From London and Lisbon ,With Love

Yes, I wish it was me who went to Lisbon and London, but sadly, my husband was traveling by himself.  He was actually traveling for work, which is of course a benefit when you live overseas.  I was busy at home taking a statistics course while he was away, so I definitely was occupied.  The good news too is that I just finished my paper, which was a research proposal.  So, I will keep this post brief and head to the living room for some relaxation and celebration.  Now all I have left are comps and then GRADUATION!

Since Ryan is super wonderful he brought back some gifts from his time on the mainland (Europe that is…we are closer there than we are to the US).

This is a prime example of why he is super wonderful.  Ginger (the fur ball formerly known as a dog) desperately needed a new collar, and we could not find one around here.  He happened to wander into Harrod’s and found a dog collar.  Now, if you know anything about Harrod’s you will know to just expect things to be pricey.  As a result, it didn’t even seem that unusual to him that a collar there would be expensive (under $75 so do not get carried away with your thoughts) because this is what he had already anticipated.  Our dog is a real princess for a medium sized dog.  She hears a noise and hides behind us.  She would rather walk around the puddles.  Therefore Ryan saw this bling-alicious collar and thought it was perfect for the dog.

 

It is quite nice.  Only later after a closer look did he realize he had just purchased our dog a lovely collar encrusted with Swarovski crystals.  Too funny!  It matches her personality and fur perfectly.  Now she really has an attitude problem!

When I told my grandmother the story (because it was really funny that he bought her this collar, which she did need a collar, but still funny it has nice crystals), her first question was “What did he get you?”, so here is what he brought back for me, plus a Harrod’s T-shirt and a few other little goodies.

You seriously can’t go wrong with Cadbury’s.  Actually, this is what I asked for.  I didn’t specify which kind, just Cadbury.

He also brought us an assortment of Cadbury candy bars.

I love the look British food label.  If you are not familiar with their label concept, they use GDA, or Guideline Daily Amounts.  Here is a sample from the Food and Drink Federation website:

This is their version of a tool to help consumers understand what is in their food.  When it lists per portion and then you do not see what is listed as a serving size, you do have to look past this highlighted part and read what a serving size is actually.  The other difference too is that food labels in Europe list nutrition facts per 100 grams, which for us used to the US system, can be confusing, so most food labels also list the per common serving.  For example, the big candy bar above has this little label placed next to what would be familiar to us as a food label, and then lists all the nutrient information in the first column per 100 grams and then in the second column as per chunk (AKA square from the candy bar).  I do find the salt part confusing as I will assume they mean sodium, not just any salt, although I could be wrong.  It could be sodium chloride or potassium chloride or any of those salts.  I'll just assume sodium chloride as their designation for a sodium marker.  I am thinking that I need to look into this one a little more closely to see what they are educating people on and their specific guidelines.

Moving along, this was my special treat.  While in Paris over the summer we discovered how delicious macarons were, so when we found them in London, he had to stop in.

He brought us back a few of these little guys.  So good!

Since the only way off this island and in to Europe is through Lisbon, he had some time to shop for goodies there too.  These are cookies I found over the summer at the airport.  They do not always have this kind, but we always check, so I was extremely surprised to see that he found them on this last trip through.

 

He also picked up this amazingly crazy fig cheese.  Now, it says fig cheese, but there is no dairy in here.  It comes from the Algarve region, which is the southern portion of Portugal with amazing beaches.

This is just like fig newton filling, but better, and it is filled with almonds too.  What a nice find!

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to London/England?  Have you ever had a Cadbury candy bar?  Do you like figs?  Have you ever heard of GDAs?

Chocbite and Getting back to normal

Not only did the wedding cake make it back in one piece, but my Chocbite bar did too.  My original choice included dried pomegranate bits along with these chickpeas, but somewhere in there the bits were pulled form the menu and so I got some pom jelly belly's instead.  When Adeline, the fantastic owner of Chocbite discovered this, she quickly contacted me to fix this situation.

