My Spring Garden

MY GARDEN

What a joy to finally be able to be outside and enjoy the sun in my garden!

I have spent the weekend planting the last buganvilles, while I searched for the new flowers and surprised my eyes with beauty.

My friends offered me orange trees that we then planted on blue outside pots , it tooks us a while to figure out the best way to plant them but it as worthwhile as it looks wonderful.

I saw for the first time in my garden the flower of the banana tree here below, glowing on a silver purple dress looking like the queen of the garden.

Crazy little thing called love

After millions of definitions for the word Love we still question ourselves – what is exactly the best way to define love?
Well, although it is such an old fashion subject I still want to write about it.
Love it’s too complex to define and every person in the universe will always have a different definition because you can only describe it the way you feel it.
Love walks many roads and shows some mysterious ways.
Is love the same across the world? Do people react and love the same way?



Is love in India the same as in Sweden or in Portugal?
Yes, love is the same, it is the way you expose and show it ,that is different.

For me it is like a father that does not want to hug his child – will this father loves less? No, it is the way people react that is different.
Will an old person love their pet, a singer loves their music, a cook loves their food, a husband loves their wife or a mother loves their child the same way?
Yes, the difference is how much you give of yourself.

Love will only reveal if you are you, real and exposed, fearless, sad or happy.
Love is when a smile becomes your reason to live, a reason to be grateful.
Love is when you can’t imagine life without that person.
Love is baking a cake with my mom on rainy Saturday’s.
Love is my baby brother saying «you are beautiful»
Love is butterflies on your stomach
Love is in the small details, the strong hand shake, the hug you give.
Love is partnership, union and complicity.
Love is friendship.
Love is my grandmother giving herself to all of us.
Love is my friends, our laughing moments, our sad moments, our fights.
Love is a battlefield.
Love is believing.
Love is how happy you can get for making someone happy.
Love is holding hands on Christmas Eve.
Love is singing out loud my joy for living
Love is attention
Love happens to soul mates – friends, boyfriends, family
You cannot search for love, it just happens, you just feel it, you just can’t stop thinking about it.

Why do people sometimes say “This crazy thing called Love”?
Just because love makes you change, makes you wanna dive in an ocean of happiness and peace, makes you do things that sound and look crazy to others but to you they make all the sense .
Love is never quite what you think.

Rio de Janeiro - City of Arts (April 2009)

As usually, I always make sure to take time for some cultural treats as Rio is a fascinating city in what concerns art, music, theatre.

From what I saw, I would like to recommend:

• The exhibition of Os Gemeos at the CCBB



• The theater A Gloriosa
  

The CCBB is in the heart of the city and is showing works of the duo Os Gêmeos (Portuguese for The Twins) which are graffiti artist identical twin brothers (born 1974) from São Paulo , Brazil, whose real names are Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo.

They started painting graffiti in 1987 and gradually became a main influence in the local scene, helping to define Brazil's own style.

Their work often features yellow-skinned characters - taken from the yellow tinge both of the twins have in their dreams - but is otherwise diverse and ranges from tags to complicated murals.

Subjects range from family portraits to commentary on São Paulo's social and political circumstances, as well as Brazilian folklore. Their graffiti style was influenced by both traditional hip hop style and the Brazilian graffiti movement.

THEATER «A GLORIOSA» at the Fashion Mall theater.

The theater was also a great experience as Marilia Pera is one of the greatest brazilian artists and she performs magnificiently the role of Florence Foster Jenkins in A GLORIOSA.

It tells the true story of a rich american girl that after her father death , decided to invest all her money on a carreer as singer but she never had talent and despite that she ended up singing at the famous Carnegie Hall in NYC.

NOBU Matsuhisa - The best of Japan abroad?

The international celebrity chef Nobu is known for his fusion cuisine which blends traditional Japanese dishes with Peru and Argentine ingredients.

Who amongst the passionate for Japanese food, don’t know NOBU?

Nobu Matsuhisa is a visionary who dared to challenge the deep roots of the gastronomic traditions of his home country while facing a lot of controversy and reactions from colleagues.

He changed some of the most traditional recipes and before he opened his first restaurant in NYC , he presented his ideas to chefs and opinion leaders but the comments where quite disappointing - «will give you no more than 6 months to close down…» - chefs in Japan are very conservative.

