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Friday’s Feast #04
Party Favourites

This week we launched the Rizzoli Pop Up Store – the books will be for sale at O Apartamento till October 5th – and we decided to invite some friends and journalists for an afternoon delight. For the event we’ve prepared two simple, quick and tasty recipes to give our table some colorful and healthy vibe.

Parmesan and oregano bites

Ingredients

1 Egg

200g Oatmeal flour

150g Parmesan cheese

100g Salted butter

Dry oregano

Salt

 

Method

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Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grate the parmesan to a wide bowl, add the sifted flour and the oregano. Mix it with your hands.

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Melt the butter in the microwave at 600kw for one minute, let it cool down a little bit and then make a hole in the flour mix and pour the butter there along with the one egg.

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Knead the dough pithily with your hands till you a get a firm and uniform ball. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Stretch the dough in a oven tray over parchment paper – if you don’t have a rolling pin use a bottle, it works just fine – and season with salt and sesame seeds.

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Let it cook for 20 minutes or till it is golden. Remove the tray and let it cool for a fez minutes till you break the doug to little pieces. Sprinkle with more cheese and serve.

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Coco Kick Mocktail

Inspired by Annabel Langbein

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Igredients

1 cup of coconut cream

½ a pineapple (or 2 cups of pineapple juice)

5 oranges (or 2 cup of orange juice)

Mint

Ice

Method

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If you want your mocktail natural you should use fresh fruit juices at home. Squeeze enough oranges for two cups of juice. Put half a pineapple with some water and half of the mint in a blender and let it work for a while to get a smooth but liquid juice. If you have time (and patience) strain both juices so there are not any fibers left.

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Fill a jar with a lot of ice, add the mint, the pineapple and orange juice and the coconut cream. Give it a twist and serve cold.

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By definition, a mocktail is a non-alcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of fruit juices or other soft drinks.

If you are under 18, this mocktail recipe is delicious and ends here for you.

However, if you are an adult (over 18) and want to add that extra flavour to your drink, pour a vodka shot (50ml) into your glass and then fill the rest with the mocktail (from now on you should call it a cocktail). We used Absolut Elyx, our partner and one of our favourite beverages.

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To keep you and others safe, drink wisely and don’t drive.

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Rizzoli New York | Pop Up Store
O Apartamento recommends

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Armando’s: “A Frame for Life”, by Ilse Crawford

“A design where the human being is at the center of everything.” This is one of the mottos of Ilse Crawford work, a designer with an amazing path that has been inspiring me for 25 years. I like everything she does, from the lines created for major international brands to the more intimate and private homes projects. On my last trip to Stockholm I took a peek on one of her latest projects, the hotel Ett Hem. Who enters feels at home because the atmosphere is really homely and designed for people. I love that feeling.

This book is a sum of the work she has been developing until now and an important work to go peeping for inspiration from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Inês’: “Breakfast, Recipes to wake up for”, by George Weld and Evan Hanczor

Food is my favourite human need. So, it is easy to understand why I chose this book. It is true that if food, in general, is what moves me in this big wide world, that this book could feature lunch recipes or dinner recipes or even munchies or snacks recipes. But no. I explain it: my second favourite human need is sleep. Therefore, only a good, juicy, tasty breakfast can make me jump out of bed in the morning. As you can see, this book title – and, obviously, the post title – just resumes my life. The good photography and selection of recipes are enough reasons to support my choice – mostly when among them are pancakes, johnny cakes a three different ways to cook bacon: basic, advanced and candied. However, the book begins with a set of 22 pages dedicated to eggs. Yes, that is right. It explains, step by step how to do a poached egg or a pickled egg and even explores the subject to the bone like a three paragraph text about scrambled eggs that starts like this: “a well-made scrambled egg is a miracle of transformation.

