Working non-stop through Spring - Act II

After a very intellectual and abstract winter, spring brought me a lot of grounding through work.

Once again I had the pleasure to partner up with my dear friend Sanda, aka Little Upside Down Cake, and for the first time with Lisa from Slow Escapes for a Food & Lifestyle Photography and Mindfulness retreat at Companhia das Culturas. We were blessed with the most gorgeous weather and the funniest guests from all over the world. Companhia das Culturas provided an inspiring setting for this retreat. Everywhere you looked you’d find harmonious natural textures and patterns, secluded corners, and inspiring light and shadow contrasts. I was in the kitchen most of the time so if you’d like to have a look on what happened you can find it here and here.

Another friend I was thrilled to work with was Maria, from Cabeça da Cabra Guesthouse. And to be fair the week I spent cooking there hardly felt like work at all. It was like cooking for friends, with surfing and napping breaks in between. Maria has her guest house open most of the year but only hosts two surf and yoga retreats: one in May and another in October. They’re very popular and sell out quickly. And rightly so. Her attention to detail combines grace and coolness in just the right amount, making her a superb hostess. She also has the collaboration of Lea and Tarik, from Love Ashtanga Yoga, and André, the owner of Costa Azul Surf, who’s responsible for the surfing classes and most important for motivating everyone to go in to the water and get better every time.

Sadly, I participated for the last time in the Regenerative Retreats held at Casa na Ferraria. It was a good goodbye nonetheless and I will never forget the wonderful moments I spent with all the inspiring Belgian ladies.

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Once in a while it feels good to take a break from cooking meals around the clock and do another thing that I love which is recipe development and styling. I was lucky to be called for such an endeavor for a beautiful farm stay between Alcácer do Sal and Montemor-o-Novo called Cucumbi.

The goal was to come up with a vegetarian breakfast buffet, with a few vegan options, and a handful of light meals and juices that they could serve during the day, always taking in consideration local products and the rustic vibe of the place.

As if doing what I love wasn’t good enough, I’ve also been so lucky to have been doing it with and for incredible friendly people. The owners of Cucumbi, Catarina and Tozé were no exception. Right from day one they made me feel like part of their family which is why their hospitality business is surely going to be successful.

Regenerating Retreats at Herdade da Ferraria

You know when something is so wonderful that you have a hard time finding words to describe it? Well, that’s me, trying to write about the Regenerating Retreats held at Herdade da Ferraria. Every time one of these retreats ends I feel overwhelmed with joy, hope and strength, energised despite all the work and looking forward for the next one.

The concept

Most of us live very busy and demanding lives. We feel the pressure of our work life, our family obligations and societal demands, and more often than not our own personal needs get left behind. Sometimes we don’t even know what those needs are. The Regenerating Retreats were idealised to reset your body, mind and spirit. A fresh start. A Regeneration. During a week we provide the right environment for you to let go of things that don’t matter any longer, emotional or physical toxins that have built up in your physical and subtle body, while also reintegrating healthier habits and providing the necessary support and tools to help you keep these positive changes when you return home.

The core team

During the retreat you’ll have access to private sessions with a caring group of therapists:

Alexandra Degryse, our dedicated Health Coach, Nutritionist and Naturopath and the main organiser of these retreats;

Christelle Deroubaix-Hopkins, our Yoga Teacher, Health Practitioner (H. Chenot Method) and Energising and therapeutic Masseuse;

Mila Buchmann Crantelle, our meditation facilitator, a therapist trained in psycho corporal techniques and psycho-energy, naturopath specialised in overall revitalisation and a practitioner of Eriksonian hypnosis.

Along with these three magical ladies, there’s a rotating team of energy healers, masseuses, manicures and pedicures, that make this a one of a kind experience to truly renew yourself, inside-out.

Finally there’s me, in charge of everything food and cooking related. I work in tandem with Alexandra providing nutrient packed meals and teaching you all the essentials of a plant based cuisine.

The place

The Olive Grove House at Herdade da Ferraria is a beautiful place, rooted in sand dunes and surrounded by eucalyptus and pine trees. The two-storey recovered farm building has 6 suites, an infrared sauna, an open living room, dining room and kitchen, with plenty of outdoor areas and a pool for you to relax and enjoy nature.

The practicalities

The retreat starts on a Sunday afternoon and it last until Friday at lunch time. During these five nights you experience daily yoga, meditation and cooking classes, long and short hikes at the beach, through the forests and up the mountains, organic plant-based meals (this is where I come in, by the way), a liquid day, because your digestive system also needs to rest a bit, massages, energetic healing sessions and personalised health coaching. Although it might seem like a busy schedule there’s also plenty of time for sleeping, including napping which is considered crucial to help integrate the whole experience, hanging by the pool, reading, enjoying the infrared sauna and chromotherapy.

