WELCOME TO Val's Alentejo -I write about my region of Alentejo. My art ,painting, my cottages, Family life, my animals -Travels And my love for Roses- and rural country life.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Markets,veggies,healthy foods,nutrition.

Lisbon's main Municipal market. When I stay at my eldest son's home.. I love to go shopping with my D.I.L here.  Its a very old old market , and full of wonderful healthy foods.

                                               All fresh from the farmers and in to your basket.

veggies I always have in my fridge... peppers.. I love all the three colours.. and they all give a different taste to a meal.  ideal for soups, salads, decoration.

I like to add turnips to my soups.
 red cabbage , tomatoes, broccolli..courgetts  green beans..carrots, cauliflour , onions.    Ideal for a minestroni..

A friend sent me a couple of images..from a Dutch market.  How beautifully they have it laid  out.
Stir fry veggies.. I only use pure olive oil.. (here i boast..its my own)
Butternut.. below roasted with garlic and seasoning. 

Veggies  raw..party dishes..with dips
Portuguese traditional cabbage soup..  "Caldo Verde"  I love it.


A creamy veggi soup with turnip tops finely chopped..
very much another traditional Portuguese soup.




                                      Garlic.  Healthy ..keeps away colds and all sorts of illnesses.. A must in most soups and veggi dishes.
Thick vegetable soup.
butternut and greens..in flat bread wrap.                                                


                                 More images of a Dutch Market stall..  Must take them hours to prepare.
Soups are ready



 Buy  some flowers on the way home.
Pop them on the table
Soup ready..Table set.
                            And   "Voila"   just a few things one can do with fresh vegetables.


From as far back as I remember my mother cooked vegetables,and served them with most of our meals.
"Eat up", she used to say.,"eat all your carrots and you will be able to see the fairies   dark.!
I have always enjoyed vegetables.  
There are a few I do not like, but i love and enjoy eating nearly all of them.
My dear mother, was, as our family always said.  An excellent cook.
She enjoyed cooking good wholesome healthy meals.   She was Into all this "Eating correctly" before all the diet books and cooking channels came onto the TV. What was healthy and what was not.
She had learnt it all from my grandmother. And so passed it on.
My cuisine here at home..is pretty international.   I like to vary , it makes food and cooking interesting.


For more than a year now. I have not bought red meat.   I eat white meat now and again..Chicken or Turkey steaks..fish and seafood.  All accompanied with some sort of veggie , weather cooked or in a salad.
I don't call myself a vegetarian , as i do eat dairy products, and once in a while I will have the odd piece of red meat..but i seem to be eating less and less.

There are so many alternatives to eating red meat.   I feel much healthier.

We all know what nutritious values vegetables give us.    Some full of vitamin C,others with A, others with B, and so on.  Adding to all this.. nuts, beans .. and of course.  Not to forget the boost to our immune system.

Do you like vegetables!  And what is your favorite soup.


Happy Wednesday

val

33 comments:

  1. Hello there. We must be walking in each others footsteps. Please pop over to Chalky's World and look at my last few posts... Not the latest. Because hey are all about Barcelona and markets. What an incredible coincidence.
    I have loved having a wander around your blog. So,thank you.

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    1. Hello Linda and welcome to my blog.
      so amazing.. we sure were walking in the same footsteps..!!
      Living here in Portugal.. Spanish markets are the same as ours. Different food and peperation in them both.
      Thanks for coming over.
      Val

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  2. i gave up red meat for 4 years, once. but have eaten it now for many years again.

    i love the dutch market!!

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    1. Thanks Tex.
      As i wrote.. i eat a little red meat ,but less and less.
      The Dutch markets are amazing.

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  3. Oh yes, I love vegetables, always have. These are beautiful photos and so colourful. Like you I am eating almost no red meat these days, mostly fish and chicken/turkey; I feel so much more energised these days and have managed to lose a lot of weight too. Like you I use olive oil always - how wonderful and fresh to have your own! Thank you for a great post Val, xx

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    1. Thanks for coming over Patricia.
      I feel very good when i eat my veggies.. mum would say now. "you see. look how healthy you are"!!):_
      Yes.. my home is on 5 hectares of olive farm.
      Harvest time in November.
      Tonight its chicken and veg here.

