Lisbon in Glimpses and Flashes of Color

  

A week in Lisbon is tantalizing.  I did my best to scratch each photographic impression into my mind, and fold them into memories of the people I met, the smiling faces, and imagines of this wonderful city.

 

Lisbon is a happy place, remarkably so. Formed by fragmented centuries of war, conquest, fearless explorers who circled the globe, monarchy, revolution, dictatorship, and the never to be forgotten earthquake of 1755 that sent thousands to their eternal rest, and nearly wiped clean the face of Lisbon’s history.

 

And what about the explorers roaming the seas, and bringing untold wealth and power to one of the smallest countries in Europe?  Then moving forward into the modern age of dictatorship and the Second World War, when Portugal stayed neutral and became the chosen nest for spies.  

 

What happened to the Portuguese monarchy? And how did Portugal become a democracy?

 

But, my intent is not to teach history…well, only with wide and cumbersome brushstrokes between idle moments of sipping wonderful Portuguese wine and tasting the remarkable cuisine.

 

However, I must add a historical note about the most famous of Portuguese wine, Port.  There’s a good reason why so many in Lisbon speak English and why so many of the notable houses of Port, carry English names. 

 

The Treaty of Windsor, signed in 1386, created an alliance between Portugal and England, an alliance still in existence, and the oldest in the world.

Transportation is remarkably handy and inexpensive.  The taxi ride from the airport was about $20 and most taxi trips in the city cost about $7, plus the quaint trollies (a perfect way to mix with the natives) and buses are even less expensive and provide you with do-it-yourself tours of the city. 

 

That should be enough historic teasing to make you do a bit of your own research, immediately book a hotel and sign up for a flight.  If you want to know more about this fascinating city…Ya gotta go!

The wine is Vino Verde, or green wine. Lightly sparkling and delicious. The croquettes are what else....bacalau, cod fish.

One of the countless wonderful restaurants.

Lisbon is a city of tiles...everywhere...on the streets, and on the sides of houses

The Famous Time Out Market.  Now a fabulous food court.

One of the dozens of food stalls in the market.

We stumbled across a huge flea market, looked until we were ready for a cafe and more wine.

Note the cobble stone street in the old city.

The astoundingly beautiful Jacaranda trees are all over the city.

A wonderful salad of thick custard and brie.

Inside one of Lisbon's oldest cafes, A Brasileira, opened in 1905.

One of the many Tuc-Tucs I wrote about earlier.  How else to take a tour through narrow streets of the old city?

A very serious dessert! Delicious!  Many spoons dipped into this tasty paradise!

The famous Bacalau, salt cod, soaked in water before it is grilled.  So does it taste salty?  Not in the least.  Wonderfully delicious.

The salmon is also wonderfully delicious!

And you must have wine or be thought a heathen.

 

Something about yellow buildings that I find so very appealing.

Many of the buildings and the old doors date back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

You can't just drink wine!  Sometimes you just need a Manhattan.

Or maybe a bucket sized gin and tonic.

And then there's breakfast...

And of course Lisbon's most famous pastry, Pastel de Nata!

Lisbon, both old and new are prefect for a stroll.

I told you this is a wonderful city!!

Lisbon in Black and White

 

Don’t be misled by the title.  Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is a beautiful city, with very friendly people and a vast and lengthy history.  It’s an ancient city at the mouth of the Tagus River, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula.  The city dates back to the long ago when the Celts and Phoenicians roamed throughout Europe and plowed through waves on the Mediterranean Sea in sturdy wooden ships, plying trade in the far reaches of the known world. 

 

Muslims took over the entire Iberian Peninsula in 711, or thereabouts, being pushed out of Lisbon by Christians in 1147 and out of the entire peninsula in 1492.

 

But, who, outside of high school history teachers and quivering students, remembers so many numbers?  Let’s make it simple.  Used to be Muslims in Lisbon and others resting in the shadows of ancient history, but now they’re gone.  Well, most of them. Still lots of diversity. Most speak English, as well as Portuguese.  All seem very happy.

