15 Food You Need to Try in Portugal

seafood from Portugal

One of the best memories of my childhood were holidays where our dining room was filled with friends and family.  We would sit for hours and tell stories and laugh while we ate course after course. Meals were built with fresh ingredients and cooked with love. When traveling to Portugal, you have to try its delicious cuisine. From fresh seafood to savory meats, there is no shortage of amazing food to try. Here are 15 foods you need to try in Portugal:

APPETIZERS

Queijo da Serra

 Queijo da Serra is a soft and creamy cheese that is made from sheep’s milk. It is great for a petisco (a Portuguese version of tapas).

Sausages

My four favorite are Chouriço: You can have it cold or hot, but an awesome way to eat it is a flame-grilled chouriço assado, cooked in a clay dish and they light the sausage.

Linguiça: It is a lot like Chouriço, but has more paprika and garlic.

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Books to Help With Your New Years Resolutions

Books and flowers

Every December, I start to look at my life and evaluate what I could do to make it even better for the upcoming year.  I think of things I like to do that brings me joy.  For example, this year I want to entertain more.  I love to cook and try new cocktails, so cookbooks are definitely on my Christmas list.  I love unique cookbooks…check out a few amazing ones I’ve found.  It is also a time to make some new habits like journaling, traveling, and becoming the best you possible. Here are a few books to help with your new years resolutions!

The Unofficial Witcher Cookbook

By: Nevyana Dimitrova & Trey Guillory

The Unofficial Witcher Cookbook: Andrzej Sapkowski’s epic fantasy saga of the witcher Geralt has captivated pop culture for nearly 30 years. Through books, graphic novels, TV shows, and video games, the witcher’s adventures have brought audiences face-to-face with monsters, sorceresses, kings, and destiny. Now, you can have your very own taste of the legendary adventures of a witcher.

The Unofficial Witcher Cookbook is filled with 50 recipes ranging from humble meals and tavern stews to bountiful feasts fit for a king, including:

Prized Potato Soup

Blacksmith Dumplings

Feast of Ham and Nightshade

House Specialty Soup

Honey Cakes for a Coin

And more!

This cookbook is perfect for die-hard fans of The Witcher, as well as those who just can’t get enough epic fantasy in their life.

The Van Life Cookbook

By: Susan Marque

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December 2021 Product Roundup

Product Roundup, a snowman made out of sand sitting on a beach chair at the ocean

Hello December! I wanted to share a few last-minute gifts…or some treats for yourself to celebrate getting through this crazy holiday season. Enjoy our December 2021 Product Roundup! Wishing your family a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! See you in 2022!

Eat 2 Explore

a subscription box filled with Ethiopian spices

WHY TRAVELERS WILL LOVE THEM

I love that the creators of this box have the same beliefs as I do.  They feel mealtime should be an experience and cooking are life-skills everyone should have.  They also feel hands-on cooking and culture explorations is even more important in today’s world.  Creating new foods from different countries allows you to “travel” without leaving your home.  I had so much fun playing Ethiopian music while prepping the meal and learning all the new facts about the country while our food was cooking.

WHAT COMES IN EACH BOX

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Culture Cake Kit

One of the things we most loved doing this past year was being together in the kitchen to try new recipes.  Honestly…anything to get kids off their phones these days is a plus.  Not only is it a great life skill, but we have so much fun laughing together.  Culture Cake Kit is a wonderful company that lets you experience a different culture, discover news flavors and snacks, and recreate traditional flavors in a modern cupcake.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THEM

As a former teacher, you know I love to sneak in education whenever I get a chance. Each kit comes with a pamphlet that tells about the country of the month.  We learned all about Bulgaria…the terrain, the cuisine, the day of Baba Marta, and martenits, red and white colored bands that symbolize health and happiness. We even learned a few phrases: ”Hello!” is “Dobar den!”

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Spice Madam

When you have teenagers, it gets harder and harder to find things you can do together.  One of the things I most love to do is get the girls in the kitchen with me.  We love trying new dishes while we’re traveling and we’ve had fun experimenting with cooking new ones this last year.  I love trying exotic meals but some ingredients can be both hard to find and intimidating. Spice Madam gives you the spices you’ll need to make a meal from a specific country around the world. It is the perfect way to spend a night at home!

WHY TRAVELERS WILL LOVE SPICE MADAM

One of my favorite things about this box is it gives you a link to music from the country.  Throw it on as you’re cooking or eating to set the mood.

I also like that they tell you how difficult each recipe is.  The chef hats in the upper right corner of the recipe card indicate a skill level from 1 chef hat (easy) 2 chef hats (medium) to 3 chef hats (harder). They encourage you to challenge yourself.

