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