Cleaning House

When it is time to go on vacation, and you still have a folder of pictures on your computer that is all the random and leftover pics that didn't make the cut before, it is time to clean house, to make room for the tons of new pictures you plan to take on vacation.

Today I am doing just that.  This is a cleaning house post so I can make room for great pictures and plenty of material for posts about travel in Europe and the great food that exists in other cultures.  Sorry if you find these boring.

A while back, I made this loaf of Italian bread for one of our From Scratch Weekends Meals.  The is nothing better than using homemade bread to make grilled cheese, so while I was working, Ruan whipped up this meal.

One hazy day, I took this picture from my yard.  I did zoom in, but this is the mysteriuos patch of trees in the field across the street.  It looked extra with all the fog.

I did get my second Chocbite bar.  I won this a few months ago, and there was an error with my first one due to a change in toppings available, so this was the replacement.  Again, not what I ordered, but it tasted really good.

If you remember my birthday, my mom sent me a card with a duck that grows in water.  I left there in a bowl while I went on vacation, and when I came back Ryan was like "I don't think it is going to get any bigger, can you do something with this?"  So that was it for the duck, but you can see how big it did get.

I am fairly certain someone new got to this base who has celiac because when I returned from my birthday trip there was a significant increase in the amount of gluten free products, which translated to many new vegetarian products to try.  Most of what they ordered for stock included Amy's products, so I am really enjoying these right now.  Don't forget, just because this looks super healthy, it has as much sodium as any other frozen meal, about 1/4 of the RDA, but I can still enjoy them on occassion.

Here is my new "thing" to do when I do to cafes and places that serve eggs.  Since egg and cheese sandwiches are not on the menu, but both eggs and grilled cheese are, I order both, and then make my own snadwich.  Ryan jumped on board with the idea, so here are our eggs.

This is a baguette with tosta queijo, and if you remember from the Portuguese lesson, that is pronounced toe-sh-ta kay-sh.  Basically, this is a grilled cheese.  Usually it is a tosta mista, which is ham and cheese, so you can see why I do not order that.

The other day I bought I giant sweet potato and enjoyed this with dinner 2 nights in a row.  It was seriously so big, I could not eat the whole thing at once.

I picked up this melon at Modelo, a local store.  This nice sized half melon cost .89 rueo, which is about $1.14.  I am still not 100% sure what kind of melon this was, but it tasted good.

K over at the Special K Treatment swapped some goods with me.  I just got the package the other day and I am eager to try these goodies.  She is in Germany now, living overseas, just like me, so these are all German goods.  There is some candy and coffee.  Thanks!

There is a great soup and salad place in Praia, and the lady prepares large amounts, but once the food is gone, it is gone and she serves it until there is nothing left.  Trust me, the food is good, and she can run out fast.  Ryan and I met for a quick lunch one day and this is always a favorite choice.  Basically, for around $6 she piles the plate high with any of the salads she has to offer.  Some are pasta salads, some are veggie salads, some are meat salads like tuna or chicken, and some are fruit salads.  Here is my plate.  I should no better, but I piled it high and then couldn't come close to finishing. 

These last few pictures are from a recent lunch stop at a local cafe/bar right on the beach.  I had no idea they served food, but I spotted a picture sign in front that showed food and realized I have never seen that place so busy.  It is called the Blues Sound Bar and they do offer live music and I think this is the place with a disco upstairs.  These seemed like the perfect place for lunch.  For placemats, the server brought us old records.

Ryan and I split some onion rings.

Then we both had tuna sandwiches on a baguette.

Look, I made a face out of my food!

The sandwich was pretty good, but I think I like it at AquaEmotion in Angra better.  I would still order this again.

Well, that does it for my leftover pictures.  Stay tuned for trip pictures when I return.  Since I am busy, this is probably going to be my last post until I get back.

I know I haven't mentioned where I am going yet, but here is a clue...This place seems super romantic and has tons of museums to see.  See you when I get back!

QUESTIONS:  Any guesses about my trip location?  Do you find that sometimes random pictures pile up on your computer?  When on vacation, do you also try to take a vacation from blogging, or post while away?