Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Eu vou-lhes contar um segredo….Eu adoro a Isa Chandra Moskowitz!

Quem é a Isa Chandra? É uma chefe de comida vegan. Eu não lembro-me como é que eu descobri o site dela, mas desde que descobri ( e da Terry Hope Romero) as receitas dela têm invadido a minha cozinha. 

Eu tenho um marido que come carne. Por causo, ele gosta muito de carne, mas ele adora as receitas da Post Punk Kitchen. Parece que cada vez um expermento com uma nova receita ele diz que eu devia lhe servir todas as semanas. Mais do que não a comida é muito saborosa e sempre saudavel. Amanhã vamos traduzir a receita para a Chana Masala.

Pai…

O meu pai está em Portugal visitar-nos. Ainda é esquisito dizer dessa forma, mas na realidade ele considera os Estados Unidos a sua ‘casa’. Quando ele nos ‘visitou’ pela primeira vez há três anos, ele insistiu que seria a última vez que ele vinha a Portugal. Ele sentia que ele era muito velho para a viagem, e com todos os seus médicos e a sua ‘vida’ nos Estados Unidos fazia mais sentido para ele estar lá. Eu não gostava dessa ideia, mas eu tive que aceitar.

two years ago

A segunda primavera que estávamos em Portugal eu liguei para o meu pai para lhe dizer que eu ia contratar alguém para me ajudar a plantar um jardim. O Nuno estava muito interessado em agricultura e eu não tinha idéia de por onde começar. Dois dias depois da nossa conversa o meu pai me ligou. Ele disse para eu não contratar ninguém como ele j’a tinha feito uma marcação para viajar para Portugal. Ele vinha para plantar um jardim com seu neto. Essa viagem foi duas vezes mais longo que o primeiro.

farming

Este ano, o meu pai está aqui para dois meses. Isso é em parte porque o meu irmão está aqui agora e meu sobrinho (o filho da minha irmã) estará aqui no final de agosto e meu pai queria estar cá com os dois. 

Na semana passada, o meu pai fez os 82 anos. No ano passado, ele evitou festas. Mas este ano ele não apenas concordou com a idea de ter uma festa, mas parecia que queria mesmo celebrar com a sua irmã, a sobrinha e outros familiares & amigos. Há alguns anos atrás nós organizamos uma festa de aniversário do meu filho na nossa casa quando ele estava aqui e ele comentou que parecia que minha mãe estava presente. Ele continua ser um homem apaixonado por sua esposa, embora ela faleceu há 18 anos.

A festa foi um sucesso. Mas antes que terminou, eu fiz um brinde dedicado ao meu pai.

vovo

Primeiro tive que agradecer o nosso amigo Joaquim que foi o cozinheiro, e a Ti Evangelina que cozeu o pão, também agradeci todos os convidados que trouxeram frutas, legumes, sumo e vinho. Depois tomei esta oportunidade para agradecer ao meu pai por duas coisas.

Primeiro eu agradeci ao meu pai para nos levar para os Estados Unidos em 1974. Ele tomou um grande risco em levar a sua mulher e os seus 7 filhos a procura de uma nova vida. Ele fez isso com o 4o ano e sem saber inglês, mas com um grande desejo para um melhor futuro para a sua família. Por causa dele, todos os meus irmãos foram capazes de voltar à escola. Todos, menos eu e a Alzira já tinham sido da escola. As idades deles variaram entre 13-21anos. Os EUA nos deu uma oportunidade que uma família pobre não facilmente podia ter em Portugal na década de 1970.

Depois eu agradeci o meu pai para a casa onde estávamos a celebrar os anos dele. O meus pais renovaram esta casa na década de 80. Ninguém pensava que era uma boa idéia para construir uma casa tão grande, quando nós só voltávamos cá a cada três anos. Mas é por causa desta casa que veio para passar um ano em Portugal. Um ano que tornou-se em três…e agora onde eu estou a criar os meus filhos. É por causa desta casa que os meus sobrinhos e sobrinhas sentem-se a vontade de vir a Portugal sabendo que eles têm cá casa. É por causa desta casa que os amigos, e até amigos de amigos, têm sido capazes de explorar Portugal de uma aldeia que acolhe todos como se fossem da terra.

Obrigado pai. Qualquer sucesso que tenho tido devo a você e mãe. Para isso estou eternamente grato.