He is the founder of the new Japanese cuisine.
He brought to the traditional world of sushi , the flavours and spices of countries like Peru where he lived.

It has been difficult to somehow consolidate restaurants such as NOBU in very competitive cities such as NYC or London, as you need to have constant new offers.

Off course that in this case , it also helps to have a great team of celebrity supports that include Bill Clinton, Tony Blair , etc in addition to a celebrity partner – Robert de Niro.
Today, NOBU is a total of 22 restaurants across the 9 countries and it is only down to the already famous obsessive training to his staff, that the quality of food and service is guaranteed – everyone has o follow the NOBU philosophy which does not accept:

- Cooks without ambition
- Dish without soul
- Manager with bad face

The staff is trained to make the visit to the restaurant an experience out of the ordinary. If this happens , the customer will return.
It is curious that Tokyo is the city in the world that gathers the biggest number of restaurants featuring Michelin stars , however so traditional , conservative and closed culture.

I believe that in this business the secret is to be humble and always open new ideas, gastronomy is a parallel world in which people can spend hours debating on a mushroom.

I also belong to this tribe.

Magical Black Garlic

It was not until recently that I discovered the power of this ingredient - this is no ordinary garlic.

Black garlic is unlike anything you’ve ever tried before and hopefuly you are lucky enough to try it.
This is simple food with a wonderful flavor. Black garlic is sweet yet savory. It has a tender, almost jelly-like texture.

Hard to believe, but true. It’s as delicious as it is unique.
However Black Garlic is not Raw Garlic - Imagine garlic without all of the annoying stuff. Bad breath? Odor?

We’re talking about two distinct flavors. So you can keep eating garlic , just make sure you start eating black garlic.
It is almost like wine , it gets better with age.

In addition Garlic black a whole lot of benefits for your Health
In Taoism mythology, black garlic was rumored to grant immortality. there’s no doubt that black garlic is great for your health as it has twice as many antioxidants as raw garlic.

Black garlic is all-natural. It’s aged for a month in a special fermentation process under high heat, where it develops its darker color, softer texture, and sweeter taste.

I recommend this wonderful soup:

Black Garlic and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

■ 3 tablespoons of olive oil

■ 1 carrot very finely diced

■ 1 onion very finely chopped

■ 1 stick of celery very finely chopped

■ 1 400g can of chopped tomatoes

■ 3 cloves of peeled black garlic

■ 1 tablespoon of tomato puree

■ 1 - 2 teaspoons of caster sugar (to taste)

■ 1 teaspoon of dried oregano

■ Salt and black pepper

1. Pour the olive oil into a large pan. Heat until hot. Add the carrot, onion and celery and sweat until soft but not coloured.

2. Crush the black garlic cloves and add to the vegetables.

3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes.

4. Add the tomato puree and oregano. Season with salt and black pepper.

5. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour on a very low heat. If the sauce is too thick add a little hot vegetable stock.

6. Check for seasoning and then add sugar to taste.

Almond Blossom

Each February when the Spring starts raising , the counties across Portugal join efforts once more to celebrate another «Blossoming Douro» or «Blossoming in Algarve» Festivals, in honour of the wonderful sight of the almond blossom that covers the landscape with a white mantle.

The almonds in blossom are Portugal’s announcement of spring, an echo of how China’s plum tree flowers greet the lunar New Year. In fact, the almond tree is closely related to plums, peaches and apricots.
But what about those flowers? This branch, among its many other magical properties, burst into bloom signifying “the exclusive right to the priesthood of the tribe of Levi.”

One of the loveliest times to visit the Algarve region of Portugal is late January when the Almond trees are smothered in blossom and a gentle sun warms the earth.

I think it is one of the most beautiful periods of my country...

S. Gabriel Restaurant Almancil Portugal

It is long due for me to write about this restaurant, one of my favorites in the Algarve.

Outside stunning landscaped gardens welcome the guests before they enter the walls of the villa.

Anyone entering the Sao Gabriel is immediately aware of just how warm is the front of house manager Susy , an effervescent presence and charm personified.

This is the difference, the atmosphere only long experience , dedication and passion from Susy and owner Rudi can produce.
An effortless balancing act between familiarity and professionalism: a Fine line , making guests feel at easy , special and incredibly welcome.
I know Susy for many years and try to go back every year because she is one of those special persons that make what they are suppose to be doing.

