on random walls of kreuzberg and friedrichshain.

as always when we go back home, we had a long list of things we’d been craving all year. this year version of the list, scribbled on a notebook page during our long london layover, was promptly snatched by my mom upon arrival. she planned, plotted and delivered what she could cook – the rest was consumed in various cafés and small restaurants here and there. kilos were gained and we left today with a happy belly and more cholesterol that we can afford… it went a bit like this (click images for bigger):

meiadeleite

croissants

salame de chocolate

bola de berlim

jesuítas

broas de mel

pastéis de nata

bola de carne caseira

doce de tomate da mãe

alheira

bifinhos com cogumelos

bacalhau à qualquer coisa

francesinha!!

leite creme

pão

bolo rei de chocolate

sonhos

pataniscas de bacalhau

bacalhau à brás

meias de leite & croissants

ucal & croissants

medronhos

pão de ul & regueifa doce

queijo limiano & marmelada

yes, we have a slight obsession with portuguese croissants (booo to puff pastry croissants!), traditional pastries and bread. and codfish. i suppose there’s no food like the food you grew up with, eh? what does your mom cook when you go home? :)

consoada, the family dinner on christmas eve, is the epitome of christmas celebrations in portugal. families get together and a ton of food, homemade wine and sweets are consumed. there’s nothing fancy about it: everybody brings something and we share it all. and then, when people are nearing sugar coma, santa claus descends upon us and distributes the presents. because the family is quite big and loves to give cleverly disguised gag gifts, the process takes hours… plus for the first time in a really long time, there’s a baby in the family again – his name is martim, and he loves to help people tear the wrapping paper off their presents! :)

it never gets old! :)

these two baby goats that paulo’s father is raising!

they’re a few weeks old and really curious about everything. they’ll pull your clothes to get your attention, hop around and even escape the barn if given a chance! their eyes are a little creepy – but did you know their rectangular irises gives them a 320 – 340 degree vision? that’s right, they don’t even need to move their head to see practically everything around them!

we’ll be in portugal for the next couple of weeks, crying on friend’s weddings, soaking in the sun and the warm embraces of our family and friends, and trying to resist the lure of delicious cholesterol. wish us luck!

currently lurking and without many words to share. this too shall pass.

i’ve been away from this blog. after the last post, there were 5 weeks of surgery-and-recovery on the countryside. p’s mom is doing fine at the moment, and so we’ve moved on with our life… which brought us to our original plan: slovenia! :D

we arrived to ljubljana late last thursday, after a pretty intense 3-day roadtrip across portugal, spain, france and italy. we got good weather for traveling, mostly sunny/cloudy weather, with no rain, and lots of lovely autumn views.



noted on the way here:
* we crossed a thousand different versions of seats, citroens, renaults and lancias… but also lots of luxury brand suvs (bmw, mercedes, audi) which, given the current gas prices, is quite odd.
* in italy, you collect a toll ticket at the border with france, proceed to cross the country, and then pay the toll fee on the border with slovenia – it’s brilliant! in france, we stopped 12 times to pay toll fees…

* why the hell is portugal the country with less speed cameras among its neighbours? don’t we have one of the highest traffic accident rates in the world? :/


* i was expecting tunnels on this trip, but nobody prepared me for côte d’azur. it was kilometer after kilometer of tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge… bridges are ok, but i don’t like tunnels that much… at a certain point all i wanted was to stop right there and let paulo drive… why is there never a service area when you need it?

on a positive note, our car handled the trip without breaking a sweat!

so we’re here, discovering the city and looking for a place to stay. more updates when we get that milestone accomplished :)

this blog is missing some serious food reviews. i am in portugal after all, and of all the places i’ve visited, i’ve never met another so brimming with yummy culinary deliciousness. thing is, portugal is also my “home by default”, meaning, the place we get lazy about moving our butts because we think we already know all there is to know. you know what? definitely not true.

like ovos moles, for instance, which i had never tried before. so let’s do this!


before though, i should warn you that traditional portuguese desserts or sweets are known to be made of dozens of eggs and a ton of sugar, and ovos moles is no exception. moderate consumption is advised.
ovos moles’ origins are tied to several convents in the beira litoral region, where the nuns used the sweets to strengthen the patients. it is said that the reason most conventual sweets use lots of egg yolks is because the nuns used the egg whites to iron their clothes, making them whiter in the process :)

so, on a recent visit to aveiro, we got a box and took it home, to properly enjoy. aveiro is a river/seaside region, so ovos moles are wrapped in various shell motives and often offered in small boats or decorated barrels.

the outside layer is dry but melts in your tongue like the wafers they give in mass. the inside is where the sweet action is. it tastes of eggs and sugar, naturally, and one of this tiny things will be enough to kick your body into instant sugar rush :)



so now you know! they’re quite nice so go get some if you’re in town! :)