Stick-to-the-ribs food for a rainy day lunch

It never rains but  it pours and today has been a downpour-all-day type of day.  Some hot stick-to-the-ribs food for lunch seemed just what was needed and, on opening the fridge, the remainder of last nights dinner winked at me from it's glass bowl.

I love veggie food and last night concocted a dish that everyone thought was delicious and rather moreish.

I must confess that until I opened the fridge to prepare dinner, I hadn't a clue what I was going to make, all I knew was that hub was going to grill up some pork steaks for anyone who wanted meat (I gave up years ago to get my family to become vegetarians along with me).

After rummaging around in the fridge and store cupboard, I dug out a large aubergine, a small courgette, and a bag of fresh spinach, followed by a large tin of white beans, a small jar of capers and some de-stoned olives... a few fresh tomatoes and a packet of pasta would surely give a very satisfying meal.

With a pan of water on to boil for the pasta, I cut the aubergines into chunks, the courgettes into thick slices and threw them into hot olive oil in the biggest pan I own.  I let them brown a little then added diced onion and a couple of crushed garlic cloves.  Once the onion was transparent, I added some freshly ground pepper, peeled and diced tomatoes, oregano, the spinach, a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and a splash of water.  Once they were nicely mixed and hot, in went the beans, olives and capers to thoroughly heat through.  Somewhere around the time I the onion was transparent, the water for the pasta was boiling so I added a packet of penne (having a large family means using a whole packet at least - some dishes we get through two!).

For lunch, all that was necessary was to re-heat it all, place the pasta in a bowl and top with the veggie mix - yum!

On baking bread

Over the years, we've made several attempts to bake bread using various methods and a couple of bread machines later, I think I've finally nailed it... except I only use the macine to mix the dough, the rest is done by hand.  The results are worth the extra effort.

Without going into recipes and methods right now, I'll just include the following taken from Christina Pirello's book "Cooking the Whole Foods Way" on the process of baking bread:

"Bread has always symbolized life to me.  Bread baking teaches us about success and failure, perseverance and patience.  There is no better feeling than the satisfaction we get as golden crusty loaves, kneaded by our hands, are pulled from the oven.
    Baking bread keeps you humble.  We all begin with the same simple ingredients - flour, water and leavening.  We all perform the same ritual tasks of baking - mixing, kneading, forming, baking to perfection (hopefully).  Bread dough is uncompromising and unpredictable.  Whether we realize it or not, we must submit to the influences of our environment: heat, cold, drafts, oven temperature.
    My mother [...] taught me to bake with personality.  Master the basics, she would say, and then create loaves of bread; don't just bake them.  Bread making is a symbol that we possess the ability to nourish not only ourselves, but those we love.  My mother used to say that you could always tell homemade loaves of bread because they looked as though they were baked by someone who cared."

She sums it up beautifully.
 

A tavern in Alcobaça

After a long visit to the monastery in Alcobaça recently, we decided we needed something to eat and drink.  Right in front, on the other side of the square, I spotted a place that caught my attention and peeked inside.  It looked traditional and the walls were lined with posters and photos.  I walked in saying to hub 'this looks perfect'.  A young woman appeared and gave us rather a strange look when we asked if they were still serving lunches (it was well gone three in the afternoon but a large breakfast had kept us going for hours) and called the waiter.  We were shown to a table in the back, away from the front part of the tavern where folks were getting their coffee or cold beer fix and the television was showing the live broadcast of the religious ceremonies in Fatima.

He seemed less surprised we wanted lunch and said that he could rustle up a large salad of black-eyed peas, tuna and egg for each of us; hub and I thought that would be great washed down with a couple of' imperiais' (cold beer from the pump).  Whilst we waited, I got the camera out.

I made some sort of remark to hub about the amount of posters of horse fairs and that the decor in general created a great atmosphere.  He wondered if I knew what the name of the tavern meant. I said I didn't have a clue.  He informed me the name meant 'the castrator'.  Ah!  I wondered at his hesitation when I waltzed in - if I'd ever guessed at the name, perhaps I wouldn't have walked through the door.

Really, I'm glad we did venture in - service was great, the food and beer just what we needed.  And it's a family run business:

So if you ever visit the monastery in Alcobaça on a hot day, stop off at 'O Capador' for food and an 'imperial'. We highly recommend it.

The grocery store

If you live near or are ever  passing through Sintra take a detour to the store where I buy my Pukka teas (plus Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Jules Destrooper biscuits and all sorts of goodies) to replenish your senses and soul.  Here's a blog with great pics and write up (all in Portuguese though): http://adegadosleigos.blogspot.com/2011/02/mercearia-da-aldeia.html  Note the great wine section.  The photos make it all seem a lot larger, but browsing the aisles and shelves will soon make you forget the size.  Plus being a family-run business with friendly staff, you are always greeted with a smile and a welcome.

Oh and here's the address with a map courtesy of portugalio: http://www.portugalio.com/mercearia-aldeia/