A brief tour of my cities (Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington DC area – Baltimore, DC, Annapolis, Bethesda)

Whoa, it’s been a while since my last post, and I’d like to apologize to my readers out there – lots going on with my life (family obligations, career, life changes galore). Amongst all that and the training I’ve begun in preparation for the Helsinki half marathon that I’m running with Street Soccer Finland on behalf of the Homeless World Cup Foundation, the constant in my life is my constant hunt for food adventures with my friends no matter where I travel. So just an overview of some delicious hot spots in one of my frequently-traveled cities. Tomorrow, Philadelphia. Then later this week, the DC area. Please stay tuned. 🙂

First off, Atlanta. My home for the past three years, a Southern city best described as a “city of suburbs built into the woods” and home to a fascinating food culture combining the flavors of Southern cuisine (Cajun, Creole, BBQ, Paula Deen-esque) and a more nouveau global mix of international flavors (Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, pan-Asian) as well as an influx of celebrity chefs bringing their own original flare and fanfare to a bustling metro Atlanta area. I’ll just highlight two of my most recent finds and give all the credit to my friends for opening my eyes to these hidden gems : Lee’s Bakery and Super Pan.

1) Lee’s Bakery – ah, Buford Ave. Bastion for international food thrill seekers. Really, you want it, you’ll find it there. Lee’s Bakery is at heart a French-Vietnamese bakery where the secrets of their rice flour-containing breads and pastries keep this simple and small place humming with locals all day long. Try the croissants – they’re huge, so share your treat. Partake in some Vietnamese coffee and remember the stuff is potent – equally engaging hot or served iced, the concentrated espresso is mixed with just the right amount of condensed milk to satisfy all your taste senses. Now let’s move on to the real deal. The grilled pork sandwich (banh mi) is a generous portion of tasty marinated and grilled pork with crunchy Asian slaw (red cabbage, carrots, watercress) and jalapenos. The bread is the real show stopper though – I bet you’ve never had something quite as crunchy on the outside and delicately “bready” on the inside before. The closest thing to it is the typical French baguette, but even that does not come close to this bread. People come from miles around to take some home. And don’t forget the deals $2.50 takeout ($3 eat-in) and buy 5, get one free. My friends love getting a pho soup to go with the sandwich, but I can’t fit both in my tummy, so sometimes get the lunch special (half sandwich, small soup). The only problem is I’m always torn and want more sandwich. My overall impression is that yes, you will find better Pho places around Buford Ave, but not better Banh Mi. Please let me know if you do! 🙂

2) Super Pan! Super is right. Thank you Hector Santiago! You bring your Top Chef cuisine to the masses. With his raven-black goatee and ponytail, the bold and iconoclastic chef Santiago, a Puerto Rican native is easily spotted walking around jovially chatting with locals.  When he opened Pura Vida in 2001, his take on Latin cuisine was cautiously traditional. Deep in his heart, though, raged a passion for experimentation. He started traveling—to Spain, where he did stints under the great Ferran Adrià of El Bulli and the magically gifted Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz, and to South America, where he absorbed a vast repertoire of home-cooked dishes he would eventually transmute into miraculous small plates. Ta!Da! Pura Vida came alive and no, I have yet to eat there. But, only because I’m waiting for that special occasion or date (hint, hint) to make memories there.  By the way, check out their Sunday special :  three-course Cena Latina, celebrating rice dishes from around the world, for $19 per person.

