Let's get cooking #2

I have been here...



Caprese Garlic Bread

One of our favourite to eat after long runs. It's delicious!

Recipe here

Salted Cod Portuguese Pastéis

More portuguese is impossible.

Recipe here

Meatballs in Curry Sauce

For a bit of spice in our lives.

Recipe here

Filled Mini Meatloaves

Why to use muffin trays only for muffins?

Recipe here

These and other recipes at The Swedish and the Chef page. 

The Sara Way #2

Some day in January:
Sara and J. plan to go to the embassy.
Sara and J. take the metro.
Sara and J. change to tram number 1.
All pretty easy using the public transportation plan in pdf downloaded on their phone.
Sara and J. get to the embassy in 30min.


Some day in February:
Sara plans to go to the embassy.
Sara takes the metro.
Sara changes to tram number 1.
Sara understands that tram number 1 doesn't go through the way it should.
Sara tries to check the pdf with the map but it's corrupted and doesn't open.
Sara leaves the tram and takes the next one.
Sara gets at the stop and a funny tourist blocks the door on purpose.
Sara is not able to reach the button to open the door on time.
Sara is forced to leave in the following stop.
Sara walks back.
Sara finally gets to the embassy.
It took an hour...

Sei que já sou crescida... #1

... quando a minha mãe pergunta se quero peixe grelhado para o jantar ou ir ao sítio de antigamente comer um hamburguer e eu respondo com os olhos a brilhar: PEIXE!!!




I know I'm a grown up... #1

... when my mum asks me if I want grilled fish for dinner or if I prefer to go to a place eat a burger and I reply with my eyes shinning: FISH!!!

London

Londres é a minha cidade preferida no mundo inteiro e gosto de ir lá passar um fim de semana de vez em quando. Há locais que para mim são obrigatórios e onde vou sempre, como o Tate modern, Hyde Park, o We Will Rock You (musical) e o passeio à beira rio entre o Big Ben e a Tower Bridge. No resto do tempo tento explorar coisas novas. Aqui ficam algumas fotos da minha última visita a Londres.

London is my favourite city in the whole world and now and then I like to go back and spend the weekend. Some places are part of the mandatory list to revisit, such as Tate modern, Hyde Park, We Will Rock You (the musical) and a walk near the river between Big Ben and the Tower Bridge. In the remaining time I try to explore new places. Here are some pictures from my last visit to London.

 Tate modern

 Carnaby street, I had never been there before

 M&M store

 St. Pankras station

 Camden

 Hyde Park

 Albert Memorial and Albert Hall

 Natural History museum

 Science museum

I ♡ London!

Queen & Adam Lambert

Ontem fui ver o concerto dos Queen com Adam Lambert, na O2 arena de Praga.

Foi mágico estar a tão poucos metros de tamanhas estrelas como o Brian May, o Roger Taylor e até o próprio Adam Lambert, que apesar de mais novinho encaixa perfeitamente no estilo dos Queen. O meu momento preferido do concerto é o da foto. O Brian May chegou-se até à pontinha do palco e o pavilhão inteiro fez silencio absoluto à espera das suas palavras. Ele perguntou-nos se queríamos cantar com ele, para o Freddie e pareceu que estávamos na nossa sala de estar, com o Brian a falar e a tocar apenas para uma dezena de pessoas, tal foi a sensação intimista que se criou. Houve ainda solos de guitarra do Brian May, solos de bateria do Roger Taylor e um super duelo entre o Roger Taylor e o filho, que também faz parte da banda, Rufus Tiger Taylor. O Adam Lambert, que ficou em segundo no Idolos americano e entrou em vários episodios da série Glee, não cantou todas as canções. Houve vários temas cantados apenas pelos dois membros originais dos Queen, alguns com a mistura de gravações das vozes e instrumentos de Freddie Mercury e John Deacon. 

Foi muito especial e esteve tudo muito bem feito e pensado. Acho que não vão aparecer muitas mais oportunidades de ver os Queen, ou o que resta deles, e sinto que tive muita sorte em poder lá ter estado. 

Algumas considerações:

1. Já ninguém faz os cornos do rock com a mão, agora as mãos são para segurar os telemóveis. 

2. Sou baixinha e já em Portugal preciso de muito esforço para ver alguma coisa, agora imaginem aqui onde 80% da população é mais alta do que eu! Vi o concerto todo numa espécie de pontas de ballet. Além disso, com os telemóveis sempre no ar perdi mais uns 20cm de visão... 

3. Eram proibidas as máquinas fotográficas e não sei tirar fotos com o telemóvel. Só esta foto é que ficou bem...

Yesterday I went to see the concert of Queen & Adam Lambert, at the O2 arena in Prague.

It was magical to be able to stand so close to such big stars as Brian May, Roger Taylor and Adam Lambert, that even though much younger, fits very well with the Queen. My favourite moment is the one in the picture. Brian May came to the very end of the stage with his guitar, and the whole arena was silent waiting his words. He asked us if we wanted to sing with him, for Freddie. The moment created was so intimate that it felt like we were in his living room, with Brian talking and singing only for a few of us. During the concert there was a guitar solo performed by Brian May, a drum solo by Roger Taylor, and an amazing drum duel between Roger and his son, also part of the band now, Rufus Tiger Taylor. Adam Lambert, the runner-up of the american idol, that also took part in a few episodes of Glee, did not sing all the songs. Some of the songs were performed only by the two original elements of Queen, with some added recorded voices and instruments of Freddie Mercury and John Deacon.  

