Linguica Prosciutto Pizza

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Portuguese Pizza Or Folár De Carne

Portuguese Meat Bread Meets Italian Pizza = Amazing!

Linguica Prosciutto Pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about the crust and olive oil!

Add meats and it’s closest to meat bread. But this is one of those recipes that easily becomes vegetarian even vegan. Make this extra special by using Portuguese olive oil. There’s a definite taste difference even a non-discriminating palate can detect. That’s me! Haven’t met a quality olive oil I didn’t like. Olive oil replaces the typical pizza sauce.

This bread dough recipe is great for pizza crust. Make your crust thick, 12-13 inch pizza, or thin and crispy, 14-15 inch pizza. Perfect either way.

Enjoy!

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Gazpacho

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Gazpacho Recipe

Gazpacho

A family favorite for all these years! Nope, we haven’t changed the recipe either. OK, maybe a little with the drizzle of olive oil and basil garnish, no one was into olive oil in those days. I most likely wouldn’t have tried a raw tomato if this hadn’t been my husband’s favorite soup. Now it’s my fav cold soup.

The secret in this recipe is to chop the ingredients very small and to remove the seeds from the tomatoes and cucumbers. Chill this in the freezer for a very short time to get it really cold or serve it on ice.  What a really refreshing meal on a hot summer day!

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Roasted Vegetables Recipe for the Oven or BBQ

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Roasted Vegetables Recipe With Quinoa

Serve Warm or Cold, Salad or Main Dish

Roasted Vegetables

Easy and simple, this is a keeper! Roasted vegetables are just so full of flavor. Added to quinoa for a nice salad as a main dish or a generous side dish. This is how it evolved.

Several days ago I was giving thought to a Skewered Italian Sausage and Vegetables Recipe for the BBQ. I had all these beautiful vegetables from my garden. Then someone mentioned quinoa and how delicious it can be as a salad. Since half the family is vegetarian (or pretty close to being vegetarian) why not do a quinoa salad with roasted vegetables and another main dish with the Italian Sausage. (See Next Post for the Italian Sausage Recipe)

And as it turns out the recipe is actually vegan too. Yes, the grill was cleaned … so no left-over drippings!

Let’s get started.

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Berries Smoothie

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Berries Smoothie – Day 3

Berries Smoothie

 

 

 

 

Your choice of berry for this treat! I used my all time favorites, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry and raspberry.

 

 

It’s no surprise my daughter has chosen a smoothie as a go-to snack. Her food choices very early on were healthy, simple, mostly raw, and always always fresh.

We always remember, too, the importance of an attractive dining experience to enhance every bite … or slurp. What do you think of this glass tumbler! It’s BPA free and dishwasher safe. Check out this product themasonbarcompany.com … sold on Etsy. We love new and unique products! Yes, the straw is glass!

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Spinach Apple Banana Smoothie

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Spinach Apple Banana Smoothie – Day 2

Spinach Banana Apple Smoothie

 

 

 

 

We’re on Smoothie Day 2 … Yum! 1/4 Cup spinach makes this beautiful green. 

 

 

 

Another quickie meal or snack! We love it!

Maybe too much green in the picture, my daughter mentioned. Oops, too late!

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Strawberry Banana Pineapple Smoothie

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Strawberry Banana Pineapple Smoothie

Day One Of Our Three Days Of Smoothies

Strawberry Banana Pineapple Smoothie

Here’s a favorite smoothie! And happens to be vegan too. 

My daughter is here for a visit and we’re making her go-to snack … Such an improvement over pseudo-cheese and celery, a creative healthy? snack of the 50’s. Sorry mom.

We like it icy … load up the ice! Naturally sweet with fruit and just a little lightly sweetened almond milk. Smoothies are just a delicious nutritious treat.

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Greens – A Staple In Portuguese Cuisine

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Greens – A Staple In Portuguese Cuisine

Kale and Turnip Greens are High On The List

Greens - A Staple In Portuguese Cuisine

But this is Swiss Chard! Already picking this from my garden! As a child I would rather have greens over most vegetables and over all fruit. My children laugh when I say it must have been a nutritional need! These greens are amazingly packed with nutrition!

Years ago the variety of greens at the grocer’s was minimal if not because of availability then just because they were old and unappealing. Today, I still have a time finding fresh turnip greens and sometimes turn to the freezer section. It doesn’t matter if it’s fall when they are in season or not.

Turnip greens were often used in my grandmother’s cooking. Kale was hard to find. These two are the most often called for in Portuguese cooking. For the following two simple recipes you can use kale, swiss chard, turnip greens, mustard greens or even spinach. Of these the most bitter are swiss chard, turnip and mustard greens. Blanching the swiss chard may reduce bitterness but this is not recommended for the other greens. Mustard greens, kale (except for the stem) and of course spinach are more tender. Kale and spinach are delicious in fresh salads.

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Easy Bagels

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Easy Bagels

Easy Bagels

35 years ago fresh bagels couldn’t be found in our city, Visalia. In fact, you were lucky if you found frostbitten bagels in the freezer section of your favorite grocer. Rather than driving the long distance to the big city to scout out bakeries for this hard to find treat, I made them!

I was never much at bread making then and was a bit fearful … believing bagels to be more complex. My husband was so impressed … So let’s keep the secret. Bagels are easy!

Bagels are very forgiving. This is a one bowl mix. 2-3 hours start to finish with only about 40 minutes total prep time. Top the water cooked bagels with sesame seeds and poppy seeds before popping them into the oven for the final baking. No one thought beyond plain, egg or onion bagels … not so long ago.

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Mexicali Pasta Salad

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Mexicali Pasta Perfect Salad

Mexicali Pasta Salad

Spicy rich Mexicali Pasta Salad … and not forgetting delicious! This hearty filling vegan salad will satisfy meat lovers too. After a stressful day at work sometimes I need food with a crunch. Ha! This is another versatile recipe. Making small substitutions to make it your own is a good thing. Enjoy!

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