 

 

 

 

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Paula’s: “True Thai: Real Flavors for Everyday Life”, by Hong Thaimee

“To love, the best ingredient”. This quote, in the first few pages of this book, could be enough to make me want to bring it home. But I have many more reasons. There are two things that I’m addicted to: food and travel. And if there is a region of the world where these two words appear to merge in a magic way, it is Southeast Asia. “The True Thai” is a trip to Hong Thaimee’s family kitchen, by the eyes of this asian chef who became a rising star in New York. Homemade and honest recipes, made not only with love but also with the perfect balance that the thai cuisine demands. From the famous pad thai to the hot tom yum soup with shrimp and coconut, this book is the kind of journey I love to do without leaving the kitchen. Perfect for the autumn days that are coming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Vasco’s: “It All Dies Anyway: L.A., Jabberjaw, and the End of an Era”, by Bryan Ray Turcotte, Michelle Carr and Gary P. Dent

“The untold history of the seminal cultural venue Jabberjaw—the underground star of Los Angeles’s historic indie scene of the 1990s. Billing itself as a “coffeehouse art gallery” when it opened in 1989, Jabberjaw quickly became not only the cornerstone of the Los Angeles post-punk scene but also a hub of the underground music scene nationwide. Bridging the gap between punk and indie, Jabberjaw was a bastion of counterculture that hosted shows for bands from the obscure (Hole, Unsane) to the legendary (Nirvana, Pearl Jam) in an environment that reflected a generation.”

The collection, either of testimonies from people who attended the Jabberjaw, photographs or posters and other graphic materials used to disseminate events, outcomes in a culturally valuable document for the history of music, making known the beginning and the end of an iconic space, almost forgotten to the public. An excellent book for those who were contemporary of these movements or for those, like me, that were unaware of this important chapter of the history of music.

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Friday’s Feast #03
Pancakes with Pumpkin Chutney

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Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup Oatmeal Flour

1 tbs Honey

1/2 ts Baking Powder

1/2 cup Almond or coconut milk

1 tbs Oil

1 Egg

Salt

tbs = tablespoon

ts = teaspoon

Method

Mix the liquids and the solids separately in two bowls, i.e., flour and yeast in a bowl, the egg, honey and milk in another.

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After everything is well blended, pour the liquid mixture over the flour mixture mixing vigorously with a wire whisk. Set aside for half an hour covered with a cloth.

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Grease a large pan with a few drops of oil (with a brush, if possible). Heat the pan in strong heat and slowly pour the pancake dough in the center of the pan, so that mixture gradually creates a round shape.

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Lower the heat and flip it when the down side is cooked. Cook for another minute always taking care not to burn.

The size of the pancakes depends on the amount of dough that is placed in the center. The pancakes’ round shape only works if the dough is not too liquid. Its size can be perceived when the dough is poured in the pan. With these amounts you can make six small and three large pancakes.

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Pumpkin Chutney with Cinnamon and Anise

Ingredients

200g Pumpkin

3 tbs Brown Sugar

1 tbs Honey

1/2 cup Water

1 Cinnamon Stick

1 Star Anise

Salt

1 tbs Coconut Oil

 

Method

Peel the pumpkin, remove all the seeds and chop it into small cubes. Heat the pan and add the coconut oil (can replaced with oil, but coconut oil is considered healthier when cooked in high temperatures). Add the pumpkin and saute it on high heat until it starts to lose its rigid consistency.

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Sprinkle with brown sugar and mix well. When the pumpkin starts to caramelize sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add the water, the honey, the cinnamon stick and the star anise. Mix everything gently and place over low heat.

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Let it cook slowly until the water is totally reduced (10 to 15 minutes). Stir slowly until a rough puree is created. Taste it and add more honey if you prefer it sweeter.

We like it like this to contrast with the pancake dough.

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Inspired by
Once upon a time there was Eliana and her Grandma’s goatling

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It’s 11am when the door bell rings. They arrive smiling, full of bags and eager to indulge us with some of their favorite dishes. But unhurried: at O Apartamento, everything involving food requests time to taste, enjoy and share.

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Eliana Nunes and Miguel Rita understood our concept from the first minute but they jumped into the kitchen anyway, with the same speed and dexterity as they do it every day at Pratinho Feio. They don’t have cooking training but their hearts are full of cooking skills. That is reflected in the gentle way they work with food, play with flavors and delight themselfs at the table when it’s time to eat. While we are working in the office, the aroma of cumin and other spices fills our noses and makes us rumbling stomachs. It smells like comfort food, just like the one they serve in their restaurant.

The vast majority of the recipes they present comes from Eliana’s family influence. Born in Angola and raised between Castelo Branco and a secluded village near Sertã, she always loved the time spent at the stove with her grandmother and her mother. The studies took her to the universe of tourist entertainment but fate wanted her to eventually experience the working life of a restaurant to earn some extra cash. Against the odds she fell in love with it and decided that this was what she intended to do with her life.

