My Smoothie World!

Smoothies are ALL the range now and people in the know have been yapping on about how good these things are for you! And having now been substituting my breakfast for a few pieces of fruit and a green smoothie, I am a complete convert on how this glass of deliciousness impacts on your feelings and energy for the entire day! And the fact that N now asks for these each morning is a sure sign that a non green eating man can get on this healthy kick too!

I few people asked me how to introduce healthy living into their diet and my first thing to suggest was a green smoothie, the easiest way to add goodness to your diet with no fear or worries. 

There are just a few things that are key to getting a great smoothie:

1. RIPE bananas, have no fear in buying bananas with spots on them. This is when they are reaching their highest content of sugar and when blended this gives a creamy (non foamy) smoothie and adds natural sweetness so you don't need to add in anything else if you're worried about having a 'green' taste.

2. Add in Spirulina, it is a complete wonder food, and is nature's richest source of protein (very good for vegetarians and vegans to take). It contains 4 times more protein than meat, and as it is an algae, it is plant based and it's form is more readily absorbed than the protein we get from meat. It helps to stimulate the immune system, making us stronger against infections and helps red blood cell production, increasing our general health also. It has been shown to help cholesterol and blood pressure levels, increase memory.

I for one have found I am more alert, more engaged in my every day activities and have tremendous energy from this little addition. All in all there are only positive gains for adding this into your everyday smoothie to increase your health!

If you buy it in the powder form, 1/2 teaspoon is sufficient per person.

3. There are no rules to making a smoothie... you can decide if you want a super thick, lushious, spoon out of the mug type or a thinner, juicer type, and making them fresh every morning means you can add in anything you are fancying that day, chocolate, cinnamon, nuts.. the list is endless!

My Smoothie:

Spinach
I added this to begin with as I wanted to increase my iron intake and to help build up my hair (haha). But it is also a wonderfully rich vegetable, adding iron and water to your smoothie. It has actually been linked to help regulate and control appetite also.

Any greens can be added though, they are all great!

Cinnamon
People are often conscious of eating too much fruit for fear of the sugar content. Adding spinach helps balance out this natural sugar high, but the addition of cinnamon has been shown to also help regulate our blood sugar levels too, so adding a sprinkle over fruit is a great and delicious thing to do too.



***

Green Smoothie Goodness

Serves 1 person

2 medium ripe bananas
Good handful of raw spinach (stalks removed if using large leaves)
1/2 cup of water or milk for a creamy consistency
1/2 teaspoon spirulina powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Add ins:

2 teaspoons of raw cacoa powder
1 teaspoon Maca powder
Squeeze of honey
1 teaspoon carob powder

Peel and chop the banana into chunks and add along with all the other ingredients to a blender. 
Blend on medium speed until smooth, and you see no flecks of spinach left.

Serve over ice in the summer and enjoy!

Long time no speak

Dear All,

I'm sorry for drifting off, for seeming to forget about this little space that I made for myself and to share with others. To write a bit here and there and not really post much. Sorry from the bottom of my heart.

I got a bit lost in my thoughts, and writing, or should I say the lack of writing. I sought refuge in the places where I read online and recently a pattern started to emerge.
Quite a few of the people who I read were starting to say 'Sorry for my absence...', 'I've been a little quiet I know..', 'A lot is happening right now..' And in daily life also.

There has been a shift in the universe, a compelling twist that took us by surprise and made us plummet deeper into our being. It lead to silence and thoughts and feelings of being lost and unsure.

But it taught me again, that to reach out to others and say "I'm lost", often brings with it an "I am too".

I am a bugger for getting lost in my head and foraging in my own world. I was listening to a talk the other day from a scientist discussing that Humans are exceptions. We evolve, we absorb, we interact with others and learn, we take with us everything from the past and build with it everything for the future.

It is so comforting to be offered a hand from others and so humbling to offer someone your own.

**

Life's questions don't necessarily come with the answers but each lesson might be a clue and a helping hand towards the next part.

