Sweet dreams are made of this...

... sugar, cinnamon, orange. For me these are the flavors of the Christmas season, as many of the Portuguese Christmas sweets have at least one of them. Especially cinnamon! Whenever I smell cinnamon, I smell Christmas!

Recently I have made one of the most popular sweets in the Portuguese cuisine at this time of the year for the Portuguese Christmas Party in Singapore, called "carrot cakes". The literal translation would actually be "carrot dreams" and they are nothing more nothing less than fried batter. Traditionally, they are either made with carrots or pumpkin. This time I used carrots, but they can be replaced by pumpkin.

Last year I posted a recipe to prepare the carrot cakes, but now I´ve tried a new one that I think to be even better. Here´s how to...

Ingredients

750 gr carrots
370 gr sugar
370 gr flour
3 eggs
Peel of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
1 tea spoon of baking powder
Oil to fry the cakes, sugar and cinnamon

Peel the carrots and boil them together with the orange peel until they are soft. Drain the water, remove the peel and puree the carrots. Then add all the ingredients by the following order: sugar, orange juice, eggs and finally flour, always mixing (it´s better if you use a mixing machine). The batter should rest for a few hours. Then deep fry table spoons of the batter (max 5 minutes), remove the excess oil and roll the cakes a mix of sugar and cinnamon.

The carrot cakes are ready to be savored!

All I want for Christmas...

Christmas has arrived earlier for me and my family... Lucas was born last friday, December 13th, and he´s so gorgeous and so sweet! Everything went so well, he´s healthy and he has not inherited the diabetes from me. So what better way to celebrate than with a box of doughnuts from Krispy Kream?
 
This American company recently opened its 1st shop in Singapore right next to the hospital where Lucas was born, so I had agreed with my husband in advance that he didn´t need to come to visit me with flowers, because all I wanted was to roll myself in sugar! And that´s what he did, he brought me doughnuts :)

Obviously I didn´t have all this myself, only ate 3 and it felt SOOOO good! Since then I haven´t really taken sugary food, I just needed to end my diet in a memorable way and understand all this fuss around Krispy Kream doughnuts!

Let the Christmas celebrations begin!

Last Saturday we had our 1st Christmas celebration of the year, also the 1st Portuguese Christmas party in Singapore for the Portuguese parents & children. The occasion couldn´t have been more perfect to meet other Portuguese parents, but also to share our traditional dishes at this time of the year. It´s amazing how we all have in common this passion for cooking and for keeping our Portuguese traditions alive miles away from home. Most Portuguese women I know and have met at this party have a genuine interest in cooking and are excellent cooks from what I could see.

Four large tables were hardly enough to place all the food that everybody prepared, from pies to cakes, meat, desserts and all the very typical Christmas delicacies that no one can resist... except me, due to the gestational diabetes. Hard though this might be, I try not to make many exceptions in my current diet, specially now that I´m only 2 weeks away from my due date. Yes, 2 weeks!

My contribution to the party was codfish cakes - that disappear in a blink of an eye! - and carrot cakes. Last year year I posted a recipe to prepare the carrot cakes, but last Saturday I tried a new recipe that it´s even better! I´m going to post it this week... unless Lucas decides it´s time to go to the hospital :)

For now I leave you some photos of our 1st Portuguese Christmas Celebration in Singapore and mouth-watering table!

 

Delicious Quiche in 15 minutes!

Looking for a super simple dish without compromising the flavours? Here´s one good example - a quiche of bacon and spinach. I made this recipe for the first time a few days ago for a potluck and it was a hit!

Ingredients for the dough:

200 gr of flour
90 gr of butter
45 gr of water
salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Mix these ingredients altogether and kneed the dough. This should take about 5 minutes. As it doesn´t need to grow you can roll out the dough immediatelly by putting some flour on the counter and with a rolling pin roll it from the center out until you get a round shape. Place the dough on a round tray with a detachable bottom.

