I was waiting all the week for this dinner. I felt it is going to be special.
Two friends, friends I met through blogging, whose work and esthetics I admire, shared a meal with me.
We ate, drank vine,  laugh so much and when we looked at the clock we realized we spent so many hours together and it passed so quickly.

I have to admit , next day I waked up with a bit of hangover but still smiling about jokes from a night before. I decided to give use to leftover of spinach burek filling I made for dinner and remembered immediately great recipe I saw recently on one of my favorite blogs. Made some changes and got a perfect hangover lunch for me {*smile}

Spinach and Cheese Spelt Empanadas

(adapted from Sprouted kitchen)

Dough:

250g spelt flour
150g soy margarine
1ts salt
1 egg
3tbs goat yogurt

Place flour, salt and butter in a big bowl. Work with your fingertips until you get crumbs. Beat together egg and 3 tbsp of yogurt. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients.Using your fingertips, mix them smoothly . The dough should get together quickly. Press to form a ball, cover with plastic film and keep on the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Filling:

150g fresh spinach
40g goat feta
100g fresh goat cheese
60g goat yogurt
1 egg
1ts salt

Blanch the spinach in a saucepan of boiling water for 30s. Drain and squeeze to get rid of excess water. Chop finely, then put in a mixing bowl together with a rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Turn on the oven 180C. Prepare a parchment lined baking sheet. Roll out the dough on a floured work surface and press out the circles for your empanadas. You can use 10cm cutters. Leaving plenty of space around the edge, put a dollop of the filling in the center and fold the circle over. Press the edge with your finger to seal and then press along the edge with the back of your fork. Lay the empanadas on the baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and some thyme leaves and bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes or until just golden.

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Fresh tomato, basil, garlic, salt and olive oil and there is this absolutely stunning thing in front of me and can’t stop eating it…Since I welcomed spring I think I have almost every day one of these simple dishes for my lunch and I cant get enough of it.

What are your favorite simple dish? What are your thought about it?

The post Simple food | Tomato bruschetta appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

I am in the middle of super baking phase. Family birthdays, clients orders, friends gatherings…I think I never baked that much as I did during this week.
My oven works every day and even I am tired and get into deep sleep as soon as I sit on my couch in the evening, I feel happy for being busy.
In the times like this, I stay with a lot of ‘cake leftovers’ (when I make layer cakes I have to cut tops to put them straight and these leftovers are what I am referring here) and a best way to use these leftovers is to make trifle.

I won’t give you any special recipe today, for me making trifle is something you just need a bit of imagination (and looking at the fridge what you currently have at home).
I made these ones for a friends who came for a dinner the other night, leftovers of chocolate cake, macerated strawberries and mascarpone cream, really quick and great dessert.

The post Strawberry Trifle appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

When on the beginning of April Anna called me asking if I could be responsible for photography and styling of her new work, I put immediately everything on hold and accepted this work with such a pleasure.
And … I have to admit, it didn’t feel as work at all…it felt more as having a fun with a friend….
Here is some of what we did that morning and you can  see more on Anna’s page 

Photography and Styling : Sanda Vuckovic Pagaimo /Little Upside Down Cake
Ceramics : Anna Westerlund Ceramics
Place: Landeau Chocolate / Lx Factory

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Dear April,

I don’t know how to put in the words all the gratitude I feel for you. You brought me so many good things…sun, flowers, picnics, bicycle rides, gatherings, old friends, new friends..
I felt like a busy bee all the time but I am so proud of all the results you brought up!!

You were absolutely amazing!!!

Thanks,
Sanda

The post Instagram April appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

Today we decided to open a gate from organic farm Quinta do Arneiro and let you sneak peek into Kinfolk Flower Potluck that happened last Saturday.

There were flowers, food, great group of people around the table, a lot of laughing..and wind and cold didn’t bother us that much.

Hope you enjoy this short visit…more to come soon!!!

Kinfolk – Flower Potluck Portugal  Little Upside Down Cake+De Alma e Coração
Fotos/ Photos : Rodrigo Cardoso – De Alma e Coração

The post Sneak Peek : Kinfolk Flower Potluck appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

family
friends
celebration
gather
spring
table

At least these are the words that first come to my mind.

We celebrated spring on Herdade do Freixo do Meio with friends… so many familiar faces, happy kids running around, sun… and, of course, I couldn’t resist not to visit Filipa’s lovely caravan and take a few photos of her beautiful atelier.

We also gathered for Kinfolk Flower Potluck and, since then, I can’t take the smile of my face… but about that I will write later…
And then my M. celebrated his birthday yesterday… we woke him up singing ‘ happy birthday’, I made a huge cake which couldn’t fit in our fridge {*smile} and we celebrated all the day!!!

