Happy Birthday to Me

You can't even imagine how far behind on this blog I am.  My birthday was June 12th!

So I guess this is Happy Belated Birthday to me!

These are all pictures from things during my birthday weekend.

I started things off early with a dinner out to enjoy my favorite fish dish.

  

When the weekend rolled around we headed to Porto Das Pipas, which is another favorite.  The let down was that they were closed, but as a bonus for our drive there we got to see this Portuguese Navy ship that docked next to the restaurant.

 

As we left there we thought about where we might like to go.  Since I write another blog that showcases local dining and businesses, we decided to try a place we had never been to before.  This is called Canadinha.  This is a true local spot.  We were the only English only speakers in there and from what it looked like, they rarely get Americans.  That certainly did not deter us from dinner there.

 

As usual, they served us bread to start.

 

Ryan had the steak and I had the grilled squid.

We ended with some coffee.  When Ryan went to pay the bill we were shocked (even with seeing the prices on the menu) to find out that the whole meal, drinks included, cost about $15.  I can see why the locals like it...good food and an even better price.

 

Since it was my birthday weekend, we couldn't help but stop off at the ice cream place/bakery.  I was excited to find they had these new ice cream bars.

 

I love trying new things!  This is homemade local ice cream that was hand dipped here into these bars.  Yum!

 

The next day Ryan decided to make my birthday cake.  Every year since the first year we met he has made me a cake for my birthday.  This year we opted for cupcakes.  I decided on chocolate with fudge icing.

Of course he made these entirely from scratch.  He is an awesome baker and does a great job baking from scratch.  Since I left him alone in the kitchen I only took a few pictures.  I wanted to stay out of the way.

 

Look at them baking up inside the oven!

 

As with most years, he frosts and then I get to help with the decorating.  I should also point out he made the fudge icing from scratch too.  Once they were iced, I tossed on some sprinkles.

 

Can you guess which cupcake is mine?  Yes, of course it is the one with candle!

 

That night we reattempted Porto das Pipas.  Yes, they were open.  One reason we love it here is that to start they bring out all kinds of cheese, bread and olives.  Oh I will miss that part of the island!

Ryan ordered the coffee steak.  Yes, those are coffee beans on top of the steak.

 

I had the shrimp and squid kebab, which was awesome.

 

When it comes to my birthday, if it is on a weekend, I do get carried away with the celebration, but I just think it is more fun that way.

So on my actual birthday, which was a Sunday, Ryan and I headed out to the beach with the dog and enjoyed lunch outside by the ocean.  Our friends Alexandra and James joined us.  I had the shrimp appetizer, a tuna sandwich and some fries.  This is typical bar food.

 

Afterwards we all took a nice stroll along the beach before stopping at the other end for some drinks at another cafe/bar.

One of the souvenir shops at the beach set up this fun bull fight depiction, so I made Alexandra pose with me.  I am the bull holder and she is the one being chased by the bull.

 

Here I am with Ryan and our dog, Ginger.

 

On the way back to the car we were able to peak inside a spirit house.  It is the most modern looking one on the island.  Since the Holy Spirit festivities were going on (this is why Porto das Pipas was closed before), the place was open and had the bread inside, which is part of the traditions for this holiday.  I have seen the pictures where the bread is filled up in carts that are pulled by oxen down the road and the bread is passed out to people in the streets.

 

While at the beach that day we saw that Jorge's was open, so we knew that would be a good bet for dinner.  It was quiet inside, but that was OK.  It was a major holiday so we were lucky anything was open.

I had the codfish with veggies and chick peas.  Way too much food!  But it did make a nice lunch the next day.

 

Here we are at my birthday dinner.  I wish you could see the view behind us...it's the ocean out there!

 

After dinner I was not hungry for dessert, but the owner, Jorge, still brought me some cake and sang Happy Birthday.  It was really nice, and the cake was so good.

There you have it...my birthday weekend...about a month late!

Gee, can you tell we are busy.  Our things are now all packed up and this move is underway.  I will be blogging on and off and trying to read as many blogs as I can in the next few weeks before we are settled in Japan.

QUESTIONS:  What did you do for your birthday this year?  Any birthday traditions?

One Big Traditional Azorean Meal

Before the school year ended, one of the teachers organized a large group of us to attend a traditional dinner at a restaurant on the other side of the island.  I was excited because I write a local blog for the island and I wanted to get a chance to eat at this restaurant.  I was also very excited because there were about 30 of us going and it was nice to be able to spend time with many of my friends from work and their families.

The drive there was amazing in itself.

I had no idea that 3 of the island in the middle group of the Azores could be seen so clearly at that time of day.  I have only ever been able to see Sao Jorge and Pico in the distance, but this was the first time I could see Graciosa.  Not just could I see the island, but I could REALLY see the island.  The shape was so clear.  It was a beautiful view.  It is hard to see in the pictures, but if you look closely you can see the island in the distance. 

   

The name of the restaurant is Ti Choa and it is family run.

