Our Portuguese Table

On today’s episode, we chat with Joey Batista aka Joey Bats of Joey Bats Sweets. Joey grew up in the town of Ludlow, Massachusetts, which is famous for its Our Lady of Fatima Festa, held each Labor Day weekend. We hear the candle-lit procession is a sight to behold! Joey left his job as a tech engineer to pursue his love of Portuguese pastries – pastéis de nata, bolo de bolacha and more – in 2016. Joey hopes to introduce non-Portuguese people to natas by describing it as a crème brûlée wrapped in a croissant shell. It’s all about how you describe it, folks! Sounds much better than a Portuguese egg tart, doesn’t it? He’s sold them at festivals up and down the East Coast – Mineola, NY, Bridgeport, CT, New Bedford, MA, San Gennaro Feast in Manhattan’s Little Italy and is a regular at New York’s Queens Night Market. If it’s not market season, stop by Frankie Portugal in the Meatpacking District for a warm pastel (457 W 17th at 10th). Francis Garcia, one of the shop’s owners, has Portuguese roots too (his grandf

In today’s episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Jessica Coelho (aka Jessica Rabbit) of Tia Maria’s European Café in New Bedford, MA. This episode is sponsored by ShopPortuguese.com To start out, Angela and Maria talk about the advantages of living on either coast – Maria’s got cold weather but plenty of Portuguese restaurants but Angela has good weather and not many restaurants. It has always been a dream of Jessica’s to open a European-style café after enjoying the coffee culture and the esplanadas of Portugal. After studying business in school, Jessica took a risk and opened Tia Maria’s. Everyone’s got a Tia Maria (or two or three…), which is where Jessica got the inspiration for the name of her café. Her parents can often be found cooking in the kitchen, so it’s a real family affair. Tia’s has a working menu that caters to both New Bedford locals and members of the Portuguese community – if there’s something you’re looking for that’s not on it, just ask! She discusses the importance of liste

In today’s episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Ana Miranda Ventura of the Arte Institute. Even before then, though, Angela & Maria spend a couple minutes comparing East and West Coast winters. Whose side are you on? This episode is sponsored by ShopPortuguese.com Ana started the Arte Institute when she moved to the U.S. from Portugal to take some acting classes. Arte Institute hopes to showcase the contemporary culture of Portugal in the arts through film, art, literature, music and dance. Its documentary, Portuguese in SoHo, features a soundtrack by singer Rita Redshoes and shares the stories of Portuguese immigrants to the neighborhood in New York City. View the film’s teaser here: https://vimeo.com/154316470. A book is on the way – stay tuned! Ana also launched the New York Portuguese Short Film Festival. The NYPSFF runs simultaneously in New York and Lisbon. The 2018 edition is now currently accepting submissions. For more info, visit: http://arteinstitute.org/nypsff/. And last, but not

Today, we chat with Milena Rodrigues, author of the Portuguese cookbook, For the Love of Portuguese Food. Milena lived on the North Shore of Massachusetts, in Gloucester, before she moved to New Bedford. This episode is sponsored by Ginja9 - Crafted by Hand, Made with Love! www.ginja9.com She shares some of her favorite things about spending summers in Portugal, with her sisters. Her family roots are in Figueira da Foz, a seaside city in the district of Coimbra. Portugal is her home away from home and she hopes to retire there someday (don’t we all?). Milena tries to visit every summer and travel around the country. She talks about some of her favorite foods, like bacalhau with batatas ao muro (smashed potatoes) and desserts like serradura (saw dust pudding). Her cookbook, for sale on Amazon, has traveled as far as Macau! Order your copy here. Check Milena out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fortheloveofportuguesefood/. Have a suggestion for our podcast? Send it to feedback@ourportuguesetable.c

Bem-vindo 2018! We spend some time catching up on the 2017 holiday season – including ideas about how to use leftover malassadas – malassada bread pudding a.k.a “Heaven on a dish”, (thanks for the name, Angela!). Some of our other great ideas include massa French toast, bolacha Maria pie crust and massa bread crumbs to make pie crust. Makes you want to start baking to create all kinds of new recipes, doesn’t it? Maria is working on her second cookbook, which will be a continuation of the first. The third book may be a collection of Azorean recipes – any ideas or suggestions are welcome! And who knows – more books with a rural spin – Maria wants to cook with the old ladies in the mountains.  And don’t forget – Maria’s show, Maria’s Portuguese Table is set to air later this year. Stay up to date with her show’s page: https://www.facebook.com/MariasPortugueseTable or the Azorean Green Bean page: https://www.facebook.com/AzoreanGreenBean for more info.  Angela is working on more books too – ‘Lindo Menino’ is com

