Local Foods Archives | Page 15 of 16

For a Different Reason

November 18, 2009

I found myself standing in the supermarket checkout lane surrounded by candy of every kind. It felt strange at first considering these were varieties I haven’t regularly seen for the past two years. It is amazing how taking note of this tiny experience in my day sent my mind on a journey, evaluating how I’ve changed.

What surprised me about this situation above was that I didn’t want any of the candy. Not even a tiny craving emerged. Why? Well, because I automatically evaluated what it was made of – industrialized, processed ingredients.

Two years ago as when I began my journey to eat fewer processed foods I didn’t have those candies often, but it was for much different reasons. At that time they didn’t represent processed ingredients, they represented calories and fat which my brain automatically equated to weight gain.

This way of looking at these items, of course, didn’t make me want them any less. I just knew I couldn’t have them. I wasn’t giving them up willfully. They were considered off limits. That kind of thinking left me feeling deprived.

Last week in that checkout lane, I didn’t feel deprived at all. I simply didn’t want those processed, industrialized foods in my body.

Let’s be clear, though. I’m not saying I don’t ever, or won’t ever, eat candy (or some of the other foods I plan to mention later). I’m just experiencing a completely different healthy eating perspective which is leading to happier eating and fewer feelings of desiring something I can’t have.

I have new reasons not to want it and it has nothing to do with weight gain or outward appearances. It is almost overwhelming how freeing this perspective feels to me. I no longer feel like I’m denying myself.

And this isn’t just about candy. I feel the same way about almost every aisle in the center of the grocery store. My basket doesn’t turn down the cracker and cookie aisle and the only reason it finds its way to the cereal aisle is to get oatmeal. Is there even a soda aisle anymore? I tend to blow right by it.

The important part is that I’m not purposely doing this. It is happening naturally because of my goals to eat fewer industrialized foods and to know the source of what goes into our mouths. I don’t feel like I’m avoiding a temptation like I used to.

Even though I’m still eating for health, it is a much different force that is driving me. It is true health, not just avoidance of gaining weight, aspiring to lose it, or even reducing risk of a chronic disease. It also goes beyond health. Environment, animal welfare and economics all come into play in my choices these days.

I feel like we ate well in Brazil in terms of health, yet everything was completely new and meals always led to some sort of discovery. I was concerned how it would be when we returned to the US and I fell back into familiar patterns of shopping and cooking. My biggest fear was returning to bad habits that I’ve discovered and identified through all my personal research the past two years.

Part of me is in disbelief of just how easy shopping for food and making choices have been since we returned. When you eat simple, natural foods shopping is a lot less stressful experience. There is no internal struggle of I want this, but I shouldn’t have it. I don’t buy it because it doesn’t align with my beliefs and values, plain and simple. The choices I’m making are for a different reason and that seems to make all the difference.

Have you made any recent healthy changes which ended up being a lot easier than you were expecting?

Photos of rice grains and rice terraces (view from our bungalow) in Ubud-Bali, Indonesia.

This post has been submitted for Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

A Quest for Food – Culture & Ex-pat Living

October 5, 2009

The first guest post in the Quest for Food series comes from Mindy of Mindy’s Mouthful. She’s graciously agreed to share with us how her year-long expatriate experience challenged the way she cooks and the way her family eats. Now that she’s back in the US she is trying to incorporate the healthy, culturally inspired habits she acquired while living in France.

It seems like forever ago when I found out that I was moving to France. I had an entire year to prepare, but what I didn’t end up being prepared for was how much time I actually had on my hands. Of course, I was busy with our two-year-old daughter and with helping my husband, who was acting as the director of our college’s study abroad program in Strasbourg, since I also work for the same school, but it was nothing compared to having to juggle all of these things at home and work a full-time job.

To fill this time, I started cooking. I always enjoyed cooking, and in fact, it was one of the things that brought my husband and I together many years ago–cooking together. Once I started experimenting with food in France, I decided to create a blog, Mindy’s Mouthful, to document my little adventures.

