Hello again, team! 3 newsletters in 3 weeks…I’m getting the hang of this again. It’s 6.15hrs and I have 45 mins to write this newsletter before the boys are up and the day starts.
Thank you all for sending in your tips last week I’ve adopted a few already and my skin is clearing up and feeling a lot healthier:
Drinking lemon water before anything else in the morning. It detoxifies your body and improves your gut health
Not drinking anymore tap water, especially here in Lisbon. I can’t stand the thought of being bottled water though so waiting for a beautiful filtered water container to arrive
Washing my face with extremely cold water in the mornings, especially beneficial for dry skin
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Last weekend, we had our first surf lesson and we’re going back this weekend. Yes..we’ve been in Lisbon for 2.5 years and only just got our first surf lesson. Don’t ask me why it took us so long but any way the most important is we’re now doing it and all 3 of us love it. One of the reasons, I am looking forward to it so much this winter is it will make us less susceptible to the bad weather. Come rain or shine, it doesn’t really matter as you’re in a wetsuit in the water, as long its not transversal rain whipping your face. I love the idea of still spending the day outside in bad weather and not staying locked up indoors. One of us surfs, and the other plays in the rocks with Woody and then we change over, it works perfect. We have also planned another trip to Sri Lanka this Christmas so it will be nice to be able to put our lessons to test and get ourselves out into the waves in the warm water.
Although I do look forward to being outdoors during these colder days, I also cherish the slower pace of our weekends, time at home pottering around and cooking. I went to the market Saturday and Sunday we had a slow day. I made the most of it and put pork ribs in the oven all afternoon whilst we were doing other stuff and went to the park.
Eating Chinese spareribs, takes me straight back to summers as a child in Alderney, eating BBQ’d bright red spareribs from the butchers on the beach. The colour always seemed a little worrying but I loved the taste.
Slow-cooked Chinese spareribs
Ingredients
Pork Ribs: 1 kg
Soy Sauce: 4 tbsp
Hoisin Sauce: 4 tbsp
Honey: 3 tbsp
Ketchup : 3 tbsp
Rice Vinegar: 2 tbsp
Garlic: 4 cloves (minced)
Ginger: 1 thumb size piece (grated)
Five-Spice Powder: 1 tbsp
Chili Flakes, option for heat
Spring Onions, for garnish
Coriander, for garnish
Instructions
Heat your oven to 140c.
Prepare the Ribs: Rinse the pork spare ribs and pat them dry with paper towels. If desired, you can cut them into smaller sections for easier serving.
Make the Marinade: In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, ketchup, rice vinegar, minced garlic, grated ginger, five-spice powder, and chili flakes (if using). If want to do it the vintage way, go get yourself some red food colouring, I skipped that step. Save 1/3 of the marinade in a separate bowl.
Marinate the Ribs: Place the ribs in a large bowl or zip-top bag. Pour the marinade over the ribs, making sure they are well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight.
Slow Cook: On a baking tray, lay down a long strip of tin foil, transfer the marinated ribs and all the marinade inside, and cover with another strip of tin foil. Close it around all ends and cook for 4-5 hours at 140c until the ribs are tender and easily pull apart.
Serve: Once cooked, open up the tin foil, and baste wit remains marinade and place them on a serving platter. Garnish with chopped spring onions and sesame seeds.
Tips
Serve the ribs with steamed rice, stir-fried vegetables or asian style shaved salad.
Adjust the sweetness or spiciness by modifying the amount of honey or chili flakes according to your preference.
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What I loved this week
We had this great olive oil soft serve with olive oil and flour de sea at Costa Fria after in Ericeira after our surf class. It actually looked better than it tasted. I suppose I’m spoilt because the team at Santa Marta, where I’m currently working make the best olive oil ice cream I’ve ever had. Truly.
A book called the Love of my afterlife, an easy, quirky, funny, science-fiction romcom.
Until next time x