[brazil-pro] thanksgiving in aratuba, me deixa... From: ankur shah To: brazil-pro@gotog.net Date: Nov 25, 2004 - 3:15pm a little o bigode update - nov 24. tomorrow with the half-birthday of 37.5 percent of the o bigode collective. it's been raining for three days and the romance, while still present, is beginning to show thin, to separate like poorly made mayonaisse in a leaking fridge. last night erik and i ran an open bar for a few hours, experimenting with different pricings, spellings, and mixings of maracuja, vodka, whiskey, and cassis. as you can imagine, the experiments quickly degenerated and the Archaeologists may note distinct changes in both quality and handwrting of the variously noted concoctions. previous to that, but barely, a couple of erik's friends arrived. Rambo and the Buddha, precisely. They yell while playing futebol and teach yoga in ibiz and have gnarly beards and play the sitar. A little bit of everything. rambo has hit the road but the buddha decided to stay another day, to meditate in the rain and teach sitar/guitar/charango/kana/bansuri to the resident acolytes... on the whole, there is the smell of change in the air. people are leaving. arrivals are imminent. the tourists are mounting. the restaurant is still empty. a gentleman came to fix our fans, took them all away in a wheelbarrow, and never came back. please see the attached photo and let me know if you find him in a pawn shop near you... personally, i have decided to begin the "o bigode brazilian solution vegetarian cookbook" in earnest. the major editorial decision (all choice is censorship, i know) at the moment is whether i want to base it around recipes we have developed as a house, adapting our techniques and predilictions to local climate and agriculture, or to base it on pre-existing brazilian vegetarian cuisine, focused around, in large part, the international conglomerates who control the market for condensed milk. the essential difference -- in practical terms -- between the former and the latter. * approach one: global vegetarian cuisine adapted to brazil: FLAN -------- 1 can of condensed milk (395g) 1 bottle of [sococo or ducoco but not bomcoco] coconut milk (500ml) 1 capful of artificial vanilla syrup 4 eggs 1/2 cup of organic white sugar a) melt the sugar into caramel on medium heat stirring constantly. when liquid, pour into a mold, coating the bottom. b) blend everything else. c) put the flan mold into another larger pan which has water in it, forming a bat marie for the flan. put the whole sordid contraption into a preheated oven and cook for about an hour, until its jiggly but not liquid. d) chill. to eat, put some boiling water in that same bat marie tray and rest the flan in it for a minute, loosening the sugar, then flip on another tray. * approach two: trying to vegetarian options in brazil: MOUSSE de MARACUJA ------------- 1 can of condensed milk (395g) 1 box of "crema de leite" (200ml) juice of 2 passionfruits (maracuja) a) blend until large and frothy b) chill until cold and firm. next week im going to explore vegan options. love, ankur -- tim maia! brazil! tim maia! brazil!