*****

Se eu tentar colocar, em poucas palavras, tudo o que vivemos e sentimos nos últimos quatro dias, seria

família
amigos
celebração
reunir
primavera
mesa

Pelo menos são estas as palavras que me vêm primeiro à cabeça.

Comemoramos a primavera na Herdade do Freixo do Meio com amigos… tantas caras conhecidas, crianças felizes a correr, sol… e, claro, não conseguiria resistir a uma vistia à linda caravana da Filipa e tirar algumas fotos do seu belo atelier.

Também nos reunimos para o Kinfolk Flower Potluck e, desde então, não consigo tirar o sorriso da minha cara… mas sobre isso vou escrever mais tarde…

E depois o meu M. comemorou o seu aniversário ontem… acordamo-lo a cantar ‘feliz aniversário’, fiz um bolo enorme que não cabia no nosso frigorífico {*smile} e comemoramos o dia todo!!!

The post Where we were lately appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

Let me give you a small introduction… when I met M., I found out that he, since not being that interested for the area, didn’t know the names of some vegetables or fruits… or some ingredients. I was learning Portuguese at the time and, when I wanted to buy some ingredient and asked him for a name in Portuguese, he didn’t know to tell me.
That same M. entered the house the other day, while I was baking, saying : ‘You are baking a beetroot chocolate cake, aren’t you?’… and, he was right.

*****

Estou consciente da maior parte dos efeitos colaterais que a minha paixão pela comida e fotografia tem.
Mesmo assim, às vezes acho alguns deles bastante curiosos.

Deixem-me dar uma pequena introdução… quando conheci o M., descobri que ele, como não era assim tão interessado pela área, não sabia o nome de alguns vegetais ou frutas… ou de alguns ingredientes. Eu estava a aprender Português na altura e, quando queria comprar algum ingrediente e lhe perguntava o nome em Português, ele não me sabia dizer.
O mesmo M. entrou em casa no outro dia, enquanto eu estava a cozinhar, a dizer: “Estás a fazer um bolo de chocolate e beterraba, não é? ‘… e, ele estava certo.

The other thing happened this weekend… I was making pizza and one was with buffalo and the other one was with cow mozzarella… my 6 years old son tried a piece of pizza with cow milk mozzarella and said: ‘ I can’t feel buffalo mozzarella on this pizza,mum!!!’…

So… I still don’t know what to feel about this particular side effect… on one side I feel proud my family learnt and appreciated different tastes but, on the other side… I kind of find it creepy {*smile}.

*****

A outra aconteceu neste fim de semana… eu estava a fazer uma pizza e uma era com mozzarella de búfala e a outra com mozzarella de vaca… o meu filho de 6 anos experimentou uma fatia de pizza com a mozzarella de leite de vaca e disse: ‘eu não consigo sentir mozzarella de búfala nest pizza, mãe!!!’…

Então… ainda não sei o que sentir acerca deste efeito colateral particular… por um lado sinto-me orgulhosa por a minha família aprender e apreciar gostos diferentes mas, por outro lado… parece que o acho meio assustador {*smile}.

Spelt Croissants

800g spelt flour
7g dry yeast
200ml rice milk
200ml soy yogurt
200ml olive oil
200g soy margarine
2 eggs
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Mix all the ingredients (except margarine), work well. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for two hours in a warm place. The dough should have double in size.
Make 16 balls, and roll each one with a rolling pin (to get a size of a dessert plate).
Spread margarine on 14 of the small disks and put 7 each on top of the other, repeat with the other 7, finish with the disks without margarine.

Roll it again with a rolling pin (until 1cm thick) and cut into 16 equal peaces.
Roll it into croissants and put on a baking sheet.
Brush with water and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds.
Bake for 20 min or until golden.

*****

Croissants de Espelta

800g farinha de espelta
7g fermento seco
200ml leite de arroz
200ml iogurte de soja
200ml azeite
200g margarina de soja
2 ovos
pitada de sal

Pré-aqueça o forno a 200ºC.

Misture todos os ingredientes (excepto a margarina), bem misturados. Cubra com um pano e deixe crescer durante duas horas num lugar quente. A massa deve ficar com o dobro de tamanho.
Faça 16 bolas, e amasse cada uma com um rolo (de forma a obter o tamanho de um prato de sobremesa).
Espalhe margarina em 14 dos pequenos discos e coloque cada 7 em cima uns dos outros, repita com os outros 7 e termine com os discos sem margarina.

