This past Sunday was World Baking Day and, as member of the cookQ team, a really fun project I’ve been collaborating on, and of which you can learn more about here, I was asked to participate by taking on the challenge of baking something for the first time. I went on World Baking Day’s site and took my pick: if you haven’t visited it yet, you should go take a peek, it’s quite spectacular! 

The first option I was given - tiny coconut-carrot muffins - out of 100 of the world’s most exciting baker’s submissions, sounded and looked delicious! I didn’t hesitate, however, I swapped the hazelnuts for walnuts :)

This initiative is so amazing: World Baking Day began as a way for people from all around the globe to come together and share their passion for baking. On May 19th, people were encouraged to “bake brave”, by stepping out of their comfort zone and bake a cake they had never baked before, one that would push their baking skills to the limit!

I was so pleased to see the huge Portuguese affluence of participants, some of which opted to share a recipe from home; Portuguese are known for their amazing baking skills and desserts all over the world. It made me a bit nostalgic and thinking I need to share a traditional recipe soon.

Have a great week, Everyone!

A MAY’S WEEKEND INSTAGRAMMED

Last weekend we celebrated a lot: May Day, Mother’s Day, and my birthday! 

On Saturday, big E finally performed her maypole dance that she had been practicing for a while now at school. It was beautiful; all the children had hand-knitted their crowns which parents decorated with flowers. In turns, different classes skipped, sung and danced around the maypole. Afterwards, we came home and baked a cake (covered and filled with chocolate ganache) to celebrate Mother’s Day and my birthday.

Sunday morning I was showered with hugs and kisses, both little and big, and ‘surprised’ with flowers. We went out for brunch and walked around NE Portland. My husband took us to visit the Schoolhouse Electric Co., where I had never been; their items are gorgeous and the space, an enormous open loft with a beautiful floor of what appears to be reclaimed wood, is my dream home.

In the afternoon, big E and I were finally able to plant some seeds that have been kept in a sheet of paper she made at school, in a paper making class I volunteered for and by which I was amazed - I have an entire post lined up on the experience that I hope to share ASAP.

And to finish off, my husband prepared an entire meal of seafood and fish, una bella frittura, for the four of us to enjoy.

It was a great weekend. I hope all of you who are moms, have moms or know a mom, had a wonderful weekend and continue celebrating these special ladies in your life.

xo,

PS - I cannot take credit for the photo of my husband holding a bag of shrimp (or lobster, according to big E). Our daughter (big E) took it; I just instagrammed it ;)

This t-shirt little E is wearing came from Italy; a gift from my in-laws on their last visit. It’s been big until just recently, so we put it on him the other night, after bath time.

When his big sister saw it, she started giggling and, in a 4 year old’s high pitched voice, said: “E has a baby man on his t-shirt AND he’s eating a CRAYON! That cracks me up!” 

PS - There is not a politically incorrect thing about a baby man eating a crayon.

Hope everyone’s having a great week!

It’s Friday and we are looking into a very busy weekend! Big E will be participating in a maypole dance tomorrow, and we’ll be celebrating me twice on Sunday: it’s both Mother’s Day and my birthday! I’m expecting there will be some cooking and definitely a lot of savoring in store for us and many other families celebrating Mom. If you’re up to some cooking, I say share it with the team over at CookQ (with whom I am collaborating) - a new social network for the food aficionados, being released at the end of this month - you may be selected to either be featured or qualify for their post-release competition.

On another note, I’ll leave you with an amazing cake suggestion to try for the Holiday - it’s gorgeous, fairly easy and delicious! It’s a post by Teresa, from Lume Brando,  for what she very adequately calls “Vintage Cake”.

Image by Lume Brando

And, be inspired by her beautifully prepared Mother’s Day lunch, celebrated by many last weekend on the other side of the globe.  

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all you amazing moms!

xo

 cookq:

Have an all-time favorite recipe? A recipe your friends and family just can’t get enough of? Maybe a creative adaptation of your favorite dish by your favorite chef? 

We invite you to share it with us and our community! Make your way to our hearts through our stomachs and be admitted to a post-release cookQ competition!

To find out more, please contact us at hello {at} cook-q {dot} com.

Thank you,

The cookQ Team

We don’t watch TV or have a set for that matter. The kids watch everything off of Netflix, and this has shaped the way they conceive visual images seen on a screen.

Some time back, we were at family’s and the television was on. I can’t recall what we were watching, but I figure, from the conversation I had with big E (3 y.o. at the time) and that I jotted down so I wouldn’t forget, it involved fantastical beings of some sort.

Her: Please pause, I need to go potty.

Me: This is real TV, E. You can’t pause.

Her: This is REAL LIVE TV?!! ‘Is” there creatures inside!?

While writing this post I was reminded of Ray Harryhausen, who passed at 92 this week, and the creatures that made up part of my childhood. E is into scary, so I promised her I was going to show her some of the monsters Mommy watched on TV when she was younger. RIP, Mr. Harryhausen. 

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

2013 is flying by - I can’t believe it’s May already! I’m nearly a year older and our youngest went from scooting to toddling to running and climbing in less than 7 months! Not to speak of how our 4 year old daughter is going on fourteen… The things she comes up with these days just blows our minds, lifts our brow and leaves us wondering (and slightly fearing) what’s in store for us when she actually becomes a teen. HELP! Can someone please create a “slow down” button for life! I mean we’ve made it to the moon, right?

It’s been very fast-paced and, at times, it feels like a race, a wacky one… Fortunately we remember to hit the pause button on things - yes, while we haven’t found that ‘slow down’ button, we’ve managed to discover one that allows us to halt; i.e, to stop whatever we are doing and get down on the ground with the kids and just chill.

The fact that we change the header pictures of the blog monthly makes me more aware of when and how each one comes and goes… quickly. 

This month I chose a group of three from our photo shoot with a friend back in September, in Portugal. We will be showcasing some of the over a hundred we shot on our header and in some posts throughout the year. Not out of vanity- I have a Chandler relationship with the camera - but more so to share Isabel Saldanha’s amazing work and how she captured the kids’ authenticity.

On the matter of pictures, we failed to take our family portrait this month! We’ve been super busy with a side project and were unable to snap one before April ended. We’ll think of something to add that missing picture in the end!

I hope you are enjoying this time of the year and wish everyone a great week!

Baking cakes has become a sort of a therapy for me; it’s my “10 deep breaths” technique for when things get chaotic here at the house.

Last week, while the kids decided they would redecorate with their toys, I decided to look for something simple to bake and maybe attempt to engage big E, who likes to help, in the process. I came across this citrus pound cake with cranberry syrup on Real Simple’s site.

I had to improvise a bit, because I didn’t have all the ingredients. So, instead of 2 sticks of butter I used one and, believe it or not, it wasn’t dry at all! I didn’t use an electric mixer, but rather mixed all the ingredients manually and added 1 teaspoon of baking powder to the batter. And, finally, I substituted the cranberries in the syrup with the juice of half a lemon and half an orange.

We were all happy with the results: the syrup was a bit tangy, but  complimented the cake nicely! 

What have you been baking lately?

Have a great week!