Azoresgal~Life on an Island

Exactly how I feel today, stuck in a moment, and I can't get out of it.

Streusel: ¾ cup light packed brown sugar ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ cup butter Cake: ½ cup soft butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 cup sour cream 2 cups berries (fresh or frozen) •Streusel: Mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon; blend in butter until crumbly •Cake: Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. •Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. •Spread batter in greased and floured 13 x 9 inch pan. Sprinkle evenly with berries then, streusel. •Bake in a 350F oven about 45 minutes or until tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes about 12 to 16 servings.

Can you believe it´s friday again ?! I am excited about tonight, we are having a family reunion.  We all live pretty darn close to each other, but life seems to sometimes get in the way, and we don't always see each other. So why today, why now? Well truth be told there are two reasons, the first is that lately, we only meet up at funerals and wakes, sad but true. The second reason, is that, this past week marked the passing of my paternal grandfather, Candido Gilberto Pereira,  he has been gone now 15 years. He was a wonderful man.  Someone who very early on in life, learned the hard way that things do not always come easy, but they do come with hard work. He was a fantastic father, a very loving husband, and the best grandfather you could ask for. He worked very hard, his whole life, and he always had a vision, he always looked to the future. The very land where our home is built on, was his. I remember coming out to these fields, with him, and he would stop and gaze at...

Today was a perfect day. My hubby arrived home safe and sound from his trip to Lisbon. The sun was shining bright and early, I got to finally wear flip flops again. I got to dry lots of laundry out on the lines all day. See, perfect.......thank -you Lord for so many blessings.

I think I was 9 years old the first time I heard this song, on Christmas day. I know it was Christmas day, because my paternal grandmother, gave all the grandkids radios that year. My radio was a bulldog, a tiny little thing, with AM and FM. I loved it, I swear I listened to that radio all night long. And this song has stayed with me ever since. Seeing as it is raining here on our little island today, it's the perfect tune to listen to, while enjoying a cup of tea. Enjoy :)

Imagine  how over the moon I was, when my friend Lindsey invited me to bake something for her blog   http://newlydependent.com/recipes/   !! I said yes right away, and asked if I could bake something Portuguese. Lindsey thought it was a great idea, so I decided we would bake "Donas Amelias", a traditional tea cake, baked on the island. The Dona Amelia, is named after Queen Amelia, who in 1901 visited the island, with her husband King Carlos, when Portugal was a monarchy. Historically, these tea cakes appear in older cookbooks, way before this royal visit, under the name of "Indianos", the name was changed in honour of  Queen Amelia.  Lindsey was over this morning, we had a wonderful time, truth be told , we talked for nearly 2 hours over a pot of coffee, before we even began baking. We finally got to the baking part, which ran smoothly. We than of course had to enjoy the fruit's of our labor, over another pot of coffee, and more talking....

From last year's veggie patch. Spring has arrived, can you feel it ? Here all around our home, things are growing. In the flower beds, all of our fruit tree's. My husband has tilled all the soil in the veggie patch, it's ready to go.  Every year we buy way to many seeds, but we just can't stop at just picking one little packet. I love when all the seeds arrive, and it's time to figure out, what and where we will sow them. It's like putting an invisible puzzle together, and then as the weeks go by, you start to see all the pieces filling in. Best of all, is knowing, that what we grow, will feed our family, and that it's all organic. I love to be able to go out to the garden, and pick out what we will have for dinner that night, something very pleasing about that. Although it will take a couple of months, until anything is ready to eat, it's wonderful to know, that with the arrival of spring, it´s alot closer than before, when we were i...

Crumb Topping: 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon cinnamon Muffins: 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar 2/3 cup cooking oil 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup of regular milk and then added 2 tsp. white vinegar to sour it) 3 cups diced peeled firm tart apples Topping: In a small bowl toss together sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until crumbly; set aside. Muffins: In a large bowl whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg, cinnamon, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, soda and salt. Stir oil mixture into flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Fold in apples, mixing just until combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups filling 3/4 full. ( I use paper liners) Sprinkle topping over evenly. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes  or until golden brown and tops s...

Baked some Irish Soda bread for dinner tonight..  It went really well with the plum jam, I made yesterday. 