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She worked in other kitchens for five years and than realized that if she wanted to follow this path it had to be on her way. “Working in a kitchen is not an easy life. Unless you are in a place that makes you feel like you’re with family, you have to work on something that’s yours”. In the absence of the first option, Eliana went for the second one.

One day – while buying eggplants in a grocery store close the her home –  she crossed with two friends, Ana Reis and Joana Girão, and told them about her plan. She was so passionate that they decided to join her to open a restaurant. Based on Eliana’s mother and grandmother recipes, Pratinho Feio was born. A restaurant whose food is not always beautiful to the eye but always honest and a comfort to the stomach. Her grandma’s goatling casserole, which she cooked us for this get together, is just one of many examples.

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Grandma’s goatling casserole with potato crumbs

With Miguel as her right arm – who also felt divided between performing arts area and his love for food – the team in the kitchen couldn’t be better. Against all setbacks of the portuguese economical crisis, Pratinho Feio is now celebrating one year of existence. With great creativity, dedication and passion for the art of eating well. Like mozambican writer Mia Couto once wrote, “cooking is a way of loving others”. Eliana and Miguel prove it.

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Lemon curd crumble with basil whipped cream

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Friday’s Feast #02
Yakitori Kebabs w/ Green Mango Salad

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As travelling is one of our dearest hobbies, the different flavours from across the world enchant and inspire us daily. These yakitori kebabs accompanied by a green mango salad are a fusion and a free adaptation of the traditional Japanese and Thai recipes.

 

Yakitori Kebabs

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts or 1,5 Kg of Boneless Chicken Legs

½ Green Pepper

1/2 Red Pepper

1 Onion

5 tbs Mirin (can be replaced by any liquer, we used pennyroyal liquer)

5 tbs Sake (can be replaced by white wine)

5.tbs Soy

1 tbs Sugar

2 tbs Honey

Skewers

Salt

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Method

Prepare the counter to assemble the skewers: cut the chicken breasts into relatively thick square pieces; the peppers are also cut into square pieces. Cut the onions into quarters and then release the various layers. Take the kebab sticks and wet them before use – this process prevents the meat from sticking to the wood. Start with a piece of chicken and alternate with the onions and the pepper pieces and then season the kebabs with salt.

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Pour the mirin, the sake, the soy, the sugar and the honey into a pan and cook it in a high heat. Let it boil until it thickens (but not too much). This is the yakitori sauce. Pour the yakitori in a dish where the kebabs fit and soak them as much as you can. Reserve the rest of the sauce.

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You can use two different methods to cook the kebabs. If you have a large grill, opt for grilling them with a drip of olive oil. Turn it every 2/3 minutes, soaking the kebabs in the reserved yakitori sauce. Repeat this process as many times as you can until the kebabs get caramelized.

Another method to cook the kebabs in the oven on a well greased (with olive oil) baking tray. Soak the kebabs in the yakitori and place them on the tray. Cook it with uniform heat up to 200° C. Turn the kebabs as they cook and whenever you do this, brush them with the sauce. Turn on the grill when they start color and let them roast for another 5 minutes.

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Green Mango Salad

Ingredients

1 Carrot

1 Mango (green)

1 Purple onion (medium)

2 cups Bean Sprouts

½ cup Coriander leaves

1 cup Cashews

Sesame seeds to sprinkle

 

Sauce

4 tbs Fish sauce

1 tbs Honey

1 Lime

1 Fresh ginger (small chunk)

2 Chilli

5 Coriander Leaves

 

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Method

Start by making the sauce. This is something you can even prepare overnight if you have time.

Cut the ginger, chillies and coriander leaves into very small pieces and throw them in a mortar. Grind the ingredients until they form a small paste. Add the fish sauce, the lime juice and a tablespoon of honey (in Thailand they use sugar but we prefer honey). Mix thoroughly and set aside.

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For the salad: peel the carrot, mango and the onion and cut them into very thin strips to a large bowl. Add the bean sprouts and coriander leaves and drizzle with the previously prepared sauce. Mix by hand gently squeezing all the ingredients to release their juices.

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Crush grossly the cashews and involve them in the salad. If you prefer peanuts, as most Thais do, follow the traditional recipe. We prefer cashew!

Finally, sprinkle with sesame seeds and it’s ready to be served. Yami!

