Apple Cake

Yesterday my son made me company. He got some stomach bug and was really bad on Sunday (while I was working on the fair and felt really bad about not being able to be with him), and yesterday he didn't go to school and stood home to recover 100%.

He had to drink a lot of tea during the day, and he was not happy about it...so.. I decided to made a tea party for 2 of us.
We baked a simple apple cake and made a pot of tea ,it was pouring rain outside and we had a cosy tea party watching the rain.

Classic Apple Cake
(recipe I discovered on a rice milk pack while I was having breakfast)

200g spelt flour
50g ground almonds
3ts baking powder
200ml rice milk
6tbs honey
1 egg
5tbs olive oil
5 apples
2ts cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Put the four, almond and baking powder in a bowl.
Mix the egg along with milk and whisk until smooth. Stir in the honey and oil.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the egg mixture.

Grease and line 22cm cake tin with baking paper. Peel the apples and slice thinly placing them directly into the tin. Pour the cake mixture over apples and bake for 30 min.
Leave to cool.

We are on Instagram!!!

Little Upside Down Cake is finnaly on Instagram!! You can find us under @littleupsidedowncake or here

Lisboa BIO

Little Upside Down Cake vai estar novamente presente na LisboaBIO, feira de produtos biológicos nacionais.
É já no próximo Domingo, dia 28 de Outubro, entre as 10 e as 19h no Centro de Artes Culinárias - Mercado Santa Clara (à Feira da Ladra).


Ate Domingo!!!

Pear and Goat Cheese Crostini

I won't write here how much work I had last week, we all have.
What I want to write about is how to try to eat good in these days.
When I worked in my profession in big corporations, there were days when I would pick something from machine and had my lunch at 15h . I wouldn't even take time to eat it peacefully, I would had lunch on my desk while working ( I am sure you know what I am speaking about).
I started to realise how bad I felt after that, my tummy would hurt and I wouldn't feel good, so I started to bring my lunch from home. I would prepare a meal a day before, with some fruit or dry fruits as snack.

Now I work from home and even I can organise my time , there are days that I need to make an effort to stop, take some time to prepare my meal. In these days I use to make something like this Crostini, quick but tasty and healthy.
You can make it in advance and bring to work in your lunchbox , they are tasty even a day after.

How do you deal with days when your schedule is bursting with things to do? Do you try to take some time for your meals or you eat something quick? How does your body react on that?

Pear and Goat Cheese Crostini

1 slice of spelt sourdough bread ( or any other kind you like)
1/2 pear
2 slices of fresh goat cheese
lemon thyme
olive oil
honey
walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Top a slice of bread with some olive oil and goat cheese. Place bread with in the oven for 10 min. Core and thinly slice a pear.
When bread is ready ,take it out from oven and place pear on top. together with some lemon thyme leaves. Sprinkle with some extra olive oil and honey.
If you like, place some walnuts on top.

Hokaido Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

Last week we had am unexpected visit.
Mean Mr. Virus came again.
We were not prepared for this visit. We tried everything , all natural methods, to defend ourselves .For some of us it was enough, for me it was not. After days of trying to deal with Mr. Virus I put white flag out, and called Mr. Antibiotic for help.
So..now when Mr. Virus is almost leaving our house, I wanted to share a secret. There was one thing that helped us passed this last day..Mrs. Soup. She was so comforting, hot and tasty. Our bodies craved for her.
One of them I liked most ,and you can call her for help in case Mr. Virus visit you also.

Hokaido Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium hokaido pumpkin ,cleaned and sliced
1 small ginger root, peeled and grated
1 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tbs olive oil
1l vegetable stock
1ts ground cumin
50 ml coconut milk
salt and pepper

Put onion,garlic, ginger, potato, pumpkin, ground cumin, salt, pepper and stock in a large pot and leave to cook in a covered pot. Cook for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Puree soup with blender and add olive oil and coconut milk. If needed, add more water and adjust seasoning.

Italy

Despite not being Italian, neither ever lived in Italy (for more than 1 month), whenever I'm in Italy, I feel as I am home.
In Italy everything goes around food and wine. Every village, every house, has its own specialty which they are proud of. This was my first time visiting the Abbruzo region and it happened the same.
Italian Nonna welcomed us to her house, happy to teach us some of her favourite recipes. Nonno came along and, a bit latter, a neighbour stopped by. The house was full, but she kept working and explaining... and she was so happy having all of us there.
We made some Caggionetti, Abruzzo’s traditional Christmas treats, and they were divine.

