tastes just like the 90's.{ bolo de arroz: portuguese rice cake }

Bolos de Arroz, literally "rice cakes", are traditional Portuguese cupcakes, widely acknowledged as  a snack and not as a dessert. In Portugal, coffee is a formality after each and every single meal and it is drunk like a shot. The actual portuguese expression for drinking coffee is even - literally - 'taking coffee'. Yet the portuguese have a thing for coveting pastry trays while ordering their coffees, and when they lend more than two minutes to the act of washing them down, they might very well lower their voice a notch, gulp the guilt and order a Pastel de Nata or a Bolo de Arroz.

Usually served at breakfast and any time in the morning, while going out for an espresso after lunch, as an afternoon snack after school, but mostly appropriate for any occasion when hunger or a sweet tooth strike, these are nowadays probably one of the most simple, common and underrated cakes in the whole country.

I was curious to see if the batter would do well as a normal cake for slicing, so I decided to pour it into a loaf pan - and I have to say it worked just perfect. It is so simple to make it like this, that if you love Bolos de Arroz, or if you have never had one, you must try this recipe!

zebrastreifen.{ zebra gugelhupf }

Looking for the perfect slice of cake for your cup of coffee? No frosting, no fillings, just a nice slice of a simple cake? Simple cakes don't have to be plain or boring, and this zebra bundt cake definitely makes a point of it: it's efortlessly gorgeous! Easy in the kitchen, makes an huge impression at the table. My recipe delivers the perfect crumb, caramelized edges and a delicious flavour that is not too overwhelming - perfect to couple with your coffee or tea. Get your stripes on and los geht's! 

it's freaking snowing on my brunch. { gluten-free pumpkin kaiserschmarrn }

Kaiserschmarrn is a staple dessert in Austria and South Germany, where it recalls sweet memories from a day out skiing in the Alps. Basically a fluffy pancake that is shredded, caramelized, dusted with powdered sugar and typically served with plum or apple compote, it got its name from Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria, for his love of it. I am not Kaiser Franz Joseph, but I also love it. I had already had the though of making pumpkin pancakes this satuday, but some enlightenment suddenly came to me that this was what I ought to make: pick a famous recipe and turn it around by tossing pumpkin into it. And here it is. Kaiserschmarrn... reinvented!

bite sized frosted babies with golden sparkles. { gluten-free vegan devil's food mini cupcakes }

How could one guess these decadent looking tiny beauties would hide such a secret under their golden shimmer? They are healthy, packed with good stuff, vegan, gluten-free and not any less delicious than their regular counterpart! Wanna bake something you can eat without any bit of guilt yet still looks sexy and sinful as heck? This is it!

impressive party recipes, the easy way. { garlic herb butter pull-apart brioche }

'Pão de alho' - or garlic herb butter bread - has long taken its place as staple party appetizer back in Portugal, greatly owing to two facts: first, everybody loves it; second, even the laziest and messiest cook can pull it off, as you can easily buy it frozen and pop it into the oven right before your guests arrive. However, if you're looking to step up your 'pão de alho' game a little bit and impress your guests - without getting way too adventurous for starters - I've got just the thing for you.

in praise of slowness, making the plan as you go and sparking creativity { lemon poppy seed pound cake with blueberries and basil }

For its exquisite yet crowd-pleasing flavour profile and its laid-back yet preppy looks, this cake suits any occasion or table just perfectly. It brings that extra something to a picnic-style brunch in the balcony with plenty other things to choose from, it is just as good for packing and taking to the park to share with friends on a sunday afternoon, or it can just as well be the star of a fancier dinner. Do not skip the glaze and the lemon zest on top, for they are not only a final decorative touch, they actually change the experience of biting into a slice.

let me introduce you your new favourite everyday summer treat { watermelon-strawberry slush }

It's 35ºC outside and maybe even way over it inside your house, you're feeling close to fainting, sweating and panting whenever you have to move a finger... so what now? Just whip youself up this all-natural delicious slush. Luscious, with a vibrant red colour, it's pretty perfect. No need to add colourants.

A couple of days ago, so to speak, I decided I could wait no longer to go back to freezing fruit. I started doing it some years ago when I was at my parents' over the summer, mostly to produce creamy banana ice creams, slowly destroying their blender with rock-like pieces of banana, strawberries, blueberries, or whatever crossed my mind that day. However, since I moved to Germany, I haven't had the chance to use a REAL blender, for all I've got is a feeble cheap hand blender that I bought at the supermarket, which main function is actually spilling soup all around my kitchen. Not funny.

on superfoods, reconnecting and why summer is the perfect time to feel healthy. { mushroom quinoa with lemon-salt-pepper drenched avocado }

Quinoa and mushrooms blend great together, both in terms of flavour and texture, somehow inducing a sort of nostalgia for that good old mushroom risotto. The topping, like an unfinished guacamole, is absolutely perfect: the chopped onion and garlic give it an extraordinary kick and the poweful zest of lemon, as always, goes great with avocado.

