It was delicious! I’ll have to try some different Portuguese dishes and post.
yeahhh you made a portuguese food ahah :D
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Your blog is beautiful. I feel so inspired. :-)
Thank you so much!
Another product to steer clear of…
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Another product to steer clear of…
MiO has the best commercials on youtube, but the list of ingredients say, “Girlfriend, don’t you dare give this to your kids!” I’d stay away of it myself too.
Portuguese Pork Stew with Spinach
Portugal has been known for its wonderful cuisine and great wines for centuries. I imagine Portugal’s proximity to the spice regions as well as its history (who the Portuguese conquered and who conquered them), vast exploration and trade explain many influences on its food, especially the spices used. This dish has very distinctive Moroccan influences. If we make it with clams (yes, clams) and chouriço or linguiçasausage it is uniquely Portuguese. This time, I’ve added Spinach to make it a more balanced meal for the kids.
Portuguese Pork Stew with Spinach
1 pound Pork shoulder or butt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper (usually roasted but I felt like adding raw), chopped
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
6-8 threads of saffron
2 bay leaves
¼ cup white wine
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 lg can tomatoes, chopped
handful parsley, chopped
handful cilantro, chopped
1 pack baby spinach, rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
You could also add potatoes and chickpeas to this dish.
Take the saffron threads and crush them in your fingers into a small amount of hot water, set aside. Over medium high heat brown the pork in olive oil and set aside. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, add garlic and continue until onions are clear making sure you don’t brown the garlic. Add the paprika and stir for a minute before adding the pork and red pepper. Add saffron, wine, broth, bay leaves, and tomatoes. Bring to simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 25 minutes and stir in herbs. Add spinach and continue to cook until wilted. Served over brown rice. It can be made in a slow cooker to cook for 6-8 hours if you prefer.
My youngest son was in a bad mood when he got to the table and initially refused to eat saying he wasn’t going to eat it because it was “yucky” but once he had cuddle from mommy and a taste he happily ate it. My middle son didn’t even make a fuss (he’s normally the one who complains when he sees dinner). My eldest was eager to try it and deemed it “delicious” when asked his opinion of the dinner. 
Thoughts of New Zealand
Lately I’ve been thinking often of my second home, the homeland of my mother and her family— reconnecting with old friends via facebook and linkedin, the Christchurch Earthquake and now my close friend’s father’s death (in Wellington) just the other day. Well, all these thoughts turned into my contribution to our cooking club’s Global Cuisine Night. I made Pavlova, the national dessert of NZ for the first time.
I have such fond memories of “Pav” and will probably make it again for my son’s third grade class when they have their monthly country food tasting in May. They’ll be learning about New Zealand and trying foods from there then.
Pavlova was fought over its origin by the Australians and New Zealanders up until recently as it was finally traced to NZ. The meringue cake was originally made in New Zealand and an Australian chef named it after the visit to both countries of the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova in the 1920’s.
New Zealand Pavlova (national dessert of New Zealand)
4 egg whites
1 cup super fine sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
3 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 cups fresh cream to whip
fresh fruit (cut and drained on paper towel)
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
Beat egg whites with whisk attachment of electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Add sugar slowly (tablespoon at a time), continuing to beat entire time, add vinegar, vanilla and cornstarch. Continue to beat for another 5-7 minutes until shiny and stiff. Place mixture on parchment in a circle (or several circles for smaller/individual servings), swirling the top to be flat. Place in oven and reduce to 250F. Bake meringue for an hour. Turn oven off and keep pavlova in there until cold (over night is best) so that the outside is crispy. 
Before serving whip cream, spread on top and decorate with fruit (kiwifruit, berries). I made two large “circles” and layered the cream between and on top.
The crispy outside and chewy inside make this such a popular dessert. It’s light but very sweet. The fruit you choose can give a great combination of sweet-tart.
Asian Style Kale Chips and Singapore Spiced Haddock
I was so excited to share these recipes I couldn’t wait to have the time to sit down and write. On our first real warm day, after my kids had a fun and muddy playdate with some friends’ children, I had one boy wanting to stay for dinner. He seemed especially keen when I said I was making fish. He said he loves fish and seafood and got so excited to not only to stay to eat, but continuing to play with my sons. I’d bought some Haddock and decided to make a variation of a recipe I’d created a month or so ago. He loved it! 