It was all very special and the concert was very well planned and performed. I don't think there will be many more opportunities to watch the Queen in concert and I feel really happy for having the chance of watching this show. 

Som notes:

1. No one does rock horns with their hands anymore. All the hands are holding mobile phones. 

2. I'm short, and already in Portugal is difficult to see something on a stage, imagine here where 80% of the population is way taller than me. I saw the whole concert in some sort of ballet tips. Besides that, with everybody holding their phones I lost another 20cm of vision...

3. Cameras were forbidden and I can't take proper pictures with my mobile. The photo above was the only decent one I got...

Swedish Box

O quê? Não me digas que já houve alguém na Suécia a imitar a ideia da Tuga Box???

Não... foram só os pais do J. que nos vieram visitar!

What? Was there already someone in Sweden copying the idea of the Tuga Box???

No... J.'s parents came to visit us and brought all these things!

Tuga Box

Em todos os cantos do mundo se encontram portugueses - um quase ditado e um facto comprovado por mim mesma. Tenho encontrado portugueses por todos os sítios que já visitei. Até quando cheguei de malas e bagagens à Polónia, a uma cidade (quase) no meio do nada, com meio milhão de habitantes e um nome impronunciável, lá estava ele... um Português que já lá morava há anos. 

Foi a pensar em todos esses portugueses espalhados pelo mundo, que como todos os emigrantes morrem de saudades do seu país e das coisas do seu país, que foi criada a Tuga Box. Imaginem receber uma caixa surpresa todos os meses com coisas tão mas tão portuguesas que não se encontram em mais lado nenhum! É só subscrever a Tuga Box. O facto de ser surpresa e de não se fazer ideia do que vem dentro adiciona alguma excitação ao processo. Uma espécie de mistery box portuguesa (só para quem vê masterchef). Para mais informações é só clicarem aqui. Podem ver algum dos testemunhos de quem já subscreveu e verem o que eles receberam na caixinha surpresa.

Não, eu não sou patrocinada pela Tuga Box, gosto apenas de divulgar ideias giras e a Tuga Box é uma delas!

There is a kind of saying that goes something like "There's a portuguese person in each and every corner of the world". It's true, I have tested it myself! I have always found portuguese people everywhere I go. When I moved to Poland and I got to that little city, (almost) in the middle of nowhere, with half a million inhabitants and an unspeakable name, there he was... a Portuguese guy that has been living there for years.

The Tuga Box (Tuga is short for Portuga which is a nickname for portuguese people) was created thinking of all these portuguese spread all over the world and of how much they probably miss their countries and the things from their countries. What is the Tuga Box? Imagine you could receive a surprise box every month containing portuguese produce... so portuguese that you can only find them in Portugal otherwise! All you have to do is to subscribe the Tuga Box. The surprise factor, the part of not knowing what it is you will get adds extra spice to the process. It's like a portuguese mistery box (only for those who watch masterchef). There's more information here if you are curious, although the page is only in portuguese.

No, I am not sponsored by Tuga Box, but I do like to spread the word when I see creative ideas and Tuga Box is one of them!

Daily life with a strange language

Even though I have been learning some czech, I'm far from being able to do everything using only this language. I try as much as I can, but the czechs also seem happy to practice their english and many times the conversation switches to that more common language. At home however, the translator seems to be our best friend, as not all things we buy have instructions in english, but it can also be in the origin of really funny situations. See the following examples.

1. Gas bill arrives. We pay an advancement every 3 months but you never know if you are paying enough and the yearly bill is always scary. We open the envelope and panic when we see the total we have to pay. It's ok, we think. We have enough money to pay, and maybe next year we have shower only once a week! To make sure we translate the bill description... Oh joy!! That's the amount we will receive and not pay! We paid too much! Let's go back to have shower once a day then...

2. In the same bill comes an estimative of how much we should pay this year. Who decided that value? According to the translator it was the Queen of course, who else!

Your Highness prescription advances from February 2015

3. I bought a bottled marinade for chicken. The instructions were only in czech and translated are:

Finely sliced meat and marinade naklepejte gently rub onto the prepared meat. Cubes of meat with the marinade mix die in order to evenly marines meat. Before grilling or other thermal ablation is recommended to leave the meat in the marinade at least 2 hours to ripen in a cool place. Marinating meat is piping hot, dress! In preparation for the pan, use a little oil. Meat already nesolte!

My favourite part is Marinating meat is piping hot, dress! 

I swear I love being a foreigner!

Prague (again!)

Não me canso de Praga e cada vez que tenho visitas vou toda contente mostrar-lhes a cidade. De todos os lugares onde já morei Praga é provavelmente o meu sitio preferido. Juntamente com Évora, em Portugal. Um empate para as duas em primeiro lugar. Aqui deixo mais umas fotos, que tiramos num dos passeios nos jardins perto do castelo e no parque Letná.

I can't get enough of Prague and every time we have visitors I happily show them around. Among all the places I have lived Prague is probably my favourite. Together with Évora in Portugal. A very even first place for both. I leave you with some more photos of a day we went to the gardens and Letná park, near the castle of Prague. 

 Metronome

O castelo a espreitar do outro lado da janela / the castle is peaking through the window frame

 Praga colorida e solarenga / Colourful sunny Prague 

Para terminar o dia em grande nada melhor que um docinho comido numa esplanada a bebericar chá frio.

Nothing like finishing off with a tasty dessert, sitting outdoors and drinking some homemade ice tea.