Maria Lawton

Growing up my mom would make malassadas just for very special occasions. One of those days was the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, or the start of Lent. I was looking at my calendar today and just realized that a week from today is Fat Tuesday or also known as Malassadas Day!!!  During Lent, growing up […]

     As you all know, I love traveling to the island of Sao Miguel, Azores as often as I possibly can. Besides visiting friends and family when I’m there, I also love discovering the perfect spots not only for relaxing, but also for recharging. Of course in between I can’t forget all the restaurants

My friends at www.shopportuguese.com have two Valentine’s Day packages for your “amor”, one package is just sweets and the other is a combination of sweet and savory. I told my husband that I’m sweet, but he said I’m sweet and savory! The perfect gift for your Valentine!  The Sweetheart Gift Set combines some of our

I get asked more often than you’d think to explain the difference between these two sausages. Everyone’s got some insight, and depending on what they grew up with or where they grew up they may have a different explanation. I always was told that it was based on the type of pig casing used: small

In last week’s newsletter I asked how you would describe yourself: born in Portugal, parents or grandparents born there but not you, or none of the above. It’s so awesome that so many of you responded! I didn’t expect that so many people are second generation and are connecting with their roots via their grandparents.

Purchases made from using the links on this page means that we may earn a commission without costing you anything extra. A year ago I read something about making my own vanilla; honestly, I probably saw Martha Stewart baking something and casually mentioning that she makes her own! So after we put away the Christmas

Today I want to share with you a video that my husband filmed of a sunrise in Nordeste, Sao Miguel Azores Portugal. The whole experience was beyond special and I want you to feel it too… just as if you were standing next to me. We woke up at 4:00 am so that we could

With Christmas being just a few days away, let’s remember to create amazing memories with your friends and family.   I know that there’s still so much uncertainty, but one thing we know for certain is the strength we get when we are surrounded with those that we love.  So my wish for you, your family

I was so surprised and happy that so many of you love papas, too! I posted a bit of a story about it on my Facebook page and it just took off! It seems like every family has their own variation, which is so fun to hear about. How about you? Did you grow up