(Orble Votes: 62)
Basic Brazilian Food : Rice, Beans, Meat
I have yet to meet someone, from any part of the world that says they do not like Brazilian Food. In general terms, every person from different nationalities that I have met and have tried my country’s food liked it; A LOT!
I am bias, for sure, I think that people that migrate miss, more than all else, two things from home: the family and the food, all the rest come in second. I’m no different; I love my Brazil’s food. So I try to analyse if I think it is the best because I’m from there or if the food is particularly good for real.
I know people that do not like Chinese, Indian, Japanese, English and Pakistanese food, but everyone seems to like French and Brazilian food. This is my private experience, people that I have talked to in this multicultural city of ours.
That is why I thought about writing about our food explaining all things, hope you can try it out.
The basic stuff
The base of the Brazilian food is a plate with rice, beans, meat and salad. Brazil is a very big country and there is different styles of food and specific dishes to each region or state but from top to bottom, rich to poor, what we all wish to have every lunch and diner is this four things. Not all can, poor people in a third world country are really poor and won’t have access to this basic food.
Now first of all when you think of this you have to imagine “SALT”. It is not excessive but more than Australians are used to for sure. Less than the Greeks though.
Rice is fried before cooked, with spices , oil, salt, usually garlic and onions. When it is ready it is soft without being sticky, each grain holds its own.
Garlic and Onions actually can go into most of the dishes. Salt in all savoury plates. Chilly or peppers only in some regions of the country.
Beans do NOT, for goodness’ sake, have sugar!!! They are soft in a rich and thick cream made of a few crushed beans. Bay leaves, smoked bacon and chorizo are great to add flavour to a good pot of beans.
Meat is seasoned before cooking, usually a few hours before so it soaks the flavours inside the meat, that is valid for all meats, red and poultry, also sea food… When it is cooked it has this perfect flavour…
Salad can vary from the simplest lettuce with tomato to the most different ones. We don’t even have names for the salads, not like we have here: Caesar, Greek and Coleslaw and everyone does mostly the same with a few variations. Palm tree hearts are a specialty and very good in salads, my mouth waters just to think about it.
Of course for all things there are variations. The plate in the picture above has banana schnitzel instead of salad… Daddy made it for me when I was in Brazil, he is my favourite chef of all times in the whole wide world…
Enjoy!
(Orble Votes: 50)
“I feel sorry for the poor bee” said the little boy. My feelings exactly, the giant bee dying on the sidewalk with its brains and white blood all over the place.
Such a strange vision. Like being in a video-clip. That is how I felt that morning. But it was a five dimensions clip because it included colours, movements, smells, tastes and sounds to it.
The smell of blessed morning coffee, the ocean with its calm beauty, the perfect weather, the sun bearing its stimulating shine on us… lying on the grass and talking.
The funny bee on the sidewalk. Laugh and serenity, the smell of pleasure on my skin.
Magic in black and yellow…
(Orble Votes: 54)
Here are my Coffee Quotes from the previous month… this is one of my favourites:
“Coffee is what brings a beating heart to its normal pace.”
Everyday they just come to my mind as soon as I look at the screen and get ready to write them. That can only be inspired! I follow the weather and how I’m feeling for the day. It’s an enjoyable job.
This is a continuation of my post from 4th March 09:
https://writtenlife.me/2009/03/04/our-daily-coffee-nonsense-and-my-coffee-quotes/
I hope you enjoy.
Friday
Have a sunny, crispy, beautiful day!
Following a friend’s philosophy: it’s going to be Friday the whole day, so enjoy!
Have you tried to warm up the stove and throw a couple of beans or just coffee powder to a hot surface?
It’s the perfect trick to bring everyone to the kitchen, the smell will ring a powerful bell in the sleeping mind and the person will come as if hypnotised.
Monday
Have a great rainy day!
A good cup of coffee is able to convince you that any day is perfect!
At least perfect for something if not for swimming in the cold shark-infested water J
Wednesday
Have a shinny day!