On Saturday and Sunday, Santiago drags tables and chairs across the street and sets up a stand called Burro Pollo, where he composes splendid steamed chicken burritos flavored with aji peppers. Wow, this newspaper-wrapped chicken burrito is so well-marinated and cooked, you’d swear it was pork. And that’s a bold statement, but having eaten a fare share of BBQ in Atlanta, the big issue for me is that chicken never tastes as good as pork, and BBQ will prove that. But these burritos prove that chicken can taste as good as pork. And no, you don’t need cheese in a burrito. These burritos are also available at Super Pan by the way. That’s where we had them since winter weather is not cooperative for tables and chairs out in the parking lot across the street. So, Super Pan is a sandwich shop where the humble sandwich becomes a flavor bomb. At the new Super Pan (open for lunch only and accessible through a side door), a humble Santiago can be seen placing finishing touches on steamed coconut buns with sugar-cured pork belly, tangy tamarind sauce, shaved cabbage, cilantro, and pickled chiles. I may never have seen or tasted a more beautiful hand-held treat than his Medio Dia, made with crispy adobo-roasted Berkshire pork, Niman Ranch ham, chayote pickles, Swiss, and clove salt on a pineapple submarine roll wrapped in banana leaf. Last but not least, try the Horchata – an almond milk infused with cinnamon and sugar. A traditional Latin American drink. Mmm. Heaven.

Bengalis love food (really, we do) – part 3 of India-Burma through my mother’s eyes

The beauty and diversity of West Bengal is emulated by the richness of flavors in our foods. West Bengal has a mix of Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Mughal and other ethnicities that have cultivated the wide array of foods of the region. I often feel blessed to belong to the Indian group that eats fish, meat and veggies. After all, how could I have become a passionate food adventurer without that initial introduction to a world of foods as a child? So, yes, I beam with pride at the announcement that most Bengalis are not restricted in their diet, save one thing, meat from the sacred animal. But hey, when I’m over in India, I find my life without beef to be just fine and dandy. There must be a term for Bengalis like me, ones who break traditional Hindu customs occasionally for a pleasurable kobe beef burger. Oh yeah, I know, hypocrite… or poser. Alas, I cannot help myself, I love food. My mom and dad, on the other hand, are true Bengalis so I’ll devote this last chapter to some of the Bengali specialties. Did I ever tell you my dad can cook too? Indeed he can – must have been those bachelor days that necessitated it 🙂

Bengalis are known as the fishermen of India and no party is complete without a fish curry. So let’s talk about a popular mustard seed fish curry. First off, Bengalis love their Hilsa fish (or Ilish) but we do not have that option so my mother’s alternative fish is the non-chilean sea bass – please when choosing (among our ever-decreasing options) try to find a thick white fish as you will be cutting it into circular sections and it needs to hold up to the sauce.

1) Shorshe Maach

Fish (preferably Hilsa) – 2 pounds
green chilies – 3 to 5 individual chilies
kalungi  (black cumin) – 1 teaspoon
mustard oil for cooking – approx 3 tablespoons
mustard seeds  – 3 teaspoons
poppy seeds – 3 teaspoons
salt
sugar – 1/2 teaspoon
turmeric – 2 teaspoons
water  – 2 cups

1) Clean, wash, cut fish pieces. Typically for bengali fish preparations, fish is cut in thin rounds.

2)Marinate fish in salt, turmeric and a teaspoon of mustard oil for 10-15 mins.

3) Soak mustard and poppy seeds in half cup of warm water to 20 mins and then grind them together in a smooth paste with 2 green chilies. Do not grind the paste for too long as this will cause the mustard to get bitter. There is another way of making this paste. These days mustard powder is easily available in the grocerry stores. So just grind soaked poppy seeds and chilies and add mustard powder to the paste. Some recipes of shorshe maach do not include poppy seeds, but the addition of poppy seeds not only enhances the taste, but also safegaurds against the gravy getting bitter if mustard paste is overcooked or over ground.

4) Put remaining oil in a pan or wok. Heat it until it reaches smoking point. This is standard technique when cooking with mustard oil. Then bring down the temperature of the oil to a medium high and add kalungi, remaining green chili slit lengthwise and turmeric powder. Sprinkle a little water if needed.

5) Add the fish pieces to the pan. cover with a lid. Put the pan on low flame for 3-5 minutes depending on the kind of fish or thickness of the pieces of fish, the cooking time may varry.

6) Flip the fish pieces and add poppy mustard paste prepared earlier. Add a little water based on the quantity of gravy desired. Adjust salt. Add 0.5 teaspoon of sugar. Then cover and cook for 3-5 minutes.