This one star Michelin restaurant serves the perfect food , modern and balanced, using fresh local organic ingredients presents a lighter mediterranean cuisine.

Excellent!

The New Star of RB Music Janelle Monáe

I have heard from my mother about a new RB singer called Janelle Monáe.

For the first time i heard her voice i was "confused" because that voice remainded me so much of Beyoncé and other huge music idols like James Brown.

Janelle has a very different way of singing and expressing her feelings on the lyrics she writtes,she has also a different style thefact she uses smoking suits...

She considers herself very "Rare" but incredibly cool in her music and also thinks she is a leader and a business woman.

Studied in New York but moved right away to Atlanta to look for her dream of being a Star and it was there that she started her way on music path.

She's a great artist and in only a few months she has been considered one of the best 'Negro' voices of all times.

My bucket List

Some dreams live on in time forever

These dreams, you want with all your heart

And I'll do whatever it takes

Follow through with the promise I made

Put it all on the line

What I hoped for at last would be mine

If I could reach, higher

Just for one moment touch the sky

This is beautiful poem I read once and which has inspired me to put on paper the list of thing I want to do in my life.

The movie "My bucket list" and the nostalgic winter of Portugal, helped me realizing that we all should have a list of the dreams and goals to achieve on a lifetime.

This list will have to power to help us dream , to help us get the courage, the faith and hope for the days to come.

The bucket list is what you are running for.

I have a simple dream

• To have more time for me and my family.
• To live in a different country for one year.
• To adopt a child from a needed country.
• To spend time voluntary work in Africa.
• To own a retirement home.
• To learn a new language or more.
• To have a purifying holiday in some holistic place on earth.
• To go on a cake decoration course .
• To go on a flower arrangement course.
• To go on a photography course.
• To make a round-world trip.
• To live enough so I can see my grandchildren.
• To have a holiday with my best friends.
• To own a small restaurant where I could cook every day .
  

Marmelada - Quince Jam and Gelly

It's been a while... I have been running around and no time for blogging.
Winter is the month of quince in Portugal and therefore many people still home makes the famous Marmelada. I guess that the name comes from marmelade but it is a unique taste and texture. It has not been a good year for this fruit but I had a few kilos from my trees and as always spent a weekend making marmelada.

Quince is a fruit but I have never seen it been eaten any other way than as a jam, I guess because it is quite hard and bitter.

As a jam, you can keep it for one year if stored in a cool place.

This is how I make it , usually for 2 kgs of quince , i use 1,5 kgs of white sugar.

Start by peeling the fruit and in a bowl place the fruit skins and on the other place the fruit already cut in quarters. Remove the seeds and add these to the skins bowl.Put a large pan of water to boil and add the fruit. Let it cook for 15 minutes until is soft.
Remove from the water and in a food processor make a pure.Place the sugar in a pan over medium heat with 1 cup of water from cooking the quince.

Let the sugar melt totally and add the pure.

It will cook 1,5 hours in medium to low heat. Once ready , pick a spoon and take a small piece that you place on a cool surface and when cold , put your finger tip gently and if it sticks , it is ready.

Place in small bowls without lid and let it dry on air for one day. Cover it with parchment paper and store.

Great to eat with cheese.

Now make the gelly.

Place the skins and seeds in a pan and cover with water. Bring to boil for at least 1 hour.

Strain the skins over a clean pan and keep the water. Disregard the skins.

Now use a clean cloth and strain the water again , to make sure that it will became translucide.

Now for 2 L of water , add 1,5 kgs of white suger.

Bring to medium heat for 1,5 hours until it gets a gelly consistency.

Place in containers with lids that are totally airproof. It can be stored for over 1 year.
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SEVILLE - SPAIN

This is a city I love and for so many reasons!

Since very early I come to Seville at least one day in the Summer and the sun , the heat , the oranges , the memories, the light, the tapas are always a reason to come back.According to legend, Sevilla was founded by Hercules.

Place of Spain

Sevilla lies on the banks of the Guadalquivir and is one of the largest historical centres in Europe, it has the minaret of La Giralda, the cathedral and the Alcázar Palace.

Some quarters are famous for the typical cobalt narrow streets ,Triana , La Macarena, Santa Cruz and San Bartolomé but mostly La Maestranza bullring below.
Seville is famous for being joyous town. The city of Carmen, Don Juan and Figaro.