I remember completely underrating those big summer holidays as a kid. In middle school, we had some two or three months of holidays, but all I could think of was getting back to school and seeing my friends again. This attitude sounds more reasonable, though, if I tell you that my parents would roughly have a month of holidays, and that, until they were free, all my brothers and I could do was to hang around the house. Once in a while, I'ld go out with them or some friends, but we would mostly just stay home until August. To tell the truth, being somehow held at home during half of the summer is in part how my passion for cooking developed.

they'll melt in your mouth and they're oh-so-addictive { apricot, almond and white chocolate brown butter blondies }

Melt-in-your-mouth summer blondies, with the irresistible taste of brown butter, packed with gooey white chocolate chunks, thinly sliced almond and fruity fresh apricot pieces. They are so wasy and quick to make, plus they take little time in the oven, which makes them the perfect comfort treat for when it is hot outside, yet the heart still asks for some warm pick-me-up. One warning though: they are extremely addictive!

Munich is a terribly moody city when it comes to the weather. Maybe someone has forgotten to explain this city how seasons should work, or maybe it's them who have forgotten the city at some point over the ages. Fact is: once more, spring has come and gone, summer is supposed to be back, yet, looking outside, nothing quite seem to prove it. That's fine for me now, I've grown fonder of this crazy weather, even if I miss our west coast summer and sea a little bit too much. Nonetheless, sunny days and good weather usually mean more smiles, more energy, and an overall better mood. If the weather and emotions are connected, one can definitely acknowledge Munich as a bipolar city.

sweet tooth for tiramisu? i got you covered. { tiramisu for one }

this was actually not planned at all.

i didn't plan to make this dessert.
it came to me through my friend Lola.
she made tiramisu yesterday,
and, for some reason, the idea of it sticked to the back of my mind,
causing such weird and growing tingling sensation,
that i even had to add ladyfingers to my shopping cart.

i didn't plan to make this post.
i actually had two other recipes on the blog waiting list,
but i thought this one deserved a place here too,
and it had to be as soon as possible.

para a minha mãe. { clafoutis dutch baby pancake }

She is a one in a zillion kind of woman.

She may not be easy to deal with at times, for she has the boldest of personalities. She will teach you how to stay strong no matter what, how to stand up for your ideas and ideals. She is the strongest person you will ever meet. She will, without even knowing it, show you to be that woman - in a man's world. She will teach you not to care about petty things and to treasure authenticity and essence. She is not afraid to speak her mind, and although she is transparent as she can be with her emotions, she will always remain a mystery to you.

That makes her infinitely sexy.

She may seem unattached at times, but she has the biggest heart you could ever imagine. She will come off as though she won't easily get off her own track for something or someone - yet she definitely will. Don't let the looks fool you and make her regret that later on. If you find her, beware that you have found a rare gem. You will have to - and you will want to - catch up with her unique pace.

She's not for the faint of heart. 

She embraces challenges and change. And she likes to live with her head up in the clouds. She is a dreamer. She will tell you all about some crazy idea she has had, right in the haze of it, and then she will leave you puzzled as she moves on to the next one, for her mind is both restless and reckless. Don't be fearful and don't try to stop it, it's not like she cannot commit or care. She is merely capable of seeing countless roads at the same time. She's witty and creative and she will definitely inspire you. Her endless unfinished projects may always remain so, for she has already accomplished so much. She has achieved so much in her life, you can only feel profound admiration for her. That is both insping and intimidating, for it's not easy to live up to that standard.

She is larger than life.

We do have a lot in common, and I am glad for it.

And I hope and like to think that, one day, I will be worthy of these words of my own myself.

my blueberry nights { american-style blueberry pie }

i think i am in love.

i am in love with my new - still in the making - flat.

and with the blueberry pie that came with it.

enjoy ;)

baked porridge or the ultimate comfort breakfast. { three baked porridge recipes }

A sweet comment from my friend Laura on my facebook page today got me to share these three baked porridge recipes with you!

By coincidence... it's her birthday!

fish and chips? { codfish burger with cilantro and red saffron }

Are you up for something different this time?

