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New Year’s Brunch: Kayana & Poros75 cocktail

2020 has been a very difficult year for all of us, but at least this year is almost over. For us, comfort food is one of the things that has really helped us get through it. That’s why my fiancé Vaggelis and I put together a delicious brunch for your New Year’s Day with Kayana, scrambled eggs with fresh tomato, feta and olive oil, and Vaggelis Poros75 cocktail. A perfect way to start 2021, a year in which some things might remain the same but we hope some things will finally change for the better.

2020 was a crazy year

As Greece had 2 very strict quarantines (we are still in the second one), being home is all we could do. As much as we like to keep busy, it has also given us the opportunity to pause and look at our lives from a different perspective; and for me it has been quite eye-opening; How lucky we are in our everyday lives to have what we have and to be who we are. It has made me appreciate the little things in life even more, and made me see that taking some time to sit with family and loved ones is really important.

My mom would like to say something about it as well:

“I totally agree with my daughter; In 2020, despite all the problems we faced, we learned a few lessons that are valuable; Being together, taking care of each other, looking after the family and taking a step back to rethink what we are doing are some of the most important things (along with how to not open your refrigerator door too often during a lockdown and how to stay in touch via zoom).

2020 will stay in our memories forever as a very unusual year and although we learned a lot we will not be sad that it’s 2021 soon. The change of the year will be different than other years; no big celebrations, no parties, no gatherings and fireworks. But let’s celebrate the new year to come with Dora and Vaggelis’s lovely Greek breakfast, that will give us comfort and strength to face the new year and look back with gratitude.”

Kayana

Thank you, mom! I will take it from here…
Kayana is not my recipe but my mother’s, but I hold it very dear to my heart. Kayana’s smell alone reminds me of the times when she was waiting for me in our beautiful kitchen to have lunch together and talk about our day after school was over. She would always ask me if I wanted fried eggs or kayana, and I would always instantly choose fried eggs, only to regret this decision when I smelled the kayana she made for herself. Thank God she always let me have a bite of hers. Mom and I often say that our favourite food is eggs, any kind. We just love eggs any possible way and we often joke about who is better at making eggs.

Cocktail ‘Poros75’

To go with the kayana Vaggelis made a really nice brunch cocktail! He makes all the cocktails in the family; I think he does this so he doesn’t have to do the dishes; you see our ‘house rule’ states that if you make something (food or drinks) you don’t have to do the clean-up. All jokes aside, his cocktails are amazing! As Vaggelis has had more time this year to experiment he has come up with so many ideas for new cocktails, thank God he also does mocktails because otherwise we would have become alcoholics.

Vaggelis would also like to say hello:

“Hello friends. I see Dora told you about the trick with the dishes. What she didn’t tell you is that it never works for her; I always end up doing the dishes, but never mind, I will continue with the important stuff: cocktails and mocktails.

Recently I tried a cocktail called French75. Rumour has it that this cocktail has existed since World War I and I wondered if this drink was on Poros 100 years ago, and if so, what ingredients were used. I decided to make a modern version called Poros75 to perfectly match Dora’s kayana. Together it gives you a ‘brunch punch’, as it relaxes you for the rest of the day. I also made a mocktail version for the younger members of the family. Please enjoy!”

I, Vaggelis, my mum and dad and the entire Odyssey Family wish you, despite everything, a very Happy New Year. Please stay safe and healthy. We hope to welcome you again to the Odyssey next year!

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