 

Since we were a large group, the food was the same for everyone and they just kept bringing out dish after dish.  Knowing it would all be meat, I had requested fish in advance, and that was a good thing because they only had meat for the entrees.  That was OK because I had expected nothing less.

The starters were great too.  We had cheese and jam, along with bread.  The bread was fresh baked and kept up in the front of the place, warm and under towels.

 

They brought us sardines, which many people joked about but still tried.  It is hard to just eat the whole fish.

 

These were some veggies, like onions and peppers.

 

Two different kinds of sausage.  They are very into their sausages here.

 

Dinner consisted of the meat alcatra, which is a specialty of the island.  It is very fatty, very juicy meat cooked in the oven in a clay pot, which also bears the name alcatra (pot).

 

Along with this came some beans.

 

This was pork, or so we thought, and there was also liver in this dish.

 

Ribs were brought out too.  Like I said, the meat courses just kept coming.  Lots and lots of plates of each to feed everyone in the party.

 

The starches included rice and french fries.

 

I was served the abrotea, which is known in English as forkbeard.  I get this often, and I will say that it was pretty good at this place.

 

Some but not all of us ordered dessert.  For the most part everyone was stuffed.

 

After the meal, I went around looking at the decor, admiring the old pictures and traditions demonstrated in this place.  Pictured below is a fountain near their bathroom and then the bar.

  

Towards the end of our stay the local part really picked up.  The music was playing and there was singing.  I was told that ordinarily the locals all get up and dance, but with the large party we had it wasn't really possible.  The locals that were present did take part in singing too.  Everyone was having a great time.

 

Even more so once we were given this homemade blackberry liquor.  As a gift to us and our party (and passing along the word for others to visit), the gracious hosts gave this to me to share with our group.  They just kept bringing all the shot glasses they had in the place.

 

After a fantastic meal and good time with friends, we went outside just as the sun was setting and got in one more final view of the beautiful west side of the island.

I will miss these traditions once we have left the island but I am thankful for the memories we have made while stationed here.

QUESTIONS:  Ever attend a traditional dinner (any religion or culture)?  What is a traditional meal for your family?

Happy Fourth of July…Bulls, Beach and Other Stuff

As I have already mentioned, and I am sure you are tired of hearing, I am so far behind on posting.  So I am thinking my next few posts will be all over the map.

First off, Happy 4th of July to everyone!  This actually marks 2 years that we have been on the island.  I can hardly believe.  Just a few more weeks to go before the big move to Japan.

My first set of pictures for this post are of one of the first bullfights of the season, from back in May.  It was on our street and it was nice to be able to walk there.

 

This area of food and beer stands was just outside of the house where we were standing to watch the fight.

 

However, we had plenty of food at our disposal at the house where we were watching.  I think it was a relative of someone who Ryan knows from the base.

Ryan still made sure to grab a bifana, which is a pork sandwich, and a local treat.

As you can see the weather was not super nice, so we only stayed for a little bit.

Just long enough for me to enjoy a local made donut, some favas fritas and papas fritas (fried fava beans and potato chips).  Ok, Ryan helped, I didn’t eat this all myself. :)

Look at everyone taunting the bull.  Nope, he didn’t jump, but he looked like he might want to.

Next up is my new hobby.  My grandfather sent me golf clubs.  No, not the ones pictured on the box, but this was what he could fit them in to ship to me.  so far I have taken 2 lessons and I like it better than I thought I would. 

When we paid rent for June, our landlord’s gave us a loaf of Portuguese sweet bread.

I made sure to make a tasty sandwich with it.  It is egg and cheese on toasted bread.  Yeah, I cut the slices to thick and couldn’t even finish it.

Next up are the pictures from this random rocky beach Ryan spotted from afar one day.  He was determined to find it.  After we paid rent we went on an adventure drive to locate the beach.  I am glad we were successful because it was really pretty over there.

Here I am.  Enjoying the view and the sun!

 

Last for today will be a new restaurant we tried.  Not sure how we never noticed this before, but this is actually on a little side street just off the street we live on. 

 

It was a lot roomier inside than I had original thought it would be.

As usual there was bread and cheese to start.

Ryan had the steak and I ordered the boca negra.  I am starting to feel like we are not so creative in our ordering, but the Portuguese food is very simple, so it is prepared and served the same at almost every place, making it hard to order something different all the time.  The standard steak dish and fish dish on the island is served just like both below.  That is why it might look familiar to you.  I am not complaining though.  I have come to love the boca negra and it is always fresh caught just off the coast of the island.  Our friends ate here and were much braver than us.  They thoroughly enjoyed the goat, which is a specialty at this restaurant.

For dessert, we actually ordered dessert.  Ryan had the tiramisu ice cream and I had an orange cake with chocolate sauce.  It was really good.

Also nice here was the view and their courtyard.  So peaceful!

 

Well, that is all the randomness I can take for the day. :)

Happy 4th of July!  Be safe and enjoy your freedom!

QUESTIONS:  What are you doing for 4th of July?  Any new (or new to you) restaurants in your neighborhood?