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  4. I like soups like that, lots of vegetables. You would be surprised at how many people that I meet who don't eat vegetables, hard to believe as they are so good. I will have to try butternut like you showed as ours are ready to pick now. I usually fix it with brown sugar and nutmeg. Looks like you are having a good time!

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    1. I love soups , that have lots of veggie. Wholesome and healthy.
      When i look at your veggie patch..it reminds me of many moons ago, when we used to have one. I dont have one now.
      Do try the butternut soup.. its delicious.. its also delicious stuffed with minced soya and veg.
      I am enjoying the remains of the summer.
      Thanks for your kind comments.. pleased you liked it. val

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  5. Peace...I love that! We like a vegetable and beef soup with okra...I guess you would call in gumbo! It's to nice to have lots of fresh veggies at every meal. We had asparagus tonight...sauteed lightly with fresh garlic. YUM!

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    1. Thank you Dianne.
      Peace and love.. I thought it was a cool banner..
      You have me stuck there.. I am not sure what okra is or gumbo.. !! please let me know.
      I love asparagus .. i do it that way too..or sometimes just eat it as it is.
      x

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  6. Such great vegetable photos. And that Dutch market is something else! Real work of art. I love vegetables and can't think of a single one I don't like. I buy and cook a variety and even grow a few, such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplant. I have drastically cut down on meat consumption but still have it now and then. Favorite soup? I'd have to say tomato and basil, but pumpkin soup with curry is a close second.

    Have a great week Val, and eat your vegetables!!

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    1. Thanks Sanda..
      The Dutch markets are amazing. My Dutch friend sent me those images.
      so pleased you liked the post.. I wish i could grow some of my own..
      love tomato and basil.. never tried pumpkin with curry..must try that.
      Its amazing how many recipies we can make with just veggies.

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  7. Good morning, Val!

    What a lovely, colourful post! I love the way all the vegetables are arranged on the stalls! Beautiful!

    Like you, I love cooking with them. The soup I make more often, especially in England is leek, onion and potato and I absolutely adore parsnips, which you can't get in Italy.

    Though I don't really consider it soup, I adore minestrone, which I make using onion, carrot, potato aubergine, pepper, cauliflower, Swiss chard, French beans, and a lot of cabbage, which is essential in minestrone, not forgetting a big hanful of fresh beans, or cokked cannellini. If I have it with pasta, I only have a small amount of it. I do like minestrone on its own, though, with some lovely bread and a generous sprinkling of Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano cheese. Very nice!

    I believe in eating a bit of everything: meat, fish... whatever! I have never, ever eaten butter or spreads, and I never will!

    Hope you are well, Val...

    Lovely post!

    HUGS

    ANNA
    xxx

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    1. Ciao.. Anna..
      How lovely to read your comments.
      I can just imagine, what wonderful soups you can make.
      I love minestrone.. I dont add cabbage.. i must try that.. i love cabbage.
      I am hungry already.
      chicken and veggie tonight.
      Thank you Anna. see you soon.
      baci.. val

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  8. Great post Val! Love the colourful pictures. I too am a vegie lover. The only ones I don't like are brussel sprouts. Probably pumpkin is my favourite soup, but leek and potato is hard to beat.

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    1. Thank you Betty. I thought I chose some good recipies that i like..and some of the veg. I missed out the brussel sprouts.. i love them.
      leek and potato too..

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  9. You show some wonderful markets. I love harvest time! I also saw your wonderful Barcelona post. It's so hard to describe the city isn't it? I was fortunate enough to have taken the cathedral tour. You got some very nice photos.

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    1. Thank you Jacqueline.
      Except for the Dutch markets.. the other one is in lisbon.
      Thank you for your kind comment on Barcelona.. We did not go to the cathedral..but to the Sagrada Familia cathedral of Gaudi..