 

2) Pilao – Bengali Spiced Rice

6 ounces ghee or butter

3 medium onions

1 clove garlic

10 cardamom

2-3 sticks cinnamon

3 bay leaves

1 small piece of fresh ginger (slice thin)

½ cup sultanas (here is where my dad uses golden raisins instead)

¼ cup blanched almonds

1. Heat the ghee or butter over medium heat. Fry thinly sliced onion until slightly brown, remove some onions for garnish Add washed rice, salt and spices, fry at low temperature till it begins to be brown. Add boiling water – 4 fingers above rice

(btw this approximates to about a 1:1 1/2 rice:water ratio)

 

2. As soon as it starts boiling, cover the rice, and reduce the temperature as low as possible. After 10-15 minutes rice is ready.

 

Note: The Amount of water is very important. Try with finger height, experience will show you the right path…

 

3. Serve on a platter garnish with the fried onions (if desired). May also be garnished with slice of boiled egg, tomatoes, green pepper or any such thing to make it colorful. My personal favorite is with green peas, raisins and almonds. But experiment!

 

3) Lamb curry

This is a curry to be served at special occasions. I’ve adapted it slightly from my dad’s foolproof recipe but I have not changed most of his cooking techniques. As far as I know, my mom lets him deal with the lamb because she finds it has a lingering toughness and gamey odor. What she will do is add some tomato paste and yogurt to her curries. Often you’ll see this as “mutton” curry and to be frank, our family does not enjoy mutton (takes a while to soften so we use a pressure cooker). When there’s no option however, consult the pressure cooker – my dad swears by it! And it is a time saver.

• 2 pounds lamb
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 Large onions
• 4 potatoes
• 2 teaspoons shredded ginger
• 3 tsp turmeric powder
• 5 tsp garam masala
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 4 cups water
• few curry leaves
• 1 1/2 cups oil – canola
• Salt to taste

•	Cut lamb into cubes
•	Chop the onions.
•	Wash the potatoes, peel it and cut it in to square pieces.
•	Heat the oil.
•	Fry chopped onions till the colour changes to golden brown.
•	Mix turmeric powder, crushed garlic and green chillies.
•	Stir it properly.
•	Add curry leaves and stir in lamb cubes.
•	Mix garam masala and salt
•	Cook for 5 minutes.
•	Pour water in mixture.
•	Cover it and cook for 10 minutes.
•	Add potato pieces and again cook it for 20 minutes.
•	Cook till the lamb pieces turn soft.
•	Adorn with cilantro.

I will leave you with one useful tip – we often use a seasoning for most of our curries and daals (lentils). Here is the basic recipe for it. Bengalis have a special seasoning called panchphoron, which includes five spices — mustard, aniseed, fenugreek seed, cumin seed and black cumin seed. We also use garam masala which is made up of cloves, cinnamon, cumin and coriander seeds, mace, nutmeg, and big and small cardamoms. Both can be ground up and stored for a couple of months in jars.

Memories of my grandmother’s food masterpieces (part 2 of 3)

So many of these next food moments are saturated by memories of my grandmother and my trips to India with my mom to visit her, that I must mention a few details about her cottage in Kharagpur, West Bengal where she cooked these treats. Usually my mom and I would escape from Calcutta’s hustle and bustle by rail and then hop on a bicycle rickshaw which then rode us to the outskirts of town to a rural section where my uncles and grandmother lived.

Kharagpur is an interesting little city, home to one of the best universities (Indian Institute of Technology) for engineering and sciences, therefore home to many scholars and students. My family was no exception. My grandmother and grandfather moved there so he could take a tenured position there and after his passing, she moved into the cottage and continued raising their then almost grown children, including my mom.

