Hi, friends. Feeding two in the rainy Boston burbs. Still adapting to that two, slowly but surely.
The highlight of the past week was actually booking a vacation for this summer - DS and I are going to Portugal! We’ll spend 4 days in Porto and then 4 days in Lisbon. So far, the only things on my must-do list are a very cool looking bookstore in Porto and a gluten-free-friendly food tour in Lisbon. (Any suggestions?)
Until then…
Sun: beer battered cod, with some bonus onion rings, and salad/peas
Mon: pizza fest - mozzarella sticks, frozen pizzas (DS explicitly requested a DiGiorno’s stuffed crust pizza and not my “weird gluten free crust” ) and probably some cut-up veggies for balance
Tues: smash tacos (seasoned ground chicken, corn tortillas, and cheese? I plan to improvise this…), refried beans
Weds: burgers and chips and pepper strips
Thurs: ramen - doctored broth from a box, pork from the mega-butt (teehee) a few weeks ago, and whatever vegs strike our fancy
Oh, what a fun plan! My lucky PIC is heading to Porto next weekend, but he’ll be about 80km outside of the actual town for some weirdo retreat. He likely won’t be seeing much of the city.
We went to Lisbon in 2022 & had a fabulous time. I don’t think I started a separate thread for our short trip, since there’s lots of great & recent suggestions here already. It’s very affordable to dine out, super-walkable & very pretty. We loved our meal at Prado — one Michelin star but very reasonably priced — on @PedroPero’s recommendation.
Cervejaria Ramiro is a must-visit if you love seafood. You can now make reservations in advance, which I’d recommend if you don’t want to wait in line.
Not sure if there are GF versions of pasteis de nata, but I’m hopeful you get to try this iconic pastry
Oh, there are definitely gf pastel de nata options. I should have been specific - so far, I have a list of about 40 restaurants and more coming, but no activities other than the two I mentioned.
I loved the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon and its grounds. It re-opens in July 2026.
Would recommend a day trip tour of the Douro River Valley from Porto. We had a driver take 3 of us off the beaten path. We left around 8 am and were home by dark.
I really enjoyed the Hop on Hop off bus tour in Porto.
If you like live music, definitely seek out some music in both cities. Fado is a genre of music that Lisbon is known for. There are Fado tours.
Ah, yer barking up the wrong tree, then. Most trips for us are pretty much centered around various foods & walking around The nabe around the castle is really nice, and there’s a cool museum nearby if that’s yo thang.
We didn’t go to the castle bc the line was too long. Good gelato nearby, too
Cookbook of the Month / Quarter nominations close tomorrow!
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
133
Herself still has digestive issues so we’ve decided that, instead of us both having bland food, on several days, I’ll cook something nice for myself while J fends for herself.
Thursday - “Crunchy topped chicken” for both of us. Usually this involves slicing chicken breast horizontally, smearing it with mustard, topping with breadcrumbs and baking. J can’t do mustard so we’ll sub peanut butter. With salad.
Friday - For me. Strips of pork loin, stirfried, along with mangetout and noodles. Jar of char siu sauce.
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - Me only. Lamb chops, pouch of lentils, asparagus
Monday - White fish egged , coated in porridge oats and fried. New potatoes. Purple sprouted broccoli, dressed with orange and anchovy (dressing only for me)
Tuesday - For me. Gammon, egg, peas, oven chips.
Wednesday - out - local Syrian/Lebanese restaurant.
Doctor reckons J should be improving by now, so she’s having an endoscopy next week to find out what’s going on.
Cooking a lower salt diet at home for 3 in Ontario.
Tonight/ Wed: chilled sour cherry and rhubarb soup, lamb souvlaki chunks, tzatziki, roast potatoes, roasted delicata squash, Cretan green salad
Thursday : maybe take-out pizza from a local indie Italian resto, Porcino in London, Ontario
Friday: salmon, orzo
Saturday:Someone special’s 50th bday party! I’m bringing a charcuterie platter. I’ll pick up cold cuts and pâté at my favourite butcher shop that carries both raw and cured meats.
we bought two ginormous artichokes, two potatoes, two zucchini, one large shallot, a pint of amazing strawberries that smelled divine, a Roma tomato, and three cluster tomatoes…for about $23
then headed back to SF for some midweek food shopping but first we’ll stop for lunch at a place TBD
tonight (Wednesday): leftover chicken in red sauce. vegetable side will be potato cooked with greens (typically broccoli rabe, but these could be spinach, escarole, and/or chard, seasoned with lemon juice and EVOO)
Thursday brunch will be steamed artichokes with aioli or horseradish cream (1 heaping tablespoon prepared horseradish mixed with 4-5 tablespoons mayonnaise)
Thursday dinner is our 13th anniversary dinner at Chez Panisse
Friday brunch will be at a restaurant that specializes in soba that has limited seatings, so arriving early is highly recommended
Friday dinner: I think this will be chicken “salade niçoise”, and macedonia for dessert
Saturday and Sunday are ??? right now, since I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps one day will be Japanese, maybe Japanese breakfast (broiled salmon, miso soup, steamed rice, natto, pickles, green tea) for brunch and tonjiru (miso soup with pork and vegetables) for dinner
) and probably some cut-up veggies for balance
The nabe around the castle is really nice, and there’s a cool museum nearby if that’s yo thang.
