Azoresgal~Life on an Island

My dear acquaintance, it's so good to know you For strength of your hand That is loving and giving And a happy new year With love overflowing With joy in our hearts For the blessed new year Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer For us all who are gathered here And a happy new year to all that is living To all that is gentle, kind, and forgiving Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer My dear acquaintance, a happy new year All of those who are hither and yonder With love in our hearts We grow fonder and fonder Hail to those who we hold so dear And hail to those who are gathered here And a happy new year to all that is living To all that is gentle, young, and forgiving Raise your glass and we'll have a cheer My dear acquaintance, a happy new year Happy new year xo,Diana

This year, I asked Santa, for one thing, a new camera. I must have been a good girl , because that is exactly what was left under the tree, for me. I could, tell you, that I wanted a new camera, so that I could take better pictures of the food, for the blog, but I would be lying. You see I really wanted one so that I could take pictures, of all the wonderful, birds that visit our garden, all year long. Today I got real lucky, when I caught this little guy, a European Robin, drinking in our old stone troughs. This little guy is one of my favorites, I love the melody he sings, and they also have alot of attitude, and never seem to stop in one place for long.  So my dear friends, this blog, is also about birds now ;) I have alot to learn about my new camera, I hope my dear friend Miguel , will be willing to give me some pointers, and maybe one day I can be as good as him.

Around our home, at Christmas, you will have to search pretty high and low for a fruit cake, well at least for one baked by me. I do not like fruit cake, so I never bake one.  I suppose, that is a bit unkind of me, not to have fruit cake , for the fruit cake lovers......but hey, life isn't always fair.  I  do however, bake this wonderful, buttery, dense, cake. I bake it every year, it´s that good.  It is really easy to put together, with some very basic, ingredients, but the results, are out of this world. I like to double the, butter sauce, so that I can drink it with a straw,  pour extra on top of the individual, slices of cake. Be warned, though,  this cake is very, very addictive, and it will have you, going back for seconds, and thirds.... Enjoy  Whiskey Cake Ingredients Cake 1 (18 ounce) boxe yellow cake mix 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding (jello) 4 eggs 1 cup milk 1/3 cup  whiskey 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup chopped pecans/walnuts 1 cup 

We had a holiday open house for our friends, these marinated olives were a  big hit. They are very easy to put together, and only, require being made atleast the day before, to allow the flavours to mingle . Serve them with some cheese and some cold cuts, and v oilá, easy entertaining. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. Marinated Green Olives 3 cups brine cured green olives, 1 lemon, thinly sliced 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano 5 garlic cloves  thinly sliced (I used minced) 1 teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well to mix. Marinate the olive mixture, covered and chilled, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 day before serving. Let come to room temperature before serving. To store indefinitely, transfer the olives to a 1-quart glass jar with tight-fitting lid and keep chilled. Yield: About 3 cups Marinated Black Olives with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Such a bustle ensued that you might have thought a goose the rarest of all birds; a feathered phenomenon, to which a black swan was a matter of course—and in truth it was something very like it in that house. Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; Master Peter mashed the potatoes with incredible vigour; Miss Belinda sweetened up the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped. At last the dishes were set on, and grace was said. It was succeeded by a breathless pause, as Mrs. Cratchit, looking slowly all along the carving-knife, prepared to plunge it in the breast; but when she did, and when the long expected gush of stuffing issued forth, one murmur of delight arose all r

Wishing you and yours, a most blessed Christmas Day. May you find in your stockings, Peace, Love, Happiness, and much Health, that is my wish for you all . xo, Diana

As a little girl growing up in Canada, I always got the sense that Christmas time was very difficult for my mom. It would be many years before, I fully understood why, you see my mom, left her whole family, in Porto Martins , to move to Canada with my dad. They left three weeks after they were married, my father's family was already in Canada when they moved there, my mom however, at the age of twenty, was leaving her parents, brothers and sister behind.  Now Christmas is not an easy time of the year, I can speak for myself, I feel somewhat "bi-polar", excited for my kids, baking, getting things prepared, planning out the meals, but there is always something missing, my family . You see I too left, my parents, my sisters, my brother, to move here, and live in Porto Martins , the place my mom and dad left, so many years before. When I remember, my mom, busily preparing for Christmas, as I do now, I always remember, her stopping in her tracks, when we played one particular