As said by GKS and felt by many I'm sure, it is easy to look around and be inspired but the hardest part is finding your own self and style.

For now here are some posts that I read and smiled with:

* We each have our own mess.

* Everyone is trying to define themselves.

* We are all lifted by those around us.

* Our thoughts are there, even if we can't express it yet.


**

I have practiced, I have ate, I have baked and I have travelled over the past few months. All of which I will share soon.

(Elinore-Cohen-Yoga)

Inspiration

Inspiration vs Influence.. is there a difference?

I've come across these two words alot recently.

Inspiration is claimed to be a stimulation or arousal of the mind or feelings to something special..
Influence, the capacity or power of persons or things that give a compelling force to produce effects from others actions...

I would like to believe that I am inspired by others rather than influenced. However this requires great strength and awareness from you to allow others to inspire you, rather than let them lead you.
I hope that I am pretty aware enough to know what is good and bad for me, but often we can get knocked off the track and others who truly love you and know you, will only hope to guide you and support you back on your own track, rather than stear you down the path they learnt from.
You can't put an old head on young shoulders.. as I'm told.

I realise I am most influenced in life by women. Strong and independent women. Those that know who they are, and know their best assets and what their purpose is in life. 

I think and hope behind every great woman, there is a man with acceptance. A man who provides love and support, and who lets his wife shine for who she is.

I believe this is how a true relationship is. Acceptance and support, love and giving, and room for each other to be who they are and room for each other to become who they are.

I think there are key points in life when you need to stop, look around and assess where you are, and how you got there. And ask if you are on your track?

I can remember certain significant points in my life very clearly.. the day I left for University, the early morning I left for Lisbon, the moments I realised I was in love with someone.. and the days when I knew what I wanted to aim for in life, and the places and times when I really felt completely myself.

I hope in life I remember these things, and am able to keep strong in myself to follow who I am, and believe that if you are true to yourself, then everything else will hopefully follow.

And continue to be inspired and learn!

Be strong, believe and live for who we are..

 Happy 2012!

xx

Sweet Love

I have been thinking about this post for a long time.
I don't always imagine the title of my writing beforehand, but this one I knew. With my heart.

After a hard month making decisions and spending my emotions, I was ready to smile at others and wish love and happiness to those close to me.

The perfect beginning for me, and for her, was my close friends wedding. With our names embroidered into her dress and our hearts glowing for her, we prepared her for her journey into the world, joining together her sweet love to that of her even sweetest husband.

The wedding was everything that she is, that they are... Sweet, beautiful, kind and happy. As we toasted our glasses overlooking the river Tejo, and smiled to our close friends over the candle lit dinner, I smiled and knew my heart was open for love and happiness, and contentment again.

Love has so many different forms, and is most beautiful when we just let it happen. There are no boundaries, no limits, no right or wrong. Our hearts are here to keep us alive, to open and give ourselves to others and to share and hold others within it.

These past few weeks, I have met love on many different levels. The love and strength of those who move away together to begin a new journey. The love of a parent, who's heart breaks when we leave, but who know that a part of their heart is always within us. The love of one's work and commitment in reaching their dream. The love we share and give to our friends, who build us and help guide us in life. The love we share and gain from our teacher, who shows us the way and helps us be who we are destined to be. And the love of those who we choose to give our hearts to, who lives we inter-twine with our own.

Love has no limits and one type is no more precious than another. Every one of them makes us who we are.

This week we have been taught to open our hearts to love. To accept ourselves and others and give our love and emotions to them.
Love is strong and takes us for many rides. We can not hinder it but neither should we hard upon it. Love should be true and honest.

*

Tonight we will give our hearts to a very special ceremony. Many of my loves will be there in that room, and my heart can barely settle in the preparations.

Our love is unique, special to each one of us. What my heart beats for will be different to another's. But listening to it and allowing it's rhythm to guide us, will lead us to where we should be.

