October Foodie Penpals Reveal

I'm having so much fun with Foodie Penpals! What a great way to brighten this Autumn. Deciding what to send, getting a "present"... It's as if it's our birthday every month, but even better because all gifts are great and filled with positive vibes. 

This month my Foodie Penpal was Lynsey [Thank you Thank you Thank you] - and her boyfriend. ;) When I opened the parcel - really! - I could hardly believe so many treats could fit in there!

I have 50% chances of opening it the right way. I always manage to open it from the bottom side. 

Gingerbread
WHY? WHY ISN'T IT SOLD IN PORTUGAL? WHY? [The honeyish touch reminds me of Madeira's honey cake]

Oatcakes
These have been my company for breakfast. With Keeley's quince jelly, for instance.
I have to find a similar brand here, because I've become quite addicted to them.

Wasabi bean mix
It reminded me of the first time I tried wasabi, not knowing how it would taste like. 2 glasses of water, if you're wondering.

Dark chocolate with chilli
No words needed.

Nick Nairn's All butter Shortbread Rounds
I want the pleasure of having him cooking for me every week. Too much? Ok, every month then.

Parma Violets
I'm madly in love with the fragrance, let alone the taste. I'd definitely buy them and take them with me everywhere if they sold them here. 

Marmite
Had heard so much of it, but had never tasted it. Four words: THANK YOU, LYNSEY'S BOYFRIEND!

Cute.

As last month, ideas started coming over what to do with the treats. I've used quite a few and will be using them over the next weeks, so expect some recipes with these ingredients later!

My feelings while I was taking this photo: "Is this real life?"

September Foodie Penpals - What I sent

And to check a photo of what I sent to Rachel, go to Silver & Green's lovely Facebook page. Again, this was my first time so I had as much fun trying to think of what I wanted to send as I was afraid it would be lost in the mail or she wouldn't like it. All's well that ends well.

What I sent [in words]:

- a known Portuguese brand of piri-piri sauce, along with a recipe of the famous Portuguese chicken piri-piri

- a small bottle of Port wine [it goes beautifully with a lot of desserts]

- a can [I was afraid a bottle would break on the way] of a known Portuguese brand of olive oil

- ovos moles [a delicacy from where I live, made of egg yolks and sugar]

Can't wait for next time!

***

E para verem uma foto do que enviei à Rachel, vão à página de Facebook da Silver & Green. Mais uma vez, esta foi a minha primeira vez por isso diverti-me a pensar no que queria enviar mas também tive receio que se perdesse no correio ou que ela não gostasse. Tudo está bem quando acaba bem.

O que enviei [em palavras]:

- uma marca conhecida de molho piri-piri, juntamente com uma receita do famoso frango piri-piri português

- uma garrafinha de vinho do Porto [fica maravilhoso com uma série de sobremesas]

- uma lata [tinha medo que se enviasse uma garrafa se partisse no caminho] de uma marca portuguesa conhecida de azeite

- ovos moles [um doce de onde vivo, feito com gemas e açúcar]

Mal posso esperar pela próxima vez!

September Foodie Penpals Reveal

Do you know when you're a foodie? When your family and friends start hinting you might be one. 

After long years of all-the-kitchen-to-myself fun and the realization that my family and I had planned our Summer holiday destination only for gourmet reasons [not mentioning all the other holidays where I always insist I have the local dishes], I've decided it was time to share some of the fun I have cooking - even if the result is a bit disappointing. You won't get it right unless you try, right?

I've always been interested particularly in regional cuisine and food, so when I came across the Foodie Penpals programme I saw the opportunity both to get to know other people and what they value in terms of food [using them as a mirror to get a sense of culture] and play with those ingredients and the food I treasure and give it a twist.

My Foodie Penpal was Keeley Watts, from Phatcupcake's Journey to Skinniness. We immediately got in touch and among other things she asked me what I'd particularly like to receive. This was my first month involved in the program, so no previous reading would prepare me to answer that simple-yet-most-difficult-ever question. All I know is that the days that followed were really long.

But as I told Keeley in a much-excited e-mail, while I was waiting for the post office lady to hand me the parcel, I was startled with her attitude: she kept looking at something written on the parcel and back to myself with questioning eyes. It turned out it only took 2 days for the parcel to get from England to Portugal: wow. Even the lady was surprised.

"EAT ME", said the parcel on my table.

What I got from lovely Keeley was an amazing giftbag of all-things Devon, which was amazing, really. 

The contents of the parcel. How exciting! 

1. The Quince Jelly. One of my companies for breakfast in the last couple of days. I'm originally from Ribatejo, an area in the centre of Portugal which is one of the biggest producers of quince in the country, so this is a product I treasure in my heart, besides my mouth. This is made of Devon grown fruit, which makes it even more interesting - to taste something familiar but grown somewhere distant at the same time.

