Dias Maria - Easy Portuguese recipes

I was born in the city of Braga, in Northern Portugal, during the years in which my parents owned a small restaurant there. To support their family, my parents also farmed potatoes and ran a small bed and breakfast where Spanish peddlers often spent the night and enjoyed my mothers great dishes and our homemade wine. I migrated to America in 1963, with my parents and five siblings when I was 6 years old. We settled in the charming small New England town of Ludlow, Massachusetts, referred to as Little Portugal, for its thriving Portuguese community rich in culture and traditions passed on from generation to generation. Portuguese food takes center stage in the community with its many butcher shops offering traditional foods and imported specialty items, bakeries selling classic breads and sweet desserts, and numerous restaurants serving authentic Portuguese dishes on its menu. Growing up with all of the flavors and tastes of Portugal eventually evolved into my passion for its food.

My interest in learning to cook first began when I was a young girl often sent to help my Godmother, Tia Alzira, prepare her delicious recipes for the Holidays. Before moving to America, Alzira had been a personal Chef to a General in the Portuguese Military, and I was very fascinated by her cooking skills which inspired me to learn how to cook. My twenty five year career in the food industry began when I was a teenager while working as a waitress for many Portuguese caterers in my hometown. After marrying my high school sweetheart and becoming a mother, I focused my cooking on preparing healthy Portuguese meals for my family. For over 10 years I was employed at a Portuguese American restaurant which my brothers owned called The Matador. My cooking skills evolved at the restaurant where I learned different cooking techniques and classic recipes from the professional Portuguese chefs who were employed there.

A few years later, after the restaurant was sold, my husband and I decided to open a small hometown restaurant called; The Hometown Deli, where I was the cook and manager. I cooked many homemade dishes and thousands of homemade soups there, and to this day my family still refers to me as their; Soup Queen! My cooking skills continued to evolve through the years. I became the Chef/Manager of a gourmet coffee shop/restaurant called Nancys Coffee Caf, where I developed my knowledge about gourmet foods, and coffees from countries around the world. Today, I am no longer working in the food industry, but cooking Portuguese food remains my passion. I enjoy preparing classic dishes with my daughter Lisa and we devote our free time to sharing these recipes on Tia Marias Blog. My Godmother may have been the inspiration for me learning how to cook, so many years ago, but it was my Mother Carmelina who taught me how to cook her recipes with love and to share that love with food.