There's something spicy about mangoes... { sweet and spicy curry-mango shrimp pasta }

The sweetness of the mango brings a refreshing twist to this slightly spicy curry pasta dish. The freshly chopped cilantro on top is a definitive must.

Cooking for Five { golden crust baked hake }

Uncomplicated, fairly quick to make and delicious, this recipe is perfect for weekday dinners or even when one has a couple of friends over. Everyone, even those who make funny faces at the sight of fish dishes, will love it. Guaranteed.

Starting from Scratch

Well, this is something I've been wanting to do for a while, but never had the courage to start, and I really hope I can handle this challenge.

I'm an 18 year-old architecture student, which in Portugal mostly belongs to the “arts” lexicon, but I also love physics and maths. Living in two cities at the time, I always find time to do whatever I want. I won’t skip college work or homework (I mean real home work), but always get to go out with my friends and/or my boyfriend and still find time for myself to go running, go to dancing classes, to attend driving school, and still have time left for whatever comes up in a sudden.

But the reason I created this blog is that I love to cook. I love to cook for my beloved ones and it’s so rewarding to get rave reviews from them! I see cooking as an art, even if I’m just making a quick lunch for myself. I love to have lots of spices, herbs and all kinds of condiments at hand, but I can also do well without them. I definitely have a hard time choosing what to cook too often, because I always have too much ideas going on my mind (it’s useful in architecture, not when I’m trying to decide what to cook for a five stomachs family who will be sitting famish on the table in less than one hour.) I rarely save my recipes, I always improvise, but I’m working on recipe storing, that being another good reason to keep this blog. I used to cook for my family until college, now I divide myself between kitchens: hometown kitchen, my rented apartment’s kitchen and many other kitchens for whose owners I have the pleasure to cook.

I really want to be a more experienced, confident and trusted cook, so I’m always searching for ideas, trying new ingredients and recipes and trying to learn more about ingredients, other cultures eating habits and food chemistry on my own, always working towards being a more skilled, cultivated, versatile, smart and also a more frugal cook.

Wishing to hear from you!