Snap Pea Sheep

The Portuguese cook sausage on a Chouriço Grill. It’s a terracotta pan with a grill built in so the cooked sausage can be grilled over an alcohol flame.

Seldom do I eat any processed meat but I was curious about the cooking method.

I got a chance to try it in Portugal. Of course there is no sausage like it in the states.

The Czech Stop in West Texas has authentic Czech sausage that I used to buy. The closest thing I can find locally is the beef Ekerds sausage.

So I tried making that. I have the little chourico grill but Wild Turkey whiskey wasn’t high enough proof to light. So I just put the sausage in the oven submerged in the whiskey.

Everything else roasted in the oven as well so it was an easy dinner.

Roasted cabbage with Dijon mustard sauce, zucchini, onions, baked potatoes and peppers (which all went on Harry’s plate).

I also had some manchego cheese and olives.

It didn’t taste a thing like what I had in Portugal but the memory was there.

I got my first order of peaches from The Peach Truck last Friday.

Today I managed to make the salad I’ve been thinking of for days!!

Romaine, red cabbage, basil, cucumber, peaches, feta and red onion soaked in sweet rose wine vinegar.

The dressing was simply fruit punch jam from La Tiena mixed with red wine vinegar.

Tomato soup for today’s lunch turned out to be the best I think I ever made.

I started out with nearly a pint of grape tomatoes that were just starting to wrinkle. To that I added some dried basil, garlic, salt and white pepper.

A2 half and half was added. About 2 cups.

My cooking blender didn’t seem full enough but I discovered about 1/3 jar of Carbone mushroom pasta sauce and finished off with that.

My soup was cooked and blended smooth in 30 minutes. I then added some fresh basil and pulsed it a few times.

Rich and creamy! I ate it all before realizing I didn’t add Parmesan.

I’m totally out of lettuce. We haven’t gone grocery shopping since we returned from our cruise.

So, I made a salad with cantaloupe, cucumbers, red onion, cilantro, radishes, sweet drop peppers, and lime juice and a drizzle of real maple syrup.

It was refreshing and delicious.

I made chicken piccata for dinner.

I prefer repurposing leftovers than eating warmed leftovers so I made a soup from the leftovers.

I used chicken broth, lemon juice and two teaspoons of flour to thicken the broth a bit.
I added orzo for the pasta and a little kale.

Turned out to be a delicious soup that tasted just like chicken piccard.

Without the Parmesan and capers, this could have been the Greek Avgolemono (lemon chicken) soup.

Anyway, it was quite delicious.

What leftovers?

Do you ever get those green eggplants the size of a golf ball?

They are Thai eggplants. The taste is sweeter than traditional eggplants and there’s a texture from the abundance of seeds.

Easy to make, I washed and quartered them then seared them in a bit of olive oil. Don’t use much oil because eggplant soaks it up.

Always soak the eggplants in salted water for at least 30 minutes. It repels the water.

I made a sauce of tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, salt and chicken broth to thin. The partially charred eggplants was tossed in the sauce and placed in the oven with a bit of panko.

To accompany, I sautéed onion, garlic, grapes, kale and almonds. I used some cumin and Ras-el-hanot that I bought in Portugal.

Once the vegetables were soft, I added chicken broth and brought it to a bowl. I then added couscous and let it finish in the oven.

Shish*to peppers and onions, grilled to perfection went with this quite well.

This was very flavorful and rather cheap to make. Cheap and quick are nice meals to have on hand.

This is a Portuguese cataplana. It’s built kind of like a clam that clamps shut. Generally made out of copper although there are some cheap aluminum ones around.

Used over low to medium heat, it’s the perfect vessel for layering paella.

Someone advertised one on Facebook for nearly $300.

I bought one in the 80’s for $15. Never used it. I use it for decor.

It’s really indicative of how much costs have risen over the years while wages stay pretty static.

Has anyone used one of these?
Does it discolor it it’s used over heat?
What do you cook in it?

I always try to collect recipes on my trips.
One food that stood out in Cascais Portugal was this parsley and onion relish.

It was served on an octopus salad but I can see this on many things. A simple cucumber salad, any seafood, fresh tomatoes or maybe some delicately steamed sea bass.

Portuguese Parsley Salsa (Molho Verde)

INGREDIENTS
• 1. Molho Verde (Portuguese Parsley Salsa)

• Ingredients:
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow or red onion (or shallot)
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Dash of piri-piri sauce or hot chili flakes (optional) Wasn’t in mine

PREPARATION STEPS
1. Instructions:Finely chop the parsley and onion and place them in a mixing bowl.

2. Add the minced garlic.

3. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and hot sauce together in a separate small bowl.

4. Pour the liquid mixture over the herbs and onions.

5. Stir well and let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld.

While we were in Lisbon, we went to Cascais for an “on your own” tour.

I loved the sidewalks of this beautiful beachfront city.