September used to mean homemade wine Posted by João on 7:14 pm

Ok so here we are nearing the end of September. Drawing back on my days of youth in Prince George, B.C., this time of year reminds me of three things: yellow leaves, chopping and stockpiling lumber for the winter ahead, and making wine. It's this last one I'm going to talk about today. The Portuguese love their wine, it's a matter of fact. But the Portuguese also believe they shouldn't have to pay a lot for their wine. Most Portuguese emigrant men in Canada will tell you that they will drink 3, 4, 5 glasses of wine a day, yet most have never purchased a bottle at the liquor store. How do they do it? They make it at home.

Now having grown up the son of Portuguese emigrants in Canada, and as many like me will attest, this time of year was often a messy time of year. Making homemade wine never was and probably never will be a clean process, yet everyone had to help with one thing or another. So in our house, every September, from one day to the next, unannounced, my dad would receive boxes of grapes, often brought to our place of residence by another member of the Portuguese community. The grapes, whatever the variety, would either came from the Okanagan region of British Columbia or from California straight into our backyard and ready to be turned in the nector of the gods.

Boxes of California wine grapes ready for the wine press

Now the crushing of the grapes, of course, was the messy part, be it the crushing (crusher on the left) or the pressing (presser on the right).

The end result, however, made it all worth it - to see the juice flowing into the pail, the first signs of what would be on the table every night for the year(s) to come. I guess it made it all worth while.

So skipping ahead a few steps in this winemaking adventure, a few weeks or months after fermentation would come the bottling. Now bottles often came in two sizes. On one hand, there was the popular five litre bottle (see below) which was robust, heavy (once full) and awkward to put on the table during dinner.

On the other, there were the unreturned 1 litre Pop Shoppe pop bottles (on the Pop Shoppe see www.canadiansinportugal.com/2011/09/pop-shoppe-memories.html). Whenever my non-Portuguese friends would come over, if we would go into the garage for one reason or another, a common question posed would often be: What's the deal with all the empty Pop Shoppe bottle cases piled up one on top of each other? Why don't you return them? It's for bottling wine. Explaning it would bring a smile to my face as well. I guess it was a bit of a way of bringing a bit of Canadiana to Portuguese winemaking. Go ahead, imagine one of these here to the left full of tasty homemade wine on your table though...

Now by the 1990's, this whole process of making wine right from the grape got replaced by the buckets of grape juice ready for fermentation. Everybody got into it. Surely the cutting off of certain steps made things cleaner, even cheaper, but the replacing of the wooden grape boxes with white plastic buckets left something to be desired, this beyond the fact that such a "new" method seemed to be serving up a slap in the face to the old, more traditional means these Portuguese emigrants adapted upon settling in Canada. Now is there hope of the grape making a comeback among Portuguese winemakers in Canada? I like to think so. After all the Pop Shoppe bottles are back.

The bastardisation of the pastel de nata Posted by João on 7:01 pm

If one were to say that the pastel de nata (or the pastel de belem) is Portugal's most well known sweet or cake, my bet is on the fact that not too many would put up an arguement. Anyone who knows Portugal, or has any affiliation to the country, knows how delicious these soft and creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside custardy cakes are. Just seeing them leaves your mouth watering, am I right? Just look at all of them ...

Surely the pastel de nata is synonymous with Portugal, but you may also be interested in knowing that its populary is world-wide. If anyone has been a great embassador of our little custardy cake, it's the 5 million Portuguese throughout the world. Myself personally, while growing up in Prince George, B.C., Canada, I certainly didn't have the pleasure of going down to a local Portuguese café like our Portuguese-Canadian friends residing in Toronto or Montreal who have their Little Portugal's. We in Prince George were fortunate enough, however, to have among our community, a baker from the Minho region who had worked at the Pasteis de Belem Factory in Belem for 10 years before having moved to Canada. Every Christmas and Easter he made a killing making and selling his pasteis de nata to the community and believe me, they were just as tasty as any you'd find here in Portugal.

