Chopping and Chatting

An amazing bunch of women gathered at the village hall kitchen in Povoa de Atalaia to prepare scrummy food for the Spring Gathering. Many thanks go to the creativity and care that these women gave to the preparation of the food.

But first – where did the veggies come from? LOCAL producers!

This is Vasco. He grows organic vegetables in our neighbourhood. It was a pleasure to visit him with Kevin and to harvest cabbages and select the salads we wanted.

Now, back to the ladies and our chatting and chopping…..this is about the 5th time we have cooked for large gatherings at the local village hall. Every time we seem to have more fun, create more elaborate dishes and make deeper friendships!

Nicky took charge of the Indian Spiced cauliflower rice…..yum yum!

Kimbo became the humus queen for the day – transforming chickpeas and fresh fava beans into pastes that tasted even better than they looked!! (and they looked scrummy)

Tyra, Tina and Kirsty were busy with preparing the roasted veg – chopping and chatting all the way!!

And then there was the limed onions…..

Anne had a recipe for mini veggie burgers. With the help of Kate and Suzy, together they prepared about 120!

The industrial kitchen is perfect for huge quantities….

Having a laugh and breaks were all part of it…

homemade oat cakes….

endless washing up….

Over lunch break we spoke about how social and fun it is to come together to cook together and swap recipes and tricks. Following this one of the ladies started a group to propose doing this more often – not just for large events, but more of a monthly thing.

Many many thanks to this team of incredible ladies who have made this region their home. Kate, Rena, Linda, Kimberly, Anne, Tyra, Tina, Suzy and Nicky – and our amazing volunteers Kirsty (who we are encouraging to come live here too!)

THE MENU

Seasonal local roasted vegetables

Mini burgers/fritata

Beetroot/fava/lemon hummus

Oat cakes

Fresh celery pesto

Spicey black bean stew

whole grain and white rice

Indian Cauliflower rice

Green and mustard salads

Linda’s tortilha wraps