***

The sweetness of Love

A change in the air

You know when you can smell something that isn't really there, but you can really smell it?
Right now I can smell Autumn... cinnamon and nutmeg, and a faint hint of mulled wine.

Maybe it's because the last few mornings as I've opened the door to leave home I've been hit with a gust of morning chill and the signs that our long Lisbon summer days are ending.
It has been 31C here the last few days once the sun breaks through and beams down on you, smiling at you sweltering in your car in 30 degree heat, in late September!
Or maybe it's been the last few weeks of talks of flights home for Christmas, and my first sights of chestnuts in the shops and my first bites of juicy Permissons (diospiros).
Autumn and Christmas are my favourite times of year, by far.

You see the sea still exists here in winter. Now you just walk along the beach wrapped up in your scarf and boots and blink at the dazzling water, cooling in the winter sun.

I laugh again at the comparisons between England and a hot(ish) country. Everyone imagines England being so cold and freezing, and wet and drafty all the time. Yes it is, but then you can retreat inside, where it's cosy and warm, where it's comfy and there are fires and sofas that you sink into and cosy under a blanket on. Maybe my internal body clock is ringing but as I told a friend the other day, I'm ready for the cold now.

It's strange but there are distinct shifts in the air here (like the scenes you see in films). Though ask me again in February what my favourite season is, and I might tell you something different.
I have never felt so hot and over the heat and ready for winter or so chilled to the core and fed up of cold apartments and so ready for the summer as I have living here. Your body becomes synced to the changes and you feel ready for what's to come.

Or actually ask me this whilst I'm living in England, and I'd probably tell you something different also. The grass is always greener.

**
There has been another change in the air too. My sister and her family are starting a new stage of their lives in Germany, I see it with hope of holding onto our (loving) German background. I'm imagining already the Christmas market visits and their discovery of a new city and culture that we can share together. If there is anything I've learnt about being away from home, it's that you come to value what matters most in life, family, friends, love and support.

I've been battling against the shifting winds these last few months also. And it finally got me, it knocked me over and brought me down.
But I needed it. It made me look up and see the things all around me. Blowing them down around me together, clearing the way for what needs to be right now, regardless of whether I had been holding them in my head or closer to my heart.
I got up and picked up the parts to hold tighter right now, with the help of many hands and shoulders. I'm not leaving the other parts behind but just realizing that I can't hold them all now with equal strength.

I think sometimes change is good.

**

I'm looking forward to this time to sit a while and focus, deciding and discovering what's out there and what to explore first.

(The same goes to those over there in Germany too...)
Xx

Holiday treats

We recently returned back from a truly relaxing time spent in the Algarve.

It felt like we were there for weeks instead of the one. And even though we just hopped in the car and drove there, (N drove, I slept...) it felt as though we had crossed an ocean and traveled to a wonderful far off country.

A country where there is no thinking beyond 'Shall we have another cake?' and no life queries except where to have breakfast/dinner.

I know we are very lucky to live now close to the beach. But on holiday, the beaches are different, walking along them feels different, you feel different.

Even though I'm pretty saw I've returned a few pounds heavy... my mind is definitely a lot lighter.

There is something so special about the beach in the late evening. Catching the last few warm minutes as the evening breeze drifts in shifting your mind, arousing you to dinner.

We caught as many of these moments as we could, before marking the page in our books and heading off for the night.

**

If you ever venture to Armacao de Pera, please locate the ice-cream parlors..

There are two great ones, Pai Pinguim (Father Penguin) and VitaMilk.

I am not a fan of shop bought ice-cream when it melts too fast and is full of god knows what.

But true, thick, rich and indulgent Italian ice-cream is the perfect way to end dinner and wander around with on the cobbled streets, in the warm evening nights. 

We couldn't believe our eyes (and taste buds) when we saw:

- Ferrero Roche, brownie, profiterole, Snickers and Pastel de Nata ice-cream flavours...

.. yes Pastel de Nata, the famous Portuguese custard tarts, whipped up and captured perfectly in your ice-cream cone, plaited with yellowy sweet egg.