The Hotel Alfonso XIII one landmark of Sevilla. The Sevillians have their most important events in Fería de Abril, where the men parade on their fine horses and the women dance in their coloured gypsy dresses and the Holy week.

The Giralda is one of the most magnificent buildings in Seville and dominates the skyline.

Sevilla is also the home of one of my favorite hotels - HACIENDA BENAZUZA

EAT , PRAY , LOVE

Some weeks ago, I wrote on my right column (the one that people don't really read...) that I recommended this book but since I now finished it, I decided to make a dedicated post to that experience.

Not that it is any literary supremacy but for the simplicity, funny and heartbreaking way the author writes, which puts you as the main character.

It is so easy to put yourself on her shoes and no matter what, you are driven to stop for some minutes and analyse your own life.

She is brave, intelligent, enthusiast and strongly in search of her own identity and soul.

No matter how much you have achieved, there are moments when you just want to fill yourself with the power and the courage to put your life in stand-by and for one year , one single year , do anything that you have been postponing for years , anything that you just want to do for no reason, a time for you away from anything that might distract you from finding who you really are. 

I could not stop myself from thinking, how many of us would like to make this, just for one moment in a whole life to be able to stop with no judgements.

I guess that those who red it cannot be indiferent to the situations and moments she  faced on her journey to meet her own God.

Her trip is fullfilled with mistic dreams, visions and dialogues between her and her mind.

This best seller is the real story of Elizabeth Gilbert , which after a nasty divorce, decide to take one year to do things she always dreamed but never had the chance to achieve.

She decide to make a journey through the pleasures of the food in Italy without any feeling of self conscience about the weight she would later put on (and regret...), she then gave herself to the life in a ashram in India in search of the peace of mind so much dreamed about and finally the encounter of love in Indonesia.

This is a book writen by a woman for women and it is much more than a simple story , it is a notice to all of us - Search for your dreams.

One thing I took from this book:

You rather live your own destiny in a unperfect way than someone else life in a perfect way.

A TEA IN THE ISLAND

Gorreana is the name of the only tea made in Europe, in Portugal and in the Azores Island. It seams that we have kept a secret and a tresory undiscovered as in fact, even in Portugal so many people never heard about this fabulous tea, and this centenary unique ritual.

It looks like green veins covering the mountains on the beautiful emerald cost line of San Miguel, drawing lines of bucolic landscape.

This plant called camelia sinensis was brought to the Azores first from Brasil but it was not until later in 1873 that the first lot of dried tea was made by the hands of chinese that not only brought the rights seads but also the knowledge.

This is the camelia sinensis plant.

The tea is made by the traditional process denominated Hysson, a technique that uses steam and produces three different types of black tea and one of green tea.

The black is Orange Pekoe mader with the first leaf , the Pekoe made with second leaf and Broken leaf made with the third leaf.

The weather in the Azores island is perfect for the plantation of tea as it rains all year.

Here the different teas of Gorreana.

STARDOM RESTAURANTS

Most people know about my passion for food and I am often asked:

What really makes a «star restaurant»?

So much is written about the subject and yet how do you know a restaurant is stardom?

Off course , in this subject , as in most other, opinions spread out from one extreme to the other and while some people go out for dinner just for the food, others go for the whole combination of going out.

The menu does not always have to be written in french or abuse of the nouvelle cuisine or even be molecular cuisine , it has to do with the carisma and how long did the doors opened.

For me a perfect restaurant is a combination of:

food, service, the wine list , location and off course the atmosphere ... so many criterion's yet, it can be a simple Tratoria in Italy, simple grilled sardines outside in Portugal, fusion cuisine at Asia de Cuba , molecular cooking at El Bulli , great Japonese at Nobu - but one single word - excellence!

From the 50 best in the world , El Bulli is again ahead in the parade and 36 of the world's *** michelin are located in France.

I know this: Greatness is never effortless.

When people ask Ferran Adrià of Spain’s El Bulli if he’d dreamed he might one day be considered the world’s best chef, he replied, “Absolutely not. I never looked for this. It was not in the script. It wasn’t logical for a Spanish cook to think this.”

Here some of my stardom favorites:

1. Le Bernardin New York's internationally acclaimed four star seafood restaurant. The impeccable French service is the best. And then there's the chef, Eric Ripert, who, unlike most super-chefs , tends to stay in his kitchen and cook.
   