On the issue of the globalisation of the pastel de nata, however, if there's one place our custardy representative has really taken off, it's in Asia, especially in countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malasia, among others. It's introduction to the Orient was, unsurprisingly, through the former Portuguese colony of Macau, having then made its way into China where the pastel de nata is know as 'dan ta' or pastel de ovo (egg tart). Today, it is quite common to find 'dan ta' as a dessert option in many fast food restaurants in these East Asian countries. They do look a little different from the Portuguese version but not too far off. Here's what they look like:

Now what is interesting about the globalisation of the pastel de nata is that as this Portuguese sweet starts making in-roads across different parts of the globe, it also starts taking on regional characteristics, even flavours. Again, in Asia, one can now find various 'bastardisations' of the pastel de nata, ranging from coffee, to caramel, to brown suger to mochi (rice cake) pasteis de nata, for example. Have a look at what the mochi pastel de nata looks like:

Interestingly, however, this trend (if you can call it that) is not unique to East Asia. Recently, while in a Portuguese café in the heart of Little Portugal (in the Plateau-Monte Royal neighbourhood) in Montreal, I came across what undoubtedly best fits the description of a 'Canadian pastel de nata' - a maple syrup pastel de nata - certainly a fitting symbol of the Luso-Canadian presence, bringing the two worlds together. Have a look at the maple syrup pastel de nata (which I thoroughly enjoyed right after taking this picture):

Ok now certainly we can look at this and think that it's just not right to be taking something that is so typically Portuguese and making it something that it is not. Well certainly the Portuguese are not too worried. Just recently at this years Chocolate Festival in Obidos they were selling these tasty little morsels - that's right, chocolate pasteis de nata.

So as we can see, in this globalised world we live in today, everything is everywhere and everything's up for grabs. One thing I could certainly grab right now...? Yeah that's right, you guessed it ... a pastel de nata; but I think I'll stick with something a little more traditional, as in a pastel that comes via Belem.

The Pop Shoppe memories Posted by João on 9:01 pm

Do you remember the Pop Shoppe? I sure do. For those of us who grew up in Canada during the 1970 and early 80, Pop Shoppe pop, in fact, was a major part of our lives. Out of London, Ontario, the Pop Shoppe was more like a ma and pa business that quickly grew and grew and grew. Founded in 1969, by 1972 there were over 500 Pop Shoppe outlets in Ontario alone. Pop Shoppe grew to be as popular as cigarettes back in the day. The company always avoided using traditional retail channels, selling its pop instead through franchised outlets and through its own stores, using refillable bottles that came in cartons of 24 for the stubby bottles and 12 for the 1 litre bottles.

Now my fondest Pop Shoppe memories were the Pop Shoppe flavours, which numbered nearly 30 in total by the 1980's. I certainly loved the grape soda, the cream soda, the black cherry, the lime rickey, the grape, the orange, the blue raspberry and not to mention pink (whatever that was) as much as the next guy, but my favourite was definitely the root beer. The cool thing was that if didn't want an entire crate of just one flavour, you could pick and chose from the vast variety and take home a rainbow crate of pop.Then, after a week or two of sucking back all that pop, you'd put the empties back into the crate and return those empties to the Pop Shoppe outlet. As I remember, no visit to the Pop Shoppe shop was free of the clinking and clanging of returned bottles.

So while the 1970's put Pop Shoppe on the pop map, by the early 80's due to competition coming from the big boys of the pop world (yeah you guessed it, Coke and Pepsi, among others, after all they did have the advantage of selling ther products in every single grocery store on the face of the planet), the Pop Shoppe closed the pop shop doors in 1983.

Jump forward 11 years to 2004 and the Pop Shoppe is re-established. Basing their marketing and sales strategies on nostalgia, a number of flavours were brought back and a couple of years ago even the stubby bottle was re-instituted. So anyone having a hankering for a cream soda or grape pop can now kill that hankering, but is that magic still there? Well one thing that's no longer there is the Pop Shoppe shop itself as the new Pop Shoppe pop is now sold through regular retail grocery stores using conventional retail distribution; long gone are the clinging of return bottles and the rainbow coloured cartons of pop. They say you can never go back. Well fair enough, after all the business went down in 1983 due to the competition.

So in the end you can have your nostalgia back but those precious moments (as reflected below) remain in our memories.

