Azoresgal~Life on an Island

 Social isolation continues, day 35 for us, and the kids have been asking for something sweet! Pudding it is!If you have a sweet tooth and are looking for a simple dessert to make, you should give this one a try. This butterscotch pudding is rich, creamy, and truly delicious. One of the easiest treats to put together with simple ingredients,the hardest part is waiting for it to chill in the refrigerator. For me, it's comfort food at its best, and good Lord knows we can all use a little extra dose of comfort these days. Hope you are all keeping safe, and staying home. 1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Light Or Dark Is Fine 1/4 cup Cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon Salt 3 cups Whole Milk 4 whole Large Egg Yolks (discard Or Save Whites For Another Use) 2 Tablespoons Butter  Whipped Cream INSTRUCTIONS Gently whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium nonstick pan. In a separate pitcher or bowl, whisk together the milk and egg yolks. Pour it into the pan with ...

These are the easiest biscuits you could ever make. No need  for a rolling pin or biscuit cutter, just some mixing, scooping, baking and you’re done!  Oh and let's not forget how great they taste! Light and fluffy,with a crisp outer crust and soft center. We love these biscuits, they can be added to any meal, I served them last night with Clam Chowder   . I really hope you give them a try! 2-1/2 cups self-rising flour 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 cup cold milk 8 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, ( I use salted) 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese For brushing on top 1/4 cup butter, melted 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp dried parsley/or fresh to taste Heat the oven to 230C degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, garlic powder, salt and cayenne until combined.  Pour the melted butter, and the cold milk...

When it's cold outside, there is nothing like a hot bowl of soup to warm you up, this quick ramen hits the spot! This is a quick fix, it is by no means a tradtional Japanese ramen, it won't take you all day to make. It is fast and easy, and is perfect for when you are craving comfort food. 700ml good chicken stock 3 garlic cloves, halved 4 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to season 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced ½ tsp Chinese five spice pinch of chilli powder 1 tsp white sugar (optional) 400g ramen noodles 400g sliced cooked pork or chicken breast 2 tsp sesame oil For the garnish baby spinach sweetcorn boiled eggs, peeled and halved  sheet of dried nori, finely shredded sliced green spring onions or shallots sprinkle of sesame seeds Mix the chicken stock, garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, five spice, chilli powder and 300ml water in a stockpot or large saucepan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and sim...

Chicken pot pie is such a perfect comfort food  for the cooler autumn nights upon us. A  dish with a golden  brown flakey pastry crust  loaded with a creamy chicken and veggie filling. Making this pot pie all from scratch is so worth the effort, but if you are pressed for time, going the store bought route will also work. Either way, your family is going to love the savory, delicious goodness that is this pie! 2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (turkey works/ deli chicken/ leftover chicken) Crust for a double pie (storebought/or from scratch) 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 carrots, diced 1 small sweet onion, diced 1 cup frozen peas 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup flour 1½ to 2 cups  chicken broth 1/2 cup heavy cream ( or milk) 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, minced (or 1 tsp. ground) Fresh chopped parsley to taste Salt and pepper to taste Chicken bouillon cube or 1 TBS bouillon paste (optional) Preheat oven to...

 I must say, that sometimes , I feel I bit guilty about being a stay at home mom, mostly when it´s cold outside, and I send everyone out the door in the early chilly morning. The kids go off to school, and Mr. G off to work, and Luna and I get to hang out in a toasty, warm home and wait for them to come back. We are a couple of weeks shy of winter, but they leave when it's dark, & arrive when it´s dark at the end of the day. Now we, in fact do not get snow, we might get the odd hail storm, but it does get chilly for us. So when they do come home, I want them to eat something warm and comforting. Pot roast is one of those comfort meals I  love to make for them. It is really easy to make, do not be scared, aside from browning the meat, everything else just goes into the pot. It´s also a one pot meal, and you know you can´t beat that, little to no clean-up. It just needs time, to bubble away in the oven, while the super delicious smell of the roast wafts through your h...