In our latest episode, we chat with Michael Benevides of Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River, MA. Maria frequently shops here but we’re working on bringing Angela to the East Coast to check it out. Michael talks about the business’s humble beginnings in a garage, selling Nescafé & bacalhau to the opening of this Portuguese food (and more!) mecca in 2015. Some of the store’s highlights include the bacalhau room, prepared foods section, and beer & wine department. Check out the store’s e-commerce site to get your Portuguese food fix if you’re feeling homesick: www.portugaliamarketplace.com. The store also does wine and olive oil tastings on a frequent basis. Check their Facebook: www.facebook.com/portugaliamarketplace and Instagram page for more info: www.instagram.com/portugalia_marketplace. The store, housed in a former textile mill, has caught the attention of regional media – The Boston Globe & Providence Journal as well as national media, like Yankee Magazine. The Portuguese tourism boom has also br

Feliz Ano Novo! It’s been a little while but we are excited to bring you more podcasts in 2018!  In today’s episode, we deviate from food for a bit and chat with Lisa Furtado, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Lisa spent many summers with her family in Ponta Garça on the island of São Miguel. After completing her studies, Lisa took a leap of faith and moved to Asia, where she dabbled in a couple different ventures. She chose to pursue her love of the field of wellness and is now a yoga instructor. Lisa spends her summer seasons on Praia da Rocha in Portimão (Algarve) teaching yoga at Bend It Like Buddha (https://www.facebook.com/Benditlikebuddhayoga/). She’s also visited places like Goa & Macau during her yoga studies (Is your wanderlust kicking in yet? Ours is!)  Some of Lisa’s favorite food memories are of making massa with mom and picking figs from her avô’s quintal. Stay tuned for a yoga retreat at Terra Nostra in Furnas – we talk about doing some yoga at the botanical gardens. ;)  To learn more

Reunited at last! Maria & Angela are live from Tasca Tasca in Sonoma, CA with Manuel Azevedo in this episode of Our Portuguese Table. They’re sitting at an authentic Portuguese table with tremoços and wine. Maria catches up on what it’s been like filming her PBS show in California, from the Central Valley to Napa Valley. She talks about watching her first bullfight in Gustine, being the only lady cooking in a kitchen full of men (these guys are tough critics but they invited her back again!) in Fresno, and cooking with former guest Jeremiah Duarte Bills and Mary Camara, author of Cooking with Mary. Up in the Bay Area, Maria got a chance to visit Little Portugal in San Jose, and check out some of the area’s icons: Adega, Bacalhau Grill, and Popular Bakery, among others. Manny, Angela & Maria also talk about being supportive of fellow Portuguese-American entrepreneurs and business owners. Speaking of – check out the team at Cineasta Digital Productions (http://cineastadigitalpro.com/), who are helping Maria f

On today’s episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Alexander Dias, Founder of Ginja9, a brand of ginjinha designed for the US market. Ginja or ginjinha is a liqueur made with ginja berries (or sour cherries – Morello cherries). It’s commonly found in Lisbon and Óbidos.  Have you tried ginjinha?​​ Alexander was born in Fall River, MA but grew up in Portugal. His dad used to joke that he was made in Portugal, born in the US and his brother was made in the US and born in Portugal. He moved back to the States after visiting his brother, a video editor in LA, a few times. While working as a banker, Alexander noticed all his friends and colleagues asking about where they could find ginjinha after coming back from having tried it in Portugal, but ginjinha was hard to find in the States. Ginja9 officially launched in January of this year. The number 9 symbolizes peace and love, which is reflected in the G9 slogan, “Crafted by hand, made with love.”  The signature G9 cocktail is the G9 Mojito. Here's the recip

This episode was recorded back in September 2016, and Nuno's post as Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco has come to an end after 5 phenomenal years. We will miss him incredibly - his dedication, tireless efforts, creativity and passion to bring so much to the Portuguese community on the West Coast are unmatched and he is leaving one heck of a legacy.  We know he'll do great things in New York! Good luck Nuno! Boa Sorte! ************************************************************* We welcomed our first government official on this episode of Our Portuguese Table! We chatted with Nuno Mathias, the Consul-General of Portugal in San Francisco last September. Did you know that the Consulate in San Francisco is one of a handful to have its own mobile app?! Download it here! We chatted about some of the initiatives Nuno supports like the San Francisco Portuguese Film Festival and A Year in Port. The documentary won an award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Nuno has been an active supporte