When I set foot in the local French grocery store, I was a little befuddled…it was so small. But it had the best vegetable section, and then when I started looking around, it also had a gigantic dairy section with every cheese imaginable. And in fact, upon closer inspection, the only things it was really missing were many of the prepackaged, highly processed foods I had come to rely on in the United States.
Of course, it had a breakfast food section and chips and soda and many of the junk and/or convenience foods that we have in the United States, but the main difference was that the ratio of fresh and packaged foods that were actually food (without all of the strange additives that we rely on in the U.S.) to bad-for-you convenience foods seemed to be exactly opposite of a U.S. grocery store.

The French also didn’t seem to be afraid of fat–not everything was full of it, but the pre-made tart crusts were made with real butter, the full-fat cream sold out before the low-fat, and everyone had some block of cheese in their baskets. (And I never once saw a low-fat version of cheese…) But what I also noticed in their baskets were plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. They bought meat, but very little of it. And slowly, my shopping habits followed suit.

When I started thinking about my return to the United States, I really realized how difficult it was going to be to keep up the good habits that I picked up in France. I had always been good about keeping fresh vegetables in our diet, but I knew the selection in my local grocery store in Kentucky was not going to have the variety and quality that I came to rely upon in my French grocery store.

In order to combat this, I joined a CSA for the first time. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do it, but it’s one of the best things I’ve done. The CSA provides local, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and although I don’t have much choice in what I get, I do get to try out products I would never buy (or find, for that matter) in the local grocery store, like West African Stew with okra or Turnip Mash or Sauteed Kale.

We’ve been back for about two months now, and we’ve recognized that our eating habits have changed, but that without constant vigilance and pre-planning, we will be sucked back into buying out of convenience instead of making decisions based on health.

P.S. In case you are just stopping by, I’m in the process of moving back to the US and am currently on an extended trip in SE Asia. I have weekly guest posts lined up this month and will be stopping by with foodie pictures from our travels as time permits.

Photos courtesy of the guest author.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

September 9, 2009

I wouldn’t rate the Italian food we have around here top notch. The restaurants put forth a great effort, but there always seems to be something lacking in the tomato sauce. However, I should clarify that just because it may not be rated best in the world, or even the best in Brazil for that matter, it doesn’t mean it is lacking in creativity.

In a previous post, I introduced the wonderful Italian rodizio restaurant. A quick refresher, rodizio is a style of eating similar to a buffet, but in reverse. The waiters bring all the dishes to you and you accept a small portion of each you want to try.

In that post, I left out a dish that I was pleasantly surprised by. On our second visit to the restaurant we were offered Lasagna com Canela – Lasagna with Cinnamon. As happens with most dishes I’m unfamiliar with, I was intrigued. And after one bite, I was a fan.

I recently recreated the dish at home adding in a few extra vegetables and enjoyed it just as much. It is difficult to describe the flavor the cinnamon adds to the dish. The spice combined with the tomato sauce really brings out a delicious sweetness.

I have to be honest though. I have a feeling this will be one dish that you will either enjoy or dislike. For example, I like it, my husband, on the other hand does not prefer it. It is the sweetness he doesn’t enjoy so much. Nonetheless, I’ll share it here and next time I’ll make a reduced recipe since I may be the only one infatuated by it. Kind of like me and my spicy peanut sauce.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

1 package lasagna noodles, partially cooked

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp olive oil
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste
2 batches Easy Pasta Sauce (add 1 can tomato sauce to the doubled recipe)
2 – 3 cups cheese, shredded

In a skillet brown the beef or turkey, add the cinnamon and set aside. In a separate skillet heat the olive oil and cook the zucchini, onion and garlic for five to seven minutes or until veggies slightly tender. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside. Now add the pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef and mix well to combine.

In a deep 9×13 baking dish layer your noodles, sauce, veggies and cheese in your favorite order. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let set for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Fondue in Brazil

September 4, 2009

Fondue? I love fondue. I’m not sure what it is about it. Maybe it is the slow leisurely process of enjoying the meal, the fact that it is a meal I often enjoy with my husband on special occasions, or maybe it is the food. Yes, the actual food ranks high on the list.