*****

Apesar de não ser italiana, nem nunca ter vivido em Itália (mais de 1 mês), sempre que estou na Itália, sinto-me como se estivesse em casa.
Em Itália tudo anda em torno da comida e vinho. Cada aldeia, cada casa, tem a sua própria especialidade, a qual é motivo de orgulho. Esta foi a minha primeira vez a visitar a região de Abbruzo e aconteceu o mesmo.
A Italiana Nonna acolheu-nos em sua casa, feliz por nos ensinar algumas das suas receitas preferidas. Nonno também apareceu e, pouco tempo depois, um vizinho apareceu. A casa estava cheia, mas ela continuou a trabalhar e a explicar... e estava muito contente por nos ter todos lá.
Fizemos algumas Caggionetti, a especialidade tradicional de Natal de Abruzzo, e estavam divinais.

The next day we had a class with Nikole Herriott and Jennifer Causey.
Nikole was styling and Jen was photographing. For me it was a great experience watching two of the people that I really admire, working and complementing each other.
We tried to style and photograph our own sets... I loved the experience.

*****

No dia seguinte, tivemos uma aula com a Nikole Herriott e a Jennifer Causey.
A Nikole fez o styling e a Jen fotografou. Para mim foi uma experiência enorme assistir a duas pessoas que eu realmente admiro, a trabalhar e a complementarem-se uma à outra.
Nós tentamos também fazer o styling e fotografar os nossos próprios sets... adorei a experiência.

Sunday

I checked the weather forecast on Friday. Raining on Sunday, they said.
I imagined a cosy day under the blanket, watching movies or reading a book.
I imagined an afternoon tea with a piece of cake.

But... things usually don't go the way we imagine (at least in my case).
My Sunday was not in front of TV or reading a book.
I didn't have an afternoon tea, I just ate the piece of cake with one hand doing some other things with the other.
There was a lot of work to be done, homework, exercises, reading, cooking... and I know that next Friday I'm going to check the weather forecast again and make cakes imagining a cosy afternoon or a picnic day... because next Sunday I may have a day as I imagined.

*****

Consultei a previsão do tempo na sexta-feira. Chuva para domingo, segundo eles.
Imaginei um dia agradável debaixo do cobertor, a ver filmes ou a ler um livro.
Imaginei um chá à tarde com uma fatia de bolo.

Mas... as coisas normalmente não correm como imaginamos (pelo menos comigo).
O meu domingo não foi em frente à televisão nem a ler um livro.
Não tive chá da tarde, só comi a fatia de bolo com uma mão a fazer outras coisas com a outra.
Havia muito trabalho a ser feito, TPCs, exercícios, ler, cozinhar... e eu sei que na próxima sexta-feira vou consultar a previsão do tempo novamente e fazer bolos a imaginar uma tarde agradável ou um dia de piquenique... porque no próximo domingo talvez possa ter um dia como imaginei.

My Mother's Simple Cake

4 eggs
12tbs sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1ts baking powder
12tbs flour
strawberries

Preheat the oven to 180ºC
Beat together the eggs and sugar until pale. Mix in milk and olive oil. Mix the flour and baking powder. Carefully fold into the egg mixture.

Pour half of the mixture into the baking dish (square or round), lined with baking paper. Bake for 10 min. Place the strawberries on top and add the rest of the mix. Bake until golden (around 25min) or until skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

*****

Bolo Simples da minha Mãe
4 ovos 12 colheres de sopa de açúcar
1/2 chávena de leite
1/2 chávena de azeite
1 colher de chá de fermento em pó
12 colheres de sopa de farinha
morangos

Pré-aqueça o forno a 180ºC
Bata os ovos e o açúcar até ficar pálido. Misture leite e azeite. Misture a farinha e o fermento em pó. Cuidadosamente junte à mistura do ovo.

Coloque metade da mistura na forma (quadrada ou redonda), forrada com papel vegetal. Leve ao forno durante 10 min. Coloque os morangos por cima e adicione o restante da mistura. Leve a dourar no forno (cerca de 25min) ou até que um palito inserido no centro saia limpo.

Italian Market

Whenever I go abroad, the first thing that I want to visit is a local market. Markets say so much about a place! Locals chatting and discussing with farmers, colours and the smell of food, fresh products hanging from the shelfs... everything about a market is absolutely amazing.

When I heard that Nikole is coming to teach about food styling and photography in Italy and that we would visit a local market on our first day... let's put it together... Italy, market, Nikole teaching, I don't need more to convince me to join in.

*****

Sempre que vou para fora, a primeira coisa que quero visitar é um mercado local. Os mercados dizem muito sobre um lugar. Os locais a conversar e a discutir com os agricultores, as cores e o cheiro a comida, produtos frescos pendurados nas prateleiras... tudo sobre o mercado é absolutamente incrível.

Quando ouvi que a Nikole vinha ensinar fotografia e styling de comida em Itália e que iríamos visitar um mercado local no nosso primeiro dia... juntando as peças... Itália, mercado, Nikole a ensinar, não preciso de mais para me convencer a ir.

