You’ll notice that my personal A-Z subjects don’t seem very “Portuguese”, however, for me/us, they are a reflection of how living in Portugal has changed and is changing our lives and the way our family has adapted. It may not seem as though they have much to do with Portugal but I can assure you they are very much specific to our Portuguese lifestyle. Hopefully, that makes them a little different too 🙂
So, that out of the way…
B is for Baking.
Anyone who has followed my blog (or my Facebook, or my Twitter feed – yes, I am everywhere!) will have noticed that, since moving to Portugal, I have discovered big love for my kitchen!
Any recipe, as long as I have or can get the ingredients for it and the majority of my (sometimes picky) brood will eat it, is fair game!
Savoury or sweet!
From homemade soup…
… to sausages (we make our own sausage meat, from a family recipe, as we cannot find decent fresh sausages here in Portugal) and pork pies (another family recipe, husband involvement here!)
and, more frequently (much more frequently)
Cakes, breads and biscuits!
I can buy most ingredients that I need locally, here in Portugal. Aldi occasionally have baking goods on special purchase and, when they do, they’re definitely worth stocking up on as the prices are good!
The occasional things that I struggle to source (icing sugar can be hit and miss, in bulk, and golden syrup seems to be an exclusively English thing) I can pick up either on trips to the UK or, since December, from Iceland in Guia. (I could buy from the “English Shops” but I’ve found that golden syrup is overpriced there and I’d rather bring it from the UK myself!)
I love spending time in my kitchen. I love hunting down new recipes and giving them a try. My kitchen is very accessible in our apartment (in our home in the UK, the kitchen was a long way from pretty much everywhere else in the house and I disliked being isolated in it!) and I can cook, bake, wash-up, whatever and not feel isolation. It’s a sociable kitchen and I love it!
I usually bake twice a week, mostly to keep oven usage slightly lower. I’ll bake 2 or 3 things, twice a week rather than one or two items every couple of days, because it’s cheaper on electric. If I make a large batch of something, I can freeze some to pace out the eating, which is good (Buttermilk biscuits/scones actually freeze brilliantly, I’ve found!) I actually don’t eat much of what I bake any more but I am not short of willing mouths here, of course, and guests are often encouraged to raid a biscuit or cake tin!
Of course, I’ve tried my hand at some of the more traditional Portuguese baking too! I have a fabulous book called “Eat Portugal” which has Portuguese recipes, in English, and I’m loving trying my hand at some of those.
Both savoury (I tried bacalhau a bras and bacalhau com natas, both with a reasonable level of success) and sweet (Pão-de-ló, pastel de nata (more effort than they are worth – better bought from a cafe/shop, IMO!), the book is a great way to experiment some of the local cooking and baking as well as being a great guide to local foods in general.
So, there you have it. B is for Baking.
It may not seem Portugal-related to most people but, for me, it is definitely a huge part of our new Portugal life.
If you’re a blogger, why not join in the “Personal A-Z” posting?
More “B is for…” Portugal posts below
oh!!!!!!! you have made me hungry and jealous!!!
great pictures … dribble dribble!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you ever need a guinea pig to test any new recipes on…. you know where we are (wink!)
I BADLY want one of those pork pies!
Great photos and lovely food. Makes me hungry, especially the pork pies. I’ve also discovered a greater love for cooking since I came to live here in Portugal. The only trouble is that now I’ve become somewhat obsessed with my blog, I’m less inclined to spend time in the kitchen unless I’ve got guests coming for dinner.
The soup looks to die for! Wish some of your cookery genes would wear off on me- I was born without them.
Everything looks delicious!
I loved the post. It showed a lot about what products are available and hard to come by. Good luck for you and your family in 2012
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Those pies and the home make bread just looks divine. I also find that I have changed my lifestyle and seem to enjoy cooking and “homekeeping” a lot more. Keep up the baking, you certainly doing a great job!
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