Helena Out and About

Lisbon, the perfect end of summer Escape, so it says Evening Standard magazine on its issue this week, and I couldn’t agree more! You have much affordable accommodation options and places to eat so don’t worry if you don’t have budget for their suggestions. A good vibe city is waiting for you with sunshine all most guaranteed.

To celebrate their 25 years in Portugal Haagen-Dazs created a new recipe of ice cream, inspired by one of the most  celebrated and well known Portuguese flavour:Pastel de Nata (egg custard). We have seen this flavour around in Portugal for a while, but having such a big brand  incorporating this flavour in their sales (at the moment exclusively in stores in Portugal), give  us a good indicator of the potential of the flavour. This ice cream doesn’t make  part of my memories as a child or young woman, as I don’t remember it at all, but jus having the word “Pastel de Nata” in it`s name, makes me think of exotic cinnamon, rich cream, tasty caramel and crispy pastry, and reminds me of the window shops in Lisbon`s bakeries, with big trays full of this cakes. I hope this ice cream make it to more tables and Haagen-Dazs around the world, just as the original Pastel de Nata is doing.

I love food and trying and discovering new flavours is in of my passions.  Therefore, I’m constantly looking for different tastes, textures, and combinations that can surprise-me! Let’s say that when I look at restaurant menus, I’m always looking for something exotic, and most of the time, this recipes are absolutely divine! But for some reason not all of them make it to my normal cooking list at home. Some of them, the reason for that is quite obvious,   manly related to time consuming, others, due to difficulty on getting all the ingredients, but I suspect that some of them, specialty the easy ones to make, I don’t reproduce  because I want to keep the memory of having eaten them in a certain place, under certain circumstances as: whether, company, moment and so on.  But some of them, have been integrated in my cooking routines, and those are the ones I’m registering here. Green salad with beetroot and walnuts. This is the version I eat at least ...

Istambul is a city divided between two continents, by the Bosphorus strait. Sometimes, the world seems too big, but in days like this, when crossing between Europe and Asia (Karakoy - Kadikoy), takes only 15 minutes on a ferry, it seems too small. Once in Istanbul, there is no need of booking expensive touristic tours along the Bosphorus, you can simply use your Istanbul card, top it up, and take as many ferries as you want. That includes from Europe to Asia and Princess Islands. In fact, this is a much better way to see things, just as locals do. On the boat you can have a tea or a snack while you watch the amazing views of both sides. It is really worth to travel to Kadikoy on the Asian side and spend a day there. The price of the ticket was just 3TLeach way!!

Istambul is a place with so many things to see,   that is hard to make a decision on what to visit, especially if you are short of time, but I thought the Museum of Innocence really made the difference in the way I looked at the city. It is a little gem of a Museum so,  if you are planning a trip to Istanbul, I highly recommend that you read the book, with the same name before your trip.  I t is about a love story between Kemal, a wealthy heir of Istanbul that is about to get engaged to the aristocratic Sibel, the perfect woman, when he meets his distant poor cousin Fusun, a shop girl.  The book portrays Istanbul of the 70´s, It´s costumes, traditions, social life, changes through the years, places, a society divided between East and West and tradition and modernity. No one describes Istanbul better than Pamuk. The book was the starting point to The real Museum Of Innocence where readers can find the items described in the book and follow the cha...

I f you are planning a trip to Istanbul, I highly recommend that you read this book before your trip. It is about a love story between Kemal, a wealthy heir of Istanbul that is about to get engaged to the aristocratic Sibel, the perfect woman, when he meets his distant poor cousin Fusun, a shop girl.  The book portrays Istanbul of the 70´s, It´s costumes, traditions, social life, and changes through the years, places, a society divided between East and West and tradition and modernity. No one describes Istanbul better than Pamuk. The book was the starting point to the real Museum Of Innocence where readers can find the items described in the book and follow the chapters by seeing collected objects that were significant to the story and period. It is an incredible experience. Plus, if you take the book, you will get one free entry at the Museum, as there is a free ticket in one of the pages of the book.

Family recipes have the super power of making us feel closer to the ones we love and miss. They have the memories, the stories, the smell, the flavours and much more. Somehow, when We cook it, bring us closer to the ones we love  when We are  away. This recipe is a good example of that, In Portugal we call it “ Ervilhas com ovos escalfados ”   green peas with poached   eggs. It might not sound tempting but is absolutely delicious, healthy, easy to make and cheap. I remember having this dish more often in the winter season. It is proper comfort food. Basically is similar to a stew with bacon and chouriço and then we add peas, and poach the eggs in the sauce. First time my boyfriend saw the dish he pulled a face and then he loved it! This recipe is for 2 as there is only 2 of us at home. Ingredients: 75 g of Chouriço cul in slices 75g smocked bacon chopped in small cubs 1 medium onion diced 2 garlic cloves chopped Half can of chopped tomato or 1 bi...

I think every country in the world has it´s own recipe for rice pudding. This is the portuguese version but with my touch.