Quinta de Simaens – Award Winning Vinho Verde
This week we tried another bottle of Vinho Verde … yes we know the summer has ended but we couldn’t resist this one - a 2007 Silver Medal Winner - “Concours Mondial” Brussels.

- Quinta de Simaens
- Type: Vinho Verde (green wine)
- Cost: €5.50
- Taste: an interesting and complex Vinho Verde, by Borges, not very bubbly but has a wonderful warm yellow color and soft citrus aroma. Its flavors hint of mellow lemon and ripe pineapple.
- Great With: This is a more “mature” Vinho Verde flavor that will be wonderful with citrus inspired foods, and a nice pairing for Thai or Asian dishes. Serve well chilled.
Lemon Chicken – Frango com Limão
Growing up, I was fortunate to have a mom who loved trying different dishes; my father would often look at his plate in amazement and ask, “O…que é isto?” (Um…what is this?). But being a good sport and a closet foodaholic he devoured everything…Italian, Mexican, Asian, French…mom crossed the globe a few times over in her kitchen. Then there were the “favorites” - like “Frango com Limão”, an old Portuguese recipe that filled the house with a wonderful smell and never disappointed.

I had forgotten about Frango com Limão until, I recently Read more
7th Annual Mama Maratona
An annual marathon organized to bring awareness to all forms of cancer, through film, education, information and fun. This marathon is also strongly focused on raising funds to fight and treat cancer.
The first Mama Marathon took place in 2000, with the objective of raising awareness for breast cancer. Since the initial race, Mama Marathon has kept Read more
Coffee with Ms. Piggy in Loulé
When we ventured out this afternoon in search of the “European No Car Day” in Loule, we expected to see the new ecofriendly cars, some solar powered cooking and maybe give some thought to how we could be more ecofriendly ourselves. What was in store was drastically different than the script we had planned.

On searching through the old city, no Ecocars could be found, hungry and remembering a Read more
Cured Goat Cheese and Mango Puffs
This recipe evolved from a new cheese I recently spotted called “Quinta dos Moinhos Novos – Queijo Puro de Cabra Curado”. This cheese turned out to be a bit of a surprise. I somehow missed the part of the label that said “Curado” so when I cut into it I was expecting something of a creamer texture and found it was much more solid than I had imagined. Note to self…it’s good to read the label. Anyway, sometimes wonderful accidents happen, and since I was already a fan of other Quinta dos Moinhos cheeses, I left my faith in their good name and wasn’t disappointed.

Cured Goat Cheese & Mango Puffs
(source: own | serves 4, or in our case 2)
Ingredients:
Defrosted, prepared puff pastry
Pure cured goat cheese - Quinta dos Moinhos Novos
6 Garlic cloves, roasted – Monchique garlic if available
½ Medium onion – finely chopped
1 Tblsp. Olive oil
2 + 2 Tblsp. Butter
½ Medium ripe Algarve Mango – chopped
1 Orange – fresh juice of one small orange
½ Tsp -Piri Piri with Jindungo
1 Tblsp. – Chopped cilantro
Flor de Sal
2 Tblsp. Milk for brushing
Read more
Vinho Verde. Via Latina.
Portugal has so many great wines - from red to port, and everything between. Each week, we will be trying a different local wine and sharing our experience with you. By no means are we sommeliers- just wine lovers. From our experience we hope to make your next wine selection a little easier.
Before the warm summer Algarve days are gone, we wanted to enjoy a nice chilled bottle of Vinho Verde (green wine).

- Via Latina
- Type: Vinho Verde (green wine)
- Cost: €1.99 (that’s not a typo)
- Taste: This is a light fruity flavor with hints of plum and slight floral undertones, the sparkle in this wine is very subtle and a clean middle finish, not too sweet or to dry.
- Great with: medium cheeses and sweeter bread dough’s, or a plate of fruit and cheese. Or with “Cured Goat Cheese & Mango Puffs”











