By far the best for me was Snickers. 

It was the real bar there and then, with ribbons of caramel and toasted peanuts. The non-UK friends of ours had never heard of Snickers but dived back for more! Peanutty perfection.

**

I am now suffering sugar withdrawal symptoms (as you can imagine) and am bringing myself out of my sugar/salt coma and back into daily life and practice... slowly.

My body is now thankfully yearning for greens and goodness and I am happy to oblige and obey.

But in the back of my mind is peanuts and smoothness and creaminess... I am on the hunt for a healthy alternative to share here.

Happy holidays/return to work!

xx

Homemade Nut Milk

I think I am obsessed.

With a blog called My New Roots. Her amazing recipes and advice on food is so good, I find myself spending hours here reading and at the same time learning how to cook to feed and nourish my body.

These past few days I have been trying her recipe for homemade nut milk, and seriously this is SO easy. I'm not sure about the UK, but I know for definite that any type of nut/soya/rice milk here is ridiculously expensive. This way, homemade means you can make any type you wish, in any mix also and add in anything else you like too...

So far I've made Almond, and drank it alone with a little agave added for sweetness. This morning I tried Hazelnut - and this time added it to bananas for a Banana and Hazelnut smoothie, yum. And I'm thinking also adding in a spoon of raw cacao powder for a Banana, hazelnut and chocolate smoothie - too good!

Once you pass the nuts through a sieve, you are actually left with the nut 'body' as such after, the first time I put this in the bin but after some thinking, why waste? - I've kept the left over hazelnuts and am planning on adding them to the topping for a plum cobbler later today, I think this would be a great addition to crumble topping too?

**
Watch Sarah's video below!

And please leave me a comment on any variations you try also!

My New Roots - How to Make Nut Milk from My New Roots on Vimeo.

Monthly Favourites List

Dear All,

I have been cooking and have lots to share with you! But have little time to spend writing here, (my time is now being spent writing for something(s) else - very important!

So I thought I would do as I often see in other peoples blogs, a Favourites List.

As I daily read/browse through pics of other blogs,  I often see things I'd love to share with other people, but realise they probably won't know of such blog.
And I myself have discovered endless amazing blogs / pictures / info / designs etc through other bloggers Favourites list.

So I'm adding this to my monthly diary for here!
For this month I have included links to features in other blogs but in the future would also like to add other things that are favourites for that month too.

Hope you enjoy...

** Favourite's List **


* I am slightly obsessed and want to meet in person this person
* From said person, I have made this and this and please, please go and make the first one NOW! (N ate this and loved it.. enough said!)
* I want to write a post comparing my discovery of the ultimate brownie and the raw brownie
* I could happily spend an afternoon reading here, imagining I lead a completely chic life and need to plan menus / parties endlessly! 
* I love picture browsing here, and discovering how hungry I am, along with other things!
* Dream of traveling around Italy, as did she, and relaxing and enjoying the summer sun and Italian fashion and food.
* And imagine one day to be visiting here (or close by).


***

England Baby

So I went and I saw and I breathed in the English air...

I ate English asparagus and all the biscuits I'm deprived of here. I ate Cadburys buttons and Galaxy till I could eat no more, and I spent time with all the wonderful people back home.

Normally when I leave England, I leave with a longing for Lisbon...

But this time England held tight with all its charm.

Whenever I talk about England with a foreign person, I'm chatting away, waiting for the sentence..

 "But the weather!"

It wasn't until I lived there with N that I realised how much we do go on about the weather. We will happily watch the morning news, the 6 o'clock news, the 10 o'clock news, every day!

As N put it once, 'What's the point of always checking when you know it's just going to rain..' Gee, thanks.

And everybody I know says the same thing, 'England is such a beautiful place, if only the weather would allow you to enjoy it.'

I remember when I was little, the distinct shifts in the seasons, the drifting in of spring smells and blossom, the gradual chill in the air signaling winter. Now it seems each season is drifting into each other. But this time we were lucky. The sun was warm on our shoulders and everything was full of English summer and holidays. Not a care in the world, miles away from work and papers.

