I was born in the Cape Verde Islands, a group of nine small islands off the west coast of Africa but I have lived in Angola, Portugal, USA and Mexico.  My mom taught me how to cook when I was a teenager and that instilled in me an interest in cooking different types of food.  I hope you enjoy these recipes.  The recipes from Cape Verde are only from the adventurous but I will post some soon.  

Quick Fresh Tomato Salsa-Mexican

Hot Artichoke Dip-American

Preparation time: 15 minutes, serves 6
3 medium size Roma tomatoes
1 onion
1/2 bunch of cilantro
3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons of virgin olive oil
1 small jalapeno (optional)
pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean and seed the tomatoes, dice them in small pieces. Dice the onions and jalapeno next, wash the cilantro, remove the stem and chop them.

Combine all chopped items in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the vinegar and olive oil and add the pepper flakes, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix until well blend, add this mixture to the salsa.

Refrigerate until chilled, serve with tortilla chips. After tasting this dip, you will never use store bought salsa again. 

1 small jar of Hellmann's Mayonnaise

1/2 bag of Mozzarella Cheese

1 can of artichokes

hot pepper rings

Drain the artichokes, quarter them bite size pieces, combine the mayo and cheese, add the artichokes, salt and pepper and mix well.

Spread mixture in a shallow ceramic pan and top with jalapeno rings if desired. Bake in oven for 45 minutes at 365 degrees, serve hot with Wheat Thins or Ritz Crackers. 

This is a great recipe to make for unexpected guests, takes about 3 minutes to prepare.  You can also make this dip with Romano cheese.  

Chicken Curry-Indian

Valenciana Rice-Portuguese

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

 2 lb. skinned chicken breasts
3 tsp salt
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. finely chopped onions
5 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1tsp of cumin seeds
2 tbsp of hot pepper sauce 
(found in Asian stores)
4 cloves
2 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp coriander
1 t ground cayenne pepper
1/2 c. water
1 fresh tomato 
3 medium sized potatoes, cut in small pieces
3 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp garam marsala
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Sprinkle chicken breasts with 2 t of the salt. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds until they pop, careful not to let them burn .  Add the onions, garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes and ginger to the remaining oil. Stir in the cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper.  

Add the chicken breasts and potatoes and sauté for 8 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add 2 cups of water and cook for 20 minutes.  If the curry looks dry, add more water and let it reduce.  If the sauce is too watery, add some cornstarch. Remove from heat, add the cilantro and lemon juice.  

I learned to make Indian food from two good friends of mine who were from two different parts of Indian but taught me how to make great food.  The secret to a great curry is the amount and freshness of the spices.  Be careful not to add too much turmeric, it has a numbing affect on your mouth, if you add more than two tablespoons.  If you skimp on the spices and use too little, you will have a bland, tasteless curry.  Never buy spices from the supermarket, the store bought curry powder add nothing but color to your curry.  Order them online or buy them at an Indian store near you. 

2 cups olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic 
1 red bell pepper, cut in strips
3/4 chicken, cut into pieces
Hillshire Farm Kielbasa or Portuguese chorizo 
2 Goya bouillon cubes (chicken flavor)
2 tbsp of hot pepper sauce 
(found in Asian stores)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 tomato, chopped
4 1/2 cups water, or fill up the paella pan to 
the height of the handles 2 times
20 mussels or clams, scrubbed
2 cups shrimp, cleaned, fresh or frozen
1 1/4 pounds plus 1-ounce rice (3.5 ounces per person) 
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pinch saffron, for coloring
cilantro, as garnish

Special equipment: large shallow pan

Heat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the oil in a pan. Fry the chicken aand kielbasa at medium heat until golden brown, strain some of the oil if necessary.  Add the garlic and onions and paprika half way through to add color to meat. Add the strips of pepper and tomatoes.  Add 1/2 the water making sure to cover the pan until it is 1/2 full.. 

Add the rice, distributing it evenly over the pan and fry for a few minutes, moving it around in the pan. Add the rest of the water and cook for about 20 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a pinch of saffron for color. Once this is done the paella should not be stirred anymore
.
In a separate frying pan, add butter and 1 clove of garlic and brown slightly, add the shrimp, season lightly with salt and pepper and sauté until it turns pink  Remove the shrimp and add to the rice.  In the frying pan from where you just removed the shrimp, add the mussels and add a cup of white wine.  Wait for the mussels and to open, remove them from the pan and add it to the rice and shrimp.  After all the mussels open, add cilantro to the sauce, pour about 1 cup of the sauce over the paella.  
Garnish the paella with the strips of red pepper and the fresh cilantro.  Cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.