era uma vez. era uma vez que sempre seria igual a todas as vezes. e por muito igual que sempre fossem todas essas vezes , sempre sempre era uma vez diferente. Mais fria . Mais quente. As pessoas, boas. Os momentos lentos. Cantaria qualquer um dos exitos mais sonantes to sempre afável Dino Meira mas a minha voz , já deixou de sêr quem era. Imigrante com vontade de voltar, Imigrante com sabor a pasteis de nata e noites semi-gloriosas do Benfica. Amanha dia 25 estou aí .. como na minha felicitaçao de natal, num país perto de si.

In the line of European countries that get nowehere, Portuguese always felt a lot like Belgians deep inside. Small country, Small people, Small feelings? In the past we got to the end of the known world .. and now they have the main house in the European Union. I´d say they're better than us. I've heard there are a few diferences between them, In Portugal we also face something like it. The problem is we're too lazy to do anything about it. Unless Spainiards invade us we're ok with our little tiny mini wars between north and south. I don't even think we qualify for having north and south wars .. i allways tought that was reserved for bigger countries like Italy, Korea, Rio Grande or the United States of America. I guess that if you take more than a walking day between 2 of your main cities , that's something that tags along. N/S. I was blessed a long time ago to discover one kind of me. I met a girl one day wich i enjoyed calling the Belgian Me. It wasn't that acurate but had a lot of truth in it .. in the end this person was way better then me .. wich it's something i'm proud of. Not many times you're faced to an alternative version of yourself and you realize it's good .. much better than you. Ingrid , my belgian me. Thank you.


IN COMMOM
They have a little boy that pisses without control on a tiny street ,old Brussels. We have a stone tower in the river Tejo .. that can house a little pissing boy anyday he feels like it. They have chocolate , we love eating it. My soccer team Benfica is called the "Red Devils", Belgium soccer team is called  "Red Devils". In fact both teams should be called "The so-so Spookies" due to their amazingly sad outcome these last decades or so. They have mussels we love clams. They listen to Vaya con Dios, we have Madredeus. Too much? Too little?

Belgium ... love it or leave it.
Portugal ... just leave it.

It's been a while since i last dived .. but the little bug has bitten again last weekend. On some usually lousy channel i usually never reach on my early morning Zapping exercizes i could find an amazing diving show. Stayed there, glued to the tv screen ..getting my eyes filled with deep blue, sharks, whales, turtles and an imense ammount of impossible colors one can find down there. Let me dive again, oh Lord.

Uma das vantagens de ter uma camera pequenina , é que sempre estou preparado para disparar em qualquer direcçao. Nesta foto feita em Bruxelas tive sorte. Gosto muito desta foto e tenho algumas saudades deste par de jarras. A minucia das fodos detalhadas do rapaz e a acutilancia da rapariga.

Gostas desta foto?

From some time i´ve been investigating places and feelings. A time comes when choices must be made with your whole life in hands.I´m 33 like Jesus and a few of my closest friends and i have at best 60 years ahead of me. 60 years of a journey i´m hopping will take me to where i want to be with 93 years old. Knowing that i've done all that i could do with my limited resources. I'm talking about the green valuable papers and the colorless ticking time. Where to go? These were my first 4 choices ...from left to right : South Florida Miami, Oman, Cabo Verde and Kenya. Water may be found if looked carefully in all of these pictures. In the end i may head south and go to South Africa. A World in a Country. So ... coming back to my blog with all the things i´m looking for in this trip to mighty SA will be posted on this blog of mine. You're more than invited to tag along ..both on Mapa Riscado or the actual trip next September. Maybe.  Any tips will be more than welcome...  altough i'm counting heavily on a friend that lives and enchants Johannesburg these days.

South Africa, September 2010

Now this is something that truly impressed me this last week. I came across this webcast from a Danish guy. Arquitect he said. So he explained that his company was building this and that .. bla bla bla .. interesting stuff but not the important thing to highlight on this post. The thing to know is that they've been hired by the the great nation of Azebaijan to build something on an Island facing Baku, the country's capital.

Here's the link to the Webpage where they explain the whole project of ZIRA ISLAND

Every now and then i come up with a great idea that lacks funds. Eventually also lacks time. Right now, though, everything looks bright and it seems a great doable idea. Get a bag and 2 t-shirts and go round the world for some time. 2 Months would be great. The money spent on these 2 months wouldn't be so great but i hope to find a soluction for that anythime soon. Or nexrt year. I could repeat and try to see new stuff on the Bangkok-Singapore route .. maybe Phuket, maybe hop to Camboja, Cameroon Highlands, Singapore zoo and repeat the food in Singapore. Afterwards i would head on to Australia for some desert, beach and all'round good time in Aussie land and in the end from LA to San Francisco with a few natural pakrs tossed in along with a few Las Vegas chips. Back home. The real dificult part in this journey is the decision to do it.

DO IT.

This is a guy i did not know about before this chat. He has interesting ideas on Borders of the world we live in. Makes you think of borders as living entities that come and go. Where they were, where they are ... and where we're all heading with these borders & countries. Let's travel people .. travell the world over and share your story. Go.

Nyoquis de Yamatoimo

1 yamatoimo de 150 g
1. Peleu el yamatoimo i ratlleu-lo amb un ratllador japonès per tal d'obtenir una pasta elàstica.
2. Poseu la pasta de yamatoimo a una mànega pastissera.
3. A un plat fondo petit feu-hi 5 nyoquis de yamatoimo ajudant-vos amb unes tisores per tallar pasta.
4. Guardeu-los fins al moment de l'acabat i la presentació.

Per al brou de carreretes
100 g de carreretes, 150 g d'aigua, oli d'oliva
1. Netegeu la terra de les carreretes amb una mica d'aigua.
2. Eixugueu bé l'excés d'aigua dels bolets deixant-los sobre paper absorbent.
3. Saltegeu els bolets amb una mica d'oli d'oliva i cobriu-los amb aigua.
4. Coeu-los a foc mig durant 15 min.
5. Desengreixeu-los i coleu-ho.

Per a la infusió de brou de carreretes i flor de saüc
el brou de carreretes (elaboració anterior), 10 g de flor de saüc, sal
1. Poseu a bullir el brou i aparteu-lo del foc quan bulli per afegir-hi les flors de saüc.
2. Deixeu-ho en infusió durant 30 min i coleu-ho.
3. Poseu a punt de sal i guardeu-ho.

Per a les carreretes
28 carreretes d'1 cm de diàmetre

Altres
8 fulles de melissa fresca d'1 cm, oli d'oliva, sal

Acabat i Prensentació
1. Saltegeu les carreretes amb una mica d'oli d'oliva i poseu-les a punt de sal.
2. Mulleu els bolets amb la infusió de brou de carreretes i flor de saüc per estofar-los lleugerament.
3. Escalfeu el plat amb els nyoquis de yamatoimo a la salamandra fins que estiguin calents.
4. Repartiu 7 carreretes estofades entre els nyoquis i mulleu el conjunt amb 35 g d'infusió de brou de carreretes i flor de saüc.
5. Acabeu la presentació amb 2 fulles de melissa fresca a cada cantó del plat.