Festas do Emigrante, 2011 Posted by João on 7:52 pm

As it was written a few post ago on this blog, the current month here in Portugal - which we are now seeing come to a close - is synonymous with the homecoming of Portuguese emigrants. From all over the world they fly in and from European countries they drive as well. The month of August, as many emigrants will tell you, is the month of complete and utter happiness, when the yearning to return, if only for a few weeks, is finally realised; when family and old friends are again seen; when senses, smells and visions of other times are re-encountered; and when spirits are renewed. Many are the songs written about Portuguese emigration, but arguably non capture this sentiment (as simple as it may be stated) as that of the song Voltei, Voltei by Dino Meira. If you don't know it, it goes like this: "Voltei voltei, voltei de lá; Ainda ontem estava em França e agora já estou cá. ... Vale mais um mês aqui do que um ano inteiro lá", or in other words: "I came I came, I came back from their; I was in France yesterday and now I'm here. ... One month here is more valuable then an entire year there".

And so every year during the month of August, villages, towns, municipalities through parties, or festas, if you will to commemorate the homecoming of its son and daughters. The Festa do Emigrante serves up food, drink, live music, folklore, games, fireworks, dancing, and many other things. In some towns they are the biggest parties of the year, prepared for ahead of time and in some cases even payed for by the emigrants abroad.

With this post we pay homage to this tradition by showing posters from some of this years Festas do Emigrante from different parts of Portugal. At the same time we take this opportunity to wish all emigrants who have been here during this month of August safe journeys "home". Hang in there during the Fall, Winter and Spring as next year there'll be more. Here are some posters from this years festas.

Praias Fluviais: the other beaches of Portugal Posted by João on 5:40 pm

Portugal's know for it's beaches. No surprise there. Up and down the coast, or across in the case of the Algarve, or around in the case of Madeira and the Azores, many kilometres of sandy beaches, possessing all kinds of characteristics, can be founds. We also know that the majority of the Portuguese population live along the coastal regions so beach access is by no means difficult to come by for many. Now for those who live in inland communities, where ocean beach access is not so easy to come by, the alternatives are either water parks, river beaches or dammed-up swimming holes. In all cases, in Portugal these bathing locations are better known as praias fluviais.

Now in the Portuguese interior, the water park phenomenon has particularly taken off in the last few years, many of them extravegant in nature, going as far as to imitate tropical island settings as is the case with Praia Fluvial das Rocas in Castanheira da Pera:

And yet others go as far as shipping in sand in order to provide that ocean beach feel, as is the case with the recently inaugurated Live Beach Praia Fluvial in Mangualde:

Many of these beach complexes, in fact, are created to become much more then just a place where you can go for a soak, often becoming mini-entertainment complexes. The two projects shown below - Mangualde's Live Beach (on the left) and Praia Fluvial de Valhelhas (on the right) - show exactly this. Mangualde's Live Beach comes with a stage and holds concerts by big name Portuguese acts through out the Summer. Equally Valhelhas host a rock festival towards the end of August.









So although these somewhat 'mega-projects' have been carried out to bring the coastal beach-like atmosphere into the interior, let it be said that the traditional praia fluvial of the Portuguese interior are actually historic in nature, or should I say as historic as the villages or aldeias many can be found in or close to. A simple visit to the site http://www.praiasfluviais.com/ will provide you with all sorts of information and here you will see exactly what I speak of. For a true bathing experience in history ... pick anyone of the 21 praias fluviais located in the shale villages (aldeias de xisto) of Central Portugal, for example. From the praias fluviais of Benfeita and Piodão in the Açor mountain range near Arganil, to Aldeia Ruiva, Mealhada and Fróia (pictured below) around Proença-a-Nova, all are beautiful man-made bathing locations in the midst of history and rural tranquility, worthy of being experienced.

As also mentioned, another praia fluvial option is that of beach areas created by river reservoirs. Although various can be found through out Portugal, again in Central Portugal the River Zêzere and the Castelo de Bode reservoir provides some of the best praias fluviais in Portugal. The aldeia of Dornes near Ferreira do Zêzere is one such example, providing the beauty of a small mountain village with two very relaxing beaches along the Zêzere (see below).

So if you're still thinking of putting in some beach time this Summer here in Portugal, your encouraged to consider the praias fluvias Portugal has to offer. It's most definitely a soak worth taking.

