One Week...

It's been nearly a week (Sunday May 8th will be the actual full week) since we got to Portugal, and so far I'm loving it. This is the first time I've had a chance to actually talk about being in Portugal other than a tweet here or there or a blurb on Facebook.

We have been out almost every day to do something or another and I've gotten to take some photos, but have yet been able to edit/re-size most of them. It just takes too long on this computer (a little netbook) and we've been too busy for me to take the time.

It's odd to wake up and knowing you're in a whole other country/continent and look outside and see a lot of the same things. Sure many of the buildings are brightly colored in blues, pinks, yellow, orange and the signs are in a different language, but it feels very much like a city over in North America.

The smell though is different. It smells like Oregon to me. Which is a comforting smell, one that is fresh, clean and fragrant (though that one might be because of the tons of wild flowers that grow all over.

I tend to compare Portugal to Portland, Oregon frequently so far because there are so many similarities. The layout of the land reminds me of the West Hills and it's very green around the city outskirts as well as in the city.

I had always thought it would be more similar to San Francisco, but I have yet to see a part that looks more like SF than Portland.

Don't get me wrong, the buildings are very different, especially down town Lisbon. The architecture is gorgeous and very detailed.

Did I mention there is a castle here? I've only seen it once when we went to a cathedral (I'll post photos later). I haven't had enough time to get any photos of  Castle of São Jorge yet, but plan to.

Later today we'll be heading up north to Monsanto for a week. There is a castle near there too called Castelo Branco (White Castle). I plan to go photo crazy. It's supposed to be more rustic up there, and I'll probably feel more like I'm in a different country when I get there.

I like this city, but I'm really hoping this trip will help my mind realize I'm not in Kansas any more.

A Polar Bear...

Polar bears being fed at the Toronto Zoo.

This is a first in a series of photo posts from our second to last week in Ontario, we had my mother and my mother-in-law visit. We chose to go down to Toronto to do somethings that we might not get a chance to do again such as going and visiting the Toronto Zoo.

The entire time we were looking at these beautiful bears, I had a song stuck in my head. It's by Puscifer and is called (appropriately enough) Polar Bear. Watch the video/listen/read the lyrics(below) to the song and you can see why.

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Polar Bear -  By Puscifer

I see you chippin' away again
Your own icicle island
Haulin' alone
The lies and the bones
Hopin' to fade and disappear into the white
A polar bear

A moat of icy water
No end in sight, save your own
I know that look
Of fear, I'm well aware
No need to brave it all alone
I'll be there
I'll be there

And I see you chippin' away again
Your own icicle island
I know that look
Of fear, I'm well aware
No need to brave it all alone
I'll be there
I'll be there

Hopin' to fade and disappear into the white
A polar

Teriyaki Sauce - A Lure for The Japan Relief Effort

On March 11th Japan was hit by a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake. It is said to be the most powerful known earthquake to hit Japan and in the top 5 strongest earthquakes ever recorded.

If this wasn't enough there were aftershocks and tsunami waves that reached nearly 130 feet ( almost 40 meters). This then caused damage to the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

As you can imagine, this one natural disaster alone has caused much heartache and destruction. I was lucky enough to not know anyone that was directly affected by this event, but have felt a terrible sadness for anyone who did or was effected.

This caused me to feel the need to lure people here with a teriyaki recipe. A lure of food to help bring attention to a few great people who are doing something to help and you get something great out of it besides the warm fuzzy feeling of doing something good!

Peko Peko: A Charity Cookbook for Japan is a collection of nearly 50 family friendly Japanese and Japanese-inspired recipes published by Blurb, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to charity relief in Japan.

You can help us help Japan by purchasing a Nudie Foodie book which will be available soon through blurb.com. All profits will be donated to a charity (tbd) committed to the Japan relief effort. Our book features 18 cover model-caliber food bloggers peeling it off for Japan. Each blogger showcases a recipe in the book, and each nudie image features ingredients from those recipes.

The last link I have for you doesn't have a fancy badge for me to show you. It links to Matt over at Wrightfood. He has put together a fantastic food photography manual just to help raise donations for the Japan relief efforts. There is both a hardback version as well as a digital version.

I wrote a short book on food photography. It covers everything you need to know to get yourself taking great food photos in your house. Examples of how to use scrims, bounce cards, natural light, artificial light. Everything to get you going.

Now here's my contribution. It's just a recipe to lure you here to go to those places. I'm hoping that it worked!

Traditional Teriyaki Recipe

• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sake wine (or rice wine vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons mirin wine
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

In a small pan, mix together all the ingredients. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved completely.

If you would like, add some grated fresh ginger, garlic, or sesame oil to the mix.

Teriyaki is great as a marinade or as a basting sauce on meats, fish, or make it vegetarian by putting it on mushrooms or just mixing it with some rice!