In the US our fondue experience has been limited to Melting Pot. We still enjoy that restaurant very much, but we have found a rather outstanding substitute here in Brazil.

I may have mentioned it before, but in the city we live in right now, food variety is limited. Sure there are lots of great Brazilian foods and even Japanese for that matter, but you won’t find a lot of cultural variety.

Curitiba, one of my favorite cities, is a completely different story. There you can find foods from just about every culture of the world and we take full advantage when we are visiting. On one of our first visits a friend told me about a great fondue restaurant, Chateau de Gazon. It was love at first bite and we’ve been back each trip since. We celebrated our anniversary there, my husband’s birthday and even no special occasion at all.

The fondue here is different, but in a very good way. However, those who fear they may miss the Brazilian cultural influences by eating at a fondue restaurant need not fear; there is a purely Brazilian twist in many ways.

I’ve been to a couple different fondue places in Brazil and it appears that using oil to cook the meat is the most popular option. I’m not a big fan of this and the broths seem hard to come by, but at this particular restaurant they have a great variation – na pedra – or a small stone grill they bring to your table. See, I told you there would be Brazilian twists all over the place.

We always have to start with the cheese fondue, of course. It’s served with bread, broccoli, carrots and mini-potatoes. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what cheese they use here, but it has a mild flavor and pairs nicely with the bread and vegetables.

The meat usually consists of beef and chicken, sometimes there is lamb as well. It is cut into small pieces and pounded very thin so that it cooks quickly on the small grill. Along with the meat comes one of the best parts, the sauces! Thirteen total. From the Brazilian side of things you get farofa (toasted cassava flour), vinaigrette (chopped veggies tossed in lime juice), rose sauce (ketchup, mustard and mayo; not a favorite) and chopped eggplant in oil. To round that out there is spicy mustard, curry mayo, gorgonzola, onion marmalade, orange marmalade and a few more that we can never fully identify. I want to eat more meat just to try all the sauces!

The dessert course offers all the tropical goodness of Brazil – seven different types of chopped fruits. You get melon, papaya, strawberries, pineapple, banana, apple and grapes. With that there is typically marshmallows and one time we even got little wafer cookies.

The chocolate is of the dark variety and goes so well with all the fruit. The second time we went they started adding an extra dipper to the dessert. In addition to the chocolate we got a bowl of half melted ice cream to dip our fruit in. I wasn’t a huge fan of this. I guess I just find it difficult to get excited about melted ice cream. On our most recent visit, though, they pulled out the ultimate offering. Along with the chocolate we got a bowl of warm doce de leite! With each piece of fruit I speared I was faced with the difficult decision of which one to dip it in, they were both equally fantastic.

To sum up, fondue in Curitiba is a must. In fact, Curitiba in general is a must. If you ever plan a trip to Brazil you’ll likely get a lot of advice on where to go. My vote? Do not miss this great city. I’ve thought a lot about why it is so appealing to me. In addition the diversity and some of the best food I’ve eaten in Brazil, it is also that the city is manageable.

I travel a lot with my husband when he works and that means I’m out and about on my own much of the time. There are lots of great cities here in Brazil, but to be honest, I would not feel courageous enough to tackle many by myself mainly due to their size. I don’t feel that way with Curitiba at all. It is a city of about 1.8 million and it is the ideal size for exploring alone or with a partner. It’s full of parks and historic attractions, not to mention shopping malls and small boutiques. When you combine all of that with outstanding food you’ve got one great travel destination.

Where to find the fondue:
Restaurant Chateau de Gazon
Rua Pasteur, 134 – Batel
Curitiba – PR, Brasil
www.chateaugazon.com.br

Feasting on Pine

September 3, 2009

For a tropical country Brazil has some impressive evergreen trees, at least in the mountainous regions of the country. In fact, the claim-to-fame of the state we are living in is the majestic Araucaria tree. There are about 19 different types of Araucaria tree and each looks just a little different.