A cup of Coffee can be like a “tele-transport” device and take you instantly to a place you have been before, sipping another cup of coffee that brought you joy…
Thursday
Coffee can always bring a smile my face…
Smiles can also bring a smile to my face J
Friday
Have a great FRIDAY!
Fridays’ coffees are awesome! Can’t wait for next Friday’s…
Monday
Coffee is what brings a beating heart to its normal pace.
Tuesday
Have an inspired day!
One sniff of a nice coffee aroma gives inspiration for a full day.
Wednesday
Have a motivated day!
Coffee is the best motivation to get you out of bed! Coffee is like fresh start in a cup…
Thursday
Have a brilliant day!
My intelligence is directly proportional to the level of caffeine in my blood 
Monday
Have a happy morning and a great day!
Coffee is the happy event that separates the morning from the rest of the day.
Wednesday
Coffee sips in the morning are my taste buds’ best friends…
Thursday
I love Thursday’s coffees, they taste like Fridays just about to happen!
Friday
Have a great, awesome Friday!
Coffee is like a paint in the canvas of your mind that says: Go!
Monday
Coffee is a beautiful font of reminders from the weekend, it gives Monday images of the sun in the sea and the moon in the water…
Tuesday
Coffee is a primary necessity on a rainy day.
Wednesday
Coffee is like a minute of silence, a profound connection to the universe.
Thursday
Coffee is a new experience every morning, you can even feel the adrenaline just before the first sip.
And the smile spreading on your face when you realise it’s just perfect.
Friday
Coffee is an act of love for oneself… and for coffee!
Monday
Coffee gives you hope and makes your heart believe without doubt that all will be well…
Tuesday
Coffee gives good energy to the day…
Wednesday
Good Coffee feels like a long weekend in a cup.
Thursday
Have a great Day and Happy Easter!
Coffee makes you feel reborn every morning…
(Orble Votes: 53)
I love when I walk amok. Following my instincts, going after something I don’t know what it is. The other day I was early for a meeting in Manly and had some free time on my hands and feet, so I just kept walking with no destination, I ended up seeing something inspiring. This guy was painting these walls inside an Arcade, Roycroft Arcade to be specific. He was covering every surface available with art, love and passion.
I realize I’ve never even asked his name, just asked if I could take a picture for my blog and saying I would put it in. It took me a while to write about it so I don’t know if he will actually see it.
Seeing something like this is like seeing the poetic side of the Universe. Or maybe its all like that if you look at it the right way… all is poesy.
I like the small details, like the bird and the plants leaking to the pole in front of the wall, the mermaid and sea creatures on the front pillar, I loved the effect, it made a dark passage become a bright spot of life.
(Orble Votes: 31)
Lets Ride!
This part says:
Whoever says love, says sex…
Whoever says sex, says heat…
Whoever says heat, says chimney…
This is a brilliant idea, if you have an old car, why fix it?
(Orble Votes: 39)
I can dance every day of the week here in Sydney, but this dance party is different. Every month I look forward to the ForroGode from One Night in Brazil. It figures in my calendars in highlighted colours. First because it has forro, a Brazilian dance style I am totally in love with, and second is a question of proportions. I love the experience of living something different.
The regular salsa and Latin dance parties are like that:
People that are there go to the party for dancing, at the end 98% are dancing 2% are kissing, the fridge is 90% full and people are 70% dehydrated because no matter how much water they take it’s still not enough. They drink water and dance until they drop, they barely talk, they don’t stop all night, when they do they go home to rest for tomorrow’s dance party.
ForroGodes are for the ones that dance for the sake of partying. At the end 25% of the people of the dance floor are dancing 75% are kissing and dancing. The fridge is 98% empty, the people 70% full of alcohol. These parties play mainly two types of music from Brazil: Forro and Pagode. So 80% of the crowd is Brazilian or Brazilian-like. If you want to just dance, it is fine, but if you are a girl you may have to do a bit of kiss-dodging. It is an experience I have to tell you! People talk, loudly and with their hands, sing out loud with most of the music and kiss a bit more.
