lisbon day 2

On our second day in Portugal we hopped on the train to Sintra. It is about a 45 minute ride from the city. Sintra lies between the city and the Atlantic and has been described as one of the loveliest spots in the Iberian peninsula. We hit three of the sites while we were there. Our first stop was the Palacio Nacional which was the former royal palace.

After the palace we walked around the town a bit and stopped for a bit to eat. At the cafe we were introduced to our second amazing pastry, queijada finas de sinta. They are very interesting and hard to describe. They have them packaged and they have a bit of a shelf life so we were able to bring some home with us.

Our next stop was the Castelo dos Mouros, which was originally built in the 8th or 9th century. The remains and surrounding flora was impressive. The altitude of the castle is 1408 feet, and for a brief moment (it was very over cast, at some points we could not even see ten feet in front of us) the clouds parted enough that we could see the Atlantic. Our next stop was the Palacio da Pena. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever seen. It is described as a "fairtytale castle" and I would not disagree. The fog was so thick I was not able to take any good pictures.

We had a fast snack and then headed back into the city for a late dinner.

lisbon day 1: evening

After a great lunch on our first day we wandered over to a funky (and not in a good way) open air market. We spent the rest of the day and night walking up and down the hills and stairs that make up the city. We had a fantastic dinner and then off to bed.

I knew that Lisbon was hilly, but honestly I was not prepared for what it really is. My legs are in decent shape, I am up to six mile runs, but I was afraid that I might not make it out of bed the next morning. We figured that we walked about ten miles our first day.

ten

It is hard to believe, but no. 1 turned ten today. The past ten years have flown by. It seems like just yesterday that we were without any kids on our way to the hospital to have our first baby.

This weekend we made cookies to send into school for his class. Our idea was to make one's and zero iced cookies but after going to four different stores to find number cookie cutters we had to pick a different shape. He picked dinosaurs from our cutter collection which we made, iced, bagged and tagged for his classmates.

Happy Brithday!

lisbon day 1: afternoon

After our stop for a bite to eat (it was here that we were first introduced to the pasteis de nata, perhaps my new favorite food in the world, but more on that later) we walked around for a bit and then headed over to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The castle dates to the 11th and 12th centuries and is amazing. From the castle we had spectacular views of the city.

lisbon day 1: morning

We arrived in Lisbon early in the morning, 6:00 am local time. We took the bus into the city and checked into the hotel. The key for me overcoming jet-lag is to keep moving, so we dropped our stuff, cleaned up a bit and hit the streets. We walked for a bit and then then stopped in a pastry shop that lured us in by great breads and pastries in the window.

week twenty six

This is our final share of the season.

We got:
lettuce
arugula
sweet potatoes
spinach
cauliflower
beets
rutabaga

lisbon

My husband and I just returned from an awesome trip to Lisbon.

The kids return from their trip to Disney late tonight.

I am on my way into NYC to meet my husband for dinner (why not take advantage of no kids).

Lots and lots of details to come...

snapshot of fall: 03

snapshot of fall: 02

broccoli

I do not have many recipes from my husbands family (I think this is the only one). They are secrete. This is one of his favorites and it has become a favorite of the kids. It makes a great side dish. I usually double it.

SESAME BROCCOLI

1/2 pound broccoli
olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons vegatable oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic

Preheat over to 500 degrees.

Cut broccoli into pieces. Toss broccoli with olive oil to coat and place on a rimmed cookie sheet. Cook for 10 minutes.

While the broccoli is cooking place the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend to mix.

Remove broccoli from oven and drop temperature to 350 degrees.

Pour sauce over broccoli and cook for about 25 minutes.

week twenty five

Lots of root vegetables.

broccoli
lettuce
arugula
sweet potatoes (about 20 lbs.)
turnips
carrots
radish

bon voyage

Bon Voyage by No. two.

It reads:
1. "I hope you have fun on your vacation."
2. "You too."
3. " You to Mrs. Peck."
4. "I'm going to Florida."
5. "I'm going to Lisbon."
6. "I hope all of you have a good time."

snapshot of fall: 01

advice

On our walk yesterday no. four offered some advice to everyone before walking through the covered bridge, "watch out for cars and poop".

a day off

The kids had the day off from school and my husband took the day off. It was a beautiful fall day and we took advantage of the perfect weather. We did a big yard clean up in the morning and then a trip to the park for a walk in the afternoon.

cookies

The kids were invited to a Halloween party on Saturday. I thought I would make some cookies to bring. I had seen a recipe for a cut out cream cheese sugar cookie so I thought I would give the recipe (you can get it here) a try. I am a sucker for a new recipe. I was not crazy about the outcome. I am not a huge fan of icing the cookies, but these needed the icing, they were more like biscuits than cookes without it. If I try the recipe again I will play around with it a bit, but I think I am more inclined to just use the recipe I have been using for the past ten years.

treasury

This set of note cards made it into a very cool treasury.

Take a peek.