2. Villa Joya - Albufeira, Portugal 's single two michelin star restaurant. Wonderful location above the clouds, aboce the cliff. Welcome to Paradise.


3. I-Thai, at the Hempel in London boasts a stunning modern décor that firmly places it amongst the classiest in London. Fusion Italian and Thai is amongst my favorite places as it combines two of my favorite cuisines


4. S. Gabriel - Almancil Portugal - I will make soon a full article about this place that I specially love.
   
5. DOM in Brasil it is the only restaurant of latin american amongst the best in the world. Chef Alex Atala has found the perfect combination of brazilian ingredients and french classic cuisine.


6. NOBU London - I love all the NOBU restaurants for the atmosphere and the innovative japanese food but the Nobu in London is special and was the first Asian restaurant to receive a Michelin star.


7. River Cafe in NYC - mostly and above all for the incredible view of Manhattan skyline and the incredible wine list.


8. Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo avec Chef Alain Ducasse - located just besides the Monte Carlo casino and surrounded with history this is a unique location.
   
9. El Bulli in Roses Spain with Chef Ferrán Adriá - I have already explained on another post the reasons for this restaurant to be a stardom.

Nestling by the river and open to the sea...

... this is the proud and modern city of Porto.
Along the coast, holiday resorts and cosmopolitan beaches, busy ports like Matosinhos, with splendid seafood grilled open air , or traditional fishing towns.
Right next to Porto you can visit, in Vila Nova de Gaia, the lodges where Port wine is blended and aged and where you can taste the different varieties, or you may choose to take a river cruise along the Douro. Porto is Portugal´s second largest city and there is a certain feeling of rivalry towards Lisbon. But although its ancient roots have been preserved with pride, a modern and lively commerce makes it a thriving city and its traditional importance as an industrial center does not diminish the charm and character of its old quarters or even of the newer and busy avenues, shopping centers and quiet residential blocks.


The Cathedral area deserves to be explored, with its various monuments, such as the Renaissance church of Santa Clara, and the quarter of Barredo, which appears not to have changed since medieval times. The riverside quarter of Ribeira is also delightful, with narrow streets, typical houses and picturesque life-style: it has been recently restored and now includes fashionable restaurants and bars.


Lello & Irmão Bookstore - in 2008 The Guardian newspaper classified it as the third most beautiful bookshop in the world. The current builing dates from 1903 which was the time when it was re-launched by this two brothers. At that time, onw writer defined this bookstore as a temple to the divine worship of Emotion and Idea.





Equally lively and colourful is the market of Bolhão, where you can buy almost anything, but more elegant shops can be seen nearby, especially the jewelleries and leather goods shops in the Baixa (down-town).
UNESCO for the classification of the Oporto Historic Centre as Heritage of international importance.
Porto affords many other attractions, monuments and museums, as well as a cultural agenda which has been steadily improving. With a well-known gastronomy and hospitable population, it is also the starting point to explore the river Douro in an unforgettable journey upstream.



Clerigos tower , is without a doubt, Porto's most famous monument but the set of six bridges that link the south is its modern equivalent.



Porto is also known of its romantic hideaways, walks and escapes. Caminhos do Romântico.






Porto's living room is the café unlikely any other portuguese city, keeping with two hundred years of tradition, here café's are preserved and restored. Café Majestic on Rua Santa Catarina, is the king of all of the city's café's with its 1920's elegance.




Foz do Douro quarter - the sands don't extend very far. Porto beaches are urban , sandwiched between the rocks but giving a spetacular dance of waves and colours.

Avenida Brasil a weekend favorite for families to jog, play, walk or just enjoy sun at one of the many beach pavement cafés.



Two of the main cultural attractions of Portugal are found in Porto. The Serralves Contemporary Art Museum and Casa da Música , born in 2001 for the European Capital of Culture, Casa da Música has changed the city's arquitecture but also the musical panorama.

The art quarter - Miguel Bombarda is part of COOL PORTO programme, this small street joins together dozens of art galeries that monthly and simultaneously launch new exihbition capativating the interest of clients, dealers or just people with alternative ways of living.

The street also offers a great choice of restaurants, bookstores ,retro-cool furniture, alternative interior design, desig, music, etc

Tascas old fashioned taberns in Porto are a major institution. There are still some 80 old style taberns and they were often called as places of freedom , as it was here that working men on the 19th century would meet friends.