In small Italian villages it's usual that the market goes from one place to the other during the week and we were lucky that, on Thursday, was the market day in Roseto.

It was quite small but full of great things... cheese, sausages, fish, vegetables, fruits... my eyes were wide open, my nose was trying to absorb all of the fragrances, I was in paradise!!

*****

Nas vilas pequenas italianas, é normal o mercado ir de um lugar para o outro durante a semana e nós tivemos sorte de, na quinta-feira, ser o dia de mercado em Roseto.

Era pequeno, mas cheia de coisas óptimas... queijo, salsichas, peixe, legumes, frutas ... os meus olhos estavam bem abertos, meu nariz estava a tentar absorver todos os aromas, eu estava no paraíso!

Our local guide was great explaining all of the local specialities that we could find around and, when he got tired, he just invited us for a glass of wine.
Drinking wine and eating cheese at 10 o'clock in the morning... not bad at all! {*smile}

*****

O nosso guia local foi fantástico a explicar todas as especialidades locais que poderíamos encontrar por alí e, quando se cansou, convidou-nos para um copo de vinho.
Beber vinho e comer queijo às 10 horas da manhã... não é nada mau! {*smile}

Aubergine and Walnuts Cold Salad

My mum made this salad this summer for us.
We had a big family lunch, with my parents, my uncle and his grandchildren and I noticed, on a table full of food, a small plate with something that took my attention. I though it was aubergine but I didn't know more.
And then I tried, and I felt so many different textured and tastes... garlic, crunchy walnut, juicy pomegranate and soft grilled aubergine... an explosion of different tastes and flavours.
As the table was full with all kind of food, I was lucky that nobody else noticed the salad... and I had it just for me. Later I noticed a smile in my mother's face and she just said "I'll give you the recipe later" {*smile}.
It is so good that you can serve it as a main dish... which I actually did last night.

*****

A minha mãe fez esta salada este verão para nós.
Tivemos um grande almoço de família, com os meus pais, o meu tio e os seus netos e eu reparei, numa mesa cheia de comida, num pequeno prato com algo que tomou a minha atenção. Pensei que fosse beringela, mas não sabia mais.
E então experimentei, e senti tantos sabores e texturas diferentes... alho, noz crocante, romã sumarenta a beringela macia grelhada... uma explosão de gostos e sabores diferentes.
Como a mesa estava cheia com todo o tipo de comida, eu tive a sorte de ninguém reparar na salada... e ficou só para mim. Mais tarde reparei num sorriso no rosto da minha mãe e ela disse: "Eu dou-te a receita mais tarde" {sorriso *}.
É tão bom que se pode servir como prato principal... que foi o que fiz ontem à noite.

Some small things that I wanted to share:
* remember that I spoke about Nikole Harriott? On the next few days I'm going to Italy for a workshop with her and I am absolutely thrilled
* don't forget about Knock Knock discount... just a few more days left
* would love to receive more feedback about my etsy shop... please...
* I'm gathering some more inspiration for you

*****

Algumas pequenas coisas que gostaria de partilhar:
* lembram-se de ter falado sobre a Nikole Harriott? Nos próximos dias, vou para Itália para um workshop com ela e eu estou completamente encantada
* não se esqueçam do desconto Knock Knock... faltam apenas mais alguns dias
* adoraria receber mais feedback sobre a minha loja etsy... por favor...
* ando a reunir mais alguma inspiração para vocês

Aubergine and Walnut Cold Salad

2 medium aubergines
150g walnuts
4 garlic cloves
1ts coriander seeds
1ts sweet pepper, ground
4ts vinegar
basil leaves (leave some to decorate), cut
4ts pomegranate seeds
salt
pepper

Cut the aubergines into rounds, 1cm thick, put salt and leave them to rest.
Place the walnuts into a bag and smash with a rolling pin. Cut the garlic into really small pieces.
Place the walnuts and garlic into a recipient and mix with coriander seeds, pepper, vinegar, pomegranate and basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat the grill and place the aubergines on it.
Assemble, putting a layer of grilled aubergine and sprinkle with some olive oil. Place the walnut mix on top and finish with another layer of aubergine.
Sprinkle with some more olive oil, pomegranates and basil leaves. Leave in the fridge to cool.