In today’s episode of “Our Portuguese Table,” we chat with a fellow Portugal lover – Catarina Araújo of the blog, A Portuguese Affair. She started the blog about a year and a half ago to channel her love of Portugal for her friends & family in the U.S. and the U.K. Catarina recently visited Maria and they cooked together in Maria’s kitchen (lucky girl, right), and they also took a trip to Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River, MA. We bonded over our love of all things Portuguese, and especially food and drink including the LARGE gin & tonic glasses in Portugal and visiting the Licor Beirão factory in Lousã last Christmas. Catarina’s favorite way to drink Beirão is with ice and an orange peel. Did you know that the ribbons on the bottles are still tied by hand and fresh mountain water is used to produce the liqueur? The next big trend in drinks in Portgual? Craft beers and microbreweries, which have been big here in the U.S. for a number of years. Some of Catarina’s favorite foods are canja de galinha (Por

In this episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Barbara Borges-Martin, also known as the Dairy Goddess of Lemoore, California. With roots in Terceira and Pico, Barbara is following in her family’s footsteps. Her grandparents met in Boston before heading to California to start a dairy. Barbara’s cheese-making adventures began when she took a cheese-making course at Cal Poly. The Dairy Goddess now offers 6 types of Fromage Blanc, or French-style fresh cheese (also spreadable). Barbara was inspired by her favorite places and flavors during her career as a travel agent in Southern California in creating specialty flavors, which range from "Azores" (made with Malagueta chili pepper paste) to the "Central Coast" (made with Santa Maria seasoning & dill) to "The Valley" (made with peaches, almonds & honey). The Valley is her Oscar-winning cheese, having won 1st place in the American Cheese Society’s Fresh Cheese category. The ladies talk about the importance of supporting local farmers and agricultural touris

In this episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Robert Morey of Morey Cellars in Napa, California. Did you know there are around 6 or 7 Portuguese-American wineries in California and the West Coast in general? Morey’s mom was born in New Bedford, MA and his father was from California. Robert was born in Lisbon and lived in Carcavelos and Estoril before moving to the US as a teenager. Wine, however, is in his blood – his paternal grandfather was a partner of the Mondavi’s and his family made wine in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, in the Guarda region of northern Portugal. The memories of men making the wine and women cooking for them still remain. Robert recalls his first food memory that involved some steak & Sagres. He loves sardinhas, caldo verde and Avó’s bolinhos de bacalhau. Morey Cellars opened a tasting room this past season and continues to expand as well as host events – a few are coming up soon! Visit their Facebook & Instagram  to learn more. Robert also dabbles in Oakland-style BBQ, which

In this episode we chat with Floriano (Flo) Cabral, TV producer and co-founder of the International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) (http://ipmaawards.com/)! The IPMA show, now in its 5th year, is a Portuguese-style GRAMMY show, aiming to encourage artists of Portuguese descent to share their work. The hope is for artists to network and collaborate, which happened last year with artist Boss AC & Paulo Gonzo’s sound engineer.   IPMA weekend is made up of 3 events – a Friday night gala; the show on Saturday night; and the after-party immediately following the show.  This year’s show is taking place on April 22, 2017 at the Zeiterion Theatre in New Bedford.  Artists like Lucenzo, of ‘Danza Kuduro’ fame, Jorge Ferreira & Roberto Leal have been honored in the past. Over the years, Floriano has faced criticism from members in the community but has pushed past them. Like we say, “Your success is our success!” We should encourage each other and support fellow Portuguese entrepreneurs and organizations. =) Ok, on

In today’s episode of Our Portuguese Table, Maria & Angela spend some time catching up. Angela thinks Maria has a future in being a motivational public speaker. Not many people are so unconditionally supportive of their friends and family, and Maria's pep talks have helped Angela get through some tough moments!   It’s important to listen to your gut, be positive and persevere! Surround yourself with positive people who encourage and inspire you. As Angela said, “Just because other people don’t see [your] vision doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it.” Angela talks about her recent experience at a trade show and how it wasn’t as successful as she’d hoped. But there were many lessons learned, and she continues to work on building her businesses. On the bright side, Angela’s bilingual Portuguese-English children’s book, “Linda Menina, Pretty Girl” is now on sale on Amazon and at http://portuguesebooks.org/books/pretty-girl-linda-menina. Additional books are in the works so stay tuned! Maria has also been a