Now on to the cottage. It was incredible, perhaps the closest I’ve ever come to really “living” harmoniously within nature. She had amazing mango trees and pomegranate trees on the property, a well which I recall collecting water from to bathe and brush my teeth and cook. What strikes me most about it now is how simple her life was yet and how she turned it into a most brilliant, happy and complete existence. The kitchen was essentially bare-bones electric stovetop, stove outside, even one of those ground level coconut grinders (see the picture below for a better explanation). I would dare declare that her kitchen was the size of the bed I sleep upon now. But the masterpieces she could create from within those dimensions, you would not guess were any different than something made in a fine dining restaurant. Except of course for the smile of the sweet older woman handing you the plate of warm food on the thali as my mom and I would walk in the door after a long day of visiting other friends and relatives.

*please note that I can’t put any pictures of her or my mom on this blog (out of respect), but if you know me personally, my homepage albums have some…

I share a recipe of hers with you below of one of my favorites as a child (rivaling pizza for top position). Aloo Bhaja (or Bengali fried potatoes). She would magically shred her potatoes so thin that they’d melt in my mouth. I am unable to recreate this using my uber-expensive German knife collection, but my mother can do this at the drop of a hat. I’ve stopped asking her to, as it is a lot of hard work on aching hands. Think about shoestring fries, but about 1mm thicker than those and hand-cut, now you get the idea… Well worth it though!

Ingredients:

• 4 large-sized Potatoes (cut into very thin strips) • 3 finely chopped Green Chillies (optional) • 1 tsp Black Cumin Seeds • 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder • 1 Dry Red Chilli • 4 tbsp Oil • Salt to taste

• Heat oil in a flat pan and add red chilli after breaking it in two pieces. • When the chilly turns blackish red; add the cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. • Now add turmeric powder, green chillies and potato strips. • Fry till the potatoes on high flame for 20 seconds and then on low flame till tender. • Add salt to taste and stir properly for 1 minute; put off the flame. Next recipe that comes to mind is one that my mom and grandmother made regularly : tandoori chicken. Keep in mind this is a “non-tandoori oven” version, since chances are you don’t have one. Also, please know that my grandmother, as all grandmothers do, never really gave me measurements for ingredients. And my mother, even as a scientist, finds it painfully annoying when I pester her for “tablespoon” instructions. So, this is not an exact replica of either woman, but my interpretation of their well-developed seasoning skills. 2 pounds Chicken legs and thighs 1½ tablespoon Vegetable oil ½ teaspoon Red food color Salt to taste ½ teaspoon Black pepper 1 To 2 – tsp. garlic powder 1 medium Onion(optional) 1 cup Yogurt 1 teaspoon Garam Masala ½ Lemon or lime,sliced Peel skin off chicken pieces. Make several cuts into each piece. Wash off clean with paper towel. Mix vegetable oil, food color, all spices and onion, if desired into yogurt. Marinate chicken with mixture 4 or 5 hours, overnight for best results. Bake chicken @ 400 degrees 30 minutes – cover loosely with foil. Keep basting with juice every 5 minutes (to keep from drying out). If there is excess juice, you may spoon out some. Broil chicken 2 to 5 minutes at the end. Sprinkle with Garam Masala. Garnish with lemon slices and few leaves of cilantro(optional) Next, I’ll share my version of Begun Bhaja (fried eggplant). I’ll be honest with you here, we love our fried appetizers (fried potatoes, fried eggplants, fried squash blossoms). The trick with all of these is to do your best to deep fry so as not to get the delicate vegetables overly oily. My mother is a master at the art of turning her wok into a makeshift deep fryer. Me, I try, but I still think it does not turn out the best because I don’t let the oil get hot enough. Do not use olive oil please (another mistake I made). Try canola oil. Ingredients: 1 big sized eggplant Mustard oil to fry 1 tsp turmeric powder salt to taste 1 tsp chili powder Method: Cut the eggplant into I inch thick round slices. Mix salt, turmeric powder and chili powder in a plate Smear the eggplant slices with this mixture and leave it for 10 minutes. Heat some oil in a pan and place the slices on it Cook till both sides are brown. Serve hot. I hope you enjoy these humble Bengali foods, simply cooked with minimal ingredients and lovingly served with a quiet smile 🙂

India-Burma through my mother’s eyes (part 1 of 3)

I wanted to share with you some of my food memories from my many trips with my family to India. Yes, yes, we all knew this chapter of my tale was coming, right? Obviously. Actually, I’m a bit of a mutt I only recently admitted even though my grandmother’s blue eyes should have given it away. My Indian cuisine and that of my mother’s is part-Bengali, part-Burmese.