 

Crime rate is very low!  Well, there are surely some pickpockets.

 

Some say Liston is the second oldest city in Europe.  Where did I find this out?  Not Wikipedia.  Our guide told me, as he took us (via tuk-tuk) through the narrow streets and proud boulevards, past the waterfront, cathedrals, castles, old monasteries, and neighborhoods dating back to the reconstruction, after the mighty, city destroying earthquake of 1755.

 

What is a tuk-tuk?  A kind of truck-car dressed up like motor scooter attached to the front of a golf cart.  I’ll send you a picture in the next blog. 

 

The guide also informed me Christopher Columbus was really Portuguese, not Italian, Cuba was discovered and named by Portuguese explorers, and the Portuguese were the ones who taught the Japanese to use chairs.  I have both Italian and Japanese friends.  I’ll keep the conversations congenial and not mention what the guide told me.  Chairs are not that big a deal.

 

Our guide was very well educated, speaking every romance language except Romanian, as well as perfect English, and some German.  Felipe was also quite conversant about literature, including the works of Mark Twain and an array of authors from around the globe.

 

But, let’s skip past more idle chatter and answer the question:  Why Lisbon in Black & White?

 

Simple.  Black and White photography lends drama.  But, have no worries. My next blog article will introduce you to the colorful side of this wonderful city, including the fabulous food and drink.

Lisbon is a city of cobbled streets and wonderful tiles

 

 

It's also a city of hills.

The national dish is salted cod (bacalao) in all its forms. The salted fish are soaked in water for a day or two before being prepared.  I have seldom had fish this delicious. Extraordinary!

And the Jamon Ibirico is every bit as delicious in Portugal as it is in Spain!

Yes, Lisbon is a wonderful city that no one can truly grasp in a day or a week, or a lifetime.  There is no end to the history and pleasures, and no finer and more hospitable people!  Don't think twice about making a visit to Lisbon!

My Life No Longer Mine

  

My life, my life no longer mine.

A ship that’s lost on stormy seas,

Now howling, raked by winds of time.

 

No longer sails in sunlight bold,

The dark of night rules long my sky.

Each morning yields the winter’s cold.

 

My rudder’s splintered, spit and broken

My hopes awash and left forlorn

Now rocky shoals yield fate unspoken.

 

My life is tossed on angry waves

Soaked by whims of careless tides

Ever closer to the grave.

 

No longer sweet the moon lit nights

No longer smooth the voyage ahead

My life now tastes of salty brine.

My life, my life no longer mine.

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Rosemary, Lemon Cornmeal Cake by The Careless Cook

  

Ok, I confess.  I looked though a few recipes, then branched out this way and that, like a squirrel crossing a road in heavy traffic.  But, as I always say, a recipe is only a suggestion.  In the end, successful cookery is a battle waged by your brain and eyes, creative spirit and appetite.

 

A kitchen is the proper place to piddle, to try this and that, following your own path, whether it leads to accolades and cheers from a grateful nation, or the gloom of despair, as your former friends toss down their napkins and stomp out the front door.  I have had no stompers recently, but I haven’t been dating in a long time.  Even then, it wasn’t the food.

 

Shall we begin?  Don’t be so hasty!  In the evening, it’s first time for Martinis, or in the morning, something like spicy tomato juice…wink, wink.

 

Rosemary Lemon Cake

Oven to 350ºF or 180ºC

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup yellow cornmeal

3 cups flour

2/3  cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup powdered sugar  (plus more to dust the cake)

1 ½ tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola oil)

½ cup melted butter (I used salted butter)

2 generous tablespoons honey

2 ½ cups full fat oat milk, or buttermilk, or plain milk (I like the cream-like flavor of Oat-Ly brand oat milk)

4 eggs

2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped (remove the stalks OF COURSE!)  I do it the easy way and use scissors to trim the leaves off the stem.

