Comida [Food]: The Staples

I know a lot of people out there love food as much as I do.  One question I often get is, "What is the food like in Brazil?" In a word, delicious.  If you were not already aware, Brazilians are big fans of carbs.  This has been an adjustment as someone who has been on more than one diet in her lifetime and who came of age during the Atkins craze.  I remember the first time Hubby cooked for me when we started dating.  The menu included steak [I was a vegetarian at the time--oops], rice, beans, pasta, and salad.  I remember thinking, "Wait. Three carbs? In one meal?"  Yes.  Three carbs in one meal.  And this is a regular occurrence here.  I often rationalize this based upon the high protein content of beans.  But before I start raving about and sharing recipes for the specialty foods, desserts, and delicacies of this country, I think it's only proper that I start with the basics.  These are the foundation, the base, the staples, y'all.

1. Rice [arroz] - This is the grand-daddy of Brazilian cuisine.  Whenever it's time for me to prepare a meal, the first thing I do is start water boiling for rice.  Brazilians seem to have a secret technique that gives them individual grains of rice in the end.  I can only seem to make mushier rice that sticks together.  Fortunately, Hubby and I both like mushy rice.  

2. Beans [feijão] - We are a black beans household.  A lot of people here also do pinto beans, but I guess it depends on your region or what your mama made for you when you were growing up.  Back in the States we would usually get beans in the can because it was more convenient.  Buying dried beans is much cheaper and you dodge the BPA chemicals that can be found in the cans, but the preparation process is more involved.  It requires soaking, draining, soaking, and boiling.  Here we use dried beans relatively easily because we have a pressure cooker that cuts the prep time way down, and then you have beans for the entire week.

  

3. Salt [sal] - Salt is a biggie in this country.  When we have people over to eat, I always worry that they are silently judging the blandness of the food.  I use salt, I just don't taken it to the level that many Brazilians do.  I figure people can always add more on top if they like things a little saltier.

4. Salad [salada] - Pictured here are collard greens which are used a lot in cold salads.  Some people serve alface or lettuce, and that's exactly what it is--lettuce and some salt and vinegar.  Hubby and I usually opt for cabbage or dark, leafy greens like collards.  Mix in tomatoes, onions, and green pepper, add some oil, vinegar, and salt, and you've got yourself a simple salad.

5. Garlic [alho] - This ingredient permeates almost every dish made with the exception of sweets.  It's a good thing I'm a garlic lover.

6. Fine corn meal [fubá] - In our region, there is a lot of Italian influence and polenta is a very common side dish.  I use it to bread chicken on occasion, for making cornbread, and for thickening up a stew.

7. Oil [oléo] - Can't forget oil.  It goes in the rice and the beans. It fries meats and plantains. It dresses salads.  The cheapest we see at the grocery store is soybean oil--not my preference, but the almighty dollar wins for now.

8. Pressure cooker [panela de pressão] - This is now one of my favorite kitchen helpers!  It makes beans in a flash, and is great for cooking stews or yucca [a hard potato-like root vegetable].  These things can be dangerous and you need to know how to use them properly.  The first one we bought when we got here had a defective safety valve and beef stew came shooting out the top of the pan all the way up to the ceiling...I think the valve was defective, though I guess it could have been inexperience too...

So there you have it.  The staples of the Brazilian diet [in our region, at least].  Stay tuned for later posts when I share some of the more unique dishes served here in Brazil along with recipes.