As you may have read on my 'about' page, I have always been fonder of cooking than of baking. But ever since I've started this project, baking has been earning its way into my heart, up to the point that in less than two years living in Germany I have felt the need to buy over half a dozen different cake pans, two pie pans, two dozens muffin tins, a candy thermometer, a couple of baking trays and deep dishes and my (several) pantries have seen countless amounts of flour, sugar and parchment paper. I always keep eggs, butter and milk on the fridge, different sorts of flour and sugar in the kitchen cabinets and I don't feel good knowing that I'm running out of baking powder or yeast. Oh yeah, I've become a baker. Some of you even know me as "the baker" already!

Yet here I am, trying to bring back the foregone notion that I go the extra mile when it comes to cooking - I do... more than ever!

drops of jupiter handpies. { apple caramel handpies }

do you still remember my pie baking frenzy for this party i threw over last december? i think i baked around six or seven different kinds of savoury and sweet handpies! after having tried at least a bite of each different sort of them, these were definitely my favourite ones - and mostly the favourites of everyone else who was lucky enough to choose them first over the rest of the desserts before they were all gone in less than three minutes.

if you make these, make sure you have some friends around, because you may be tempted to eat them all on your own. in a matter of hours. you were warned...

have your blueberry scones: gluten, sugar, dairy and guilt free! ♥ { detox blueberry scones }

I am a firm believer that detox does not necessarily have to mean no-bake.

So if you are looking for a healthier breakfast that:

~ has all the appeal of its regular counterpart ~

~ is packed with flavour ~

~ is gluten-free, vegan and has no refined sugar ~

~ makes the perfect quick fix for any lazy weekend bread cravings ~

this variation on the traditional scones is all you've been looking for.

no butter, no cake? no way. { olive oil lemon bundt cake with white chocolate and berries }

this cake has a very funny story.

whatever you think, think the opposite. { buckwheat, oatmeal and coconut milk banana pancakes with morello cherry sauce }

I am not gluten nor dairy intolerant. I do have a couple of friends who are, to who I would like to whip up a batch of these right now, but unfortunately they live thousands of kilometers away. Nevertheless, I made these just for myself. You know, I like experimenting with new ingredients, I'm captivated by risk and fascinated by those deliberated walks on the wire of life where one can either go terribly wrong... or incredibly well. So I just decided to throw all caution out of the window (together with the gluten and the buttermilk) and turn my entire pancake recipe upside down, without having tried buckwheat flour a single time in my whole life.

Oh well, who cares if I'm starving for breakfast at three pm in the end?

I was way too sure it was going to work exactly as I wanted it to.

picture perfect american style brunch. { golden brioche french toast with diced apple, stewed on whiskey-orange infused maple syrup }

brace yourselves,

the weekend is coming...

what's all the fuss about ramen? { portuguese style ramen }

 

I have always had a hard time picking favourites. As a kid, I used to feel like I was the only one who couldn't name a single favourite dish. You know, steak and fries were not really on the top of my list. I'ld go for seafood rice, grilled fish, tagliatelli with a bold tomato sauce, loads of salad, lasagna, maybe roasted meat... but no, fries were never on my top, and it felt unfair to me to select a couple favourites when that totally depended on my mood - and I could be attracted to such utterly different things!

As I grew up, I came to the conclusion that I just had very eclectic tastes. You know, you can catch me listening to Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash in a minute, then it can easily shift to Pink Floyd or Guns and Roses, crossing Dire Straits in the way, Ed Sheeran, The Strokes, Lykke Li, Junip, Arctic Monkeys, Lana del Rey, Tina Turner, The Black Keys, Chet Faker, Daft Punk, Imagine Dragons or even some Chopin, and my latest love, Hozier. I don't like them all the same - it's just that at times one just fits me better than the others. I have musical cravings.

I realized that being able to tell your favourites is actually important - at least to a certain degree. You know, I don't like Alt-J the same way I like, for instance, The Black Keys, neither do I like Lana as much as I like Lykke. I realized that picking favourites was about knowing yourself better. For instance, for as good as the music can be, I am the most moved by witty lyrics - they take a good sounding music to a whole other level.

In the end, favourites were not that hard to pick. I kind of just had to admit what I already knew.

Food wise - and currently, - my favourite foreign cuisines are likely the italian and... sushi! I love sushi, and we have a lot of great quality restaurants in Portugal, with delicious fresh fish.

I say sushi because there is a lot more to the japanese cuisine - that I was yet to try.

And here begins the story of this recipe...