The days grow chilly. There are almost no leaves left and already the car shelters are up and covered up preparing for an early winter? It carries me back to Sunday lunches when I was little and Saturday afternoons before my mother and father packed us up into the car to go shopping. School days were always packed lunches but they were filling. Sardine sandwiches, sugar sandwiches, peanut butter, fried fish, sliced eggs or quince jam, sliced thick. Sometimes it was fried egg mixed with chorico slices or just plan fried chorico. There was fruit or an occasional slice of cake or cookies and juice or milk supplied by the school.
But Saturday was baked snapper with onions and potatoes covered in a covering of sliced tomatoes, herbs and olive oil. Or there was boiled cod, potatoes and rapini dressed with olive oil and served with fresh bread and black olives. Sometimes it was Asorda, (bread and fish stew or to be different bread and egg stew). Whatever the meal, it was sure to be fish. Fried sardines, cod cakes, grilled sardines, fried white fish, haddock, halibut and shrimp salad.
Sunday was the day to enjoy stew of some sort. There was tripe and baked beans, calderaida (stew of mixed fish),or for a change there was home cut fried potatoes, fried or grilled meats and a mountain of green beans (usually fresh from the garden). Always there was fresh bread. We didn't use butter or margarine. There was always serving bottles of olive oil and vinegar to dress up our vegetables. There was always a fresh salad; a big bowl of leafy green lettuce or boston (we rarely used iceberg), fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onions and always a dressing of olive oil and wine vinegar. Dessert was fruit and at coffee time you had cookies (usually Portuguese cookies) rich yellow and covered in sugar or a lite frosting. Rich desserts and cakes were usually reserved for special occasions, although occasionally you would find the occasional piece of lemon or apple pie or chocolate mousse/pudding which became favorites when I started to experiment with other recipes, but still they were not the norm. Fruit was always offered and it was always a nice finish to the meal.
Now its time for me to start my supper. Join me again as we discover the delights of eating supper at my mother's house.
Go To Page: 1
The copyright of the article Comfort Foods - Part 2 in Portuguese/Brazilian Cooking is owned by . Permission to republish Comfort Foods - Part 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