While some varieties can be found in other parts of South America, the type the state of Paraná is known for is the Araucaria angustifolia. It is also sometimes called the pinheiro-do-paraná (the Paraná pine). There are a few where we are living, but many more in Curitiba, about a 6 hour drive away, towards the coast. They can also be found in a few states north and south of here such as in Santa Catarina where the island of Florianopolis is located.

The trees have different shapes, but I love the ones that are more flat along the top. The branches extend out to make them almost look like a candelabra.

So what does all this talk about trees have to do with food?

Well, the pine nuts from the Araucaria tree can be eaten and happen to be quite popular around the area.

Typically available from May through July (winter), the pine nuts, or pinhão, are most often associated with Festa Junina events. This June festival celebrates rural life and is often equated to a hillbilly party. The hillbillies, so-to-speak, are referred to as Caipiras, a term which lends to the name for the popular Brazilian cocktail, caipirinha. Foods such as canjica, peanuts and popcorn are served at these parties as well as pinhão.

In addition, you can also find the nut in the supermarkets during this time of year. If you happen to be on a road trip like we were in late April you will also pass plenty of roadside stands selling cooked pinhão by the bag. The pine nut (still in it’s shell) is prepared most often using a pressure cooker and is seasoned with salt. It is also made into a soup, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try it.

When we were at the Curitiba Zoo last fall we were able to read a translated description of the pine nut including details about its nutritional value – rich in vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus and protein.

The pinhão are quite difficult to get into. Our friends here suggest biting off the end, spitting it out and then pushing the nut out with your fingers. We tried this, but I always ended up having to peel it.

The texture and flavor are like a cross between a nut and firm bean which is enhanced by the added salt. It is a great snack, but given the difficulty of getting one open only a handful tend to be consumed at a sitting.

This has most certainly been one of those local foods we won’t be experiencing anywhere else anytime soon. Even parts of Brazil aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy this winter treat. The pinhão and the Araucaria tree are big foodie benefits of living in Paraná.

Foods of Minas Gerais

August 20, 2009

Remember when the Internet was an incredibly scary place? When people would warn about being too visible and you felt as though you had to sneak around for fear that it was a world full of only the weird and unstable.

I’m so glad those days are gone! I mean, you still have to be careful, but the world of blogging, travel and food has been a wonderful thing. From the day I started my ex-pat blog, which expanded to this blog, I began meeting people; friendly, real people.

For the last few days I’ve been taking advantage of one of those connections I’ve made. Someone who reads my ex-pat blog invited to me to visit Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Not only did I get to meet her and her family, I also got to meet another ex-pat family living there.

It was a wonderful trip filled with lots of history, a part of this country that I was sorely lacking. This included a history of both food and some things related to cooking. It was such a great experience to try some new foods, and some of the foods I’m familiar with prepared in a different way.

I thought I’d first share with you some of the best meals I had highlighting those things that are specific to that area of the country. In my next post I’ll expand to some of the food and cooking related goodies I got including those from the central market.

Before my trip everyone kept telling me that Minas food is very different. Looking back, I wouldn’t say it is very different because many of the same ingredients are used here. However, there were some dishes that I was able to taste for the first time, some of which I’ve never seen on the menus in Maringá, or at least I didn’t know them well enough to order them and they aren’t that visible on the tables around us.

While I was in Belo Horizonte we took a trip to Ouro Preto, a city I’ve been interested in since seeing a documentary on it before our move. It is only about 1.5 hours away so a great option for a day trip.

This place holds much of the history of the country and if you travel to Brazil I’d highly recommend making your way there. Yes, I’d even suggest skipping a few days at the beach for it. It was simply amazing with cobblestone streets, village-like architecture, historic museums and churches filled with ornamental gold-leaf. It reminded me a lot of Prague and it is where much of the gold mining was done for that which was then sent to the Portuguese Crown.

