'GINJINHA' - TYPICAL LIQUEUR FROM PORTUGAL - RECIPE

“Ginjinha” is a typical liqueur from Portugal, especially in Lisbon, Óbidos and Alcobaça. It's made of sour cherries, sugar and brandy. 

A wooden fork of the above shape is used to pick ginjas out from the serving flask

The recipe is very simple:

Use mature sour cherries and brandy (not necessarily expensive).

Wash sour cherries to remove any powder, remove the stems and dry the fruit with paper towels to remove the excess of water.

Put the sour cherries in bottles with large bottle-neck, until 1/3 of the volume of the bottle, add sugar until the level of the fruit, a stick of cinnamon, close and shake the bottle slightly to involve the sugar in the fruit and let it stand for 24 hours.

The next day, fill the bottle with spirit, close and shake the bottle daily for at least one week.

Put labels on the bottles and store them in a dark place for at least three months, After that time taste to see if it's sweet enough. If not, add more sugar according to your taste and shake a few more days to dissolve the sugar.

After six months it is ready to drink, but I strongly advise to wait a year to taste the delicious nectar ... But be careful, don't drink too much, "Ginjinha" is a strong drink. 
It's traditionally served in a small glass with a piece of the fruit in the bottom of it. More recently, instead of a glass, a chocolate cup is commonly used.
Important Note:

Never use brown sugar to make “Ginjinha”

Try and enjoy!

I WISH YOU AN ENJOYABLE WEEKEND... (slideshow)

Two weeks ago, on the way back from the north of Portugal, I stopped at a small town, Amarante, crossed by a river that  in winter often overflows, the water rising to high levels.

Every first weekend of June, Amarante holds a festival in honour of its patron saint, a protector of marriages. According to the tradition, touching the Saint figurine that we see inside the monastery is thought to bring imminent marriage. I have serious doubts about it...

The festival is characterized by a pageantry that I didn't attend, an open air market that I enjoyed strolling through it and a fertility tradition: unmarried people exchange some rather intriguingly shaped cakes as a token of their affections!!! 

The streets were taken by characters that are not of this world. Gargantuan giants of myth and fears walked the streets of the town along with big headed ones, believed to  keep the bad spirits away, while groups of drum players challenged  each other to play louder, longer and faster.

The market was colourful, with many stalls selling a wide variety of products. The main textile factories are located in the region, a fact that explains why fabrics and clothing were much cheaper than in Lisbon. I bought nothing but a small cage for a cricket. Crickets are good memories of my childhood and I missed their chirping on hot summer nights...

I couldn't yet find crickets on sale in Lisbon but someone has already promised to get one for me. In the meantime the cage is waiting for its little resident.

I really enjoyed this travel in time to other eras and places that sometimes was interrupted by the ringing of a mobile phone,  reminding me that I was in the XXI century...

WISHES WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE BELLE ÉPOQUE

Photo taken at an exhibition held in Lisbon

Last week, I travelled to the northern area of Portugal, more precisely Vidago, a spa town that's well known among Portuguese people and foreign visitors who travel to the region in search of relaxing vacations immersed in a natural environment.   
Vidago is also known for the therapeutic effects of its mineral waters, the golf course and the magnificent Palace that was originally built as a summer retreat for the last Portuguese king but days before it was scheduled to be inaugurated, a coup d'état forced the king into exile. The regally appointed building became a hotel instead and so, a hundred years later, following a restoration program, the hotel reopened on October 6, 2010, its centenary.
As I hadn't been there for ages, I really enjoyed the long weekend,  not only because of playing golf but also the opportunity of wandering the sprawling parkland that surrounds the hotel. I imagined the old days when long skirts swished along the ground and guests arrived at the impressive entrance by horse-drawn carriages. How different from nowadays! 

One of the characteristics of the golf course that I found interesting and different from the other courses was the existence of great contrasts that shared the special respect for the natural surroundings, with paths and pink granite retaining walls here and there.
Trees were well preserved and the panoramic views from the elevated tees often distracted me.

After playing and for the pleasure of my friends and I, outside the Clubhouse there were several stalls exhibiting local products, such as liquors, honey, jams, wine, puff pastry, and typical bread filled with pork sausage. All of us returned back home with our luggage heavier than we had it at the departure from Lisbon.
Before the dinner party, some of us drove up to the nearby spa resort Pedras Salgadas (Salty Stones), also famous for its thermal waters and beautiful cabins that were built to fit the gaps between the trees. They have a minimal effect on the local nature, so that whoever  stays in them can really experience the park. 

It would have been great to spend longer at that resort but we had to hurry back to the hotel and get ready for the dinner party. On the following day, we returned back to Lisbon with a stop at Amarante, a city that was holding its festival. I'll post about it, next week.

In the meantime, enjoy the slide-show (with background music) and...

~~ Have a great weekend ~~

THE GIRL WHO WAS DRAWING IN THE STREET...

Nowadays, children playing soccer or any other game in the street are not often seen in Lisbon, unless we go to particularly quiet areas, with no traffic. By contrast, in some suburban areas, mostly inhabited by immigrants, that's not a rare street scene..

On the other day, as I was walking through a neighbourhood with a high density of African immigrants, my eyes were caught by a little girl drawing a small house in a stone of the pedestrians sidewalk. It was sunday. The street was very quiet. I stopped by the girl and asked her what she was doing. Of course, I knew it well, but I wanted to talk with her. The girl didn't stop drawing, never showed her face to me and kept silent. As I was about to leave her in her own world, an old man - later I understood he was her grandpa   -  stepped out from a nearby house and told me it was not easy to keep her busy during easter holidays. The family couldn't afford buying colouring books or any other material that might be a good means to entertain her. Therefore, drawing in the street, under the surveillance of grandpa, was the cheapest way...

I was really shocked  hearing it from him and a few days later, I went there again and again I saw the girl drawing in the street. I said  'hello' but she never looked at me. Her grandpa was chatting with someone, nearby. As he saw me talking to the girl, he greeted me with a big smile and I handed him a bagful of drawing material for his grandkid. His eyes were bathed in tears...

This is one of the enumerable cases resulting from the implementation of the austerity measures that have been in force in Portugal, a country that has been for a long time in a serious economic crisis that is going from bad to worse...