Ingredients for the filling:

150gr of bacon
150 gr of grated cheese, any you like
A hand full of spinach
4 eggs
200 gr of cream

Place the bacon, cheese and spinach on top of the dough. You can choose replace the bacon and spinach by other ingredients you like. I personally think bacon makes everything better! Then mix the eggs with the cream and pour it into the tray as well.

Bake the quiche in the oven for about 25 minutes at 180º, until the top gets this beautiful golden brown colour.

Could this recipe be any simpler?

New recipe to prepare croquettes

Some time ago I posted here a recipe to prepare croquettes, but I got a much better one from another portuguese friend and excellent cook. First experience didn´t go that well only because I couldn´t shape the croquettes properly. Now I know that the trick is in using more flour and in letting the meat set for at least 24h in the fridge.

I didn´t count them, but with 1 kg of meat I would say I got at least 80 croquettes. These were served at Lucas´ baby shower and were a success.

Ingredients:

I used the thermomix to prepare the croquettes, so everything is in grams.

1 kg of minced beef

chouriço (just enough to add some flavour)

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 carrots

150gr of tomato (you can use canned tomato)

Olive oil

For the bechamel sauce:

350 gr of water (use the water from the meat)

250 gr of milk

200 gr of flour

50 gr of butter

salt, black pepper & nutmeg

Preparation

1 - In a blender, chop the onion, garlic, tomato and carrots and pour it into a pan with the olive oil. Let it cook for a few minutes.

2 - Add the minced meat and the chouriço and cook everything for about 15 minutes.

3 - Drain the water from the meat and mince it for a few seconds in the blender. Put it aside and keep the water.

4 - Start preparing the bechamel by mixing 350gr of the water (I had to add extra normal water to get the 350gr) with 250 gr of milk. Add the flour, butter and seasoning and cook everything until you get a tick cream.

5 - Then mix the bechamel sauce with the meat until you get an homogeneous paste and let it stay in the fridge for about 24h, can be more. 

6 - After the long wait it´s time to shape the croquettes, dip them into a beaten egg and roll them on  breadcrumbs. Keep the croquettes in the freezer and whenever you want just take them out and deep fry them. Better not fry them right away.

Enjoy!

OH Boy!

Yesterday it was my little pumpkin´s Baby Shower and a perfect excuse to gather the ladies before his arrival, due in 6 weeks. It was the very first baby shower I´ve organized or have ever been too, so I was bit clueless on what to do. But with the help of great friends and amazing tips from Pinterest, the special occasion turned out to be perfect! The idea was not to have tons of food but to create a beautiful, sweet and bluish table to celebrate Lucas arrival.

The stars of this literally sweet occasion were the delicious cupcakes and cookies prepared by a good friend. So beautiful to the eyes and so delicious in the mouth... I wish I could have tried them, but due the gestational diabetes I haven´t :( Better safe than sorry.

Not edible but a "must have" at a baby shower - the diapers cake. It was a present from another good friend that I´ll put to a good use as soon as Lucas is here.

Me myself have prepared some of the usual and delicious dishes that an event organized by this Portuguese here can´t go without, such as "croquetes" (I followed a new recipe that will have to share!), meat bread or rice pudding. Also tried to make a new chocolate dessert (that actually started out to be something else that didn´t work out) and marshmallows dipped in chocolate sauce. Other friends were kind enough to bring over chocolate brownies and more savoury treats - I´m afraid I didn´t take pictures of those!

It was a very special gathering and I was so happy to have so many friends over. Thank you all for the help, pampering and nice conversation!

Addicted to picanha

Hello, Hello!
I know I´ve been missing for a few weeks, but here I am again with succulent news that involves meat, lots of it! I´m done with supermarkets and butchers to buy it, as I´ve been recommended this supplier, the so called meat man, who provides good quality meat at extremely competitive prices. On top of this, he delivers directly at home at no additional cost, which makes everything even better.