The Portuguese mercearias of yesterday and today; but tomorrow? Posted by João on 9:29 pm

In a country with more square metres (or should we say kilometres) dedicated to commercial shopping space then any other in Europe, which is that of Portugal today (with much of that space quickly becoming empty - crisis anyone!), if we were to go back to 1970's Portugal, surely the country would be at the bottom of such a ranking. Back in the day, grocery shopping didn't mean a trip to the Continent or the Pingo Doce or the Modelo or the Lidl or whatever you may have in the vacinity of your home. Grocery shopping, and basically any sort of shopping of household items, meant a stroll to the local mercearia (cornershop/cornerstore, you pick). Here's what they looked like (and some still do).

Now in a country that has been conquered by shopping malls, unsurprisingly the need for the local mercearia has dwindled. Dwindled yes ... but not yet outright disappeared. In the cities of Lisbon and Porto, a walkabout in many of the historic neighbourhoods will lead you to a number of historic mercearias, often still operated by the same individuals who were there before the coming of the boxstore and the shopping mall. For example:

The city of Porto has what are perhaps two of the most well know historic mercearias of Portugal: Casa Oriental and A Pérola do Bolhão (both below). Having opened its doors 101 years ago, Casa Oriental is particularly well known for its bacalhau (salted cod), also used to decorate the entire store front. Founded in 1917, A Pérola de Bolhão has become a symbol of the city due to its artistic, painted tile storefront.

In both cases, these mercearias have extended their history beyond their sales means - they are now historic symbols of the city. But what about those that don't earn that status? Are these bound to become a footnote in time? Most likely. Most recently, however, an attempt at a new generation of mercearia was started up in Lisbon. With the goal of bringing back the old neighbourhood mercearia feel, the Mercearia Creativa attempts to do just that, bringing with it certain touches of modernity as well (in this day-and-age of modern technology the internet helps http://www.merceariacreativa.com/).

Surely, the concept may be somewhat utopian trying to beat out the big boys behind the box stores and the supermarket chains. Still, to put it simply, it's worth a try. After all what you see below looks pretty impersonal doesn't it?

The Summertime BBQs of Canada Posted by João on 6:57 pm

Alright, continuing on with these themes of summer and food, as has been the focus of our last posts, today I want mesh the two together and talk about the old fashion summertime outdoor barbecues which are very much a part of the summertime fun and imagery of those long days of summer north of the 49th.

Ok, first, as many may already know, BBQing can basically be accomplished in two ways:

1.) via the old gas BBQ, more conviniente for those backyard or deck gathering with friends;

2.) via the fire pit, usually more common when camping out.

Now no matter what route you take, what is most important to remember is that a good ol' fashion BBQ not only brings together good food, that is often also accompanied with plenty of great drinks, it is also about camaraderie and being with good friends and family. Sticking to the food, however, I think we can all agree that pretty much everything tastes great over an open flame - meat, fish, vegetables and lets not forget these things below:

Yes, that's right yummy marchmallows roasting on an open fire, a culinary delight that is vertually unknown here in Portugal. In fact, if anyone knowns where good chunky marchmallows can be purchased here, leave a comment.

Now although BBQing may have certain ritualistic elements symbolic of the Canadian summer, in the same vain that Canada is a multicultural haven, so is BBQing synonymous with multiculturalism: Greek souvlaki, Chinese BBQ pork, Brazilian picanha or maminha, the abundancy of German sausages, and the list goes on. Of course we cannot forget the Portuguese in Canada and their passion for a BBQ - bifanas, chicken, sardines, and so on and so forth. Seldom is a gathering of Portuguese communities in Canada in the summer BBQ-less.

Good ol' typically Portuguese community BBQ in Canada

One of the most interesting features of these Portuguese community BBQs, however, are the BBQ instruments themselves - the often homemade oil barrel sawed in half BBQ that is then put on wheels and is ready to travel.

Portuguese BBQ-on-wheels with built-in chicken rotisserie ready to feed hundreds

Well it's only natural that I should be hungry now and it's certainly not a soup or salad that I'm hankering down for. I'm off to eat and if you BBQ, BBQ safely and enjoy!

Traditional Portuguese (junk) Food Posted by Gabriel on 10:58 pm

When most people think of Portuguese food, they associate it with the typical Mediterranean diet - lots of fish, olive oil, legumes, salads and plenty of wine.

They can usually identify one or two main dishes, typically codfish or sardines, and the emblematic “pastéis de nata”.