I was back to see new beginnings, and to be surrounded by love and comfort from family. There is a new spring in their step and a new love in their eyes.

**

I am now back to the heat and tangible feelings of August holidays and beaches. Summer has arrived.

The windows are open wide and the hot air is flowing in. It feels like Lisbon.

I'm watching, 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe', which feels like England.

A mix of the two, feels like home.

**

Here and There

I'm amazed and scared at how fast time is flying by and how quickly the weeks are taken up and then gone.

At the moment I feel like I'm chasing after a leaf drifting through the air. Each time I get a little closer, it gets caught up in the air and drifts away again and I am left running to close the gap once more.

I am chasing after the results for my Ph.D., a paper I am praying to write, and a dream to be realised in the near future.

Right now I feel I need to catch the leaf before it hits the floor and the race will be over and I've lost, left in last place having not quite reached there first or as the winner.

*
I understand life is a never ending challenge and always a race, a ticking time machine and all that in between. But sometimes you just want to tell it to wait for you, and let you take your time to figure things out.

Though part of me wants to close my eyes and it be November already and everything fell in its place in between...

What I need to do is dig my heels in, get on with the work and take each day as new, with a new challenge and a new result at the end.

**

Having spent some lovely days this past month with close friends, it's made me see that we are not alone in this race. Everyone is chasing something, some dream or a close-by ending. And that none of us will reach there without the help and encouragement from others.

Those who have already reached there and can shield you from the pains of the journey. Those who will nudge you back on the right path when you fall off course. And those who will hold your hand and listen along the way. We all need them.

**

My encouragement came from a close friend, C, who came to visit me recently. The first of my childhood friends to visit me here. It was so wonderful to take her to the places I've imagined spending time at with close friends and catching up.

We lunched out, strolled though Lisbon centre and just spent hours walking and talking, setting the world to rights and revealing our weaknesses and fears for the future. It was great, everything I needed. The questions to answer which path to choose, the words of realisation and support, and the long years of knowing each other, that made us see that we can each do this, really do this and get there.

**

Last weekend I attended a beautiful retreat with my yoga teacher and other students. We woke to the sounds of the ocean and the never ending views of the sea. It was the perfect escape to think, reflect, talk the world over and return energised and refreshed.

We put our heads together and dreamt up plans of our futures.

**

And now, next week I am traveling home to spend some time in the UK and can't wait.
It feels so long since I was there, and each day I am getting more and more nostalgic... of the small things that make it England and that make me English.
Mostly I want to just 'be' whilst I'm there, close my eyes at the top of a field and breathe in the English air and everything it can give me. Fill my lungs with familiarity and comfort and remind me of how far I've come.

** Happy Summertime **

The Derbyshire countryside

Winning Hearts

A beautiful spring photo from Cannelle Vanille
(All copyrights to Cannelle Vanille blog)

It's Easter.

It's an excuse to eat chocolate, well more chocolate than usual.

It's spring, and here we have cherry Blossoms and their cotton slowly drifting in the spring air around our work place.

It's the holiday, like Christmas where it's completely excepted and alittle strange if you don't, to eat chocolate as your breakfast or alongside it with a good cup of tea.

And of course its the time of year for mini eggs. Huh?? Mini eggs are delicious, moreish, chocolate shaped little eggs in a crispy sugary coating. They are everywhere in England now.

My favourite word I heard the other day describes them perfectly... nom.
As in nom, nom, nom.. oh no I've just finished another bag!

***
Easter and chocolate, led me to bake the perfect chocolate treat last weekend. It is the perfect chocolate cake if your looking for deep, sillky smooth, truffely softness of chocolate melting slowly in your mouth with each spoonful.

This cake is amazing.
And of course it is by Molly, everyones much loved friend from Orangette.

Tiramisu, oh how I love you

Tiramisu is my favourite dessert.
Of all time.

Ever.

