Tag Archives: appetizers

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… snack-o-rama …

It’s been Hot here. …yesterday it was 100 and over….
Too hot to cook, and almost too hot to eat,… almost….

…and I found myself taking out the cucumbers…and then
some cheese……and then…..
…then I remembered something that Alcir and I used to make
when it was So Hot in Rio, and we were both trying out the
Low Carb diet, where you eat things like protein and cheeses,
but no breads or crackers…

This was during my second visit, the one I haven’t told you about yet,
the one in 2006, when I stayed for Six months instead of one….
So I am jumping ahead a bit, but time travel is something allowed
here in writing on the internet land…

He had stopped drinking, and we both wanted to loose a little….
the low carbohydrate diet is easy and satisfying… mostly protein
and there are lots of things allowed that have very little carbs.

So we wanted a little tray of munchies while we were watching
TV, and decided to substitute slices of cukes for the cracker part,
and stack thinly sliced veggies and cheeses with little touches
of things for color…. creating the cutest trayful of yummy
and appetizing Appetizers!

He called it our SNACK-O-RAMA….
“BABE!”… he’d call out from the little room, as he watched TV…
“Make us our Snackorama!”

Here are our ingredients, to which you can add, I am sure!

*Slices of Cucumber
*Cheeses…. cheddar, parmesan, cream cheese (great for sticking
things together)
*Small pieces or slices of:  radishes…olives… purple onion…
…pepperacini.. (we couldn’t get these in Rio…like a lot of other
things I adored……..see list below)
*Touches of green…. green onion, celantro, parsley,
*Small pieces of fish, like LOX, salted cod, even leftover chicken.

You get the idea….. make each one a little different, and so pretty!
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Some of these things were not available in Rio…to my dismay!
I am a serious cook, love to cook from scratch, and yes,
I”m an American and a bit spoiled, yet some of these things
just seemed strange….
Things like:

Tortillas…. not at all!
Large bags of Plain Chips…all they offered were individual bags
of Flavored ones, which I hate…
anchovies
sour cream
salsa
organic anything except some produce
powdered sugar
unsweetened chocolate
oven thermometer
fresh milk…it was all Canned!!!
sharp cheddar cheese
fresh fish… he wouldn’t even let me buy any…too old
anything to make sushi…rice. seaweeds, raw fish
california wines and beers…the best!
natural oils
naturopathic remedies
large sizes of Anything…toothpaste, yogurt, all was Travel sizes.
peanut butter
good celery
thai curry
mushrooms
yeast for making bread

Also there were odd things for me to adjust to…
Aspirin was the equivalent in buying power, of $1 per tablet,
and they were sold in sheets of individual bubbled by the dozen…

At the Pharmacy, however, you could get antibiotics from them
without a prescription…..

 

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…on the road…again…

We went to visit another old friend, Buquinha, and he had a nice
little place with a friend, where Alcir found some of his favorite
garden plants, and we shared drinks, smokes and talks.

He was a gentle fellow, very sweet, and once again there was lots
of Portuguese, yet I never felt left out.

We went to a little place where we sat by the small stream and
were served favorited snacks….very popular in the region…
In Brasilian grocery stores, you can always find Quail Eggs,
big trays of maybe 18 to 24 at a time, and So inexpensive.
I seem to remember them being like 2 reis or so, which at that
time was about $1 American.
For some reason they just Love them, and they are served in bars
and restaurants as little appetizers with beer.

There were streams all around us…

Here, sitting on park benches along the stream,  we had bowls of
them, and also a great munchy that I have taken home with me
to serve to my friends…. little trouts, sliced into small and handy
pieces, and fried til crunchy….
These are all served with a little dish of light salsa, nice and spicy.

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Fried Trout Slices…

*Slice fresh trouts crosswise, into 1-2 inch pieces, bone and all.
Dust with flour, and heat a good oil, Olive or Grape Seed…til very hot.
(Grape seed is my favorite, as it can get much hotter without smoking,
so your fried foods end up crunchier and less greasy. )
**Fry til browned and crispy, but not too dark or dried out.
Remember…fish is delicate…
**Drain on paper, and serve with a nice smooth salsa for dips.
**Little Quail Eggs hard boiled and peeled are a very nice complement,
and of course, if you want to be Brasilian, serve very chilled
Ice Cold Beer.
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The next day we visited a local artists’ gallery, and enjoyed some
very creative wooden pieces, the house itself being a work of art,
and had lots of fun chatting up the locals.

We also traveled along the coast and made a stop at a tourist-y
spot that had wonderful hand made chairs, made from tropical
hardwoods, and large models of Portuguese ships that I wanted
to bring home to my brother.


The Chairs were gorgeous, and so inexpensive, so well made.

As well, there were little table and chairs sets with animals
themes, similar to what was coming from Bali at the time.
These were some of the things I hoped to import by the container
full, and I was so filled with great ideas on how to make the money
flow, whilst still having Fun!

Problem was, I don’t think Alcir was anywhere into it as I was,
and he never took me back to get one of those chairs to take home.
I was sad, because Piney had sent money for the chair, and I
realized I would have to be more independant in Brasil if
I was to get things done, and be happy.

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