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  10. Oh my God !! Now I am very hungry and I try to don't eat at night ...The photos are wonderful my sweet friend ...I wish to you to have a nice fall !!
    Olympia

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    1. Thank you Olympia.
      I do love vegetables..and wish i could work my own patch..

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  11. UMM, Val. I love vegetables and especially love shopping at the farmer's markets. I would rather eat a red pepper than an apple. I still love a good hamburger, but eat a lot of chicken and fish and pork, I must admit. Pretty pictures and I do use a lot of olive oil, but I bet not as good as yours..Happy Thursday..Judy

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    1. Thanks Judy..
      great to cook with olive oil.
      Not sure if I will get a good harvest this year.!
      I prefer the farmers markets to the shops too.

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  12. Dear Val, i use a lot of vegetables for my cooking,and like peppers.in my salads!!!I always cook,with olive oil!!!Every Friday,we have a big market in our area and i can find so many local products!!!Wish you a lovely weekend!!!
    Dimi...

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    1. Thank you Dimi for coming over..
      I too love peppersin my salads.. I use them in a lot of my cooking.
      Nothing like the market for fresh veggie.

      thank you for leaving your lovely comments on my post Dimi.
      happy weekend.

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  13. Olá, que alegria entrar aqui e ver tão preciosa rosa! Você é como eu que amo entrar nesses mercados repletos de verduras, legumes , frutas e flores! Eu fico doidinha de alegria. Estou tentando deixar de comer carne porque ela está caríssima por aqui! Faz muito bem você! Grande abraço e beijos!

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    1. Obrigada Maria Luiza.
      Sim , adoro entrar nos mercados.
      Nao precisa deixar totalmente carne.. Mas eu sinto mim melhor do saude.
      bj ate. x x

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  14. Hi Val, It was lovely seeing the market is Lisbon it reminded me of the smaller market we visited in Tavaria. My favourite soup is lentil. I think I might make it this weekend if the rain continues!
    We eat more and more vegetables and enjoy them and used them as substitutes for many meals where we previously had meat eg. curries, lasagne, chilli.
    Sarah x

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    1. Hello Sarah,
      yes, thats so true. Its like here where i live ..its a small village and the market is smaller ..but its so good to get the veggies and some fruits from the growers.
      Tavira is a lovely town.. I like it.
      That is really why i wrote the post.. i have substituted more veg..and left out the curies and heavy meat dishes.
      Thank you for your comments...
      val x

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  15. What a colourful and scrumptious post, Val. DH and I adore vegetables and eat lots of them every day in soups or salads or with meat and fish. We too eat little red meat, preferring white nowadays. We also eat a lot of beans and other pulses.

    My favourite soup? Hard to give you just one as I love so many, but two great winter favourites are pea & ham and carrot & lentil, which are both beautifully warming and satisfying.

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  16. Thank you perpetua.. I think i am enjoying even more as the years go by my veggetables.. During these summer months.. i have practically only lived on veggies...in various ways.
    I like the sound of your favorite soup.. must try on a winter night.
    thank you for coming over.. nice to see you.

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  17. So you must have learned to cook from your mom! That is the most beautiful farmer's market I have ever seen and the colors are fantastic.

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  18. Hi Val. Lovely post which has left me mouthwateringly hungry. Dinner is on the go and simmering away. I love most vegetables and during the winter there is always a soup pot on the stove. My favourites are carrot and coriander, broccoli and stilton but you can't beat a good old tomato soup. I love all the colourful fruit and veg markets but also enjoy driving out into the countryside and finding a farm shop to get my produce from. So much tastier and probably healthier than the supermarkets, although I shouldn't knock them as they do come in handy on occasions. Have a good week Val and be in touch soon.
    Patricia x

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  19. Yes, I love vegetables, and at this time of year I especially love roasted vegetables! I'd love to have access to a market such as you showed.
    My favourite soup? I love so many of them, but Butternut Squash or Yellow Pea and Ham would have to be right at the top of the list.

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