I used this recipe Spring seems to be taking it's sweet time to arrive, so I decided to make some jam. I was lucky to find some yellow plums at the market. Seeing as it was grey, and chilly outside, this was a nice way to warm up the kitchen. Also reminded me of summer's end, when I do most of my jam making. There is nothing better than, opening up a jar of jam, in the middle of winter for breakfast. I ended up with seven little golden jars, some for us and some for sharing.

These little guys, are one of my absolute favorites. One little glimpse of them, outside my kitchen window, and I am stopped in my tracks. I adore them, I love the delightful song they sing early evening. I love how they busily parade around our front yard, searching for food. And there is nothing I love more then to watch them bathing in the old stone water troughs, we have. This past summer we were graced with a blackbird nest in one of our fig trees. Three perfect blue eggs in a masterful little nest. I have read that, if the nest remains in the same place, the blackbird will come lay her eggs once again. We left the nest alone, hopefully they will come back. Spring can't be far, when from high above his perch, the male blackbird starts to sing his song. He sings for the female bird. You see blackbirds don't care about a perfect face or body. Female blackbirds listen to the song of a blackbird. They listen to what the male has to say to them, and then fall in love. ...

A young father passed away this weekend, leaving his young wife and two children behind,along with his own parents. I cannot begin to imagine the sorrow his wife, and children are going through, I feel a great sadness for his parents. No parent should have to bury their own child. I know this all to well, as my husband and I buried a baby daughter, almost ten years ago now. I do not claim to know what is like to lose a parent or a husband, but my heart aches, when a parent loses a child. During the wake, I wanted badly to tell that mother, I knew what she was feeling, but experience has taught me, that people do not see her pain, as being the same as my pain. She has been a mother to her son for 43 years. I carried our daughter for only 38 weeks, never even heard her cry. How could it possibly be the same, we have nothing in common. Today was the funeral, the homily was beautiful, the priest made mention, of this young man's life and what he meant to his community,what he meant to...

So I am getting on my soapbox, cover your ears if you don't want to listen. I am a stay at home home mom, it's something my husband and I decided we wanted for our family. We make sacrifices, so that this is possible. It really bothers me when someone says " oh, must be nice to stay home, your so lucky,I would love to stay home,but we can't afford it !". Really you can't afford it, you seem to be able to afford going out for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You seem to have no problem affording your coffee habit. You also seem to be able to afford, your mani-pedi habit. And lets not forget all your useless purchases you make during the week , you know the cute outfits you feel your kid needs, so they can look cute. And of course your blackberry/Iphone habit you also have, you seem to be able to afford that as well. The car you drive, you know your posh mommy SUV, you also seem to be able to afford that. Funny how the list just goes on and on, and you still claim y...

I have made these for as long as I can remember. My go to recipe for pancakes. Trust me these are just as quick as the ones you make from a box, only difference is they taste so much better ! Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tbsp sugar 2 tsps baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk 2 tbsps cooking oil/ butter Directions 1.In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl combine egg, milk, and cooking oil. Stir mixture just till blended but still slightly lumpy. 2.Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet for each standard sized pancake or 1 tablespoon batter for each dollar sized pancake. 3.Cook till pancakes are golden brown, turning to cook second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges. Makes 8-10 standard sized or 36 dollar sized pancakes

These are a great little treat, they are quick and easy, nothing fancy, but they sure make a great after school snack, and are wonderful with a cup of coffee :) 2 cups sifted flour 1/3 cup sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup milk 3 tablespoons oil 1.Sift together dry ingredients. 2.Mix together wet ingredients and incorporate into dry. Stir until smooth. 3.Drop by teaspoonfuls(no bigger) into hot oil (365 degrees, no hotter), turning after a few moments until golden brown on all sides. 4.Remove and drain. 5.Roll in cinnamon sugar while still warm and serve.

One of my favorite breads to bake, it makes 2 loaves of mildly sweet bread. Perfect for sandwiches, or for toast. Ingredients 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) 2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup vegetable oil 6 cups flour Directions 1.In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. 2.Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 3.Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. 4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Enjoy :)

Banana Upside Down Cake 1 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp lemon juice 3 large bananas 1/2 cup oil/ or 1/2 cup butter (soft) 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon 2 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup milk Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pan. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt together 2 tbsp butter and lemon juice. Stir in brown sugar. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Slice peeled bananas, arrange in a single layer in the brown sugar mixture on the bottom of the pan. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and cinnamon. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the flour mixture in two or three additions, alternating with additions of milk. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly, ensuring that all banana slices are covered. Bake for...