brazil – Mel's Mosaic

The other day I was offered some cashews and I wasn’t very hungry so turned them down. But then I was told they were from Argentina and this guy’s mom picks and them toasts them herself. Then she sends them up him (her son). I could see there was something unique about them from far away because of the dark and sometimes tiny black accents on them. Had one…wow. Most amazing cashew I’ve ever had. These things were also enormous!

Made me think about Brazil nuts and my trip to Brazil a few years ago. Overall, I love nuts. But, I usually avoid buying mixed nuts because of those darn huge Brazil nuts that take up so much space in the container. They are a bit tasteless and almost chewy.

Well, when I was in Brazil, we visited a local market in Manaus on the last day. Think of something like Pike Place in Seattle on beyond illegal steroids. Among other local stuff, they had Brazil nuts and I told the guide how they weren’t my favorite. So, he grabs one, whips out his machete and shells the thing. He says ‘try it.’ Staring at it, it was just bright and a bit moist. Take a bite, it’s almost like candy. So good, nothing like we get here. It totally changed my perspective on Brazil nuts. I came back to the US hoping all these nuts had followed me on the plane, but of course when I opened a package of them or purchased them in bulk, they apparently had not boarded the plane…

Another reason I love traveling, enjoying the true local fare.

I have been thinking back to my trip to Brazil several years ago while watching the Olympics. Most of it came while watching a soccer game the other day, which was played in Manaus. I took a week-long trip in the Amazon on the Rio Negro. We were on a 16-person vessel with a trip through REI. This river begins in Manaus and heads north. The sight of it is amazing because when it and the Amazon intersect the difference is so distinct — black and brown. This is because of the speed of the water, not because of the direction of the currents.

Aside from some of the great sights, the fun food pieces were:

Piranha fishing. Oh, we got to go for them. You literally have a stick and tap the water and they eventually bite the lure. And the best thing — you eat them, they don’t eat you. Check out the teeth! They really do have them.

On the boat we could have beer and wine. What was the beer that we enjoyed at lot, as we were so close to the equator? Yes you’re reading the can right…Antarctica. Just a light one, great for the hot days. It’s a pils. And unfortunately in the whole grand scheme of the beer world, Budweiser owns this beer.

Towards the end of the trip we had true local drinks. We were taught how to make Caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail. The key ingredients — cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil’s most common distilled alcoholic beverage. The first night our guide showed us how to make the great drink then on the final night we got to make them ourselves.