Exploring Rural Portugal--Bread, Cheese and Tiles

Friday, January 30, 2015
Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Today we crossed the Tagus River and headed into the countryside south of Lisbon. As we crossed the Vasco de Gama bridge there was a brief break in the clouds and we saw a rainbow over central Lisbon.

Our first stop was near a small village, where Roteiro de Moinhos is using the 15th Century windmills to grind wheat into flour to be baked into the local bread . For a little extra excitement some of the group rode donkeys on our journey up and down the hill. These are mediterranean style windmills and were smaller versions of some that I saw in the Greek Islands. The millers were not working and the sails were not up, but we got a demonstration using an electrical engine. We also spent time in the bakery where the wheat is turned into bread. The dough is mixed in in a giant version of my Kitchen Aid, which has the capacity to handle 40 kilos of flour at a time. The dough is a mixture of flour, water, salt and live yeast. Our task for the effort was to shape the loaves. I was one of the two volunteers, and it was fun to work the dough. The bread is baked in a huge wood-fired brick oven, but we didn't have time to taste our finished product, so we left with loaves of the bread that was baked this morning.

Our next stop was to visit a local artisanal cheese producer to learn about Azeitao cheese, a local speciality mad from raw sheep's milk . For this demonstration, we actually got some of the men to participate in making the cheese. Once again we were not able to taste our finished product since it needs to age for about 22 days. However, we were able to sample some of the fresh cheese we made and an already aged version of the cheese along the the bread from the bakery. This served as the appetizer for our lunch of soup, turkey and veggies, before dessert of fresh pineapple and cake. It was all accompanied by bottles of local red and white wines. ( I really need to get better about making notes of the wine, but somehow I'm too busy enjoying it to make notes.) As we were leaving we got to meet Cheese, one of the family's dogs.

Our final stop was to learn about Azulejos de Azeitao, the famous Portuguese blue tiles. Athough traditionally they were blue, today they can be found in many colors. After watching an expert make both the flat and raised tiles, and learning how the patterns are transferred to the tiles for painting, we had an opportunity to make our own tiles. The more artistic members of the group made their own designs, but I chose a traditional pattern and painted a floral design. Our efforts will be fired and delivered to us in Madrid at the end of the trip. For a while I considered ordering tiles for a backsplash in my kitchen until learning that it would cost about 800 Euros, plus shipping and installation Now, I think that I'll do my shopping at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Although it was a very busy and interesting day, there are not as many details to write about today. Tomorrow we will leave Lisbon, and head south to Evora.

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