Amasse novamente com um rolo (até terem um centímetro de espessura) e corte em 16 pedaços iguais.
Enrole em croissants e coloque num tabuleiro.
Pincele com água e polvilhe com sementes de papoila ou sésamo.
Coza durante 20 minutos ou até dourar.

The post Spelt Croissants appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

I was born and lived for thirty years in a continental country. The only fish I ate, and it was not that often, was from the river, mainly trout. And, to be honest… I hated it.
Every summer, on vacations in Croatia, my parents would ask just fish… but I would try to avoid it.
But… some years later, I found myself living in Portugal, where seafood is a great part of its gastronomy.

Well… I have to admit, it was not easy. But, with time, I even started to like it {*smile}.  There are still a lot of dishes I just can’t make myself even try but, even with that, I have to say I made a big progress!!

*****

Eu nasci e vivi durante 30 anos num país continental. O único peixe que eu comia, e não muitas vezes, era do rio, principalmente truta. E, para ser sincera… detestava.
Todos os verões, de férias na Croácia, os meus pais pediam apenas peixe… mas eu tentava evitá-lo.
Mas… alguns anos mais tarde, dou por mim a viver em Portugal, onde o marisco e o peixe são uma importante parte da sua gastronomia.

Bem… tenho de admitir que não foi fácil. Mas, com o tempo, até comecei a gostar {*smile}. Há ainda uma boa parte de pratos que eu simplesmente não consigo tentar sequer mas, mesmo assim, tenho de dizer que fiz um grande progresso!!

And I have to confess… there is something about seafood, beer and sun. It is an absolutely fantastic combination.
I love afternoons on a terrace or beach with some clams and bread, which i like to dive in the sauce, and beer.

I am not an expert in that field… I just have some simple recipes that works for me and I stick to them.
Clams cooked with white wine, olive oil, garlic, salt and parsley… just never fails…

*****

E tenho a confessar… há algo no marisco, cerveja e sol. É uma combinação absolutamente fantástica.
Adoro as tardes numa esplanada ou na praia com umas ameijoas e pão, onde eu gosto de mergulhar no molho, e cerveja.

Não sou um especialista na área… só tenho algumas receitas simples que funcionam para mim e fico-me por elas.
Ameijoas cozidas com vinho branco, azeite, alho, sal e salsa… nunca falha…

The post Seafood and me appeared first on Little Upside Down Cake.

I belong to the second group and, sometimes, when I come home from the market, I discover that I bought more than we needed… but that also pushes for me and I try to create meals that include all this lovely ingredients.

Even that we go every Saturday to the market, all year around, I must say that, for me, the market is more exciting in Spring, as nature is waking and everything seems to get green.

It is full of so many fresh local food… veggies, fruits, flowers…

This Saturday I got full bag of beautiful vegetables and I am excited to cook with it during the week.

*****

Costuma ir ao mercado com uma lista de compras já definida e limitar-se à mesma, ou vai e compra espontaneamente o que lhe chama a atenção e parece lindo?

Eu pertenço ao segundo grupo e, às vezes, quando chego a casa vinda do mercado, descubro que comprei mais do que precisavamos… mas isso também puxa por mim e tento criar refeições que incluam todos esses ingredientes encantadores.

Apesar de irmos todos os Sábados ao mercado, durante todo o ano, devo dizer que, para mim, o mercado é mais emocionante na Primavera, porque parece que a natureza está a acordar e tudo parece ficar verde.

Está cheio de tanta comida fresca local… legumes, frutas, flores…

Este sábado trouxe um saco cheio de verduras lindas e estou muito animada para as cozinhar durante a semana.

And now… you may have noticed a badge on the right side… I am one of 6 finalist of Saveur Best Food Blog Awards in Best Photography category!!!
I couldn’t be happier when I received the e-mail with these news on Friday. I jumped and danced like crazy!!

So… I will ask you shamelessly to vote for me… and that you can do here.

I also want to thank you for all of your support in these years! Without that I wouldn’t be here and certainly wouldn’t be a Saveur finalist. Thank you!!

*****

E agora… já devem ter reparado na imagem no lado direito… eu sou uma dos seis finalistas dos prémios Saveur Best Food Blog Awards na categoria de Melhor Fotografia!!!
Não podia ter ficado mais feliz quando recebi o e-mail com esta notícia na Sexta-feira. Eu saltei e dancei como uma maluca!!

Por isso… vou pedir-vos descaradamente para votar em mim… e isso podem fazer aqui.

Queria também agradecer todo o apoio durante estes anos! Sem isso não estaria aqui e, certamente, não seria uma finalista Saveur. Obrigado!!

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