 

Dad

My dad is in Portugal visiting us. It seems silly to say it that way, but he considers the United States his home. Actually, when he ´visited´ us here the first time three years ago, he insisted that it would be the last time he came to Portugal.  He felt he was too old for the trek and that with all his doctors and his ´life´ back in the States it just made more sense for him to be there. I didn´t like it, but I accepted it. 

two years ago

The second spring we were here I called him to tell him that I was going to hire someone to help me plant a garden. Nuno was very interested in agriculture and I had no idea where to start. My father called me two days after that conversation and told me not to hire anyone as he had booked his trip and that he was coming for a month to plant a garden with his grandson. That trip was twice as long as the first one. farmingThis year my father is here for two months. That is in part because my brother is here now and my nephew (another sibling´s child) will be here at the end on August and my dad wanted to be here for them both. 

Last week my father turned 82. In years past he has shied away from parties. But this year he not only agreed to having a party, but he seemed excited at the prospect. A few years back we hosted a birthday party at the house when he was here and he commented that it felt like my mother was present. He is very much a man in love with his wife even though she passed away 18 years ago this month. 

The party was a success. But before the guest left, I toasted this man. 

vovo

After thanking our friend Jack who catered the event, and Ti Evangelina who baked the delicious bread as well as all the guests who brought fruit, veggies, juice and wine I took a minute to thank my dad for two things. 

First I thanked him for taking us to the United States in 1974. My dad took a tremendous gamble seeking a new life for himself and his 7 children. He did so with a 4th grade education, no English but a hell of a lot of desire. Because of him all my siblings were able to return to school. Everyone but Alzira and me was already in the workforce. Their ages ranged from 13-21. America gave us an opportunity that a poor family was not afforded in this country in the 1970s.

Then I thanked him for the house where we were celebrating. My parents renovated that house in the 80’s. No one thought it was a good idea back then to build such a big house when we only came back every few years. But it is because of that house  that we came to spend a year in Portugal. It is because of that house that my nieces and nephews feel they can come to Portugal whenever and know they have a home. It is because of that house that friends, and even friends of friends, have been able to explore Portugal basing themselves in a village that warmly welcomes everyone. 

Thank you daddy. Any success any of us has had we owe to you and mommy and for that I can only be forever grateful.

O Nuno na cozinha

Ontem foi o primeiro dia de férias de verão sem atividades programadas. Infelizmente a Lana acordou com um vírus gastroenterite que a mantinha em casa. Enquanto eu organizei algo para fazer com o Nuno, eu pensei que ele podia-me ajudar a fazer o almoço. Durante o ano escolar, ele tem tantas atividades que é raro que ele pode ajudar a cozinhar. Hoje foi um prazer para nós dois.

20150706_114607

Vou incluir a receita da salada de feijão preto. É mesmo uma delicia.

Salada de Feijão Preto
vegan, vegetariano
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lata de 820g de feijão preto (pase por agua)
  2. 1 lata de 300g de milho doce (espreme a agua)
  3. 1 chavena de cebola cortada ao pequeno
  4. 1 chavena e meia de tomate cortado aos pedaços
  5. 1 abacate cortado em pedaços (não pode estar duro)
  6. 4 colheres de açucar de coentros frescos cortados
  7. 1 dente de alho picado
  8. 1 colher de chá de colorau
  9. 1 colher de chá de cominho em pó
  10. .5 colher de chá de pimenta
  11. 1 colher de chá de sal
  12. 3 culher de sopa de sumo de lima
  13. 2 culher de sopa de azeite
Instructions
  1. Misture a salada. Leve ao frigorífico por pelo menos uma hora. ADORAMOS!
kiwigalo https://kiwigalo.com/

Uma experiência…

Eu tenho um objetivo este ano para melhorar o meu português escrito. Eu realmente preciso escrever alguma coisa em português diariamente. Eu também pensei que seria bom compartilhar algumas receitas para refeições vegan e  vegetarianas que fazemos em casa e que são incrivelmente saudáveis. Há lugares para encontrar tais receitas em português, estou certo, mas eu quero compartilhar esses que nós amamos. Vou tentar fazer isso aqui. Se nada mais, vai ser um trabalho de tradução para mim. E eu estou mesmo a precisar de aperfeiçoar o meu português. e por favor, se você vê erros, por favor, note-los nos comentários. Agora que nós decidimos ficar eu preciso levar isto mais a sério.

An experience….

I have a goal this year and that is to improve my written Portuguese. I really need to write something in Portuguese on a daily basis. I also thought it would be good to share out some recipes for vegan and vegetarian meals that we make and that are incredibly healthy. There are places to find such recipes in Portuguese I am sure, but I want to share the ones that we love. I am going to try to do that here. If you are a monolingual reader….be patient. I will always post in English as well. It is the language that my brain works in.