Bôla de Carnes, is a traditional Portuguese bread, it´s a savory quick bread, that has all sorts of cold meats, leftover meats, or deli meats added to it. I also like to add some cheese to it, just because it can´t hurt !  This is one of my favorite things to make to take on a picnic, or to serve at parties, but it´s also really handy, when you don't know what to make for dinner! This was the case for yesterday, the day got away, as sometimes it does, I knew I had leftovers for Mr.G, but wasn´t quite sure what to make for the kids, when I remembered this. There are many versions for this, and for the most part they are made while using "the force ", no recipe, just eyeballing it. When there is a recipe, the common measure used is a "chavena" known to you and I as a coffee cup/mug, and yes it is a legit form of measurement! You can make this in two different ways, the first is as a cake, with all the cold cuts chopped in, and poured into a tube pan. The second wa...

This is for me, one of my favorite Portuguese dishes, hands down, total comfort food ! It is the perfect combination of sweet peas, savory sausage, and poached eggs. Not convinced yet....there is also an amazing  sauce, perfect for soaking up with some bread. This is one of those portuguese dishes, where  mom´s or  grandmother´s "eye-balled"( or like I say used the force ) all the ingredients to produce a wonderful meal. I believe everyone who is Portuguese has "the " recipe for these, adding their own spin to it. This is the way I make it for my family, and yes I do " use the force ", but this time I actually measured out everything ! This is not complicated food, it is simple food, and simple is a beautiful thing! ¼ cup olive oil 1 linguiça or chouriço sausage ( portuguese), sliced 2 small onions, finely chopped 1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3-4 bay leaves 7-9 whole allspice corns 1 cup plain tomato sauce 1 cup white wine 2 cups...

Caldo Verde, portuguese for "green broth", is a very simple soup. Made with few ingredients, potatoes, collard greens, onion and sausage. I made a big pot of it today, we are still recovering from the New Year´s Eve party we hosted ! This soup is flavorful, comforting  and satisfying. Did I also mention it's great for hangovers? Seeing as the season of "eating, drinking and being merry" is coming to an end, a great big bowl of Caldo Verde just hits the spot ! 8 cups water 2 tsp fine salt 1/4 cup olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 large onions,  peeled and quartered 5 medium  potatoes, peeled and halved chourico sausage 1or 2 links 2 cups finely shredded collard greens (6-8 leaves) 4 cups water In a large saucepan, combine water, 1 tsp of the salt, 2 tbsp of the oil, garlic, onions, potatoes and chourico, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 35 to 40 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierc...

Canja is my favorite soup in the whole entire world! I know that sounds childlike, but that's exactly how I feel when I eat this beautiful rice and chicken soup. It just takes me back to being a little girl, sitting at my grandfather's kitchen table, eating a bowl of my grandmother's canja and drinking a bottle of  fizzy orange pirolito. When ever we arrived here on the island for our holiday's, canja was one of the many dishes, that was part of the big family lunch at my maternal grandparent's home. I make it for my family because they enjoy it, but I tend to make it for myself when I am a little under the weather, or just feeling saudades. Canja is love in a bowl, like a great big warm hug, comfort at it's best. Like any portuguese dish, there are a million and one ways to make this. Some call for the use of cumin, others the addition of potatoes. This is how I make it, these simple flavors, are the closest to what my grandmother's  and my mom's Ca...

My kids are all home for summer vacation, and I am over the moon about this! It's our time to unwind and take it slowly, or in other words be lazy. We do however need to eat while being lazy, and egg salad sandwiches are just the perfect thing ! This egg salad is creamy, chunky, and easy !    Consider this a basic recipe, and feel free to add, anything you like to it. Paprika, dill, celery, olives, even some curry powder will change it up, and add some extra flavor. Serve on your choice of bread, along with your favorite chips and drink, then kick up your feet and relax. 6 hard boiled eggs 2 green onions finely chopped 2 teaspoons dijon mustard 1/4 cup mayonaise or more salt and black pepper to taste In a bowl, mash the peeled hard boiled eggs with a potato masher ( or dice), add the sliced green onions, the dijon mustard, and enough mayonaise to hold everything together. Give it a quick mix, add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve on slice bread, or pita brea...

