just cooking

Sorry folks, I am back...

After a few weeks, I am back. Life is what happens while you are planing it, thats what happened, so mom and dad are not here any longer and, truly enough, life goes on.
I have the feeling that I will never be a Michelin star Chef with my own restaurant, but that doesn't mean that I won't try. Watch out inspectors, I will !

Meanwhile I didn't stop cooking, so I have new ideas and recipes that I want to post here and I have so many books now that I love that I decided to talk about them too. Great cooking authors are out there for you to discover. Cooking and others as well, of course...
And by the way, this picture was taken some time ago. Because I lost a lot of weight since then, I leave you with this fat memory of myself

Cooking for VIP Artists

Next Weekend I'll be cooking for VIP music stars, backstage in the VIP salon in a concert.
Is that cool or what?
Who knows? Maybe Madonna will drop by...

It is hot isn't it?

Summer is here. I love it!
Gimme heat and I'll be happy!!!

Our breakfast eggs, a special ingredient...

Today, I had the pleasure of taking a guest by car to the hairdresser because she was already late and the time was running short, so, I took her on my family car, believe me its not de Luxe ...

Well, what matters is that she is a guest from Vila Joya, thus someone very important to us.
She revealed to me that she had never had such delicious scrambled eggs with ham and herbs, and these guests travel a great deal around the world, believe me.

I told her that we only use the best and freshest ingredients, in well balanced recipes. And that was the reason why the eggs tasted so excellent.

I must say now that I did not tell her the real truth.
All that we do, including the eggs, is made with love and care as if we were cooking for our own friends and family.
So the main ingredient is Love. The rest is merely a consequence...

Maria de Lourdes Modesto and our cooking ways...

Remember this:
If you ever would like to know how to make a traditional portuguese recipe, get the Portuguese Traditional Cook book by Maria de Lourdes Modesto.
She has the best recipes from all over Portugal.
Truly, truly portuguese culture and memory.
Portuguese traditional creations in food has practicaly none or little influence from modern french, italian, english or whatever cuisine.
Our recipes go back to Asian, African and Arabian cultures, Portugal was strongly occupied by muslims from south until Douro river, all remixed and adapted to our special tastes in each portuguese region.
Off course that we have some influence from some Iberian cooking culture.
The sweets and special deserts were developed mainly by the monks and nuns from the rich abbeys, seldomly using sugar, eggs and almonds toghether with cinnamon and other spices brought by the portuguese navigators.
Still to be discovered by most of the world of cooks, the Portuguese recipes lack in promotion and adaptation from most of the chefs in Portugal, except for some honorary ones.
To change this, there should be a wider and stronger support from our Ministry of Culture. Promoting our recipes, in lighter versions, presentable ones, according to the nowadays way, considering health and good nurishing habits.

Clams with pork meat, Goat cheese with wild crunchy plants on a broth, shark soup, 'Cataplana', clams and corn mash with fresh herbs, mutton 'ensopado' with mint, river eel cooked with rice using the fish blood and red wine, crusty and flaky pastry cup with a special custard-like filling topped with cinnamon dust that go so well with expresso coffee, to mention a few things that you have probably never heard of.

And our best wines? Considered some of the world's best already, check them out...

Get curious, find out more about it... read M.L.M. She knows...