While I learned about the history, I’m not the best at creating the written word to capture it for an interesting story. If you want to learn more, head over to the Salty Cod. Mallory recently visited and has an extensive post about the history of the city and some amazing photographs.

It was in Ouro Preto that I got to try food that is specific to Minas Gerais. I was interested to learn from Emily, one of the U.S. ex-pats I visited there, that the food is very similar to that which we find in the southern U.S. It makes sense due to both areas having a strong African influence.

For lunch we went to Chafariz, a somewhat touristy spot which specialized in Minas cuisine. When I use the word touristy I mean that to say that a lot of Brazilian tourists eat there and you can find it mentioned on travel guides like Frommer’s. I don’t mean it to say it has been altered to be appealing to a variety of tastes like many touristy establishments. This is the authentic version for sure.

We started with a small shot of local cachaça that came with the meal. You know I’m not a huge fan of it, but this variety was actually pretty good. It was followed by Caldo Verde a soup found in both Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine. It has a thick broth and is filled with couve (collard greens), potatoes (usually mashed into the broth) and pork or pork sausage. It was also served in soap stone bowls which I will explain more about in my next post.

I have had this soup before and the one we had at Chafariz was one of the best I’ve tried. I have attempted to make it before, but I can’t get it quite right. You can check out this recipe from Pink Bites if you are interested in trying it yourself.

My goal was to try everything new to me, or that was prepared in a way I was unfamiliar with. Well, except for rice and farofa. A Brazilian meal just wouldn’t be complete without those. I did pretty well on the first plate, but I did have to go back for a tiny follow up to get it all in.

The first thing that caught my attention when the cuisine was being explained to me was Frango ao Molho Pardo (chicken in brown sauce which is actually blood sauce). This was very good, kind of like a beef stew with chicken. I have to admit the thought of the blood does bother my mind-to-stomach system after I think about it for a while, but I wanted to try it out and I’m glad I did.

I’d read about Frango com Quiabo (chicken with okra) after we first moved and while I’ve seen okra on some occasions at the market, this dish doesn’t stand out in Maringá. I was looking forward to the opportunity to try it. The way the okra is cooked makes it tender, but allows it to maintain a slightly firm texture without being mushy and the seasonings are outstanding. By far the best way I’ve had okra.

Feijão Tropeiro was a combination of beans, farofa, fried egg, garlic, onion, bacon and sometimes sausage though I’m not sure I got a piece of that in my taste. Each ingredient is cooked separately and then combined so each holds its own shape and texture. No mushy stuff here. I loved this. It was my kind of all-in-one dish. It is often equated to trail food or cowboy food. Just to pass on the history lesson I received the tropeiro was used to take the gold from Ouro Preto into other areas of Minas Gerais and the whole process was executed through the use of donkeys and mules.

The other things on my plate included angu (polenta, more of a cornmeal mush) and couve which was sautéed with garlic. I really like the couve this way because it changes the bitterness compared to the fresh couve often served and gives it a more complex flavor. I’m not a big fan of the polenta because it is cooked in such a way that it is more of a sticky paste. Then I couldn’t pass up the steamed mandioca com alho frito (fried garlic) because I love the flavor of the fried garlic.

My second trip I got very little because I just to try out what I missed the first time. The bean paste is Tutu à Mineira which is similar to refried beans and has been mixed with mandioca flour. It has a sticky, pasty taste similar to the polenta. The interesting green fluff is Mousse de Pepino (cucumber). I’ve never had anything quite like this before. It had that refreshing taste that you’d expect from a cucumber and a slightly grainy texture. It was a unique flavor, but for me, only good in small doses. I rounded out the plate with a slice of cooked banana.

The doces (sweets) in Minas are similar to what we have here, but they are often served in a more liquid, scoop-able from. Therefore, you will find bowls full of doce de leite, cocada (coconut with sweetened condensed milk), candied fruits like the fig I have there (the green stuff) and they also serve the goiaba (guava fruit) in a candied jam form or in a solid form with a gritty texture. This variety is also served with local cheese. Of course, there is little I can fault with the sweets.