India is home to one of the most defining moments in my life. The day I first decided to become an advocate for the “homeless” was when I was 16 in Calucutta and in a moment of distraction from my selfish teenage angst complaining about the rolling brownouts, I actually looked down onto a typical roadside scene in Kolkata from my uncle’s posh apartment balcony.  Boom, like a thunderbolt I had that epiphany that catapulted me to a life where helping others became a lifelong passion.

One side note, I will use Calcutta and Kolkata interchangeably because I have no political leanings either way.

My mother is the main influence in my culinary life. She is also the inspiration for this blog. As most children say, “my mom is the best cook!” It’s true for me. Even when one of her recipes was an utter disaster (her words, not mine) it was a tasty disaster. It is a very Bengali custom to precede meals with apologies like “I’m sure the saag (spinach) is too dry.” Or, “Please forgive me, I have not prepared enough food,”  while there are dozens of dishes sitting at the table for a family of 6. Anyway, my point is that my mother always precedes her meals this way, and I have never had a bad meal at home, ever. I find myself following in her footsteps at times and have to catch myself.

Here are some things that she and her mother have given me to add to my food memory bank. And, I’ve tried to select some lesser known foods so you can explore more unique tastes of Indian cuisine.

1) chops – or boras : ah, the round breaded and fried balls of veggies or fish or in some cases, lamb, that are at every function and gathering Bengalis attend. I dare say that I am an expert at the veggie chop – it’s a combination of beets, carrots, potatoes, peas, onions and spices that will melt even a meat-loving heart! Or I’ll eat my words. And, if you embark on making these, please set out about 5-6 hours of your day. Oh, it’s worth the effort.

2) poori – I sometimes wonder at the popularity of the miracle bread that is naan. Don’t get me wrong, naan is perfect, for a leavened bread to be used as a scooper for curries and stuffed with all sorts of goodies (paneer cheese to name one). But, it’s taking away from our other breads – poori being my all-time favorite. Watching my aunt place the poori onto the bare stovetop and allowing it to poof up naturally was probably as exciting to me as watching a fireworks display. I absolutely craved my “mashi’s” poori. And you can really eat quite a few of them without worrying about filling your tummy with dough.

3) sooji – aka (cream of wheat). Wait, wait, don’t judge. This is not your grandmother’s cream of wheat. This is dessert for breakfast. Mixed with ghee, sugar, almonds, raisins and a touch of cardamom, there is no end to the delight known as Sooji Halwa.

4) yogurt (Indian style) – we call it misti doi (literally translates to sweet yogurt) Another one of my mom’s fantastic sweets. This time she takes whole milk and boils it down without burning it and adds caramelized sugar to it, then mixes that in with regular unsweetened yogurt. Pour into a glass rectangular dish. Chill in the fridge overnight and a wonder of wonders to behold the next morning! Bengalis are known for their sweets so this is a time-honored traditional recipe I assure you 🙂

This is just part one of a three-part journey – I hope you’ll join me for the next two later this week!

the hungry wanderer’s take on Brazilian Feijoada

Please note, this is just my interpretation of one of my favorite Brazilian meals – for all you meat lovers, it’s perfect. For all you fearful out there, never fear, it’s delicious and I promise you’ll be the most popular cook in the neighborhood for sharing 🙂

Enjoy!