My wonderful Mr. G, went off galvanting to Lisbon last the busiest week, for work my job never sends me anywhere purposes, while I stayed behind with the kiddos. Now as with any other time, when he leaves for Lisbon, he will always kindly ask because I pout and sulk cause he is leaving what I want him to bring back with him, this time he wanted to know if there was anything I wanted for Christmas. I replied, oh nothing, I really don't need anything wait for it,wait for it ........BUT...if you want...... you could bring back some things so I can make some Sushi. I proceeded to ask for Nori sheets, and some wasabi, because oddly enough I can by sushi rice here, but none of the other ingredients. Well he is back and he is the bestest hubby a girl could have, Mr.G, arrived bearing an early christmas gift, he brought the nori and the wasabi powder so much better than a Pandora (a whole other story)  for me. Yesterday for our lunch  fed the kids a wee bit earlier date, I made some sus

Hello friends,  I sure hope, your not upset with me for "bailing out" of here for a couple of days. I can explain, really I can. I was a very busy bee, trying to turn a dream of mine into reality. Guess what dreams really do come true, with  help from some fantastic friends,  and alot of hardwork, our little village, by the seaside, had it's First Christmas Market !!! I can hardly believe it really happened. A little over a month ago,I mentioned my friend Susana, that I thought our little village, would benefit from a Christmas Market, where, local arts,crafts and foods could be sold to the public. I told her, in my mind I could, see lots of tabels with lovely items, made by all who wished to participate, that I wished for a popcorn machine, popping away while the aroma of popcorn wafted in the air, that I wished for someone doing face painting, so all the little kids could get their faces painted while, their parents shopped, and that I really wished for a hot chocolate

These are so easy, they hardly qualify as a recipe. All you  need is some, eggs, bread, some cheese and a bit of butter..thats it....so quick, you could serve them up for breakfast instead of cereal. These are  also really great, after a bowl of warm soup, when you need something extra to fill up little and not so little bellies. The amount you make is really up to you........hope you give them a try. 4 slices bread, crusts removed 4 eggs shredded cheese  (use what you like.) salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 200º/400 degrees.  Butter the insides of 4 ramekins and cut crusts from 4 slices of bread.  Gently press the bread slices into the ramekins.  Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheese in the center of each bread cup.  Crack an egg into the center of each bread cup.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with more cheese.  Cook for 10-15, to your desired level of doneness.  xo,Diana

Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful, And since we've no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! So here on the island this morning, we would say, let rain! let rain! let it rain!. I decided to warm up the kiddos bellies, with some blancmange, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It was the first time I made them this winter, they kids loved them. Misson accomplished. recipe here xo,Diana

Things are starting to get real busy around here, with the Christmas rush. That can happen when you have 3 kiddos, everything seems to be drawing to an end, and that means school christmas parties, sunday school christmas parties, teachers gifts, and I also had a brilliant idea to organize a Christmas Market, in our Village, the first one what the heck was I thinking ;) more on that in a couple of days.  Truth is I am doing alot of baking, but it's almost like, mass production, and not at a pace where, I can stop and take photos.   So these macaroons are from, my Facebook, where I use to post recipes before having, this wonderful little nook. The macaroons all by them selves are wonderful, but it's like they say " go big, or go home" so I dipped them in chocolate. Hope you give them a try. Coconut Macaroons Ingredients 1  can Condensed Milk 1 egg white, whipped 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract 1 (14 ounce) package flaked coco

xo,Diana

With the holidays quickly approaching, I think this wonderful 4 ingredient recipe, is perfect for entertaining. I made them this morning, to give them a test run, it took about 30 minutes to put together, and my hubby  offical taste tester, said they were great. I loved them too, and the fact that all the ingredients, you can have on hand, is great, for any surprise visitors. Salmon and Spinach Tarts   from here Ingredients 375g pack fresh ready-rolled puff pastry 150g young leaf spinach  ( I used frozen, thawed) 200g tub light cream cheese ( I used flavored regular cream cheese) 100g smoked salmon  How to make salmon and cream cheese tarts 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Unroll puff pastry, cut into 2 x 15cm circles (I cut into squares)  and place on a baking sheet. Prick the pastry several times and bake for 8 minutes, until risen and golden. 2. Meanwhile, put spinach in a colander, pour over boiling water to wilt, then refresh under cold runn