Hortifruti, The Beatles and English Potatoes

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Remember those great Hortifruti adverts? Well they are back with more! And this time they have touched on a couple of subjects close to my heart.

I try not to drop this into conversation too much (just enough that everyone knows about it and hopefully is impressed/envious) – but before I came to South America I worked at Abbey Road Studios in London. You know, that place where a little band called the Beatles recorded 90% off all their music (amongst a host of other legends). Well the latest offering from Hortifruti makes a reference to Liverpool’s finest and another, apparently, English classic:

Hortifruti Potatles

I played in the Potatles. ‘Batata Inglesa’ and the world of flavours.

 

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The best way to drink a cacau caipirinha.

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A couple of days ago I mentioned the fish that we ate on a remote beach in Bahia in the northeast of Brazil. When you’ve walked a couple of hours to get to a beach, you realise that you are basically a captive audience so if there’s only one thing on the lunch menu then you’d better hope you like it. As I said in the post, luckily for us it turned out to be one of the most delicious fish I’ve ever eaten.

On that same day, as we were waiting for the fish, a different guy came past and asked if we’d like a caipirinha. Regular readers will know I’m rather fond of Brazil’s classic cocktail and so won’t be surprised to hear that I immediately asked what fruits they have (caipirinhas can be made with all manner of fruit, not just lime). The first fruit the guy mentioned was Cacau and I stopped him right there. Cacau is the fruit whose seeds are used to make chocolate, but those seeds are surrounded by a sweet, refreshing pulp that tastes nothing like cocoa.

When the guy disappeared off to make the drinks, I expected him to return with a drink served in a plastic cup. As discussed before, this does not automatically mean it will be a bad drink and who could expect them to have anything else in such a remote location? But what he actually came back with was this:

 

cacau caipirinha

Caipirinha de Cacau!

 

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Reasons to visit Bahia #2 & 3: People and Food

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When we arrived in Salvador, it became apparent that Mrs Eat Rio had been harbouring a little obsession. An obsession that  went by the name of Sorriso da Dadá. When you hear a Brazilian saying these words it sounds like ‘so-HEE-zo dadaDA’ – try saying it out loud, it’s pretty weird. On the third time I heard her mention it to someone, I demanded to know what this ‘dadada’ thing was all about.

The People of Bahia

It turns out that it is an amazing restaurant run a lovely woman named Dadá. The full name means Smile of Dadá and when we met her we found out why this is such a good name – she smiles plenty!

Dadá – amazing woman, amazing food!

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Bahia in Brief

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Hi everyone! After 5 days in Bahia I thought I’d attempt a mini-post to tell you about how things have gone so far. I only have my phone, so please excuse weird typos…

We flew into Salvador, state capital and first capital of Brazil (replaced  first by Rio and then more recently by Brasilia). Salvador reminded me a bit of Panama City – large, rather ugly outer city, surrounding a beautiful, historic area that is popular with tourists. In Panama City, Casco Viejo is a lovely wreck of a neighbourhood full of beautiful crumbling facades. The perimeter is guarded by heavily armed police to keep the rich tourists safe.

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Check out the phone boxes that look like coconuts!

Salvador’s equivalent is called Pelourinho and is far prettier and better maintained. Lovely old colonial houses, painted in complementary shades, line steep, cobbled streets. The heavy police presence (coupled with frequent warnings from random people) remind you that there are people who’d like to take your valuables if given the chance, but the overriding sense is that this is a city rich with music, history and culture.

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Mango + Fig = Happy Breakfast!

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“Who says healthy food can’t be delicious?” – how many times have you seen that on some “Reduced Calorie” version of something which looks neither healthy nor delicious? Well check out this simple brekky I put together this morning:

mango manga

Take one mango and hedgehog it…

 

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