However, Portuguese cuisine is a veritable smorgasbord of flavours and dishes that gratify the taste buds and congest the arteries.

First off is the simple, unassuming “Bitoque”. This consists of either a beef or pork steak, fried in olive oil, lard or grilled and topped with a fried egg. It’s accompanied by white rice, some French fries, and a simple salad. This is the staple dish of taverns all over the country.  Almost healthy if it were not for the French fries and fat based sauce the steak is swimming in.

Next up is the “Francesinha”, a kind of heavy-duty sandwich, made the unhealthiest and yummiest way possible. Start with a slice of thick white bread, and then layer a fried pork steak on top, a slice or two of wet cured ham, linguiça, and then fresh sausage. This is topped off with another slice of thick bread, a fried egg, and a couple of slices of cheese. The “sandwich” is then put on a plate, surrounded by French fries, and covered in a spicy, thick, tomato and beer sauce, which causes the cheese to melt. Salad is never included, they don’t even attempt to trick you into thinking that this is remotely healthy. This is my personal favourite, and it’s unbeatable when paired with a hot summer evening, an ice-cold beer, a football match and good friends.

“Alheira de Mirandela” is a sausage made from a combination of tasty animals, namely duck, chicken, rabbit or veal, and bread. No pork though, as this was a scrumptious way for the Jews to deceive the Portuguese Inquisition (no one ever expects the Portuguese Inquisition…). This sausage comes from the Mirandela region, and is practically the only thing of note to come from that region (just kidding).The sausage is either deep fried in oil or grilled over hot coals. Tradition dictates that it is served with boiled greens and potatoes, but as that combination was far too healthy, it is frequently served with French fries, white rice and topped with a fried egg. Sometimes a small salad is included to trick the health conscience.

Lastly, you have “Leitão da Bairrada”, which is suckling pig roast over an open fire. It is seasoned using a garlic and pepper seed paste, giving it a distinctive flavour.  It is normally served with lettuce salad and orange slices, though many places also serve it with French fries. Surprisingly this is the only dish that does not managed to include a fried egg.

All of the above should be served with either an ice-cold national beer or a chilled white wine from the “vinho verde” region.

To top it off, some “ovos moles” from Aveiro, a caloric bomb whose explosive charge consists of egg yolk and sugar.  It's the quintessential Portuguese "dessert", because it contains the two most common ingredients in Portuguese sweets (egg yolk and sugar), but does away with all the unnecessary fluff, like looking tasty.

Now I’m hungry.

If you want to check out an excellent site with tantalizing pictures of food (with recipes, of course), visit http://foodgawker.com/

"My Dear Month of August" Posted by João on 9:13 pm

Well if you haven't noticed yet, Summer is here. More important, however, the month of August is just around the corner. We all know what happens in Portugal during the month of August: yes, that's right ... nothing. Since almost everyone in this country seems to go on holidays during this month, the country is left to run at half gas (insert your comment on who this country seems to runs at half gas all year around here). Lisbon in August, in fact, often looks a lot like this:

Now lets look at this from an anthropological point of view, and ask: what makes this country different during the month of August (beyond the aforementioned half gassing it)? And lets start with a typical image of what things often look like on August 1st:

That's right: the mad rush, but to where are all them folk going you ask? Well let us do it pictorially for you once again:

Looks familiar? That's right, it's the Algarve, the destination of many during the 'dear month of August'. It's the time of the year when the suburban middle-classes sticks the kids and the dog into their roomy Opel Corsas and off they go to Quarteira, to Armação de Pêra, to Monte Gordo or any other place that looks like their suburban neighbourhood back in the big city but instead by the sea.

Meanwhile, in the other empty depths of Portugal (at least during the other 11 months of the year), as in the interior regions where the majority of the people have had to emigrate, during the month of August, those who departed for other countries return home, turning the small villages of Trás-os-Montes, Minho, Beira Baixa, etc. into lively locations full of joy and fun and exotic languages. Typical of August in the província are the festas dedicates to the home-returning emigrants. Not only do the emigrants count down the days until August rolls around, those who await them do as well, because August means one thing and one thing only: festa na aldeia (partying it up in the villages).

So be it in the city, in the beach destinations of the Algarve, or throughout the aldeias of the country, August is meant to be different and no other month seems to substitute it. So this August, like any other August, Portugal will once again be posting up one of these: