Food and drink Archives - Page 9 of 39

Brazilian Brands: Goiabinha & Biscoito da Vaquinha

13/05/2014/21 Comments/in Food and drink

Working from home poses multiple dangers. I mentioned my struggles with procrastination in my last post – today I have to tell you about ‘The Kitchen Problem’. Throughout my working day, I am never more than 6 or 7 paces from the kitchen and all the good things that live there. When temptation is so close, the urge to wander in and make a snack presents itself approximately every 45 minutes.

I have developed a coping strategy: tea. I’m now getting through around 8 or 9 cups of tea per day (feels great to live up to my national stereotype). However, the kitchen and my own appetite have developed a counter strategy: biscuits. I expect this arms race of desire and denial will continue, but in the meantime let me tell you about my current biscuits of choice (yes, 2 of them).

Good news for wine lovers and the end of Comida di Buteco

09/05/2014/5 Comments/in Food and drink

Cheers!

When I was living in London, one of my greatest pleasures was to meet up with a friend or two after work and drink a few glasses of wine. This was especially enjoyable when the weather was good – on sunny summer days, the people of Britain are possessed with a burning desire to go out after work and socialise, desperately aware that they might not see the sun again for weeks or even months.

So imagine my dismay when I got to sunny Rio to find that there weren’t many places that sold decent wine by the glass at affordable prices. All that sunshine and no wine? There is Coccinelle in Centro [2024: no longer with us] – they sell excellent wines – but they open mostly for the lunch time crowd. What was a wine loving person without vast wads of cash to do?

Thankfully, someone has finally come along to fill this gap in the market – and they’re filling that gap from a sweet little bar in Botafogo – meet WineHouse [2024: with a very heavy heart, after many long years, and becoming close friends with the owners, I have to announce that WineHouse is no more]:

The Chowzter Awards in London

02/05/2014/3 Comments/in Food and drink

First I tell you that I’m quitting my day job so I can spend more time on the blog, and then I go and disappear without blogging for a whole week! Well I won’t apologise as that sounds rather self-important (“How did you cope without me?”), but I will say that I’ve been busy!

Yesterday I got back to Rio after a week in London for the Chowzter Tastiest Fast Feast Awards. Chowzter have recruited some of the best food bloggers from cities around the world in their quest to track down the best Fast Feasts on the planet. A ‘Fast Feast’ could be anything from street food to a generations-old family recipe served up in a modest neighbourhood restaurant – the emphasis is on independent, non-pretentious, freshly prepared and delicious dishes!

As well as the awards ceremony, the weekend was filled with a variety of food related events (sometimes I wonder what I’ve done to deserve this good fortune!). And before that started, I even had a chance to catch up with friends and family around London. Now this, is what a proper pub looks like:

DIY Palmito Assado

25/04/2014/2 Comments/in Food and drink

Any ideas what those two strange things above are? If you like asparagus and artichoke hearts, this is something you need to try. These are palmitos, known to us English speakers as palm hearts (or ‘heart of palm’ if you prefer). These are the central growing stems from a variety of different palm trees and are very popular in Brazil.

Probably the most common way to see palmito served is in salads. The long white cylinders are preserved in a light brine, then cut into smaller circular sections and served with olive oil. As I mentioned above, the end result is reminiscent of mildly flavoured artichoke hearts. But there is a far more exciting way to prepare and serve palmito.

The Chowzter Awards in London

22/04/2014/1 Comment/in Food and drink

I love England in the springtime!

Well, it’s that time of year again – I’ve soaked up a few last rays of sunshine and I’ve packed my bags (not forgetting my umbrella!) for what promises to be a thoroughly enjoyable few days in London.

The last few times I’ve visited England it’s been in the depths of midwinter, so I’m really excited to be seeing a genuine springtime for the first time in a few years. Rio has some wonderful weather but it doesn’t really do a proper spring.

But I’m not going back just to enjoy the seasonal weather – I have work to do!

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