The good news is that the candy bar tasted great anyway, even if it wasn't what I ordered.  We were hesitant with the chewy and crunchy combo presented here, but we were presently surprised to discover that the consistency actually worked well together.  I think more importantly was the sweet and salty combo.

Look how cute the bars are on the other side.  I must say this was a great idea because it really helps with portion control.  Candy bars that give you the option to eat just a little or more if you want get an A+ in my book.

I also loved that each square contained 2 of each of my toppings, making it seem like a diplomatic way to split up the goods when sharing the bar with say, your husband.  Every piece was the same and I thought this was very cool.

So, I give 2 thumbs up to this bar.  She has some amazing ingredients to add to your chocolate bar, so I urge you to check it out and create a bar that really encompasses your true chocolate loving spirit.

It was nice to get back home on a Saturday and then have all Sunday to relax and adjust to the time change.  As I have been gone for a while, we thought a trip to the beach was in order.  Ok, the weather is still very ugly out there, but we were determined to find ourselves a spot where we could look out at the ocean and get something to eat.  Ah, Mimos it was!  This is one of my fave spots in Praia.

Couldn't resist an orange Fanta zero.

French fries, AKA batatas fritas.

Ryan had a ham and cheese omelette.

I had a veggie burger.  This is not your typical American high protein veggie burger, it is more like a vegetable pancake, that seems like it may be fried (like a potato pancake) but it not really oily.  Hey, I'll take what I can get.  Not too many vegetarians around here.

The best part is the fresh baked roll that it is served on.

I also was happy to be back and not have all of my food spoiled.  Cardboard boxes can grow mold around here so I was excited that I still had some oat bran available to me.

In goes some PB.

Ryan had recently picked up some FRESH blueberries.

Mix it all together!

What a yummy mixture!

I also snagged an onion bialy from the bagel shop back in Baltimore, so I was so excited to get a chance to enjoy this and all of it's glorious onion-ness.

So, now I am back and settled, although I can honestly say I have been having a heck of a time getting up in the morning.  This is probably because I have been having a heck of a time falling asleep at night.  Oh well, I still have a few morn days before heading back to work.

QUESTIONS:  If you could eat anything chocolate covered, what would it be?  What is the strangest ingredient you have seen added to a chocolate bar?

Jumbo Shrimp

Last night Ryan and I attempted to eat dinner at a restaurant called Sabores do Chef.  I guess we should have made a reservation weeks in advance since it seems the place was booked up for the whole night.  It looked like probably a Christmas party.  So we instead headed over the the beach in Praia da Vitoria and thought about our beach front options.  To try something new we opted for Mar a Mesa, where we have been to the downstairs bar area before and enjoyed a tosta mista sandwich.

Since we had about 15 minutes until the restaurant opened, we decided to hang at the bar and enjoy a cocktail.

I love the looks of this Super Bock tap.

This was my pretty drink.  I can't remember the last time I sat at a bar and had a cocktail, but it was nice.  Too bad the sun had gone down, otherwise we would have been able to look at the ocean.  I normally drink a Malibu baybreeze, but this guy couldn't make it, so I told him to make me a girly drink.  This is fruit juice with melon liquor frozen and blended on top.  I love the colors.

Ryan had a martini that was with orange flavored vodka and white chocolate.  This is the house specialty drink...I think.

Then we went up stairs to enjoy a nice European style dinner.  This is inside the restaurant.  They were decorated for the holidays.  During summer time this will be awesome since those glass doors slide open and the beach is right there.

As always, some nice olives to start.  These are in olive oil with garlic.

Some crab dip for the bread.

Nice rolls...

Could not resist a bottle of wine for one very good reason (ok 2 reasons...the bottle was the equivalent of $15)...

Practically my name!!!

Before the meal I took a look in their seafood display case.  They are a predominately seafood restaurant and they are on the beach, so yo would expect to find some crazy seafood here.  Look at the size of that shrimp.  And to think I thought jumbo shrimp was an oxymoron...Holy cow, look at that thing!

Some major sized crab legs too...

