Jardim da Estrela – Outjazz

Hello lovelies! I have been so busy recently preparing for the FSOT in Madrid on June 8th, that I have completely neglected my blogging duties lately! I know, but today to make up for it I have some cute dog pictures for you. Don’t you like cute dog pictures!? Anyway, today we are going to talk about Outjazz, a yearly event that happens during the summer here in Lisbon. It’s a music event that takes place in various parks around the city. It is totally free and open to the public. There is jazz of course, but also djs and reggae bands and others. Today was amazing because the weather was perfect. Perfect “picnic” weather if you know what I mean.

Meo Outjazz 2012

The weather was a nice 25 degrees Celcius and clear skies. I swear, Lisbon becomes a whole other city when the weather is nice. The city is like a summer flower. During the winter it’s all kinda droopy. But when the summer time comes it blooms and flourishes to become a great beauty.

Smile! Linda, Stefi, and Mary

Time for a picnic! We took out blankets and packed a basket full of wine, cheeses, breads, and snacks for the dogs too of course.

Poeta and Mia

Sandra came by with her dog Poeta and they were hanging out by the tree with Mia. Lucky dogs!

Me and the Dogs chillin…

Ha! It took a while to get this photo right. I had to calm the dogs down a little big first. Poeta is behaving but Mia is chewing on herself as usual. Naughty dog!

Slime Green Car

What’s a free event without some shameless car promotion eh? So the sun started to set and the temperature dropped. Our bellies started to ache with hunger. I had bought some Carapau earlier and I wanted to try out my brand new bamboo cesto. It’s a bamboo steamer. Yes! So since it’s been a while since my last post I thought I would reveal another recipe for you guys. Enjoy!

Carapau ao Vapor com Couve Chinesa e Cilantro Chutney!

Steamed Carapau with Cilantro Lemon Chutney:

Ingredients:

6 Whole white fish such as carapau, sardines, or you can use white fish filets such as bass or halibut.

Napa cabbage, 1 bunch cilantro, 1/2 bunch parsley, 1/2 of a lemon’s juice, 1 tsp lemon zest, 4 teeth garlic, 1 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp sea salt, 2 tbsp olive oil.

Method:

For the chutney, combine garlic and ginger and two tbsp of olive oil in a food processor. Blitz until semi fine. Add the cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, and sea salt. Blitz until smooth and spreadable.

Take the whole fish and score the outsides with a knife. If you are using filets skip this step. Slather the chutney onto and inside the fish. Wrap the fish in napa cabbage leaves and place them into the bamboo steamer. Fill any excess space in the steamer with more napa.

Heat some water to a boil in a separate sauce pan. Once the water is boiling, put some boiling water into a wok and turn it up to high heat. Place the bamboo cesto on top of the boiling water directly into the wok. Every few minutes add more boiling water to the wok so you don’t run out of steam.

Steam for 10 – 12 minutes depending on how thick you fish is. Remove from heat and serve.