The meal was followed up with a cafezinho (strong, dark coffee) and a small taste of local Jabuticaba liqueur.

I don’t think I’ve talked about Jabuticaba before. It is a small, dark purple fruit, a little larger than a concord grape. The outside skin is smooth and shiny, inside is a white, opaque pulp with a fairly large seed. Its textures are very similar to a wine grape, but the flavor is simply sweet. It isn’t distinct to me, just sugary sweet and the liqueur was the same way. We can buy it (and grow it) here, but I don’t even think I’ve taken the chance to get a picture of it. Hopefully the Wikipedia page will help.

Well, it looks like my two-part post will turn into a three-part post. I have another meal to describe in addition to my fun finds at the central market, but I think you’ve likely had your fill for a day. Obviously it was a very food-focused trip! Aren’t they all?!

Local Pineapple & Morning Glory Bread

August 11, 2009

It’s been such an exciting experience to have foods I once considered exotic or tropical become local and in-season. I mean, five years ago I never would have imagined that I’d be living in a place where I could get pineapples at my local Farmer’s Market (Feira), but that is exactly where I’m at and what I do.

Pineapples are popping up at the market and disappearing as fast as they are set on the table. I was waiting for my husband to meet me after work the other night. I ended up standing around for about a half an hour and during that time I watched a 10 foot table covered in pineapples stacked three and four high dwindle down to about 15 individual pineapples.

When we finally decided to get some for ourselves the farmer was getting ready to close up shop. We picked out two we liked and he threw an extra in because he didn’t want to take any back home. We ended up with three pineapples for R$5 which is just a little over 2.50 USD. We even got this special one – a double topper!

So I’ve been using up pineapple quite a bit over the last week and most of it has gone into juices. However, with one remaining in the fridge, I felt the urge to bake something with it. As I was doing some magazine reading over the weekend I came across a recipe for Morning Glory Muffin Bread from Southern Living. We used to make Morning Glory muffins at the bakery I worked in, but it’s been years since I’ve had it. Considering the fact that I don’t have muffin tins here and the recipe was for bread, it was settled.

I altered the recipe using extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, pumpkin pie spice, whole wheat flour and mascavo sugar. Then, of course, I used diced fresh pineapple instead of canned crushed. It turned out great and I just love the way the bread is slightly savory, but then you bite into a flavorful pocket of sweet pineapple, a raisin or tender carrot. It is a great energy-dense, nutrient-rich breakfast bread!

Morning Glory Bread
Adapted from Morning Glory Muffin Bread from Southern Living Magazine March 09

½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted for five minutes and cooled
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup mascavo sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup fresh pineapple, diced
½ cup carrot, shredded
½ cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and flour a large loaf pan of about 8 x 4 inches (mine is a little larger). In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. In a medium size bowl whisk together the sugar, olive oil, eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the carrot and pineapple. Pour the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Incorporate the walnuts and raisins.

Transfer to your prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, de-pan and allow to cool completely. Makes about 12 servings depending on the size of your slices.

Finally Feijoada

July 20, 2009

One of the best things about traveling or taking part in an ex-pat experience is that you get to try the real thing when it comes to the foods of the place you are visiting. This can be as close by as Memphis barbecue or as far away as pasta in Italy. While foods are imitated everywhere and a select few are exactly like the real thing, many aren’t.

I have yet to have a German sausage that was anything like those that I’ve had in Germany and Austria. There is nothing to compare to the freshness of a pint of Guinness in Ireland. No jerk chicken tastes quite like that which can you get made the traditional way in Jamaica.

I’ve mentioned before that since being in Brazil everyone always asks about feijoada, the national dish made of black beans and pork and accompanied by rice. I think this dish serves as a great example of one of those foods made elsewhere, but is never quite captured completely. This is mostly because with foods such as this we tend to take out those parts that don’t fit well with our culture.