Another cute little crab guy.  I have seen these out in the ocean and by the shoreline. 

Then dinner was served.  I ordered a traditional dish of fish and shrimp served in a broth with rice.

Mine was really tasty.  Ryan ordered broiled cod and it was served with broccoli and potatoes.  It was good, but a little overcooked.  I find that common around here with the cod.  Oh, and it is always salted!

The perfect end to another lovely island meal.

Oh, and don't let me forget about the check presentation here.  How cute!

Friday nigth we staying in which is why Saturday night we hit the town.  Friday night was also the last night of Hanukkah, so here are the rest of my gifts from Ryan.

My current iPhone cover is tearing, so this is a new one, identical to my old one.

We spent most of Saturday playing around with this.  I love it.  So much fun and so old school.

Oh, and I totally have to show this picture to everyone.  I have discovered why the Portugeuse are not stuggling with obesity like Americans.  It comes down to price.  These American candies in a bag no bigger than what you might purchase to handout for Halloween costs 18.50 euro...That's like about $28.  That is insane and a rip off.  But it is hard for them to get American type products, so I guess they can charge what they like.  Sadly, I think people may pay that price, although many people on this island can't afford that luxury.  Now this was taken at a local store.  If I were to buy this on the base it would be much cheaper.

Lastly, I know I mentioned we were going to help with the clean up efforts.  We woke up early and headed over to meet others at the base only to find out it had been cancelled.  It is a long story, but there were some valid reasons for cancelling this.  To top it off, it started raining again, which I am sure is making clean up hard.  We think instead we will just donate cleaning supplies and hopefully some gifts for the children of Agualva so they do not have to miss out on Christmas this year.

QUESTION:  What is your favorite cocktail or alcoholic beverage?  We don't drink very often, but I like a Malibu baybreeze.  Tastes like juice to me so I have to be very careful.

Eggs and Zukes...plus some more goodies

I was really trying to figure out what i wanted to make using this greain blend from TJ's that my mom sent me. So, here is what I came up with...

I just think it looks so pretty with all the colors, shapes, and sizes. I would later learn that the same things that made it so attractive were also what gave it such a unique texture when cooked.

While at the commissary I noticed the fresh produce put out so I quickly snagged some nice veggies and fruits. One thing I bought was zucchini.

Instead of tofu for our protein, Ryan had mentioned eggs the night before and I thought this would be a great idea of this meal. Yes, that is black papper you see. I always put it in my eggs.

And here is my completed dinner. Eggs and zukes with some TJ grain mix on the side. Has anyone else tried this grain mix? The texture was, um, interesting. Not bad, just interesting. Obviously since I have more left I will be eating this again, but now I know what to expect.

I showed you the package from my mom, but I also got some goodies from my dad. This was also part of a Hanukah gift, but he told me to open it early because there was food inside. So here are some of the things from him. The first is vital wheatn gluten. I guess it may seem odd, but I can;t get it here and many of the bread machine recipes call for it, so I sent him hunting for it. I guess it is easy to find if you live in the states.

Berger cookies. Basically a cookie with a big, fat glob of chocolate on top. It's a childhood thing for me, reminds me of Shabbat dinner.

Some of the essential Jewish goods. That's right, I go boxed. My grandma did , so gosh darn it, so do it. It reminds me again of my childhood. So I will be making some soup and I did make some potato pancakes, but that will be on my next post.

Another classic dish that I did have sometimes for Shabbat dinner, but I have not had in many years is Kasha and bowties. So my dad sent me some to make. He even included the whole wheat bowties.

Last, but not least, movies and our fave movie candy. I love sour patch kids. Since I wanted some, ok they have them here, but they are always wet. Don't ask, it's a humidity thing I think. Now we have tons of movies to watch. Well, tons more movies to watch. We watch a lot of movies.

Sorry for such a short post, but I am busy with work and school and trying to stay on top of my grading. I am looking forward to winter break, as many of you are.

QUESTION: Do you ever eat eggs for dinner? What is your fave way to prepare eggs?