Tag Archives: acai na tigela

Food for Thought

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The husband and I dated for a short time before I moved to Mexico to live at the orphanage.  On date nights prior to leaving, I insisted on over-ordering & cleaning my plate in an effort to consume as much food as humanly possible.

Did I think the orphanage would not feed me sufficiently?  No.  But would they provide me with The King & I Thai and an delectable array of spicy chili pepper sauces?  Unlikely.

i.e.  We fell in love over mass quantities of food.

Indian.  Chinese.  Noodles & Co.

I can only imagine that he turned a blind eye since we were still in the honeymoon phase.  In hindsight, regularly seeing me in the food-coma-fetal-position and hearing the words “Don’t touch me” couldn’t have been all that appealing.

Fast forward to our first Taco Tuesday this past week.  My “slobbing down” of the rice and beans was referenced by my husband while we were en route home, along with the phrase “we may not have made it this far”.

Thank goodness we were steering clear of Chipotle prior to my departure.

In my defense, I’m a big believer in equal portion sizes for all, and we were sharing.  It is clearly not relevant that the man is one hundred pounds heavier.

I’ll conclude with random collection of iphone pictures.  I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that a good number of them are food-related.

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Açaí with a sense of humor.

Eggplant marinara, slow cooked and made from scratch.  Like most things here.

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Relishing the fresh produce.

The husband’s first attempt at homemade taco shells.  Not a proud moment.

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Suco de melancia com hortelã/Mint watermelon juice.

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Fresh market herbs.  Total cost R$4 (about US$2).

The magazine section at Liveria Cultura bookstore.  People stand here for hours reading.

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We have a written agreement that any time I accompany my husband for football at O’Malleys, I am consequently gifted chili cheese fries.

I have so far opted against the egg flied lice.

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Two things I adore:
1. Holiday decorations
2. Miss Amy Utecht in Berlin.  BEST CARE PACKAGE EVER.  Love you.

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Saturday morning breakfast:  Watermelon juice.  Coffee.  Mango w/ lime & chili pepper.

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In disbelief the TOMs are still alive & kicking.  The torrential downpour in Rio really did a number on them.

Watching a cattle auction.  On television.  With a Lady Gaga soundtrack.

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Sucos Copa Lima, site of my Thanksgiving Lunch.

A chaveliera (key maker).  Making friends with these guys since the husband lost his keys… for over a week… in his backpack.

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A little visit in Rio to the Gringo Café.  I’m not too proud to admit I went here by choice.  Or to say that I ate both large bowls of straight carbs by myself.  (Insert food-coma-fetal-position here.)

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We have been puzzled by a fast food chain in Brazil since we arrived.  It’s called Habib’s, and it’s logo is under the Coke emblem.

After a good amount of beer this past weekend, we wandered in and all of the boys ordered a drunken “Bib Dog”.

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Saturday morning, organic market at Parque Agua Brancas, a short walk from our apartment.

Have we seen the peacocks before?  Yes.  Have I taken pictures already?  Yup.  Will I continue to do so each time we visit?  I’m leaning towards probably.

After snapping a few photos, I turned around to my husband shaking his head.  Apparently, I looked ridiculous with my phone out next to three little girls (half my size) all doing the same thing.

Whatever.  Peacocks are delightful.

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Love.  Collection of Brazilian peppers for R$2 (about US$1).

Despise.  Quail eggs.  Who eats these?  I would much prefer they hatch and fly away.  Save the baby quails!

Still reading, eh?  That can only mean one of two things.
1.  You are my parent.
2.  You have mistakenly stumbled upon my blog and need to be redirected.  It’s okay, you’ll make it out alive.  But you’ll never get the past four minutes back.  Your best bet is to click on the red ‘X’ in the corner of your screen and start from scratch on your homepage.

I’m sure at some point, I’ll run out of things to write about.  Either that, or my posts will continue to get longer and more bizarre.

Either way, love and hugs from SP.

Interview with EFAM

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A while back I was contacted by Julie Butler from EFAM (Escape From America Magazine). She had stumbled across my blog and wanted to interview me about our experience here in Sao Paulo.

The site provides information for people living, working, and retiring abroad.  The article titled ‘Expats Living in Brazil’ was published yesterday.  I’m including my tidbit below, along with the link to the article.

“April, from Minnesota

My husband and I were born and raised in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota called Edina.

When we bumped into each other after graduating from college, I had just returned from traveling in Europe and was on my way to volunteer at an orphanage in Mexico. Once my husband (then boyfriend) visited me, we concluded to do something of the traveling sort together. Long story short, it was a long time coming. We entertained locations all over the world, but finally settled on Brazil. There happened to be an opportunity with his work in São Paulo… so we ran with it.

We come from crazy weather… over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, often below zero in the winter. Minnesotans crave the ability to be comfortable outdoors. Not a day has gone by that we don’t appreciate the temperatures here. We take advantage of it by walking everywhere and opting to eat meals on the patio.

The food has been delicious. São Paulo is a culturally diverse city, which is reflected in its restaurants. We have a hundred dinner options within a stone’s throw of our apartment.

The people are more than kind. Our Portuguese is far from perfect, but those we’ve encountered have been patient and accommodating.

Living in such a large city there is always something to do. My sister lives in Chicago, and I was always jealous of the events & festivals they attend on a regular basis. We are slowly accumulating resources (websites/magazines) that point us in the right direction on the weekend.

I’m happiest when busy. This has proven difficult here in Brazil… without a work visa, I have few options for jobs. I feel retired, and have not quite accepted this yet.

I have a love/hate relationship with not owning a car. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time, but there are so many more options on the weekends when you own a vehicle. It is something we are still considering purchasing. Which leads me to my next qualm…

The prices! Honestly, I don’t buy anything I don’t absolutely need. I’m not sure how to describe it, but the prices are simply ridiculous and hard to stomach. I don’t think I will ever come to terms with this.

Of course being so far from family and friends has been difficult. I miss our support system back home. While our new life here is forcing us out of our shells, I crave meeting good friends for coffee and spending time with family. I have no problem talking to (and making friends with) complete strangers… but am feeling so restrained by my lack of Portuguese. I look forward to the day when I have made new friends AND can communicate with them!  :)

What has surprised me about Brazil are the prices, how potent the coffee is, the fact that Brazilians put sugar in everything, how common owning a dog is, how European São Paulo feels, UFC fights being free on television, the popularity of patterned leggings, and the deliciousness of acai na tigela.

April’s blog, Que Saudades! is filled with humor and lot’s of photos.”