When I was starting out with my food blog I had a mission to try and keep it separate from my Brazil blog.
As most of you know, I am living abroad and while I spend some time in the US, more of my time at the current moment is spent here in Brazil.
I started thinking about it though and I have exposure to some pretty cool ingredients here, especially fruits. I thought maybe others might like to see a little bit of what I have around.
Plus, I don’t know where all my readers are from so maybe you have access to some of these things too.
So, every now and then I might mention an ingredient or two that I have come to love here in Brazil. I’ll let you know what I do with it too.
What better place to start than with my favorite fruit, Passion Fruit, or Maracujà.
I love anything and everything made with this tart exotic treat that is known for its calming properties. You can find it fresh, juiced and as a dessert such as cake or mousse.
Around here it is guarana for energy and maracujà for sleep.
I haven’t personally noticed it making me sleepy, but I’m a pretty caffeinated person on a regular basis so maybe I am overriding its affects.
I’ve mostly found the yellow variety here. There is a purple variety, but it is more common in Australia. I’ve seen the purple on occasion, but have never tried it.
Its little black seeds are edible, pack some fiber and they add a great crunch to yogurt. I like to mix the fruit pulp and seeds in with vanilla yogurt.
A few months ago I went to a yoga with a friend. The instructor gave us tea made with passion fruit after class.
She explained the recipe to my friend, however, being true to her yoga, she was a bit of free spirit and we couldn’t get exact instructions. One thing we did discover is that there is no actual tea in it. You just drink it warm like a tea.
I’ve managed to recreate it and I have it almost every week. If you have access to passion fruit give it a try with this tea or mixed in your yogurt. It might become your favorite fruit too.
About 5 cups of water
¼ c sugar
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into small pieces
1 passion fruit
Use some of the water and the sugar to make a simple syrup. To a large pot add the remaining water, simple syrup, ginger and pulp from the passion fruit. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Your house will smell awesome by the way!
Pour the liquid through a strainer or colander to separate the pulp and seeds from the liquid. Enjoy it warm in your favorite mug.
So amazing that you’re in Brazil; and I’m envious of all the exotic fruit you have at your disposal! :0)
Love this post! So very, very interesting! I want to hear more about your culinary adventures in Brazil now.
Interesting! I’ve had passionfruit flavored things and drinks, but I’d never actually seen one before. Very cool — kind of like a pomegrante from the looks of it.
Thanks for the great response! I’ll plan to mention a few things every now and then. I had a really hard time getting adjusted to the cooking and supplies here but since returning from Europe I have a renewed interest in cooking and plan to try more.
@veggiegirl – the fruits and vegetables are the definitely the best part. It has been hard to get used to the huge consumption of meat though. That and sweetened condensed milk. It is everywhere.
@jenn – it looks a bit like a pomegranate, but it has a much more slimey texture. My husband is kind of turned off by it, but I think it is good mixed in with things like yogurt. It is definitely different than any fruit I’ve had before.
Passion fruit…awesome! Great post! Hope you are enjoying Brazil!