Roasted Spicy Ribs & Peanuts/ Raisins Rice

I'm well aware that by now many of you are already tired of the food excesses commited over the holidays [I'm still just half-way] and are in a full plan of diet and cleanse, but these dreary days of constant rain, freezing cold and gloom still call for comforting meals, at least in my book! Well if you really don't want to break your resolutions of detoxifying at least it was well worth giving this delicious dish a try over the upcoming weekend as a special treat or try them separately - this tasty pinenuts and golden raisins rice actually makes a wonderful side dish to any meal.


Ingredients:

• 2 strips of ribs 
• salt
• chilis
• bay
• garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 & 1/2 beers
• long grain rice 
• pinenuts  
• yellow raisins

Ribs:
De-bone the strips of ribs so that you end up with individual ribs. Arrange on a tray and season with garlic cut into rings, but with the rind on, 2 bay leaves broken into small pieces, chilis to taste, salt and sprinkle with olive oil and a beer. Take to a preheated oven at 200º until well roasted and do not forget to turn over the ribs from time to time so that they get roasted from all sides.

Rice Pine Nuts and Raisins:
In a pan put olive oil and half an onion with 2 cloves of garlic to brown slightly. Add the pine nuts and raisins and let fry a little. Add the rice and let it fry a little. Add hot water and salt and let cook.


Ingredientes:

• 2 tiras de entrecosto
• sal
• malaguetas
• louro
• alho
• azeite virgem extra
• 1 & 1/2 cervejas
• arroz agulha
• pinhões
• passas amarelas

Entrecosto:
Desossar o entrecosto até ficar com as costelas individualmente. Dispor num tabuleiro e temperar com alhos cortados às rodelas, mas com a casca, 2 folhas de louro partidas aos pedaços, malaguetas a gosto, sal grosso e regar com azeite e uma cerveja. Levar ao forno pré aquecido a 200º até ficar bem tostado e não esquecer de ir virando as costelas para ficarem tostadas de todos os lados.

Arroz de Pinhões e Passas:
Numa panela colocar azeite e meia cebola com 2 dentes de alho a alourar ligeiramente. adicionar os pinhões e as passas e deixar fritar um pouco. Juntar de pois o arroz e deixar fritar um pouco. Adicionar água e sal e deixar apurar.

Too Good Not To Post It Right Away

Meringue Chocolate & Beet Cake

I'd been dying to try a chocolate beet cake and couldn't let the year end without trying it, so I decided to bake it for the réveillon - a fudgy, moist, wonderful, delicious, utterly decadent beets cake with the rich, deep-dark flavor of chocolate that was a success!You will be very surprised at how good this is and it easily and absolutely became my favourite vegetable-cake combo. EVER. The beets in this recipe serve a purpose other than sneaking veggies into your diet; so don't be afraid to add the beets [I was a bit reluctant too in the beginning, I must admit] because you can’t taste the beets in this recipe; I promise there’s no earthy, beety flavour at all, but they make the cake incomparably light and tender while being moist, dense and rich. Without them, this dessert would be nowhere near as delicious. As I knew that some of the guests might squirm at the idea of beets in a cake, I just didn’t tell them util there was no slice left - this happened fast, believe me and then the surprise was a blast. I promise that if I hadn't revelead the secret ingredient,they would  never have known.


 Ingredients:

• 200gr of chocolate
• 200gr unsalted butter
• 250gr Sugar
• 4 eggs
• 250gr flour with baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 250gr cooked and grated beets crusts removed
• 7 egg whites [for topping]
• some drops of 1 lemon

  Heat the oven to 180ºC. Grease a rectangular shaped mold with butter, line it with parchment paper and re-grease with butter. Place the butter to melt over low heat, break the chocolate into pieces and mix it with the butter. When starting to melt, mix well with a wooden spoon. After melted let it slightly cool . Beat the eggs with the sugar until you have a creamy paste. Add the melted chocolate and butter. Slowly add the flour mixed with grated beets and stir with a wooden spoon until all is homogeneous. Place the dough in the mold and place in the oven for about 30 minutes so that the interior of the cake becomes wet, like a brownie. In the meanwhile whisk 7 egg [that's what I had frozen from a previous leftover] whites together with sugar and a few drops of lemon, removing the cake from oven and placing the egg whites  on top. Bring it back to the oven until browned slightly.


