much higher quality (higher cocoa content for starters),we're talking at least 70% cocoa indulgence for all you chocolate lovers out there. Next is the fact that they are carefully hand decorated, some with gorgeous sugar art (from fondant) and each are hand wrapped too. Ok, some of you may think the deco is a bit garish, but these guys love it here, I worked out that they're big on anything sparkly too.

Getting there, these are the big kuhuna's weighing upto 600g! Yum!

I decided to add more pink princess action with the stefana (Greek wedding crown) and wand

In Greece you can't have an Easter Egg wrapped in Green without sticking a Panathinaikos logo on it.