Life

Edible plants, such as simple leaves and foliage from the fields, contain the nutrients necessary for the human body. A diet based on wild plants has its origins in the earliest days of our species. The ecologist Bernd Gerken, aged 66, was born in Germany and came to live in Portugal in 2006. Over the years, he has always researched the edibility of wild foliage from different types of field. According to Bernd Gerken, “there is an excellent variety of plants and plots in Portugal, which are Mediterranean in character, and there is a range of aromatic and green herbs …

The problem is “contemporary, healthy nutrition” and it’s to do with farming, harvesting, conservation, transport, preparation, with foods that are too fatty, with too much meat and not enough time. Have I forgotten anything? What about excruciating industrial livestock farming, the use of hormones and antibiotics, genetic manipulation…? There is so much you can do wrong, and there is only one correct way to live healthily. From the outset, ECO123 decided that it would look for solutions to problems. Often, there is a solution right on your doorstep, sometimes even in your own garden and you run the risk of …

Even though seaweed has featured in people’s diets in Europe in some way or another owing to the fact that there is a lot of it in the Atlantic Ocean, this product has not been a normal component of the Portuguese diet. However, in recent years, this superfood has been becoming more common on our tables. This change is not just a consequence of cultural globalisation and the speed of information, it also comes from people’s growing concern about their diet, and consequently about their health. Seaweed has a number of known benefits, such as its great nutritional value, specifically …

I’ll start by saying that I’ve surrendered to my discovery of the Lisbon restaurant Rota das Sedas (The Silk Route). The name revives the local history, for situated in that area was the Real Fábrica das Sedas (Royal Silk Factory) until mid-century XIX, a fact that is highlighted by the various advertisement on this gastronomic corner. But for those who used to pass by Rua da Escola Politécnica almost daily for two years, 23 years ago, it is hard not to feel comfort from the new life blooming there. Decaying buildings remodelled, while still taking the original prints into consideration, …

The colour of orange is not the same as the colour of tangerine given that the latter is a Guimarães exclusive and more specifically in Portuguese, Cor de Tangerina, the name of the vegetarian restaurant located right in front of the castle that was the birthplace of the County of Portugal. Conceived of in Santo Tirso but put into practice in Guimarães, this is the only vegetarian restaurant in all of the city but one that still manages to pack the gastronomic history of the surrounding region into details such as usage of typical aromatic herbs such as rosemary or …

Education is the accompanied acquisition of physical, emotional, personal, social, intellectual and practical skills by children that are prerequisites for all members of a culture. In ancient Greece, education meant both intellectual and ethical training and guiding people towards contemplating life’s big questions. What mattered here was the attainment of excellence and the outstanding quality of their social and civic skills. Therefore education involves the act of one person, who knows the way, taking another by the hand, showing them that way and actively accompanying them. Every kind of education functions according to this model, environmental education too. With us …

Portugal is increasingly becoming a first-choice destination not only for the rest of Europe but also for the Portuguese themselves. And while this is good news from the economic perspective, in environment terms, there is the impact stemming from the footprints left both by travelling and by accommodation. Such simple details such as the consumption of water, foodstuffs, recycling or construction materials may end up making a fulcral difference. Thus, ECO123 presents here three hotel complexes who are as concerned about the wellbeing of their guests as they are about the planet itself without, however, giving up on any of …

How come almost half of humanity spends all its time talking about food, about the best ingredients and wonderful recipes, only to then inflict exactly the opposite on their bodies, in most cases? Food that is too full of fat and calories, and often not at all healthy; most people eat supermarket meat produced though intensive livestock farming, where the origin of all those chops and steaks and sausages is by no means transparent. Many people don’t even want to know. Are our eating and drinking habits falling victim to the thoughtlessness of our era of fast living? Just don’t …

A prior warning: if you are the type broadly indifferent to food and prefer to rush through meals quickly, ‘A Charrette’ is not the place for you. This is an establishment where everything takes its respective due time, from preparing and cooking the dishes on the menu, giving (even requiring) space for flavouring the excellent food, taking in the décor and ambience, chatting and enjoying the company. Located in the centre of Monchique, anybody entering immediately notes the traditional and welcoming environment with old (but well treated) wooden furniture and containing a wealth of working or household utensils from times …

Mushrooms, parsley and onion béchamel sauce Parsley béchamel sauce Ingredients: Infusion: 450 ml of milk 20 gr finely chopped onion 3 Szechuan peppers 3 coriander seeds Roux: 35 gr butter 35 gr flour 55 gr parsley Method: Place all the infusion ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil on a medium heat. On boiling, remove and cover the pan with Clingfilm to seal in the steam and leave to stand for 20 minutes. In another pan, fully melt the 35 gr of butter and, when taking on a slightly golden colour, combine the flour and continue stirring to …