currently lurking and without many words to share. this too shall pass.
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Category: in portugal
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ovos moles
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! :)
angeiras and some other beach south of porto, 2009. i really missed this.
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tupperware hunting
we started geocaching a few months ago, following tips by mundoo and vera. in shanghai there wasn’t much to hunt and besides, people are everywhere and they’re especially curious of us, the foreigners acting suspiciously…
in portugal though, there are tons of caches, hidden a bit everywhere, so there are really no excuses not to go find them. i especially enjoy the ones that take us to far away places, make us climb rocky hills or wander around in the middle of bushes that scratch our knees… or discover strange geological phenomena or some little known historical fact.
it’s fun, there are caches everywhere, and it makes another great excuse for a roadtrip! :) who knows what you’ll find?
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june family gathering
once a year, around my grandpa’s birthday, the family gets together to celebrate. my mom has 7 brothers and sisters, all married and with kids, and some of my cousins now have kids as well… more people than we can sit at a table :)
it was the first time in 3 years that i was actually around to attend the party, so there were 3 new additions to the family that i had yet to meet, the smallest of which was just 1 week old :)
in typical portuguese fashion, there’s enough food to feast a full orchestra and plenty of house wine. the party drags itself into the night when we end up singing happy birthday to a sleepy grandpa :)
it’s a recent tradition, put in place by my mother, who by the way is the most unstoppable creature on earth. she has been holding on 2 jobs ever since she graduated, and all this while raising 2 kids and doing a second masters. she’s just been assigned to coordinate the nurses in the infectious & contagious diseases ward of the hospital (smack in the middle of the h1n1 crisis, no less). i cannot tell in words how immensely proud i am of this little stubborn creature and all she has accomplished :)