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Friday’s Feast #01
Bacalhau à Brás
inspired by Maria de Lourdes Modesto’s recipe

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Ingredients


400g Soaked Cod

250g Shoestring Potatoes*

6 Eggs

3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

3 Onions

2 Garlic Cloves

Parsley 

Salt and Pepper

Black Olives

* If you want to make the traditional recipe we recommend that you replace the shoestring potatoes by ‘genuine’ potato (500g), cut it into thin sticks (shoestring) and fry them in oil until they become very lightly golden.

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Preparation

To facilitate the task of shredding the cod, previously parboil it for 2 minutes. Then remove the skin and bones and shred the cod by hand. Set aside. Over medium heat, cook slowly the finely chopped garlic and the thinly sliced onions until golden and starting to caramelise, stirring regularly. Then add the shredded cod and stir it well so it is involved with the onions, garlic and olive oil.

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Add the shoestring potatoes to the cod mixture and stir it until everything is involved. With the pan over low/medium heat pour the beaten eggs (seasoned with salt and pepper) into the cod mixture, then gently stir until the eggs become creamy but cooked. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and roughly stir everything. As the eggs will continue to cook in the pan, pass it immediately to a cold dish so you don’t overcook them.

Serve immediately accompanied by black olives.

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Freunde von Freunden
interview with Torsten Bergler

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Last July O Apartamento welcomed Freunde von Freunden, a Berlin project that gives visibility to creative and inspiring people with a sneak peek to their homes or/and workplaces. “Berlin” and “Friends of Friends”, their first printed books portraying stories of inspirational people, were presented at O Apartamento for the first time in Portugal. Torsten Bergler, one of the founders of FVF told us how it all started and what are their goals for the future.

Freunde von Freunden means ‘friends of friends’ and this is the pith of your project. Could you explain exactly what is FvF all about?

That’s not as easy as I thought it would be, when I get this question asked.

First of all, it’s about inspiration. Portraying inspirational people, in their homes and workplaces. But also inspire people with stories about food, cities, lifestyle etc. – It’s also about the network, the people that are friends, and friends of friends. It’s great to see what happens when (creative) people meet and get to know each other. And it’s also about that trust, that is there when you meet friends of friends, because they are friends of your friend, which gives instantly a different level of trust and relation.

You choose people before meeting the spaces. This means that for FvF what matters is the story behind the person who lives there?

Yes, exactly. The people that visited the FvF Website or read our books, usually think we select the people by their homes. But this actually never happened so far. Most of the time, we don’t know how the home or workplace looks like of the person we are about to portray, but we know about what he or she does, creates or did. And if this sounds like an interesting story, there’ll be an interesting home.

The founders of FvF are you (Torsten Bergler), Frederik Frede and Tim Seifert, but at the moment you have a team of 20 people working with you.  Back in 2009 when FvF was launched could you imagine the potential and the growth of this project?

Nope, never. And that was never the plan when we started. Back in 2009, just month after the financial crisis, our agency (NoMoreSleep) that Frede and I ran at that time, lost two major accounts. So we had time for a side project and always wanted to work on something without a client. And now we have a team of 20 people – MoreSleep and FvF combined, released two books, have over 120.000 Fans on FB and over 25.000 visitors on the site every day. That’s crazy!

Nowadays your project exists in the form of an online magazine, two published books and some collaborations with product designers. Can you unveil what can we expect from FvF in the future?

We are planning and working on a lot of stuff. A renewed design of the website is on top of our list right now, we are also working on a print magazine, great client projects and of course developing the whole experience and brand further.

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Openhouse – The Life We Share
interview with Andrew Trotter

Foto fundadores

In June we officially launched O Apartamento with the Spanish magazine OPENHOUSE – The Life We share. A project from Barcelona that looks for bright, creative people from around the world, that opens their homes or their private spaces to the public. With a photo exhibition by Mari Luz Vidal and a sushi dinner by chef Nobu, this was a really special visit for all of us. Andrew Trotter, co-founder of this project, told us how everything has begun and what they have achieved and shared during the last three years.

 

What does the term “open house” atually means to you?

Our magazine is called OPENHOUSE – The life we share, and it is exactly that. It’s about people who want to give a little, rather than just ‘get’.