Brazilian Feijoada (adapted by thehungrywanderer)

Ingredients

– 3 cans black turtle beans (or 2 pounds dried – rinse and soak overnight)

– 2-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

– 1/2 lb serrano ham or bacon (cured) – cut into ½ inch pieces

– 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped

– 6 garlic cloves – smashed

– 1 ham hock

– 2 teaspoon ground bay leaves (or 4 bay leaves)

– 1 lb chorizo (I take them out of the casing and chop into 1-inch pieces)

– 1 lb pork ribs – separated into individual ribs and cut into 2-inch pieces

– 1 lb beef stew meat (top round or chuck, cut into 2-inch pieces)

– ½ teaspoon ground chili pepper

Serve with white rice, collard Greens or kale and slices of orange

* Here’s the thing, I did not start a day ahead, otherwise I would have gone searching for dried black beans and soaked them in cold water overnight, as well as a dried cured beef that would soak overnight in water to tenderize.

1) Coat a large heavy pot (that has a lid please) with the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the serrano ham, onions, garlic, and cook about 5-7 minutes while stirring to render out the pork fat and soften the onions.

2) Add the ham hock, sausage, ribs, cubed beef and black beans (include the water in the cans). Braise the meat for a few minutes.

3) If needed, add more water until everything in the pot is just covered. Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Be careful about the beans – they will stick to the bottom of the pan if you’re not watchful! The sauce will be thick by the time it’s done and check to make sure the ham hock bone is taken out by the end of cooking time (the meat should literally have fallen off the bone). Season to taste – I found that I only had to add a couple tablespoons of sea salt.

4) To serve, ladle onto white rice and serve with your veggie of choice (ours was collard greens sautéed with olive oil, butter, garlic and onion). And don’t forget to garnish with orange slices – it really does taste good after the hearty feijoada!

i have died and gone to heaven

No, actually I just landed in Rio de Janiero. And after a mild shock of feeling like I had been transported into the South American version of Calcutta, I realized there were a few things I knew about – food, directions, a sixth sense of how to take one portuguese word and string it into a sentence using broken spanish and english to get my point across. I loved being in Rio. My Brazilian friends had already put me through the gauntlet of “use your common sense” lectures so I was not about to do anything unwise (well for the first day at least). I had been listening to food and culture itunes books and had a long list of things I wanted to do. But we all know how the best planning goes when thrown into the realities of a massive and colorful city. Not everything on the list gets accomplished, but the surprises along the way, make for even better experiences and stories. In short, I loved Rio. I loved the beach. I loved the people because really they reminded me of the hodgepodge of groups in Calcutta which really is my “homeland”, unless you count NY/NJ  🙂

So, back to the crux of this story. The food. In between the volunteering at the Homeless World Cup foundations 2010 cup on Copacabana beach, I found a few hours in the night to meander around with my roommates soaking up the nightlife sights and sounds and most importantly, tastes. Here are my top ones (in no particular order) :

1) Feijoada! Actually, we had this at Casa Rosa which in and of itself is a “wow” experience – click the link and you’ll see why. http://www.casarosa.com.br/index2.php?p=home

And yes, it’s where we met our buddy Harry who I like to think of as an expatriate wandering soul of a rockstar and language lover. He later introduced us to a plethora of Brazilian themes. So back to the Feijoada. Brilliant piping hot black bean and beef and pork stew served with rice, farofa (ground manioc – a bit like maize), couve (fried greens), and a slice of orange (said to counteract the fat content: I do not entirely believe this bit). mmm, a plate of the simply good life.

2) SUCOS (juices). When I say juice, I mean JUICE! You’re in the tropics so of course the fruits are larger than life, brighter flavors than anything you can get up north, and more variety than one can consume on vacation. But we tried. Mango, papaya, banana, pineapple. Then, onwards to : acerola, graviola, goiaba, maracuja, capuacu, jaca, caju, mangaba, siriguela… just a sampling of the dozens of fruits that you can choose from to get a delicious and nutritious fruit juice, and all of these are fruits that you definitely can’t find in the States. Did I mention that you can get any of these blended into an alcoholic drink too? Or, even still, as a replacement for the alcohol? The one night, as I was coming down with laryngitis from hell, I drank a passion fruit non-alcoholic caipirinha on the streets of Lapa.