But besides that I knew I had to make the kale chips. So many people I follow (SC, FER, SK) have been blogging about them lately and I’d never made them before. But I thought I’d change it up a bit by making it similarly to the roasted seaweed chips my sons adore. Sort of more Asian-style. And, it not only worked, it far exceeded my expectations! Woo-hoo! When my friend came to pick up her son she tried them and although she was full, she couldn’t stop eating them and took home what I had remaining for her husband. I love that. I love to see kids and people I care about eat well, enjoy food that I’ve served them. It’s such a great gift to give them pleasure. 
Roasted Kale Chips
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- sea salt to taste
Strip the leaves of the kale off the stems and tear them into smaller pieces. Put them in a mixing bowl and add the oils and salt. Toss well then place on cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 350º F* for about 10 minutes until crisp. You might want to turn them halfway through. They are so light and crisy, you’d be surprised how thin they become. *I found recipes that had higher temps but I found this worked well.
Roasted Haddock with Singaporean Spices
- 1 pound Haddock
- 1 large handful cilantro, chopped
- 2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
- 1-2 tsp Penzy’s Singapore Spice blend
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 Tbsp grape seed oil (or canola)
- juice from ½ lemon
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350º F Cut haddock into serving-sized portions. Put 1 Tbsp oil into bottom of oven-proof pan. Place haddock in pan, skin side down and sprinkle spices over tops of fish. Pour oil, wine and lemon juice over fish. Cover with herbs and put in oven.
Bake for 10-15 minutes (depends on thickness of fish) until flaky but not dry.
Now, my friend’s son wasn’t as into the kale as the fish, he did eat all his broccoli and most of his coleslaw. All my sons liked the kale chips but funnily enough my eldest was the only one who didn’t care for the fish.. 
Friend’s son’s plate after he’d devoured the fish!
The coleslaw I made was very simple with just Savoy and red cabbage, carrots, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper. The whole dinner was perfect for a warm spring-like day that started with shirtless mud making and ended with sharing good food. 
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Our new favorite ice cream! Yum! It’s like Oreo cookies with peppermint candy cane pieces in them. Mint chocolate cookies & cream. What’s not to love?
A subtle touch
Sometimes a simple addition can change the whole dish. I’ve already posted how salmon is one of my go-to dishes for dinner. The kids love it and will eat it in almost any way I’ve prepared it. But, this simple addition of Matcha salt, a powdery green tea infused sea salt, on top of the finished pan roasted salmon, makes it that more delicious and the kids greedily gobbled up. My husband brought home a small sample of Matcha after he’d cooked a Japanese themed dinner at the restaurant alongside some real Japanese trained chefs.
It’s really amazing how subtle the Matcha salt is but how it transforms the dish in an almost indescribable way: slightly salty, slightly sweet. If you can get your hands on some, you’ll see what I mean. Just add a sprinkle on top of some grilled fish or shrimp and the subtle difference will convert you.
My middle son exclaimed when he saw me cutting the salmon into portions to cook, “I don’t want salmon! …Well, unless you have that green stuff on it.” I told him that was exactly what I’d planned and he happily left me to continue cooking dinner without complaint.
Pan Roasted Salmon with Matcha Green Tea Salt
Fresh wild caught salmon (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Matcha to taste (about 1 tsp)
optional fresh ground pepper
Preheat oven to 350F. Cut the salmon into 2-3 inch width slices and with a sharp knife score the skin (shallow crisscross cuts). Heat olive oil in sauté pan with oven-proof handle. Place salmon pieces into oil skin side up. Cook for about 5 minutes (you see the color change up the sides from dark to light) and turn over. Place in oven for another 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness of your salmon). Remove from oven (Remember the handle is hot. I place an oven mitt on it, so I don’t grab it.) and sprinkle the Matcha salt over the salmon tops. Serve with rice, vegetables and/or salad.
Watch everyone devour it!
It’s also such a quick dinner. After play dates and homework help there wasn’t much time and I didn’t have any fresh vegetables in the house. Still had a wonderful, healthful meal.
My eldest ate his so quickly that my middle son was nice enough to share some of his with his older brother. 
Please help us in the campaign to restore the “Directory”. Please sign this petition and spread the word. Thank you very much. >>> http://type-blog.com/post/3546935688/click-here-to-sign-the-petition Love from Rollergirl
Although I didn’t like requesting recommendations every week, I’ve been lost in the new “Explore” tab. The food category seems to be only food porn. Why not have both? I’ve signed the petition.
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More Birthday treat photos.