Bread that needs no kneading? What?  Yes and it absolutely works, it's incredibly easy. The hardest part is deciding in  advance when to make the dough, and then waiting  up to 18 hours. If you are willing to give it a try, you can have fresh-baked, crackly-crusty, rustic style bread when ever you want. Letting the dough rise over night is your best choice, I actually made my dough at 11pm last night. Yes I know I am crazy like that, I was surfing Pinterest, and thought, oh heck why not? So glad I did, it also gave me a chance to use my new dutch oven. There are plenty of recipes online for no knead bread, this was a combination of two that I really liked. Don't be scared to give it a try, it really is fool proof. Oh and please don't forget to buy some great butter, to slather on the just out of the oven bread...seriously..Heaven ! 3 cups All Purpose Flour 1 1/2 tsp. sal 1 tsp. yeast 1 1/2 cups luke-warm water Combine the three dry ingredients in a ...

 Portuguese a çorda is true comfort food, it's simple and it warms the soul. It's a combination of garlic,butter, bread, mint, water and eggs. Really quite frugal, as it turns leftover bread into a tasty soup. I have to be honest, I have only come to appreciate this lovely soup, in the last couple of years. One day I just got a craving for it,and made some, I am so glad I did. Every once in a while, I just get the need to make it, usually when I am not feeling well, or feeling a bit blue. Today was one of those days, I am fighting a cold, but much worse struggling with the fact, that Emma's birthday is coming up. Everything has become gloomy once again, and the tears appear from nothing. I just want to crawl away, under a blanket, for the next couple of day's. I know that's not being possible, this warm bowl of açorda was soothing and helped raise my spirits. Now everyone's mother and grandmother has a version for making Açorda, this is my way of making...

Homemade tortillas are very easy and inexpensive to make and they taste so much better than the store bought ones. I love that I know whats in them, sure it will take a little time, but once you try a fresh warm tortilla, it will all be worth it. My kids love them ! I actually have a tortilla press, that was given to me as a gift. If using a press, a ziplock bag, cut to open like a book, and the use of some cooking spray make things really easy. If you are rolling them out, lots of flour, dusted on your counter, helps with avoiding a sticky mess. These are great for fish tacos, burritos, and great as wraps for falafel ! Now don´t be scared, the first time might not go smoothly, but soon you will get the hang of it. Oh, and get the kids to help, those little hands are perfect for rolling the dough into balls ! 3 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder ⅓ cup canola oil 1 cup warm water (up to) In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, and oil. Slowly ad...

 This is one of my favorite recipes, I have had for atleast 15 years. It is hand written on a tattered and yellowing page in my very old cookbook. I haven’t made it in such a long time and I’m wondering why since it’s SO good. It is a great coffee cake, very pretty and it tastes great too. For variety, you can use your choice of pie filling in place of cherry pie filling, strawberry or blueberry. The glaze is optional, but yummy, I did not add it today, as I was out of icing sugar. I hope you try it, you won't regret it. Enjoy your weekend ! 3/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 1/4 cups flour 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup butter 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 can (19 oz.) cherry pie filling 1/3 cup sliced almonds Glaze (optional) 1 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon almond essence Directions: Combine milk and lemon juice. Set aside. Combine flour and sugar in food pr...

Happy Pi (3/14)  Day ! If your a math-lover or dessert-lover, today is the perfect day. I am the latter of the two ! So to celebrate, I made a Chocolate Walnut Pie ! It's easy to prepare, the filling is quick to mix, and you don't even have to prebake the shell. Easy Peasy ! 1  package round puff pastry 1/2 cup brown sugar 2/3 cup corn syrup 1/3 cup chocolate chips 2 tablespoons butter 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla pinch of salt 2 cups chopped walnuts Pre-heat oven to 200C. Line a 8 inch pie plate or tart pan with the puff pastry, cutting to size. In a bowl mix the sugar and corn syrup, microwave just till its warm, enough to mix well. Add in the chocolate chips, butter, vanilla, and salt, mix till everything is combined and chocolate has melted. Next add in the 2 eggs, beat and mix well, adding the walnuts last. Pour mixture into the pie plate, spreading it out to the side of the dish with a spoon. Bake in the oven 20-25 minutes, or until...