I’ve been in Brazil two years and until Saturday I had never had feijoada. There are two reasons for this. One is because I really didn’t have any doubts that I would like it; I mean its rice and beans with meat. It really isn’t incredibly different. The second is because this is how a conversation typically goes regarding feijoada with almost every person we’ve discussed it with in Brazil.

Them: “Have you had feijoada?”
Me: “Not yet.”
Them: “Oh you have to try it. It is soooooo good.”
Me: “I’m sure it is. I’m just not too interested in the random pig parts that show up in there.”
Them: “Oh, I wouldn’t have feijoada out. I only eat the feijoada my (grandmother, mother, etc.) makes.”

Basically people tell us to go eat it, but that they wouldn’t. That really didn’t provide much motivation for me. However, my husband did want to try the real thing and I felt compelled to try it since we are living here and I wanted to be able to say that, yes, I had eaten feijoada.

So we headed out Saturday to a local feijoada buffet. The good thing about these buffets is that they separate out all the parts. Each of these crocks is filled with a different version of feijoada with different meats, including one that was simply black beans.

I ate only the variety that had calabresa (a sausage) and a little bit of carne seca (dried meat). However, if one were so inclined you could have pé (pig’s foot), orelha (pig’s ear), or rabo (tail).

The truth is I may be willing to try a bite of these mystery meats, and I did some digging around with the spoon to see what they looked like. However, as I pulled up the spoon to see a big piece of flabby pig ear, I knew I couldn’t do it. A bite is one thing, but having a huge piece of it staring back at me from my plate is something I just can’t stomach.

Below is a picture of my plate with calabresa and my husband’s with calabresa and carne seca. The best part of the meal for me is usually the addition of farofa (that toasted manioc flour) and the vegetable vinaigrette.

This meal is also served with orange slices to “help with digestion”. I’m not sure how technical this recommendation goes beyond that statement. However, I suspect it has something to do with the fact that vitamin C helps the absorption of non-heme iron like that found in dried beans.
I must cover the desserts as well. You know me.

There was a small buffet of cocada (coconut in sweetened condensed milk) and pudim which is a flan. There were some candied fruits such as abobora (pumpkin) which is one of my favorites. It is candied in a ton of sugar along with some spices, namely clove. Finally at the end of the table was a huge bowl of doce de leite.

As we were eating our dessert, a thought occurred to me. Back home we tend to put those decadent things like caramel or doce de leite in the center of the cake or in the frosting all the while wishing we could dig into a big bowl of just that. Well, here they go straight to the punch and do just that! Doce de leite is eaten as a dessert all on its own.

So finally, I’ve had feijoada, and yes, it was good. However, I still feel that there are so many dishes here in Brazil that are better than feijoada. So if you visit, try it, but don’t stop there. Venture out and try Moqueca and Camarão na Moranga (shrimp and cheese baked in a pumpkin), too.

Becoming an In-Season Eater

July 7, 2009

I know you’ve read the advice as much as I have; in a book, a magazine article. I’ve even shared the advice a time or two. Eat in-season.

On the surface it is easy to determine what this term means. Eat foods when they are at their freshest, when they are harvested in your particular part of the country or world. Why? Well, because this is when they are at their flavor and nutritional peak. So we strive to eat asparagus and berries in the spring, squash and green beans as the summer rolls on and sweet potatoes in the autumn.

If you live in an area with access to CSAs and farmer’s markets it is easy to shoot for this goal of eating in-season, but it is likely that we eat in season in combination with eating out of season. There is likely something we pick up from the supermarket during an off season just to create a particular recipe.

However, what if one chose to eat only in-season? What exactly would this mean, and more importantly how would it affect one from a nutritional and health standpoint?

This is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I really admire those people I follow who get a CSA box all summer and eat only from that box creating wonderful recipes. That is truly part of the eating in-season equation. And let me say this first off, the idea of eating in-season where I live now is a bit of a joke. While specific fruits like mangos and guava, and veggies such as corn do have a distinct season here, most everything else grows year around. Eating in-season in southern Brazil involves no sacrifice.