I come from a travelling family, and we have spent many years in other countries. Some places, such as Italy or Australia love to have their doors open, everyone is welcome for dinner or to stay, even the idea of the ‘agroturismo’ in Italy, is that you stay at someone’s rural house, help around, and cook together. This is sharing and this is ENJOYING life.

Why did you choose to make this kind of magazine?

The magazine came very organically, it just seemed the right thing to do at the time. When I moved to Barcelona four and a half years ago, I moved in with a friend of mine Mari Luz. For the first year we lived in her flat, which was very small, and at the same time I started a shop called Openhouse, which I wanted to feel like a home.

After a year, Mari wanted to move home and she found a huge apartment with high ceilings and a lot of light. She had told me already that she wanted to put her last work on the walls and invite a few friends around. When we saw the new flat, we realized it would make a perfect place to have a proper exhibition, so a few months later Mari showed “Mariona and I” with great success, and the OPENHOUSE Project was born. Shortly after and friend of ours, Nobu, a japanese chef, came to live with us, and it wasn’t long till we were making dinners, sushi parties, concerts and talks.

What happened since then?

After 3 years we had many events, 6 exhibitions and over 4000 people through our doors. A little while after we started, we set up a web, and also talked about a few friends that I knew that also had similar projects in other cities, and we kept on hearing about other people doing the same. So a year and a half ago, we decided to put it down on paper, and make the magazine. Now we are on issue #3 and in more than 350 shops around the world.

Nowadays, which are the projects that the OPENHOUSE is developing and that is involved?

At the moment we are concentrating on the magazine. It is growing so quickly that we will need to nurture it. We also love making events. We had a great time with you in Lisboa and lately we have been in London with Aesop, Frankfurt with PrivateOffSpace and Berlin with Freunde Von Freunden and Bless.

Which were your first impressions about our house?

You guys are very lucky, you have a beautiful space to work in. I’m surprised you get work done… it feels like such a beautiful home, I think I would want to relax most of the time. We had great event with you at O Apartamento, the people who joined us were amazing and you treated us so well. I hope we can come back soon!!!

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Openhouse
is coming to Lisbon

openhousemagazine

Andrew Trotter and Mari Luz Vidal from OPENHOUSE will come and stay at O Apartamento from june 23th to 28th.

They started to open their home in Barcelona 3 years ago as a gallery of photography and shortly after with their other flat mate Nobu Kawagoe, they started to make sushi parties, dinners, concerts and talks. Now they are on their 6th exhibition with acclaimed photographer Yosigo, have had more than 3000 people through their doors and have also helped many Kinfolk Gatherings.

One year ago they launched “OPENHOUSE – The Life We Share”, a magazine about creative people around the world whom, like them, open their doors of their homes and private spaces to the public for many different activities.

During their stay, OPENHOUSE will present a photo exhibition entitled “Mariona y yo” by Mari Luz, that documents her childhood, and the loss of friendship with her best friend. There will be a private sushi party, prepared by Nobu, and they will also present the natural skincare brand Alex Carro.

Excited about it? We are! More details soon…

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Three things you need to know about Gestalten
interview with Sven Ehmann

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Our Gestalten pop up store has just opened! If you’re not aware about this publishing house amazing work, Sven Ehmann explains you everything you need to know. He’s a creative mind, an editor of Gestalten, responsible for more than 70 books… and just answered us these three main questions.

How did Gestalten originally start?
In the very beginning there was the idea for a book on the visual culture around techno music and the entrepreneurial spirit to make this book happen without being a company, publisher or even having much of a budget. The book was called „Localizer 1.0“ and once it was printed it became obvious that there was interest – or in other words a market – for this kind of content and a fresh approach to it. Based on that feedback and potential, Gestalten was founded as a company.

For those who doesn’t know you, what’s Gestalten main concept?
Initially we were a publishing house – in the classic sense of a company – that develops, researches, edits, produces, markets and sells books. But over the years we have developed into being more of a media company – doing video podcasts and a lot of things in the digital domain as well – and for the last four year we also build a retail business with two locations here in Berlin where we sell products, host workshops and lectures, run a food place and so on. The core of everything we do is contemporary creative culture but there is always room to turn this around into new and surprising format, products and services.

What does our visitors may expect from your books?
I sincerely hope that our books inform and inspire creative people wherever they are and what ever their profession and experience is. Whether you buy a book about a subject you are interested in already or one about something you just started being curious about, I hope that you get a good overview and the best projects from around the world and even a little more than that…

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