 

Puttin’t it Tee-gether

 

In a large bowl, put all the dry ingredients, including the chopped rosemary leaves, and mix well.

 

In another large bowl, put all the wet ingredients, including the honey and melted butter. Mix well.  I used an electric handheld mixer.

 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until fully blended.

 

Pour the batter into a well greased 13 x 8 baking pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the edges are browned.  If you’re not sure, use the knife test. A quick stab in the middle should come out clean.

 

Note:  If you and your guests have kept the Martini glasses filled, the cake will be of little importance, but they will cheer you anyway.  Should you be so unfortunate as to run out of vodka, gin, vermouth and olives however, better make sure the cake is damn good!

 

It will be!  Trust The Careless Cook!

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Noisy, Noisy!

 

Noisy, noisy everywhere, gives me no time to think. 

Music blasting through my dreams, I didn’t sleep a wink.

Owners of stores and coffee shops think I came in to dance. 

Cogent thought and sober musing doesn’t stand a chance. 

And the so-called service dogs romp around and bark.

What service are they giving as I sit here in the park?

Oh how I long for quiet days, those blissful days I knew.

The sound of tiny raindrops, but now those  times are few.

People talking on their phones was once confined to home.

Now I bear the burden everywhere I roam.

No wonder now the days are passing in a blink.

Noise noise everywhere.  There is no time to think.

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She Was A Woman That I knew

 

She was a woman that I knew,

When I was young 

And she was younger.

A blur of love or maybe less.

Infatuation colors the minds of the young

Bright streaks of scarlet, hues of gray

And everyday a new rainbow.

And sorrows piled high in the shiny

Barrow of the young.

Her eyes so blue, her face a mask

Of beauty and smiles,

That touched my heart 

And rested in my needs. Oh, yes! 

A summer swim in sun so bright

It burned the imagination,

And water so cool even the air glistened

Hello my darling.

Goodbye my love.

And now that I am old, 

Near forgotten love

Bends me to the days 

When I was young

And she was younger.

Buttered Cheese Biscuits by The Careless Cook

 

 

Some recipes are so good you won’t believe they’re so easy. Even The Careless Cook was taken aback by how quick and simple this one is.  Don’t have much time?  No sweat, no bother.  

 

In my own situation, I was informed that I really should get out of bed, get to the kitchen, and make a pile of biscuits for a ladies’ group of eager eaters.  I had less than an hour.  Thirty minutes would be about right.

 

Extensive recipes were out of the question.  However, goodness was paramount. 

 

Buttered Cheese Biscuits

 

Still in my pajamas, I raced to the kitchen and set the oven for 450ºF.

 

Here are the these simple ingredients:

 

2 cups all purpose flour

2 generous tablespoons of baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup of milk (I used oat milk because I like the flavor) Feel free to be generous with the ¾ cup and add a bit more milk if needed to make a soft dough

¼ cup of butter, melted 

¾ cup of shredded cheese (I used a pre-shredded mix of cheddar and pepper jack.  Using a bit more is better than a bit less.)

 

Whip this dough in shape! 

 

Time to use that big bowl and the wooden spoon.  Add all the dry ingredients, including the cheese, and mix well.  Then, add the milk and mix until you have a soft dough.  If it’s still stiff, add a bit more milk, but not too much!  You’re not making pancakes!

 

Scoop out generous tablespoons of dough and drop on an ungreased baking sheet.

 

Set your timer for 8-10 minutes and slip the biscuits in the oven.  With my oven it took the full 10 minutes.  You’ll know it’s done when the peaks are brown.

 

While the biscuits are baking, melt the butter.  I used the microwave. 

 

As soon as the biscuits are out of the oven, paint them with melted butter.

 

Ah, yes, just in time to feed the ladies’ hunger!  Also time to go back to bed.

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