December, 8

Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Aniversary of my Christening.

Click on the images to see better. They have an amazing beauty.

Today's Flowers

For Today's Flowers

Cozido à portuguesa

Boiled the portuguese way.

It's the name of this dish. Remember the feijoada? That is a stew. This is similar but just boiled.

You put in a big pan the vegetables,potatoes, turnips, cabage, onions, carrots and the sausages of all kinds and meat and let it boil all together so the seasoning and flavour of the meats will blend with the vegetables.

When is ready, you take some of the boiling water and with that you make rice. It will end a bit yellowish because of the sausages boiled in that water.

That you may have the remaining water as soup.

Delicious.

Show & Tell Friday

Today, for Kelli's Show and Tell, I will show you some of my bread bags. I think I posted its pictures in my previous blog Mrs L. But I'm not sure. Never mind. Here they go.

They were given to me by my grandmother and mother before I was married for when I would be married and have my house.

This last one it was me who bought and you saw it already when I showed my aprons.

The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY
1. December.2008

Outside my window...
Raining cats and dogs. It's freezing and it's raining hail.Praise the Good Lord, we need rain too, not only sunny days.

I am thinking...
That today begins December, such a nice month…

I am thankful for...
We all are at home, all happy doing our Christmas decorations. It’s bank holiday today: we celebrate the end of the Spanish usurpation of the Portuguese throne (1. Dec. 1640). Praise the good Lord!

From the learning rooms...
My little girl – 4 yo – is learning how to set the Christmas Tree

From the kitchen...
I'm going to making apple crumble (again) and cookies.

I am wearing...
My homemaking uniform: navy sweather and trousers and apron (always apron).

I am creating...
Cooking is also a creation, so my cookies and crumble is what I'm creating.

I am going...
To stay ay home, the best place to be.

I am reading...
A book on Fatima.

I am hoping...
To feel good so I can make everything I need and want to.

I am hearing...
The sound of hail on the windows.

Around the house...
The children are talking and laughing and my husband is all happy around the kitchen.I must do some more tidying up in my bedroom while the children and my husband do the Christmas Tree. The same with the kitchen - continuous cooking make continuous tidying.A load of laundry or more. The problem is I can't put them on the line, only in the drying machine.

One of my favorite things...
Staying at Home.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Finishing my Christmas lists. Make some Christmas shopping. Wrap some presents.
Do more tidy up.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...




Join us at The Simple Womans Day Book

Today's Flowers

For Today's Flowers .

Feijoada

Beans stew, for a cold and rainy day.

Just put to boil the beans you prefer.

Add all kind of sausages. We use some made with pork meat.

Add bacon.

Cut a savoy cabbage in four parts and put in the pan together with the other things.

The same with carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic and parseley.

Season with salt and all the spices you like.

In other pan we boil a farinheira - sausages made with wheat flour, pork fat and spice - and morcela - a blood sausage, I don't like it but my husband does. It must be boiled apart because sometimes it explodes and if it's cooked with the other things is all mixed and is not so good.

All this sausages are smoked and tipicaly portuguese but maybe you can do it with other kind, just have to be the smocked kind.

Good for a Winter day.

Chestnuts

There's one thing I long all year long: chestnuts. I like so much since I was a little girl in a land where there wasn't any. Planted there, I mean. It would go from Europe to Africa every time Christmas was going near.
And I ate lots and lots. The same now but even more. I can't wait to see them in shops, usualy expensive first, then going less expensive.

This year, after buying one kg or two each time, we decided to buy a sac of 5 kg.
We have been eating it in big amounts, mainly at saturdays, rosted and/boiled and seeing a movie, all the family together.
I must say my favorite are the boiled ones.

Some years ago, I ate a chestnut jam. I liked it so much I'm always planing to make it. I already looked for a recipe in the Internet and all, but I never made it.
Well, maybe this year.I will tell you if I make it.

Making soup

Put a big pan with water on the stove.

Just add potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.

Leave it boiling for a while.

When is ready, add some fresh coriander.

Leave to boil for some minutes more.

This minute, you will feel the most wonderful smell coming from the pan.

It's ready.

Now, mix it all together with a blender or something and add olive oil.

Et voilà.

Now give thanks for that food and the confort it brings to the soul to have plenty of food.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm not well. I'm at home and even this doesn't make me very happy because I don't feel well. I'm better then the day before yesterday when I woke up so dizy and desiquilibrated I hardly could walk. Now I'm better but I still feel the floor moving when I walk and I don't feel well reading or writing. Looks like that's my interior earing and my back doesn't help too.

I went already to take a back massage and I'm better. I went to a doctor that said it is the hear and tomorow I'll go to the otorrinolaringologist so he can see my ears and have his saying.

I was so happy because I was almost arriving at my holidays, just some more days and I'm off till next year and now this.

Sorry for all this self pitty but I was in need of that.

The good thing of all this is I'm home.

And I will be good in no time. I do hope that.

Happy Thanksgiving to all american friends of the blogosphere.