One of his best meats has to be "picanha"! Picanha is beef meat very typical in the Brazilian cuisine that became very popular in Portugal due to the large Brazilian community and countless Brazilian restaurants in the country. While back home I was never a huge fan of picanha, this one here from the meat man speaks to my heart and palate. It´s the most tender and fresh picanha I have ever tried. This means that every other weekend I gather with other friends for a picanha bbq and that I´m absolutely not the only one addicted to it!

Last bbq was last weekend. I wish you could smell the photos!

Before taking the meat to the bbq, it was sealed at home in a pan only with salt. Only then we sliced it (thin slices!), put more salt and grill it. When the meat is great, salt as a seasoning is good enough to enhance the flavors.

 

My birthday seasoned with European flavors

Yesterday it was my birthday and I spent with a small group of  friends and obviously with my two men of life, 3 if you count the little one to be born :)

Food-wise, yesterday everything came down to the European flavors.  In the morning, we explored this biological market which I had been to only once and very briefly. There´s a strong Amsterdam or Barcelona feel to it created by a combination of old bricks, dark colors and long wooden tables everywhere. This is a type of ambiance I love, not to mention the delicious and diverse food and products I was able to find there: a great Dutch coffee shop (I even allowed myself 3 sips of their delicious hot chocolate), French crepes & bakery, Spanish paella & tapas, biological noodles or fruits. Everything looked so appetizing and I need to go back there again for a meal, as my birthday lunch took place at another restaurant.

Here are some photos of the market.

For lunch, we went to a Greek restaurant called Blu Kouzina that I´d been wanting to try for quite some time.

There are many resemblances between the Greek and the Portuguese cuisine and I wanted to taste an octopus dish they prepare that is very similar to a Portuguese one called "polvo à lagareiro". Apparently I wasn´t the only one craving it, because that´s all everybody had: the grilled octopus served with roasted potatoes and a very flavorful green salad. This type of food is extremely hard to find in Singapore, so it made my day!

The only downside of the octopus was that it was a bit too hard, so I have to say I still prefer the Portuguese way. We cook the octopus first in a pressure cooker precisely to make it softer and only then we grill it. Besides that, we serve the octopus with tons of fried garlic in an equally large quantity of olive oil. It´s super delicious!

I´m definitely going back to Blu Kouzina to taste some other tempting dishes, like the meat and the sardines - did you know sardines are very prominent in the Portuguese cuisine in summertime?

No cake for me but I got to end my day with this amazing view from the Singapore Flyer... I´m a very lucky girl!

Apple Crumble (without sugar!)

About 2 weeks ago I promised to post the apple crumble recipe and here is, but with no sugar! I had to change my diet quite drastically, as I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes last week. It will go away after the pregnancy, but until then only the food without sugar will work for me. The good thing about this limitation is that I get to try new ways of preparing desserts, being the apple crumble one of them. I actually think this dessert is one of the healthiest one can have, and now it´s even more!

The recipe is super simple and it goes very well with yogurt instead of ice cream or on its own. I take just a bit longer to prepare the apple crumble because I like to cook the apple first and make a puree of it instead of just shredding and cook it directly once in the oven.  

Ingredients:

For the apple puree

- 8 to 10 red small apples (if you prefer more, not a problem)
- 1 cinnamon stick 
- few drops of lemon juice

For the crumble

- 100 gr of flour
- 50gr of soft butter
- about 60 gr of macadamia nuts to replace the sugar (if you can´t resist it, then it´s 50 gr of sugar)

First peel and cut the apples. As you do it put them in water with a few drops of lemon so that they don´t turn black. Drain the water, put the apples in a pan with the cinnamon stick and let them cook at a low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes until they get soft.

While the apple is cooking, prepare the crumble by mixing all the ingredients in a blender. Put the crumble aside and once the apples are cooked blend them too.

Pre-heat the oven at 180º. Pour the apple puree into a tray and the crumble on top, without pressing it! Pop the tray into the oven and let it stay there for about 15 to 20 minutes until the crumble gets golden.