2. The spicy vegetable soup mix, out of Indian spice blends. And again, "made in Devon". Well, this was a real treat. I love Indian flavours and fragrances, but I always end up repeating the same recipes at home, so this inspired me to cook other dishes - and not just the soup suggested at the back, I should add. 

3. The fudge. Oh. My. God. The fudge. This is a type of confectionary we don't have in Portugal and I'm starting to wonder why. It's extremely rich and sweet and it should be sold in small portions, really. I had the battle of my life against my hands, who kept forcing me to have more and more and more. Boy, that thing's dangerous, isn't it? I eventually decided to use it in some recipes, as a way to postpone its extinction.

Sugar, condensed milk, milk, butter and clotted cream? Really nuts.

4. The chilli chocolate felt like something that fell from the sky. I love those sweet hot explosions of taste so I immediately thought: wait, I've got plans for you, babe.

Thank you, Keeley, and congratulations, Carol Anne and Lindsay, on such a valuable program.

On the next couple of days, I'll be posting some of the experiments I have done / am planning to do with these delicious ingredients.

***

Sabes quando é que és um "foodie"? Quando a tua família e os teus amigos começam a dar a entender que és um. 

Depois de anos de diversão de cozinha-só-para-mim e de me aperceber que a minha família e eu planeámos o nosso destino de férias de verão apenas por razões gourmet [sem contar com todas as outras férias onde sempre insisti provar os pratos locais], decidi que estava na altura de partilhar algum do prazer que tenho em cozinhar - mesmo que o resultado seja decepcionante. Mas não vais acertar se não tentares, certo?

Sempre me interessei por alimentos e pratos regionais, por isso quando me apercebi da existência do programa Foodie Penpals vi a oportunidade de conhecer outras pessoas e aquilo a que dão valor em termos de comida [usando-os como um espelho para obter uma amostra de cultura] e brincar com esses ingredientes e com a comida à qual dou valor, dando-lhe qualquer coisa de diferente.

A minha "Foodie Penpal" foi a Keeley Watts, do Phatcupcake's Journey to Skinniness. Imediatamente entrámos em contacto uma com a outra e entre outras coisas perguntou-me o que gostaria particularmente de receber. Este foi o meu primeiro mês envolvida no programa, por isso não havia leitura prévia suficiente que me preparasse para responder a esta pergunta simples-e-no-entanto-a-mais-difícil-de-todo-o-sempre. Só sei que os dias que se seguiram foram mesmo longos.

Mas como disse à Keeley num e-mail muito emocionado, enquanto estava à espera que a senhora dos correios me desse a caixa, fiquei de orelha levantada com a atitude dela: só olhava para qualquer coisa escrita na caixa e depois para mim, com olhos inquisidores. Afinal, a caixa só demorou 2 dias a chegar da Inglaterra a Portugal: wow. Até a senhora estava surpreendida.


O que eu recebi da simpática Keeley foi um giftbag cheio de coisas de Devon, que foi mesmo fantástico. 

1. A Geleia de Marmelo. Uma das minhas companhias para pequeno almoço nos últimos dias. Sou originalmente do Ribatejo, uma zona no centro de Portugal que é uma das maiores produtoras de marmelos no país, por isso este é um produto ao qual dou valor no meu coração, para além de na minha boca. É feita a partir de fruta cultivada em Devon, o que ainda torna tudo mais interessante - provar algo familiar mas cultivado num local distante ao mesmo tempo.

2. A mistura condimentada para sopa de vegetais, com condimentos Indianos. E mais uma vez, "feito em Devon". Bem, isto é que foi um regalo. Adoro sabores e fragrâncias indianos, mas acabo sempre por repetir as mesmas receitas em casa, por isso isto inspirou-me para cozinhar outros pratos - e devia acrescentar: não apenas a sopa sugerida na parte de trás. 

3. O fudge. Oh. Meu. Deus. O fudge. Não temos em Portugal e começo a perguntar-me porquê. É extremamente rico e doce e devia mesmo ser vendido em porções pequenas. Travei a batalha da minha vida contra as minhas mãos, que insistiam em forçar-me a comer mais e mais e mais. Aquilo é mesmo perigoso, não é? Eventualmente decidi usá-lo em algumas receitas, como forma de adiar a sua extinção..

4. O chocolate com chilli pareceu-me qualquer coisa caída do céu. Adoro aquelas explosões de sabor doces e picantes por isso pensei logo: espera, tenho planos para ti, bebé.


Obrigada, Keeley, e parabéns, Carol Anne e Lindsay, por um programa com tanto valor.

Nos próximos dias vou publicar algumas das experiências que tenho feito / vou fazer com estes ingredientes deliciosos.