A Japanese day to start of the New Year!

Purely by accident we walked by a new Japanese place in town called Taska Kome and decided to go in and have a bite. The owner is a lady called Yuko and the food is delicious. 

It gives you a taste of the other side of Japan's gastronomy besides sushi, though sushi is great as well here.

 The best was saved for last: green tea ice cream with azuki beans and sweet potato pie (surprisingly great).

After lunch we went here to see an exibition called "Boro - the fabric of life" (boro means ragged).
Japan's mended and patched textiles sewn from nineteenth and early twentieth century rags and patches of indigo dyed cotton.

The beautiful arrangement of patches and mending stitches was borne out of necessity and was not planned by the maker.

Boro textiles were stitched in the old farmhouses, often at night, by the light of one dim andon, on the laps of farm women. 

This unconscious creative process has been object of many articles, praising the beauty of this technique which is becoming more and more recognized and admired, certainly beyond the  utilitarian purpose for which they were initially created.

Of course nowadays, there can be a tendency to romanticise these textiles, yet this art of repair did not begin as an abstract philosophy but was born out of pure necessity: “Boro textiles were the domain of the ordinary man and represented a collective, impoverished past.
However their inherent beauty is undeniable.

Summer colours

Waking up to a view of GREEN pine tree tops, filing the air with its intense perfume. 

ORANGE coloured sand on the way to the beach. 

Warm BALCK slate under our feet (or paws, in Mia's case). 

Delicious RED roasted tomatoes and fresh bread, both cooked on a wood oven. 

Endless days.

New addiction: fruit flavoured water

Everyday I have been trying out a new kind of flavoured water. Its a new thing for me, but I think I am becoming addicted to this refreshing new option. I've tried different flavours: lime, rosemary, strawbery and mint, orange, melon... endless (delicious) possibilities.

       

Treat of the day: Vegan Truffles

Yummy, healthy, beautiful AND delicious, what more can we ask from a desert? Its a really easy recipe. I normally make a big batch and freeze most of it, so that every time I crave for 'chocolate' I just get 1 or 2 truffles!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

1 cup hazelnuts or almonds peeled and soaked in water overnight (this step is really important as its meant to release toxins and help digestion)

1 cup dried dates (cored)

1 spoon of raw cocoa powder

1 spoon of tahini

1 tea spoon of spirulina or clorela (optional - only if you want to make these beauties a 'detox' desert as well)

Agave or rice syrup - add to taste

Grated coconut and poppy seeds (to cover the truffles)

Mix all ingredients and blend them in the food processor until you get a smooth paste. Mould small balls and wrap them either in coconut or poppy seeds (or both!). Place them in the fridge for 2 hours. Eat and enjoy!

(they can be kept in the fridge for a whole week or in the freezer for quite a long time)

Nibbling here and there

Trying out new places, in different company, along these last months: lounging with V. and J at"Lost in India", drinking tea at Starbucks Cafe (inside Rossio Train Station), ice cream tasting at "Conchanata" with a few old friends,  mother's day lunch at "Darwin" and a veggie burger at "Honoratos" after a long, long day. 

Late brunch in a lovely place

A lazy morning was the best excuse to go out for brunch. We tried a new place, in a lovely and quiet neighbourhood called Praca das Flores (literally 'the flowers square'). Afterwards we walked towards the downtown area, always choosing unknown streets. Found really lovely places. More photos of this walk on a next post. Have a great Easter everyone!

Urban interventions

The way people intervene in the city they live in tells a lot about the underlying issues going on. It is a good exercise to look at things from a new point of view.

It is possible to find beauty everywhere.