Hope you like the alternative option to the sugar! I loved it and with yogurt even more!

Homemade pizza

Every now and then hubby and I like to prepare a homemade pizza, especially when we have visits. (there no such thing as a small pizza for 2!)
Lucky us that we have Thermomix, because now preparing the dough only takes about 1 min :)
The great thing about preparing your own pizza is that you can choose everything: the ingredients, how thin or fluffy you want the dough to be, how cheesy, how green... 

Ingredients (these are the quantities for 1 large pizza)


For the dough:

- 200 gr of water - tepid water (37º)
- 50 gr of olive oil
- 1 tea spoon of salt
- 400 gr of flour
- 5 gr of yeast

For the sauce (I normally prepare tomato sauce)

- 1 large onion
- 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- basil or coriander
- 4 to 5 tinned peeled tomatoes
- 1 pinch of sugar

To the water add the olive oil and salt. Give a gentle stir. Then add the flour and the yeast and knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Put it aside until it doubles the size.

In the meantime you can prepare the sauce. Satay the chopped onion and garlic in the olive oil until they get soft. Chop the tomatoes and put it in the pan, along with some of the water that comes inside the can, the herb you like the most and the sugar. Cook for about 8 minutes at medium heat.

When the dough is ready, spread some flour on the counter, grab your rolling pin and start rolling out the dough from the centre out. Then all you have to do is to place the dough on a tray and top it with your favourite ingredients, starting with the tomato sauce. I personally like the classic way: chouriço, bacon, mushrooms and mozzarela, tons of it :)

Doesn´t it look good?

Sugary weekend

This weekend was a very rainy weekend in Singapore, it seemed the raining season had come earlier. But make no mistake, temperatures are always around 30 degrees despite the rain.

With the time spent at home, we dedicated part of it to preparing some desserts and sweets, among them a delicious strawberry ice cream!

The recipe couldn´t be simpler:
- 500 gr of frozen strawberries (previously washed and without the leaves)
- half of a can of condensed milk

Blend these 2 ingredients very well and voilá, you got yourself a creamy and super delicious homemade ice cream. You can eat right away if you want or put it in the freezer.

Besides the ice cream, I´ve prepared a condensed milk pudding to bring to some friend´s house, who invited us over for dinner on Friday night, and Apple Crumble, which is one of my favourite desserts and snacks. Love its textures and sweetness, yet it can be such a healthy dessert. Pity I didn´t take pictures of this one, but will make it again soon and share the recipe along with the photo.

A great week to everyone!

Chocolate Mousse

I love chocolate mousse! Who doesn´t? Unfortunately, due to the pregnancy it´s one of those things can´t have right now (the eggs aren´t cooked). When I went home in March, I got 3 bars of the culinary chocolate bars we used to use for the chocolate mousse and was waiting for a special occasion to use them. That occasion was my son´s birthday.

Next time I can use the culinary chocolate bars sold here in Singapore, but I find them too strong and heavier - in this case I might as well just reduce the quantity of chocolate.

When it comes to Chocolate Mousse, I´m only the sous chef in the kitchen, because the merit belongs to the hubby. This recipe came from his mum.

Ingredients
(normally we double the quantities)


6 eggs
1 chocolate bar (200gr)
125 gr Sugar
75 gr butter

Beat the egg whites and put aside.
Mix the egg yolks with the sugar very well until it becomes homogeneous and creamy.
Then, melt the chocolate in the butter, always stiring so that the chocolate doesn´t glue to the pan. Preferably, use a non-stick pan.
Once it´s melted, pour it into the egg yolk cream and mix everything very well.
Lastly, add the egg whites little by little and keep mixing until everything becomes a nice dark cream.
Pour it into several small cups or a larger tray and put in the fridge. In a few hours is ready to savor!