February already?! Can you believe the first two months of 2017 have already flown by? Maria is “so freaking excited!” about today’s episode, where we chat with Jeremiah Duarte Bills, whom you may recognize from the latest season of The Great American Baking Show, which aired over the holiday season! We rooted for him and we’re sure almost every Portuguese household watching did too! Since the show aired, Jeremiah has received messages from all over the world, from Brazil to the Azores. Jeremiah’s Portuguese roots come from his mom’s side of the family – with family from the freguesia (parish) of Pedro Miguel in Horta, Faial and São Miguel, too. Even though Jeremiah wasn’t a big food fan growing up, he comes from a baking-obsessed family — his mom made wedding cakes and Massa Sovada is a BIG DEAL in his family. He started baking in college to connect to his culinary roots. After an extensive application process, Jeremiah got the call to compete on the show. We’re big fans of the fact that he’s introduc

Happy 2017! Welcome to our first podcast of the year! Before we chat about that – can you believe we’ve been doing this for almost a year? We were excited to chat with Steve Chaves of Malasada World in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada for our first podcast of the year. Angela nicknamed Steve the Willy Wonka of Malasada World, which is located about an hour west of Toronto in Cambridge, Ontario, on the 401. Check out this article on malasadas from Eater. Yes, the one ‘s’ in the spelling of ‘malasada’ is intentional – Steve says it’s easier for English speakers to pronounce since the word comes from two words: ‘mal’ and ‘assada’. Before opening the shop about seven months ago – on Dia de Portugal weekend 2016, no less! – Steve worked as a classically-trained French chef all over Canada for over 25 years, spending time in Alberta & British Columbia, too. Steve took note of the specialty dessert and donut craze – Cronuts and gourmet cupcakes, anyone? – and thought “Why can’t we do that with malassadas?” He was als

In this final episode of 2016 (actually recorded a few months ago), we talk with Chef Joe Rego, winner of two Food Network Shows – Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen. How did he get started? Joe has always been an artist! And growing up, Joe helped his mom cook (like many of us) growing up in Lisbon before coming to New Bedford. He graduated from culinary school at Johnson and Wales. And he’s worked in multiple places, from New England to Georgia & Florida. He also shared some advice for aspiring chefs out there. Chef Joe dishes about some of his favorite foods – ice cream and caracóis – before sharing some of his favorite New Bedford spots: Novo Mundo and The Black Whale, to name a few. Stay tuned for Joe’s newest project, Cask & Pig Kitchen & Alehouse, opening in Dartmouth, MA in early 2017. You’ll also discover how Chef Joe is a big supporter of his community, and loves to give back in multiple ways. It’s always awesome to see someone who uses their success for good and giving back to the community. Joe

In this podcast, we catch up about Portugal and Thanksgiving and start talking about Christmas foods and traditions. Angela’s month-long trip to Portugal was a mix of work and play (and handling an energetic 3 year old). She spent time in Lisbon, Porto & Braga. :) Do you know of any kids who like peixinho com vinagre (what a savory palate!)? Shout-out to listener Danielle Pimentel for recommending Maria Catita in Lisboa’s Baixa. One of this trip’s foodie discoveries happened was one of Campo Pequeno's petiscos – scrambled eggs & alheira. She also tried Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo. We also talk about Thanksgiving – Maria’s was a quiet affair with her daughters out of town. Angela, on the other hand, spent the holiday with 200 family members. There must be a lot of Maria’s in there. ;) But it's one of those Portuguese-esque holidays with lots of food and family, not that we don't do that EVERY weekend. And last, but not least, the conversation turned to Christmas! Maria talks about the presépio her mom used to m

In this episode of Our Portuguese Table, we chat with Peter Ferreira of Nuts n’ More. Peter and his friends wanted to add some extra protein to some of their favorite foods, like peanut butter, and voi’la, Nuts n’ More was born. His parents, who own Silver Star Bakery in Providence, RI, would help him mix jars of peanut butter by hand. It was flying off the shelves of local fitness stories and at the bakery so they took a chance -- Peter e-mailed the folks at Shark Tank. After a few months he got a call back, and they found themselves in LA for a week pitching to the Sharks. They were the last of their group to pitch at 10 pm, but it was worth it! Mark Cuban + Robert Herjavec backed their product. 3 years later, Peter and his partners are working on creating new snacks and recipes. They appeared on QVC and sold 12,000 jars in 6 minutes! Who knows - maybe their international expansion will lead to some nata and arroz doce butters at a supermercado near you. ;) We also talk about Peter’s favorite Portuguese