spoils

Does it surprise you that I went away for three weeks with one duffel and came back with the same duffel plus an overflowing suitcase?

Well it wouldn't if I told you I brought home meats and cheese and fishes and my limit in port.

I wasn't sure it was going to happen because I have this way of talking myself out of buying things after I decide I want to buy the thing. But then I decided to buy one thing, and one thing quickly turned into four. So that's how I ended up with four packages of meats. And this loaf of nut and fruit bread from Baluard Barceloneta that lasted the duration of Portugal until I got home to SF. 

The intent was really road trip snacks for Dad and Brother, but there were so many other things that needed to be eaten. So the meat had to come all the way home with me.
Along with a nice little box of canned fish from Loja de Conservas. This place is freaking incredible. It looked like a beautiful little arts and crafts shop.

I would move to Portugal for easy access to this shop alone.

How much time and how many loaves would Tina have to churn out for me to try every single tin?

These are the math questions I would like to solve.

I should've gotten a bigger box...

Broke out the seasoned sausages, mixed Catalan slices, random Portuguese cheese that I picked out at a random shop on our way to the ferry (all I know is that it's cow's milk), three tins of sardines in piri piri, olive oil, spiced and pickled veg, spiced mackerel pate, 10 year old tawny port...
with one of Tina's babies,

rose, cauliflower rice and bruschetta from Ver, orzo pasta from Christy, olives and dates from Alissa, and blackberry basil sauce.

Needless to say, it was not easy to find a nice food souv for the office where there are four vegetarians, one and a halfish who don't drink alcohol, two with an aversion to fish smells, several who don't like things that are too sweet, and two who don't really like cheese. I so did not want to just get some chocolate... but that's exactly what I ended up doing. From Bettina & Niccolo.

It didn't hurt that this chocolate shop was as beautiful as everything else in Portugal. And I'm so into this buying thin bars by the gram thing.

Cherry, ginger, sesame, salt and pepper, and 100% cacau all survived the trip home until I unwittingly left them on my desk under the sun.
Watched some bloom happened before my eyes before I sharing them with the workmates.