It is also one of N's, however... we used to work together in a French restaurant, waiting tables. At the end of an evening service the staff were allowed to put to one side some of the food left over from that night (shared amoungst us all).
On the odd night there were desserts... or burnt or spoiled Creme brulee.

On one particular night there were alot of slightly spoiled creme brulee.
What a pity.

Well so they didn't go to waste, and it (was) one of my favourites... alot of them ended up being eaten by myself and N.

Now creme brulee is no longer a favourite... But rather an 'oh my god, they have creme brulee on the menu', kind of thing - in a bad way.

Lesson be learned.
Now I just stick to Tiramisu.

**

Like many people I am often disappointed with restaurant Tiramisu. The only one I love is Pizza Express (I know its probably made in the masses but is lovelllly) and this other one my sister and I discovered on the buffet selection at our holiday hotel, but that was in Ibiza so can't really go back for that!

Having read this recipe some months back at Sparkling Ink I knew that all I needed was a true Italian to tell me the answer to all my Tiramisu dreams.
That true Italian is Giulia, a friend of Tiina's from Juls Kitchen, (a wonderful and sweet blog, that I am so pleased I found through Tiina), who showed her the recipe.

I would like to call Giulia my 'tiramisu friend', surely we all need one of these??

Working days and homemade gnocchi

The last few days I was working from home.
Working from home has that sneaky, slightly naughty feeling.

When I was younger, one of things I thought I'd be when I grew up was a writer. Getting to spend my days in the comfort of my own home, pottering around between the hours spent writing, stopping to make pots of tea and cakes.

These days my idea of working from home, is peace and quiet and piles of papers to read and pages of notes. The only thing that has changed from this time back in university, is now the textbooks are replaced with research papers.

To get through days like these, I plan my breaks around food. Day dreaming about dinner plans and treats in between...

I spotted this gnocchi recipe on Delicious Days a few weeks ago, and was waiting for a night to relax and have a go at making them.

I remembered a moment last year, eating ravioli as a starter during our stay in Lake Como, I loved the simplicity of perfectly cooked pasta and simple sauce, complementing each other.

When I read that the base of this recipe consisted of ricotta rather than potatoes, I knew they could be perfectly light pillows of creamy, sweet cheese and began dreaming up ideas of what to serve with them.

Saving my night to try them out, I thought also why not make my own ricotta too?

Ricotta is not used very much in Portuguese food.. actually not at all I don't think.. But you can find it in most supermarkets that stock a good variety of cheeses.
I think I would try these next time with requeijo, a Portuguese cheese almost a cross between cottage cheese and ricotta.
I think the slightly sour flavour of requeijo would go well with a good strong pesto and toasted pine nuts on top.. yum.

I chose to follow the ricotta recipe I found from Baking Obsession and one from David Lebovitz to make my cheese. I used the lemon juice suggested in Baking Obsession and the whole yogurt from David L. and followed alittle of both methods.
It's as simple as warming whole milk, a touch of salt, and whole yogurt in a pan. Then adding lemon juice and letting it curdle and separate for a few minutes, then straining the whey away... (whay) and saving the cheese on top.
I let mine strain for longer in my tea-towel as suggested if I was intending to use it for pasta fillings, rather than serving it warm as suggested by David Lebovitz.
(Sorry no picture... next time!)

The cheese came out lovely, I was so pleased at how easy it was to make.

And the gnocchi recipe itself is seriously easy to make. Add this, mix that, roll out of the dough and done.

I chose to serve mine with some v.good extra virgin olive oil and crisped sage (I was reminiscing of Italy...). Instead of the olive oil, you could use butter instead and let it brown, bringing a wonderful nutty, warm flavour to the dish.

The perfect treat after a days work.

***
Ricotta gnocchi 
(15 minutes to fame, gnocchi for beginners (Delicious Days))


15 minutes prep time
Serves 2 (easily scaled up)


250g Ricotta
1 egg yolk (M-L egg)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
30g freshly grated parmesan
50g all purpose flour


Perfect served with a pesto, or sage butter.