 

Best black bean salad

People are always astonished that my son is a vegetarian. Astonished and worried. I have one Portuguese friend who adores Evan and she even insisted I get blood work done to prove that he is healthy. I did and he is.

Even so, SO often people communicate their worry about his protein intake. You need not.

This is an example of a salad that is loaded with protein. It is also a salad that is so freaking delicious that there is no way you will miss the meat on your plate.

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Comjack´s Black Bean Salad
Vegan, Vegetarian
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Ingredients
  1. Salad
  2. 2 cups canned black beans, rinsed
  3. 1 cup of onions
  4. 1.5 cups kernal canned corn
  5. 1.5 cups tomato (we sometimes add the tomatoes after as it´s the one fruit Nuno does not like)
  6. 1 avocado (soft, but not brown on the inside)
  7. 4 Tbls cilantro, chopped
  8. 1 clove garlic, minced
  9. Dressing
  10. 1 tsp chili pepper (we do not add this)
  11. 1 tsp paprika
  12. 1 tsp cumin
  13. .5 tsp Ground Pepper
  14. 1 tsp Salt
  15. dash cayenne
  16. 3 Tbls lime
  17. 2 Tbls olive oil
Instructions
  1. Mix up the salad. Mix Dressing and add to salad and toss. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Toss before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
  1. The Comjacks are friends who stayed with us. They more then paid us back for their stay by simply sharing this salad recipe. Thank you Aaron!
kiwigalo https://kiwigalo.com/

Table with a view

I am pretty honest about how lucky I am. One of the aspects of being a stay at home mum is that I get to go out once in a while for lunch. I do not do it as often as you think, but it is something I get to do.

Once a month I do attend a book club where we lunch at member’s houses. Whereas the lunches ‘out’ are reserved typically for going away parties and birthdays. But these lunches where we dine out are typically fantastic. Portugal has so many beautiful spots and such a wide selection of great restaurants.

This past week one of my dearest friends had a birthday lunch. Her request was a patio or veranda with a view. I offered to organize the event and with some research we narrowed down the options to 4 restaurants with ‘esplanadas.’ For myriad reasons we went with Noobai Cafe. It was a gamble as the food reviews were not all great. But every comment was that the view was stunning. It was.

table with a view

My primary concern was that my darling friend have a happy birthday. I of course also wanted the ladies to enjoy themselves. I am quite confident that we accomplished both.

We all live a little outside of Lisbon, so going in for lunch does not happen often enough. The area where Noobai is located is undergoing some serious renovations. But even ‘under construction’ it is a stunning little corner of Lisbon. I will be honest, I did not love my meal, but the sangrias (there were 5 types to sample:) were fantastic, the view was amazing and the service was very good.

I will go back again to explore and this time my husband might be lucky enough to get an invite.

Historic Tour

Lana has been working on a project with three friends where they give a tour of their school and tell you a bit about its history. The original buildings date back to 1750. All the parents in the Portuguese Secondary Section of her school were invited to participate in the 80th Anniversary celebration of the founding of that section of her school. (The school itself was founded in 1932 as an English School, but her section, the Portuguese Curriculum, was established in 1935).

My daughter and her three friends were responsible for the tours. She and C ran the English language tour. While RA & AC ran the Portuguese language tour.

Here are RA & AC leading parents on a Portuguese Language Tour.
portuguese tour

This is Lana talking us through some interesting information about the Palace entrance.

lana stepsAnd here is my American girl (don’t let that flag fool you) with her friend C. C is 100% Portuguese but she did a simply wonderful job guiding the adults in English. No joke. She was great. I congratulated her mother on what a great job she did. It seems my daughter insisted C do the tour in English. Lana told C not only that she was going to do it, but that she could do a great job….SO PROUD!

S&CThe girls are standing in front of some of the 80 (get it, 80th anniversary) words that describe their school. The words are in English, Portuguese and French. These are the three languages they are learning.

And here is the team. I just adore these girls!

girls tour

Magic Medicine…

The three of you that read this blog know that I have ben super sick since Sunday night. First a bad 24 flu, quickly followed by what my doctor determined was a severe case of tonsillitis. He gave me some magic pills and like that I can swallow my own saliva. Oh the small things that make life tolerable. I ‘celebrated’ by waking up at 5:40 to take my daughter to swim with her ‘heart’ team. Totally worth it to see her with one of her best swim buddies.

swimmers

They were actually assigned to lanes 4 apart from each other, but that made it VERY difficult to chat. Somehow G made it into Lana’s lane. Not following the ‘rules’ I am sure, but it made me smile.