A friend of mine asked me for this recipe today, I could have sworn it was on the blog already, but I was mistaken. These are a lovley fried cookie, they are crispy, light and barely sweet. Their sweetness comes from the powdered sugar that is sprinkled on them. They are ever so pretty, I can´t help but smile when they are all finished, and placed on a platter. You probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now, there is a catch though, you need a special shaped iron to make them. The irons come in all shapes and patterns, and are easily found online. Typically these cookies are made for Christmas, but I always tend to make them for Carnaval. That just so happens to be this weekend for us, Lent is just around the corner, so now is a great time to make these ! Thanks Anita for reminding me, to share this on the blog ! 2 eggs 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1 cup flour Oil for frying; Beat eggs slightly with sugar and salt. Add milk and flour, the...

This is one of my very favorite things to eat, sesame noodles, I love it better than  chocolate . It is easy, and can be thrown together really quickly. The sauce is light, a little bit sweet, and a little bit spicy. All you have to do is cook the pasta, whisk together the sauce and Voilá your done ! I like to use rice noodles, but you can use any pasta you like. It's perfect for a late night snack  dinner after a long day of work. You can add chicken or beef or even shrimp if you like, or crunchy sugar peas. I hope you give it a try !  1 package rice noodles/ or pasta 1/4 cup  soy sauce 2 tablespoons sugar 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 green onions, sliced toasted sesame seeds Cook rice noodles/ or pasta according to package directions. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the water before draining. Meanwhile in a large bowl add soy sauce and all other ingredients ex...

We are still in the depths of winter, and the island has been grey and windy. Today it rained all day, and I have been dreaming about summer. Right now the only thing close to summer, is the many jars of jam and jelly I have in the hutch in my kitchen. I went looking through the jars today, and way in the back, found a jar of grape jam. It made me really happy, funny how a jar of jam can do that, it reminded me of late August, and it's lazy afternoons. I decided to bake something, I haven't made in a very long time..in fact way too long, a simple jelly roll. It turned out lovely, warmed up the kitchen, and put some smiles on our faces. 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon  Baking Powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup Jam  - flavor is your choice, ( I used grape) confectioners' sugar/ or sugar Instructions: Mix together flour, Baking Powder and salt. In a small bowl beat together eggs and sugar until well mixed and ...

This is another one of our favorite meals at our house ! It is super easy to make, requires 3 ingredients, and a crock pot ! If you start it in the morning, by the time everyone is coming in the door, dinner will be ready. I have not  added a specific weight for the pork, because that really depends on the size of your crock pot. I like to serve this with coleslaw, and mac and cheese. It  is great in the winter for comfort food, but lovely in the summer, when you don´t want to go near the stove ! Try using a really good BBQ  sauce, as it is the only other ingredient of 3 . If you would prefer to add some spices, go for it, it certainly wouldn't hurt. I hope you give it a try ! Ingredients 1 Pork shoulder roast/ pork loin/ pork tenderloins 1 can of Dr. Pepper/ root beer/ coca cola 2 cups of barbecue sauce, one for now and one for later some splashes of liquid smoke ( if you have some ) Instructions: Place the pork roast in your Crock Pot. Pour Dr. Peppe...

This is such a great breakfast dish, it is a cross between bread pudding and french toast. It is prepared the night before, so it is great for any holiday breakfast or brunch, or a lazy Sunday morning. It's filled with blueberries and cream cheese, and served with a very yummy blueberry sauce that just make it...the breakfast of Champions ! Seriously I wouldn't lie to you! The sauce really takes it over the top, but if you just want to serve it with icing sugar, and maple syrup, that's fine too. My family loves it, I hope your's will too. Ingredients 12 slices day-old bread, cut into cubes **or enough slices to fill a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish quite full. 2  packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes 2 cups fresh blueberries/or frozen 12 eggs, beaten 2 cups milk/ or 1 milk and 1 cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup maple syrup Sauce 1 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup water 1 cup fresh blueberries/or frozen 1 tablespoon bu...