Happy Tsiknopempti! You’ve heard of Fat Tuesday, the French holiday associated with Mardi Gras. Well, today is Fat Thursday, ten days before the beginning of Great Lent.
Tsiknopempti means Barbecue Thursday, Charred Meat Thursday, or Burnt Thursday. It’s the evening Greek Orthodox believers consume massive amounts of meat because they start fasting from meat even a week before Great Lent, the forty days leading up to Pascha (Easter), begins.
I’ve been fasting from meat for six years. I guess that means BBQ tofu and grilled veggies for me.
It’s my sister’s favorite holiday. She’s such a carnivore! I’d never even heard of the holiday til my family moved to Greece. Then my sister told me all about a day where the sweet smell of charred meat wafts through the dusty roads of ancient villages.
What’s your favorite food to barbecue?
Here are a few recipe ideas:::
Skewered Grilled Fruit with Minted Yogurt Honey Sauce
Grilled Fruit Skewers with Spicy Maple Cumin Glaze
Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce
You might also like these articles:::
Hello, Carnival; Good-bye Meat
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
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