3) Coco – agua de coco. Seriously, I’ve written about the benefits of coconut water before, so I won’t regurgitate that whole paragraph, but come on, if you don’t try a green coconut from the stands and then scoop out the fleshy sweet white pulp and savor every bite, call me, and I’ll come down and do it for you 🙂

4) Acai. I’m not about to start stammering about the new super-food that beats blueberries as an anti-oxidant. Oh, wait, I just did. But seriously, this is one thing you cannot miss in Brazil. They live off of it just like the sucos and caipirinhas. Acai stores are practically on every other corner. And with toppings of granola, nuts and berries. Or blended with other fruits. It’s impossible to think of a combination that they don’t have available already. But, I am a lover of simplicity, so I had the frozen acai smoothie : It’s blended acai fruit, with guarana syrup to sweeten it.  But it’s not a smoothie, because good acai has got to be thick–you can’t suck this stuff up with a straw. Gotta eat it with a spoon. A healthful way to end every evening. What’s not to love about that?

5) Caipirinhas – look, I would be maimed by my friends if I did not mention the national drink of Brazil. And, word of warning, please don’t tell us you’ve had these in another country and therefore are in the know. Believe me,  you have not had the real thing unless you’ve had it with cachaça (a liquor made from fermented sugarcane) in Brazil. Mix cachaça, lime and a little sugar, and pour into a glass with ice, and you have lethal magic. The cachaça quantity varies of course and can either mean your demise or a fabulous night, or both.

6) Last but not least, the Churrasco! A trip to Brazil is not complete without a grilled meats carnival on your plate. This it not Fogo de Chao folks, this is fantasy land! I don’t even know where to begin, because I think we spent maybe $15-$20 each (correct me if I’m wrong) and ate like royalty. Um, I’m not including the caipirinhas that had to accompany the meal (to soak up the meat of course, right?) I have never seen so many kinds of grilled beef, chicken and pork, and I wanted it all. Bring on more and more and more until you’re so satiated and full that you need not eat for days. Of course, there are accompaniments – breads, potatoes, greens, salads, yes, you can act like a mature adult and eat a balanced meal, but don’t ruin all the fun!

Well, now that I’m done with this, I’ve decided to go out and attempt to recreate feijoada – an impossible feat perhaps, but I hope it will be a tasty journey. I’m sure to have missed some Brazilian food memories, so please comment!

Esta comida é deliciosa!

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give me more Mexican street food

On the flight from L.A. to Mexico City, I sat beside a well-traveled young woman who had lived in Mexico for ten years, and she essentially assuaged every fear that others had instilled in me since I first began planning my visit to Mexico City as a woman traveling solo. Mind you, I rarely take such warnings to heart. My general feelings are to travel respectfully, taking in a culture and a way of life, using my common sense to bail me out of any jams. And anyone who has been around the block knows these “jams ” will happen anywhere and anytime regardless of all the planning in the world. Just do the best you can; research a bit before you go anywhere; try to learn the basics of the language and infrastructure. If all else fails, make sure to have at least one contact, if not a friend or relative, then a friend of a friend, an acquaintance, etc. As I said before, use your common sense or if you feel lacking in that respect, try a handful of travel blogs and embassy websites – there’s a plethora of information out there chock full of other people’s lessons learned. Enough said about that – there’s tons of sites I can recommend for women traveling alone (journeywoman.com or sololady.com).

Essentially, I did the same basic rule of thumb regarding the food in Mexico, or anywhere for that matter. Use common sense and go to that street truck with the tamales brimming or the the freshly squeezed pineapple juice flowing, as long as there’s a line of customers happily waiting for a chance to consume whatever the culinary street vendor is providing. Here are my recommendations and some great pictures of them 🙂

1) Gorditas – no no, not the Taco Bell kind. These are tasty flat tortillas folded with any variety of cheese, meats, veggies inside cooked on a huge griddle (note, they are not fried! they are delicious of their own accord). And the meat choices range from lamb to different cuts of beef to chicken. Try the cactus (nopales) with queso (basic white Mexican melting cheese) if you’re a vegetarian. Also, do not say no if there offer papas (potatoes done kind of homefries style with spices). Please just try it. My friend Rusty and I simply had to try everything that was put in front of us, so we did.

