Food

Food is the heart of the Portuguese culture.

The eating begins at breakfast. We typically sit down to a table set with a table cloth, plates and utensils. In the center of the table sits a basket of bread…a heavy dark bread, cut in thick slices and light, fresh, crusty rolls. To accompany the bread there are slices of local cheese, homemade preserves made from pumpkin, pear, or strawberries. Homemade marmalade is also customarily on the table. Sometimes there are freshly baked pastries, which I adore. For protein, there is presunto (salted and dried ham), cut in thin slices. Fresh eggs from the chickens are scrambled and also offered for the meal. A dark, strong coffee is served with warm milk.

The kids usually eat a small yogurt and some bread. The varieties of yogurts that are sold here are endless. Drinkable yogurt, yogurt for children, for adults, for sports, for digestion, for dessert… the list goes on and on.

Lunchtime divides the day. In Portugal all businesses and schools close from 12:30-2:00 allowing workers and students to go home to have a meal with their family. Lunch is not a light affair. The family sits down together to enjoy first a bowl of soup - which is usually made of a few vegetables blended into a chicken broth. The meal is hearty and different each day. It consists of fish, chicken, pork, lamb, rabbit or beef. The main dish is served with rice or potatoes. A salad or green is served. Salads are simple and light – usually including lettuce from the garden, sliced onions and tomato. Instead of salad dressing, a touch of olive oil and salt is sprinkled on the greens. There are always olives on the table. One glass of wine or a “fino” accompanies the meal. A “fino” is a half pint of beer – very light in color and in taste. A dessert of fresh cut fruit follows the meal. For one last kick to start off the afternoon, a small cup of espresso.

At 5:00pm, more food is set upon the table. This “snacktime” is a called “Lunche.” Lunche is similar to breakfast… bread, cheese, marmalade, a bite of cake all served with either tea or coffee. Duarte and I try to resist this meal if we can so that we have a large appetite for dinner. But if there is cake on the table, I am usually persuaded to sit down to eat. Duarte’s mother is very particular about food and wants to be sure that everyone has had enough. She is always pushing food toward us encouraging us to have a little more.

8:00pm is dinner time. Because this meal is late, the day seems to last so much longer. Dinner is also a formal gathering. Appetizers kick off the meal. Fried codfish cakes, shrimp/potato pockets, crab claws fried in a potato dough… yum. Next comes a soup. Dinner is only different from lunch because more wine is served and a more substantial dessert follows. The desserts are beautiful and rich and different each day. Last night we had an apple tart, the day before we had an egg white cake. We’ve also had apple cake, flan, pineapple cake, cinnamon cake, chocolate cake… and more.

Duarte and I typically complicate the planning of meals because we choose only to eat white meat. The Portuguese believe that each meal must have a protein such as beef or pork – to be strong. They say “a fish isn’t strong enough to pull the cart.”
The quantity of food served is mind boggling. There are always leftovers. Instead of one shrimp rice platter, there are two. It’s like this every meal. It would be impossible to go hungry at the Morais home. The leftovers are eaten by the staff at Quinta da Mata or by the dogs. It’s good to be a dog here.

Food and drink are integral to the dynamics of family and to the schedule for the day. We plan everything around mealtimes…which has taken some getting used to after living in the US my entire life. In State College, we often eat our meals sitting at a computer during work or even standing up in the kitchen doing something else. Mealtime in Portugal allows us time to relax and to sit and talk with family members.

The wine served at lunch or dinner is always of Portuguese origin. The grapes that grow in the different regions around the country produce a wide variety of wines. Each region is known for a specific kind of wine including vinho verde, vinho tinto, port, etc. This is also true of the cheeses. Each region produces a few varieties of cheeses. In a country as small as the state of Michigan, the great variety of foods and wines and their different qualities is truly amazing.

The Portuguese people love their food, their recipes and their drinks. Food and drink are relatively inexpensive here when eating out. A sit down dinner with appetizers, soup, a large meal, a bottle or wine and dessert typically costs no more than $7.00 per person. Unfortunately, because the Portuguese take so much pride in their cooking, there is not much diversity in the kind of food to be consumed. It isn’t possible to eat Italian, Indian, Thai, or Chinese here. I crave different foods but try to be thankful for the wonderful food we are eating. This is so very different than our veggie burger meals we eat too often at home.

Throughout the many visits to Portugal I have had in the past, I have always anticipated gaining a few extra pounds from the large quantities of food consumed. However, when I step upon the scale to see the damage, I am always amazed to find that I have not gained weight but I have lost weight. I still don’t know why this is.

The meals are abundant and wonderful here. I am thankful that I am able to have this opportunity to enjoy the flavors of food and most importantly the unrushed time that I am able to spend talking and laughing with my family….even if I do feel like I will explode by the end of each meal.

Gotta run - it’s time to eat…again…