I’m looking at choosing this eating style when I return to the US though. I will be back in a place that has 4 seasons and the availability of fresh foods varies widely to the point of becoming non-existent in the winter. However, my belief in the importance of eating in-season is growing by the day. It is often better for the environment and honestly a bit of a challenge when it comes to cooking; one which I am up for.

As someone who cares a whole lot about nutrition though, this is where my concern lies whether it is well grounded concern or not. That is what I’m trying to figure out. In the summer, an in-season diet is obviously full of produce. Those recommendations to eat a variety of fruits and veggies in a variety of colors is easy fulfilled, but as months linger on what will happen?

Eating in season for me, in my area, will likely mean berries as a major fruit source in the spring and summer followed by lots of apples in the autumn. In addition, through autumn and winter long lasting potatoes, sweet potatoes, pomegranates, cranberries and squash will be the main produce sources, in addition to anything frozen from fresh throughout the summer. Yes, I do feel that self- frozen from fresh is an option with in-season eating, but even then you don’t have access to all of summer’s produce selection.

Can the body sustain itself nutritionally on only what is offered in-season? Well, I’m not sure what science would say with all its recommendations, but my gut tells me yes. I’m beginning to believe that this is what we were meant to do, and while I don’t believe that all advancements when it comes to food (regarding its growth and distribution) has been bad, maybe I’d be better off sticking to an in-season schedule.

I’m not saying I won’t ever buy a bland tasting strawberry in autumn again for a recipe, but it will not happen very often. This idea of true in-season eating and only in-seasoning is becoming more appealing to me. I’m not sure if it is an issue of the environment, health or just a challenge, but it is something I’m planning to focus on in a few months when we leave Brazil and return to the US.

How do you feel about only in-season eating?

Why Eating Real Food Is Important to Me

June 3, 2009

I went for a family visit today. My mom and I stopped by to see my Great Aunt and two of my Great Uncles. They still live in and near the house of my Great Grandparents and although they are in their 80s we drove up to find them working in the yard and nearby garden.

As we talked about the family and looked through some old pictures I was reminded that much of my roots reside there – the recipes I ate through my childhood and have since learned how to make in my adulthood as well as using the land for food and keeping it plentiful during the winter months through canning. My mom tells me stories about collecting the chicken eggs and watching cows being milked as a child.

While I didn’t have exposure to such extreme farm life during my own childhood, I was exposed to extensive gardening through my Dad and home cooking through my Mom. This visit brought memories of days passed which always bring me to the present and how I currently feel about food.

Getting to the point of supporting the growth, cooking and consumption of real food was a long journey for me, but here I am. Days like today get me thinking about why I’ve evolved into this person, this place. I realize again and again that it really isn’t about health for me. My interest in health made me take the path in my life that I have traveled, but my real reason for supporting natural, sustainable foods is memories.

These memories I have are not all that common anymore and growing rarer by the day, especially for upcoming generations. I know that everyone can’t live on a farm, but everyone from toddlers to adults can take a break from this multi-media reality we live in and experience a portion of this old fashioned life. We just have to make a bit more of an effort. It can be growing your own garden, supporting a local agribusiness through a u-pick adventure or simply walking through a farmer’s market and talking with local producers.

When I think about my family who lived long before I showed up I realize that this wasn’t a choice for them. It was a necessity. In addition, when they were my age those now popular fast food and soda companies were just coming into view. However, as opposed to being known for their greedy efforts to take over the world that now seem so prominent, they were still viewed as entrepreneurial endeavors, part of the American dream.

Oh how things have changed, for the worse of course, but lately I also think they are changing for the better. Why? Just take a look through all the fabulous food blogs out there using natural, nourishing ingredients eliminating our need for processed ingredients.

I’m fortunate to have these memories because they are what keep me wanting to learn more about real food, to make the extra effort to prepare it and to share that with others. I know we can’t go back in time completely, but we can pull those positive things from the past to our present way of living.

Why is eating real food important to you?