A Porto Getaway!

By Ana Patuleia Ortins   Now that you have decided to go to Portugal, specifically a Porto Getaway, let the planning begin!  I hope I can help you plan your Porto Getaway or at least lead you in the right direction.  I am not…
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Azevias de Grao (Chickpea Pastry)

Did I mention our love of Azevias de Grao (chickpea turnovers)?  We love chickpeas. Seriously, you can see we even use them in desserts. The name Azevia indicates a type of flounder to which these pastries are somewhat shaped when folded over.…

Valentines Day

Valentines Day will soon be here and I want to share some menu ideas. The quick and very easy starter of Shrimp with Goat Cheese is a big favorite, page 220 in my book Authentic Portuguese Cooking.  A combination of shrimp simmered in an…

My Father's Alentejo

I heard the stories so many times they made my father's Alentejo mine.  Tales of men working in the fields and others harvesting cork on our cousin’s family cork farm were told and retold. If not from my father, I would hear stories from…
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Stomping Grapes for Wine

Stomping Grapes for Wine is work, but nevertheless Dona Maria vineyard and some others continue the old method of stomping grapes for wine by foot trod rather than the modern mechanical means.  The reason?  There is a belief that foot trod…