2)Churros y chocolate. If you have not had these before, this is your chance. If you have, then try the Mexican variety. It’s different than its Spanish cousin. Crunchy on the outside, slightly cakey on the inside, these fried doughnut sticks are a must for all sweets lovers. Dipped in homestyle hot chocolate (made with the molinillo – a Mexican-Aztec invention which also makes for a great and inexpensive gift for food lovers), they are a tasty and fun treat as my pictures will show.

3)Tamales

4)The juice – these juice vendors are EVERYWHERE. And rightfully so. The tropical fruits in Mexico City are aplenty and fresh and healthy. My first afternoon there, we got some fresh squeezed orange juice (from tiny tiny oranges that looked dubious given I only see Florida navels) and it knocked my socks off. So refreshing and tangy yet sweet. I’m wishing I could just have that everyday for breakfast. Also try pineapple – heaven. Or passionfruit. Or guava. The one thing that I will warn you against is mixing too many of these – being a scientist, I think I sometimes start creating flavor combinations without realizing that perhaps it is a “foreign” concept to the people making it for me. I believe one morning I tried combining carrot, apple and orange and instead got just carrot and orange. It was still delicious of course. Just like in Italy you can eat gelato everyday. In Mexico, you can and should drink the fresh juice everyday. Also, bonus for all the vitamins and no need to buy much bottled water if you’re loading up on juices.

5)Lamb consomme and barbacoa. You’ll see the pictures of this poor lamb and probably, like me, balk for a moment. But, if you enjoy pulled pork, you will enjoy this. It’s cooked in a similar style and comes with a lamb broth soup that is delicately balanced with spices. And of course, all is served with corn tortillas.

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I hope that is a good starting point for you. The food in Mexico really was an adventure that I would love to relish in regularly. It’s inexpensive (one night, we ate a decent dinner for under $5 for two!). It’s a lot more variety than I think people envision. Just like the people and culture of Mexico, it’s colorful, passionate, energized and flavorful.

Italia

To start off, some memories from Italy… 

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in the beginning…

there was pizza.

According to my mother, pizza was one of my first foods as a baby – before my teeth came in, I was swallowing pizza like it was candy, so just as hard as it is taking candy from a baby (and it is, try it), it was impossible taking my pizza away. To this day, my love for pizza remains at the core of my food adventures. And no, the pizza here in the United States is NOTHING like the pizza in Italy. But does it really matter? After all cuisine is really an extension of the local cultural flavor, so sure pizza everywhere will take on characteristics of the locale. And rightly so.

a little known historical tidbit : Modern pizza was born in 1889 when Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni, the consort of Umberto I, king of Italy, visited Naples. Don Raffaele Esposito, who owned a tavern-like place called Pietro Il Pizzaiolo, was asked to prepare a special dish in honor of the Queen’s visit. Esposito developed a pizza featuring tomatoes, mozzarella cheese (a never before used ingredient made from the milk of water buffalo) and basil – ingredients bearing the colors red, white and green for the Italian flag. He named it the Margherita Pizza, after the guest of honor. Thus, the modern-day tomato-and-cheese pizza was born. (Source: Smithsonian and PIZZA TODAY)

Travel and food have always been important to me, then they became more, like the icing on the cake of life as I grew older. I travel for the food really. And I find that eating your heart out on a vacation is great because with all the walking and journeying about you’ll do, the calories wash off, and give you another chance to fill up on something new. An unending cyclical adventure. Three things are at the heart of this blog, – life, food, travel and yes, they are all interconnected. So, if the same is true for you, read on my new friend!