This week we visited Portugal. We made these wonderful pasteis de nata<\/em> to cap off one of the best Worldly Wednesday meals we\u2019ve had in a very long time. Even Neil asked for seconds on his Portugese Fisherman\u2019s Stew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We were really excited for this one, as you can probably tell from our overachieving menu. We have a friend from Spain, and he suggested these pastries. I have a secret ambition to be a really good baker – sometime I’ll tell you all about the time I volunteered to make 5 pies for the first Thanksgiving I attended with my in-laws (then my boyfriend\u2019s parents), and I had never made a pie before. So when I saw these pastries, I knew I had to get my hands on them and totally disappoint myself once again (just kidding, the pastries were incredible)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Portugal is situated on the westernmost shore of Europe, and the entire country orients itself toward the sea with Lisbon and Porto stacked on the North Atlantic shore. Portugal is home to the world\u2019s longest running bookstore, the Bertrand Bookstore, which was established in Lisbon in 1732 Often overlooked in our history classes, this nation has been around since Ancient times, notably due to its mastery of the ocean. This kind of history gets me pretty jazzed, thinking of Ken Follett-style stories of Portugual wrestling back its nationhood in 1640 from Spain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In researching Portugal, we found that it owes much of its early development and to its ability to preserve cod by salting and drying it so it can be available on vast sea-explorations starting in the 14th Century. This bacalhau <\/em>is a mainstay of Portugese culture. We weren\u2019t so sure the kids would be interested in it, and Everlywell declared Andrew super-sensitive to cod, so we opted for the next best sea-faring recipe, Leite\u2019s Culinaria\u2019s Fisherman Stew. Speaking of kids, if you\u2019re looking to have one in Portugal, apparently you may only select from a list of 80 names – and to deviate from this list constitutes child abuse. Fascinating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, this was our first Worldly Wednesday dinner party. Do you guys also say dinner party when you have one guest over for dinner? Just us? <\/p>\n\n\n\n My friend came prepared with lots of fun Portugal facts for dinner, which was a nice treat for us. She told us fun facts that we immediately forgot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it was a bit hard to pay attention to her, with Sam, my two year old, getting out of his booster seat every 30 seconds to grab a piece of cheese (not on the menu, Sam), and Neil chasing our puppy Pepper around the table. But the facts were a very nice thought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, we tried to this one up right. And it turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. Half of it was fabulous, the other half was fine but not great, and the kids were absolute chaos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We fell in love with the scenery and views of the streets, and this is definitely a place we\u2019d love to visit in person. Instead, we opt for the next best thing as we travel from home!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get yourself in the mood with one of these two playlists. Give yourself a bit of extra time to cook these meals, and this might be one for Worldly Wednesday on a Saturday (don\u2019t worry, we won\u2019t tell!). Easy Listening: https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/3DRL7wXMQcnfaHd6eW1ILL?si=255f53e87fed4def<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nFun Facts about Portugal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It’s a Dinner Party! <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Getting Started <\/h2>\n\n\n\n