Ingredientes:

• 200gr de chocolate
• 200gr de manteiga sem sal
• 250gr de açúcar 
• 4 ovos
• 250gr de farinha com fermento
• 1 colher de chá de fermento
• 250gr de beterraba cozida e ralada sem a casca
• 7 claras [para a cobertura]
• algumas gotas de limão

  Aquecer o forno a 180ºC.  Untar uma forma retangular com manteiga, forrar com papel vegetal e voltar a untar com manteiga. Colocar a manteiga a derreter em lume brando, partir o chocolate em pedaços e misturá-lo com a manteiga. Quando começar a derreter, misturar bem com uma colher de pau. Depois de derretido deixar arrefecer um pouco. Bater os ovos com o açúcar, até ficar uma pasta cremosa. Adicionar o chocolate derretido com a manteiga. Juntar lentamente a farinha misturada com a beterraba ralada e mexer com uma colher de pau até estar tudo bem ligado. Colocar a massa na forma e levar ao forno cerca 30 minutos de forma a que o interior do bolo fique húmido, como se fosse um brownie. Entretanto bater as claras de 7 ovos [era o que eu tinha congelado de umas sobras anteriores] em castelo juntamente com açúcar e algumas gotas de limão, retirar o bolo do forno e colocar o merengue por cima. Levar de novo ao forno até alourar ligeiramente.

December Beauty Buys

To say farewell to 2015 and welcome the new in a good vibe I chose three products that helped me create a natural glowing complexion and that made me feel fancy, glamorous and polished.

 

1.Nothing speaks the holidays better than gold, right? Gold nails are glamorous yet understated. They’re attention-grabbing, but in a classy way.   Anny's "Kiss the winner" is a luxe, buttery gold with shimmer and sheen, but with enough pigment to keep it opaque. The  brush makes application easy and streak-less, though this formula is a bit thick and has a longer dry time than other nailpolishes of the same brand. I didn't wear any top coat and it has lasted five days without chipping. The rich, impactful color was the perfect complement to the pink coloured champagne that I held on my flute at midnight.

2. I'm always in for healthy glowing skin and the Pure Color All-Over Illuminator by Estée Lauder comes in a metallic cream highlight tube that features some beautiful golden accents. The twist up mechanism is very handy as well. It applies almost like a gel, gliding effortlessly across the cheekbones[where I use it, though it can also be used on your body], blending easily . The pinkish bronzy gold  is really flattering for most skin tones and looks natural. A must-have!

3. I absolutely love L'oréal Punky Manga mascara that makes my eyelashes look amazing - so dark and volumizing! I am an absolute mascara hoarder so I have to try almost every new mascara that I can find. This one has such a nice luscious rich / jet black formula and a fantastic wand/ brush that travells up my lashes from root to tip in an even-ish manner yet grouping lashes together to give me an amazingly voluminous fringe. It has a wet formula so it clumps, but that is the whole point to this mascara, so you have to expect a wet formula. I found it did take a while to play about and get my lashes exactly how I wanted them due to it going on so thick but when I did, I found the end result was fantastic. 

New Year Reflections

I take the first day of a new year as an opportunity to get a head start on my dreams/goals and to become a better person than I was last year. As I grow older I realize more and more that resolutions rarely stick and that goals are a better way to seek out change. Once you've defined your goals, you can live from there with clarity and focus.I'm embracing 2016 without great expectations and the will to let things flow wih ease. Reaching our goals is never a linear process — there are many starts and stops to the process;  often the high energy and enthusiasm we start out with is deflated before we know it and it's important to only set goals that we can actually achieve. Many require small baby steps to even be able to begin to achieve them. I have written down just the right list, with deliberation and intent, and I aim to follow through. Wish you a great 2016 and I'd love to hear what are your reflections on the new year!