1. Discard any excess liquid that the Ricotta packaging may contain (or use homemade).
Add cheese, egg yolk, salt and parmesan to a large bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. 
Add the flour and stir briefly, just until combined - the dough will still be quite sticky.
(Of course you can add more flour at this point, but keep in mind that the more flour you add, the more dense the gnocchi will be - and you want them as light and fluffy as possible).


2. Forming the gnocchi is the only slightly harder bit.
Generously flour a board and a separate work surface.
Take a large spoonful of the dough and put on the work surface, dust with alittle flour and dust your hands too, roll with the hands the dough together and into a long finger-thick roll.
Cut into little pillows and place on your floured board. (Dip the blade of the knife in flour before to prevent sticking to the dough).
Work quickly with the remaining dough, otherwise they can become soggy and stick to the board.

3. Meanwhile bring a large pan of water to the boil, add a generous pinch of salt and turn down to a rolling boil.
Add the gnocchi and stir once to prevent sticking to the bottom.
Cook until they start floating on the top, around 2-4 minutes depending on their size.
Lift them out with a skimmer and serve immediately.


* For the sage olive oil: Thinly slice a small stack of freshly washed and patted dry sage leaves. Bring 3-4 tbsp of olive oil (or butter) to a high heat in a pan. Add the sage leaves and let them crisp for a few seconds, serve over the gnocchi.
To brown the butter, let it heat through, froth and cook further until browned and delicious smelling, then add the sage leaves. Be careful to not let it burn.

***

For Japan With Love

Many people around the world have been posting and talking about Japan.

It is something that has struck the people of Japan and made us too stop and take a moment.

What I have been hearing mentioned most, is the grace of the people of Japan and how they are dealing with this tragedy. There has been no pushing or pulling, no bullying or fighting against each other for things. There has been empathy and serenity in putting their lives back together.

The people of Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged have set up For Japan With Love, working with ShelterBox to donate and help the people of Japan.

Bloggers from all over the world have united in giving and providing. 

Please help if you can.

***

From For Japan With Love:

For Japan With Love has a direct link on the website to our funding page for ShelterBox. ShelterBox was one of THE first organisations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children's activity pack and other vital items.

***

Places to eat in Lisbon

I was chatting with a few friends the other day about a restaurant one of them went to, and we got to talking about this other one I recommended and then this other one someone else had heard of....

So I began thinking -
If there is one thing I think everyone needs and wants, its good restaurant reviews.

And ideally from;

a. Someone who you trust / know has good taste.
b. And ideally has been there or lived/lives in the city/town.

I know I for one search endlessly for restaurant reviews and recommendations for cities that I am due to visit or holiday in.
If its Paris, than without doubt I would head straight to David Lebovitz's blog and read his many posts on Top 10 places to visit, to see and to do in Paris.

Last year we spent a weekend in Madrid during Easter and I trawled the web trying to find places to eat at. I ended up reading the Guardian newspaper travel section to find a source that I could trust.

I have lived in Lisbon now for nearly 3 years, and although I am not a 'local', working in a place with lots of locals and speaking to lots of friends I have over the years tried a fare few restaurants.

I have made a list below of the restaurants (and 1 famous cafe) that I would and do recommend to people if I get asked for a good place to eat. They vary in food type, Portuguese, Italian, Mediterranean, and location around Lisbon.
There are a few that have especially nice views/features of Lisbon if you were a visitor. But in general they are places that I turn to if I am going out for lunch or dinner.

***

Sunshine Friends

The last few weeks the weather has warmed up enough for t-shirts, walks on the beach and picnics in the park.

(Jardim de Estrela, Lisbon)

I was introduced to the beautiful park, pictured above, that nestles into the busy, hilly streets of Lisbon city centre. Once I was inside I realised how much I'd missed the parks from where I lived in England.
I remember saying once to N that I imagined them getting really busy in the summer, and he replied, "Well yeah, but then everyone goes to the beach?" Obviously...