Finally, you know I love a company that gives back.  Every box of Spice Madame sold supports a non-profit that impacts youth education.

WHAT COMES IN EACH BOX?

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Peckboard Review

If you’ve ever been to my house for dinner or for a party, there’s a really good chance there was a charcutier board. I’m pretty obsessed with them! We love tasting all the different cheeses, crackers, spreads, fruit, mustards and much more goodies that go into them.  Peckboard is the perfect solution if you are a charcutier newbie or a pro that is looking for some inspiration. They give you all the material you need to create a fabulous looking board!

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THEM

Making a good board involves more than throwing some cheese out…it’s an artform.  Peckboard includes a guide to making a beautiful board. It also is a wonderful way for you to learn what different pairings you can do on a board.  I would have never thought to add a fig loaf.

It also teaches you different tips.  For example, I learned that you should take your cheese out of the fridge an hour before you’re serving it.

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Eattiamo Review

One of the best ways to experience a country is through their food.  We basically ate our way through Italy because everything we ordered ended up being delicious.  Every time I see Bolognese sauce on a menu, I think back to that small restaurant in Sienna we went to after attending the horse race of Palio.  Eattiamo, an Italian food subscription box, is the perfect way to bring Italy right to your kitchen.  Take a peek at this amazing box and see how we “traveled” to Italy without leaving our home.

WHY TRAVELERS WILL LOVE THEM

I loved getting the whole family in the kitchen together to make a meal.  We opened a bottle of chianti, put on some Italian music, and gave everyone a task of chopping, stirring, measuring, and tasting.  I love that it brought up many memories of Italy for my husband and I and it made Italy number one on my girls’ Travel Bucket List.

Although the box gives you ingredients to make an entire meal (including an appetizer and something sweet for the end) it also gives you the leeway to show your creativity.  We added some things to the menu and removed some to make it a better fit for our family. It was the perfect way to spend a Friday night together.

WHAT PRODUCTS DID WE GET?

ITALIAN DETOX FOOD BASKET ($79)

This box was perfect because I was just finishing a 10-day health shred, which focused on the importance of eating well. We loved preparing this Italian feast when we got to the lake. It was the perfect way to spend the night in the kitchen together. Fireplace was lit and a bottle of chianti was opened. What else could we need?

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15 Cookbooks that Inspire Travel

One of the best things about travel is the FOOD! Eating local cuisine can tell you a lot about the culture.  Being Portuguese, I know that lots of love goes into our food and that the best memories are made around a dining room table.  Since we’re not using our passports right now, a great way to “travel” is to discover new places through their food.  I love to gather my family in the kitchen, put on some music, and start giving everyone a task of chopping, measuring, stirring, and tasting.  Here are a few of my favorite cookbooks.

Here are 15 cookbooks that will inspire you to travel the world:

PORTUGAL: Taste Portugal 101 Easy Portuguese Recipes (Volume 1)

(I can’t wait to buy her second book!)

by Maria Dias

SPAIN: Catalan Food: Culture and Flavors from the Mediterranean

by Clarkson Potter

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Appalachian Mercantile

Appalachian Mercantile

WHY WILL TRAVELERS LOVE THEM?

Since many of us have put a pause on traveling, we have had to get creative with our “travels.” One unique way of exploring different regions of the US is through a subscription box like Appalachian Mercantile. Appalachia is a vast and picturesque region that boasts 420 counties across 13 states and spans 205,000 square miles from southern New York to northern Mississippi.

When you sign up for their mercantile subscription box you receive a carefully curated selection of Appalachian artisan products monthly. Each box varies with seasonal foods, crafts and home & bath items from Appalachia. You’ll learn about each artisan and, a recipe is included. Each box will make you feel like you have headed out on vacation.

WHAT PRODUCTS DID WE GET?

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Boston Common Coffee

During this past year, my friends have all become OBSESSED with a local coffee brewing company called Boston Common Coffee.  What drove them to fall in love with this company? The fact that they were delivering fresh coffee grinds and cold brew straight to their doorsteps during a pandemic made them an instant hit among my town. They would rave about the taste and convenience. I couldn’t wait to get back to town and try them out and I’m SO HAPPY I finally got the chance.  You have no idea how happy I was when I opened my door on a snowy February morning to find a package from them.  I can’t wait to show you what I got.

BUT FIRST…A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COMPANY

Boston Common Coffee is a local, New England company but it ships their products all around the US. In 2019 the company was sold to David Croteau and Kevin Dogherty. As entrepreneurs, they wanted to re-invent the company to focus on online sales, wholesale coffee, cold brew, office coffee services, and charity fundraising through coffee sales. Their main goal is to maintain these high standards for their product and service.  I know their company is going to be a huge success!

OK, OK…LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT!

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