*****

Salada Fria de Beringela e Nozes

2 beringelas médias
150g de nozes
4 dentes de alho
1 colher de sementes de coentro
1 colher de pimentão em pó
4 colheres de vinagre
folhas de manjericão (deixe algumas para decorar), cortadas
4 colheres de sementes de romã
sal
pimenta

Corte as beringelas em rodelas, de 1cm de espessura, coloque sal e deixe-a descansar.
Coloque as nozes num saco e esmague com um rolo. Corte o alho em pedaços muito pequenos.
Ponha as nozes e o alho num recipiente e misture com as sementes de coentro, pimentão, vinagre, romã e folhas de manjericão. Tempere com sal e pimenta.
Aqueça o grelhador e coloque lá as beringelas.
Prepare, colocando uma camada de beringela grelhada e polvilhe com um pouco de azeite. Coloque a mistura de noz por cima e termine com outra camada de beringela.
Polvilhe com um pouco mais de azeite, romãs e folhas de manjericão. Deixe no frigorífico para arrefecer.

Plum and Peach Almond Pie

One reason why I love going to food workshops and cooking classes, is the chance to meet the other foodies, people that are obsessed with cooking and food as I am. We think and act the same way when we are inside the kitchen and around the food. It's always so much fun and I come back home even more inspired.

On Saturday I went to a cooking class with Sarah Britton from My New Roots.
She was amazing! We cooked and laughed, had new food experiences and the most amazing dinner.

On Sunday, when I woke up, I just had to cook. It was a grey, rainy day so, what could be better than baking? I wanted a tart (my autumn obsession with tarts continues) and went for Donna Hay's recipe of Plum Tart.
I will just tell you that this pie pastry is amazing! It became definitely my favourite... so light and fluffy.

*****

Uma das razões pela qual eu adoro ir a workshops e aulas de cozinha, é a oportunidade de conhecer outros foodies, pessoas que são tão obcecadas por cozinha e comida como eu sou. Pensamos e agimos da mesma forma quando estamos dentro da cozinha e à volta da comida. É sempre muito divertido e eu volto para casa ainda mais inspirada.

No sábado fui a uma aula de culinária com a Sarah Britton de My New Roots.
Ela foi incrível! Nós cozinhamos e rimos, tivemos experiências novas com comida e um incrível jantar.

No domingo, quando acordei, tinha de cozinhar. Estava um dia cinzento e chuvoso, por isso, o que poderia ser melhor do que cozinhar? Eu queria uma tarte (a minha obsessão de Outono por tartes continua) e fui para uma receita da Donna Hay de Tarte de Ameixa.
Vou apenas dizer-vos que esta massa de tarte é maravilhosa! Tornou-se definitivamente a minha preferida... tão leve e fofa.

Plum and Peach Almond Pie
(adapted from Seasons by Donna Hay)

1 quantity of pie pastry
60g ground almonds
6 plums
1 peach
2tbs honey
1 egg white, lightly beaten, for brushing
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Divide the pastry in half and roll out each piece.
Line the base of the shallow pie dish with a piece of pastry and sprinkle with ground almonds.
Place the plums and peach in a bowl and toss with honey. Arrange on the top of the ground almonds.
Cut circles from the remaining pastry with a round cookie cutter. Arrange the circles around the edge of the pie, brush with the egg whites and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the pie for 35min or until pastry is golden and crisp.

Pie pastry

250g spelt flour
1tbs vanilla sugar
1/4ts baking powder
180g soy margarine
50ml cold water

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and margarine in a mixer and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Gradually add the water and process until mixture comes together and form smooth pastry (if it is too sticky, add some more flour).
Wrap in a plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 min before using.

*****

Tarte de Amêndoa com Ameixa e Pêssego
(adaptado de Seasons por Donna Hay)

1 quantidade de massa de tarte
60g de amêndoas moídas
6 ameixas
1 pêssego
2 colheres de mel
1 clara de ovo, levemente batida, para pincelar
açúcar granulado para polvilhar

Pré-aqueça o forno a 160ºC. Divida a massa ao meio e estique cada parte.
Cubra a base do prato raso de tarte com um pedaço de massa e polvilhe com as amêndoas moídas.
Coloque as ameixas e pêssego numa tigela e misture com mel. Disponha por cima das amêndoas moídas.
Corte círculos da massa restante com um cortador de biscoitos redondo. Disponha os círculos ao redor da borda da tarte, pincele com a clara de ovo e polvilhe com açúcar.
Leve a tarte ao forno durante 35min ou até a massa dourar e ficar crocante.

Massa da tarte

250g de farinha de espelta
1 colher de açúcar de baunilha
1/4 colher de chá de fermento em pó
180g de margarina de soja
50 ml de água fria

Coloque a farinha, o açúcar, o fermento em pó e margarina numa batedeira e bata até a mistura parecer pão ralado.
Aos poucos, adicione a água e bata até a mistura começar a juntar e formar massa suave (se estiver muito pegajosa, adicione mais um pouco de farinha).
Embrulhe em filme aderente e coloque no frigorífico durante 30 minutos antes de usar.