But being still somewhat from the countryside, vast, open, green spaces are what I like best, and what I've gotten used to as my weekend jaunt.

Don't get me wrong, I love to walk by the sea but still being on top of a hill, looking out over open space and feeling the chilly wind is a wonderfully free feeling.

(Stanage Edge, Peak District)

Save it for a rainy day

So my catching up on things, my getting back to work attitude, took a little longer than I imagined.

Sorry that I've been abit absent of late, I just didn't realise the weeks go by.

But I have managed to make head way in a few areas of my life.

As I said before I am a student, a Ph.D. student in fact. A scary idea, one thing I never imagined I would be doing. I have always had a natural love for learning and the human body. I am amazed at how it works and functions and have complete admiration for these wonderful beings that we are.

My other love is how to maintain this body to as close to perfect as can be. This being makes us who we are and creates everything we do. I want to help and work with my body, the way it was designed to do, to nourish and feed it what it needs and to be able to push it to its limits and strengthen every part to be better.

This is a tough task...

But actually only recently, and even writing this now I realise that the body is the centre of my interests and daily life. Not in a narcissistic kind of way, but in a sense that my body does everything for me, if I want to life my life, go out there and do the things I want to do, I need my body to be able to do this.

This brings together the key elements of my daily life, my job as such is for now being a student, studying about the body and what happens in disease. I practice Ashtanga yoga, a complete system for giving your body everything it could ever need, a way to purify and strengthen beyond any limit you ever imagined. This is my grounding and my way of taking care of my body, like giving my body a hug and saying I'm here, I'm looking after you and I believe you can do this. And then there is food.. this wonderful way of nourishing and providing your body with what it needs to keep going and to recover. This is giving your body a kiss, a treat and rewards for its work.

Back to Work

I've spent the past few weeks catching up on reading and seeing what everyone out there is up to in this new year.
For me it's a time to get working and organise my things, and a month of writing... With hopefully a lot of joy behind it.

Our New Years Eve was nice, a dinner with friends at home and watching the fireworks a midnight over the sea.

I began the year with baking myself a good stash of Molly's Granola, also favoured by David Lebovitz, adding a few adaptations to it to suit my tastes.

 I like to add more apple puree than suggested in the recipe, also because I tend to make a good batch and need more, but also for the extra crunch I find it gives the flakes. I also tend to add not just oats but other cereals or grains. Ones I like is Amaranth - a long past ancient grain apparently, and one of the only ones to be made up almost entirely of protein. So it's not like I'm carb-loading my granola either!

Home Again

(A beautiful picture taken by a friend)

Christmas in England was snowy and cold.

Filled with lots of Cadburys fingers and boxes of biscuits and chocolates.

It was a time for catching up with friends, walking in the snow and stopping for flasks of tea on the way.

It was spent with family, laughing, and with memories of those who could not be with us.

It is a sad time for my family, but the love and togetherness we give to each other will help us through.

***

I am now back at home in Lisbon, slightly chillier in my non-central heated apartment but warmer with the love from those close around me here.

We are fortunate to be well stocked with wine and liquor for our New Year's Eve party tomorrow, it will be a time to ring in the new year and to make new beginnings for those of us.

Happy New Year to you all!!

I wish that 2011 brings all that we hope for!

xx

Almost

There is snow in England. Alot.

I hope I can fly tomorrow back to the UK. Although I will be going from +16C to -6C, and I might freeze, I really can't wait!

I have bought my goodies to take home for presents...

And if you've ever visited Lisbon, you'll be sure to know this famous name.

I've picked up a box of the world famous pasteis de nata, and another of my Dad's favourites...

Pao de deus. A sweet bread, topped with coconut. They are often served simple, plain, or with cheese. Perfect with a long coffee.

I only hope they all survive the haul to UK.

Along with a few choice cheeses...

Please, please let's hope the snow stays away and I can get back without too much delay.

Merry Christmas! And happy travels to those traveling back home, also with goodies and treats!