Ready to join us? Head over to my Events page to book your place! I hope to see you soon.

The day the coolest guys came visit

It was a warm summer morning when scrolling through my Inbox I saw the subject “Portuguese Land Rovers” an e-mail sent by Huckberry, a long-time guilty pleasure newsletter (it’s 99% focused on outdoorsy men stuff…), that makes me crave for adventures and wild expeditions.

I remember perfectly the mix of curiosity, excitement and pride when I clicked to read it. “A Portuguese brand on Huckberry’s Journal? A-mazing!” I thought. I had previously seen some Portuguese brands being sold at Huckberry’s online store, but this was a proper feature on Cool & Vintage, a company dedicated to restoring vintage Land Rovers.

Fast-forward a few months and a couple of reciprocate courtesies, and Zé Pedro Alvarez, Cool & Vintage’s talented photographer suggested we meet.

“Let’s do something, you know, with one of our jeeps, and your food and wandering spirit, in Arrábida” he said. I obviously replied “Of course!”, not exactly knowing what that “something” meant.

So I kind of went with the flow, trying to keep up with all the coolness of the situation. Along with Zé Pedro came the brand’s CEO and Founder Ricardo Pessoa, both armed with a couple of small but still intimidating cameras.

I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to take the food on the jeep, or if we were to only do a photoshoot inside, so I decided to make a simple soup and a couple of desserts, one a bit fancier than the other, both quite experimental/improvised, everything very seasonal.

The task at hands was to cook something that resonated with my style of cooking but also with their brand image, good enough to eat and pretty enough to take photos, while keeping an interesting conversation with two persons I’ve never met before AND trying to (barely) look good - myself and the kitchen - for the gazillion photos they were taking.

I failed miserably on the quantity of food and my hair looked messy after the cooking session but everything else went kind of well. At the end of the day I think they left hungry but happy.

It was a delight to get to know and chat with both Zé Pedro and Ricardo. The two have very distinct personalities and life paths, they love what they do and for me that’s the greatest inspiration. They put a great deal of attention in all sorts of details, being the jeeps they restore or the pictures they take of them, carefully constructing the right setting, to evoke the right feeling.

That feeling you are probably feeling right now, the one where you can picture yourself leaving all the business of your life, get inside this Land Rover and take the Freedom road towards Summerland.

And if by any chance you decide to take action on your feeling, I hope you have the time to make and pack a thermos of the soup we had on this day.

Celeriac and Chestnut soup

150g chestnuts, previously boiled or roasted and peeled
250g celeriac, peeled and roughly diced
2-3 cups of water or homemade vegetable stock
1 small piece of Ceylon cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients into a medium size pan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chestnuts and celeriac are very soft. Remove the cinnamon piece and process the soup until smooth. I like to use the smoothie’s blender for this but a hand blender will work as well. Return the soup to the pan and re-heat without boiling.

To serve:
A knob of ghee or butter
A handful of mushrooms (Shiitake and Portobello are my favorites)
1 or 2 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Freshly grated orange zest
2 slices of sourdough bread

Melt the ghee on a grilling pan and add the mushrooms and sage. Fry for a couple of minutes, season with salt and set aside. Place the bread slices on the pan and grill for a few minutes on each side. In the meantime, pour the soup in bowls, place a spoonful of mushrooms on top and finish with the orange zest. Serve immediately with a slice of grilled bread.

Serves 2

Head over to Cool & Vintage’s Journal for more about this day.

Botanical Pop-up Dinner :: Winter Editions

It never crossed my mind that these pop-up dinners would attract so many people and I'm truly proud that people's attention is finally moving towards the wonderful world of plant-based gastronomy.

Let me remind you that these dinners are 100% plant-based and made with lots of care and attention by João and myself. It has been such a great experience to work with João, he's not only an extremely talented vegetarian chef but also one of the most polite and serene persons I've ever met and worked with. 

Also, the setting makes such an impact on the meal. All the details, from the decoration, the cutlery, the porcelain, everything laid out with love by A Sociedade's team, play a crucial part in experiencing the event as a whole, as you can see in the photos below.

With such a great feedback from everyone I'm pleased to announce the Spring Edition of the Botanical Pop-up Dinner series which is going to be on the 20th of April. Please check my EVENTS page for more info on how to reserve your place.

I really hope to see you there!