It is very interesting to put cultural differences in numbers, I don’t claim to be accurate just to show you a general picture. Have fun!
(Orble Votes: 39)
I’m working at a multi-national company and from my duties the most important one is to notify people that the coffee van has arrived. We are located in an isolated place but civilization finds us here in the form of a small van with a beautiful espresso coffee machine. It arrives every morning bringing hope to the hopeless, energy to the sleep deprived, brightness to the dumb and a happy smile even to the grumpiest of them all.
It took me a while to realise how big this was, a few mistakes when I called some people to let them know and they didn’t answer and I let it be; another time I assumed that if the person was not on site it wasn’t that important, but apparently this person was on her way and would have intercepted the van before arriving. By the looks they gave me and the seriousness the issue took I realised that if nothing else happens, everyone has to know about the coffee. The rest of the work is superfluous.
Happily caffeinated people will not care about any other stuff.
So I started sending these e-mails called “The coffee van has just arrived (or… Our Daily Coffee Nonsense)”. Their structure was like this:
Good Morning!!!
The coffee van has just arrived.
Have a smooth day!
*******************
Our Daily Coffee Nonsense …
(Something about coffee)
(A coffee picture from the internet)
I always change what I say about the day and the coffee.
At first I started picking things from Wikipedia about coffee… That was how I learnt that some people drink coffee from grains that a kind of racoon has thrown up.
Also that others drink coffee from grains that are found in the faeces (as in poo) of a kind of deer. (Are you serious???)
Anyway, then I started getting coffee quotes from a nice website: Really Long Link
And finally, as I writer, it stroke me that I had to write my own quotes. So I started doing it every day. And a brilliant light in my head (straight after a cup of Mocca) that I should post my creations!
Here are the ones I wrote, I will start posting them regularly from now on:
Monday:
Some days, coffee is like air: without it, survival is unachievable…
~ Anonymous sleep-deprived person (me)
Tuesday:
Craving coffee you hear the magic sound, that one that is like an old train releasing pressure, and your heart leaps happily in your chest and whispers “Coffee at last”!
~ me
Wednesday:
You look at the clouds and feel them in your mind until you have your Coffee,
then it’s like the cobwebs are lifted and the sun is shining. Your brain smiles…
~ me
Thursday:
Rainy days like today make a hot cup of coffee taste even better…
From the inventions of the Universe coffee was for sure a masterpiece!
~ me
Friday:
Have a great day! And today is really Friday! Yuhu!
Our Daily Coffee Nonsense …
Friday Coffee tastes like chocolate and the smell of rain in the dry earth… pure paradise!
~ me
Monday again:
I can think clearly without coffee even on a Monday morning, my mind is even able to prioritise! It says: “I want coooooffeeeee”
~ me
Tuesday:
Fun is everywhere in life, a cup of coffee is often a good reminder of that principle.
~ me
Wednesday:
The smell of coffee scents the air and brings you up to your senses.
Your taste buds dance happily in your mouth screaming: yuuuhuuu! Coffeeee!
~ me
Thursday:
Some people live to see the sun-rise, some live for the stars, a few for the moon and a lot are for the sunset.
Others live for the coffee van arrival, each to their own passions.
~ me
(Orble Votes: 44)
The legs surround your ideas, the sun makes you hot and sweaty.
The beauty of the colours flies in the wind marking your objective.
The clear blue sky tries to distract you.
But you are obsessed. All you want is to dip into the cold water.
You see your intentions clearly.
So you make yourself stop to look between your own legs, get up, shake the sand from your bum and go for a swim; between the flags, of course!
Isn’t this picture great? I just look at it and start laughing out loud!
I took the liberty of adding the second flag myself
They are not my legs but my friend gave me the permission to display it.
(Orble Votes: 41)
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