Recipe to prepare a simple "Meat Bread" / Bôla de Carne

If you´ve seen my previous post, you know that Bôla de Carne or Meat Bread, how I call it in English, was one of the things I´ve prepared for my son´s birthday party. This is another first in my cooking experience, but it´s been part of the family since ever, as my grandmother used to make often.

The recipe, however, is different. I followed the one suggested by Thermomix´s cookbook and used the appliance to prepare it. It will be very easy to prepare it without it though.

Ingredients

4 eggs

200g oil

300g milk

500g flour

2 tea spoons of baking powder

Salt

Bacon

Sausage (I used a Portuguese type of sausage, called linguiça)

You can choose to use ham or other types of sausage, all together or just one type of meat.

Preparation

Mix the eggs, milk, oil and salt. If you use Thermomix, program it at 2 min/37º/vel2. If you´re not using it, I would suggest you heat the milk up a little bit before.
Then, pour in the flour in and the baking powder and knead the dough. Finally, add the meats already chopped and involve them in the dough.

Time to go to the oven for about 35-40 minutes at 180º (pre-heated). Check if the bread is cooked before removing it from the oven. I used a rectangular tray, you can choose any other shape.

Seriously, you have to try this amazing Portuguese flavor, you´ll love it! There are other ways to prepare this, but this one has all the simplicity and taste you could hope for!

Celebrating my son´s 4th anniversary!

Here´s a sneak peek at my son´s birthday party that happened yesterday. Two friends of mine created all the amazing treats based on the theme of the party -  Monsters In (my special thank you to both of them!), while I´ve put together a Portuguese menu to celebrate the special occasion.
I´ll write individually about some of them later on.

Let´s start with the birthday cake and all the fantastic sweats decorated with the Monsters theme...

 Birthday cake

"Monsters Inc" Cupcakes

 Decorated cookies

Cookies to offer the little friends, saying "thank you" and "obrigado" (which is "thank you" in Portuguese). Something original and eatable!

Meat bread
(This was my favourite dish on the table! I´ll share the recipe on a separate post) 

from the fronto to the back: Baba de camelo (dessert made with condensed milk), Chocolate mousse and Rice Pudding

Mushroom quiche & Codfish cakes hidden in the back :(

The famous Portuguese Egg Tarts, also prepared by my friend Susana.

It´s missing here the bread, which was a great hit with the tuna pate!

It was an exhausting day, but definitely worth it! The kids had fun playing, the grown ups enjoyed the food and my son was happy. What else can you wish for?

Easy & Delicious Chocololate Cake

Today is my son´s birthday and since his party is only a week from now, I´ve made a new chocolate cake recipe I actually found online. He unfortunately came down with a flew yesterday and felt like doing something to pamper him. Chocolate is his favorite sweet! 

The interesting thing about this recipe is that it doesn´t need flour. The cake is incredibly moist and light and it couldn´t be easier to make! It does look like it, right?

Here´s how to do it.

Ingredients

- 6 eggs
- 6 table spoons of powdered chocolate, the one you drink with milk is good enough (I used Cadbury) 
- 8 table spoons of sugar
- 1 table spoon of baking powder
- 2 table spoons of soft butter 

For the topping:
- 250 ml of milk
- half cup of sugar
- half cup of powdered chocolate
- 2 table spoons of Maizena

Preparation

Mix the butter with the sugar and add the eggs one by one, always mixing, followed by the chocolate and the baking powder. Mix everything again very well. Pour into a tray (no need to cover it in butter and flour if it´s a non-stick tray) and pop into the oven for 30 min at 180º.

Once the cake has baked, prepare the topping. In a pan, heat the milk (leaving just a bit aside to mix with the maizena) with the chocolate and sugar and when it starts to boil pour a bit on top of the cake. With the pan back on the stove, dissolve the maizena on the milk previously set aside and pour into the pan. Keep stiring until it thickens, but not too much. Should take about 2 minutes max.

Cover the cake and it´s ready to eat!