Not just another football game

Loud bangs and fireworks lighting up the sky! Our first new year in Brazil, Pelotas, to be exact, could have been just another exciting football match if we spent it just among the three of us.

I remember one night during our first few days here almost two years ago, my daughter and I took cover upon hearing a series of very loud bangs while waiting for my husband to return from work. Stressed and fearful during those times, I didn’t think of anything other than guns being fired randomly by crazy fellows in the neighborhood. But it turned out to be just a celebration by and for a winning local football team and people were simply overjoyed.

Last new year, the bangs were as loud yet I had one of the most tranquil new years in my whole life.

Christmas bread project

I like panettone! Don’t you? Whether fruit- or chocolate-studded, this sumptuous Italian Christmas bread never fails to satisfy my taste buds. But like any other bread that I come to like and keep coming back to as long as it is in abundance, I often find myself experimenting in the kitchen after a while for a homemade version. 

Filipinos in Pelotas

Who would have thought that more than a couple of decades ago, a Filipino family came to live here in this small city of Pelotas?

Knowing that they raised their children here and stayed much longer than they planned is, to me, very comforting and inspiring as well. Somehow, it comes with the message that everything is going to be even much better than I expect. They were probably like us especially in the beginning, tagging along our child wherever we go, sticking together as often as we could, hoping and praying to see another Filipino (or Filipino food ingredients) in this part of the globe, and getting lost in a Portuguese conversation.

Sunday at the theater

What a wonderful Sunday we spent at the theater watching Tholl de Pelotas!  What made it very special was that it was our first theater experience in Brazil and we watched the show with our Brazilian friends who bought tickets for us.  The audience was very warm and receptive and families came with children in tow. 

Just like any circus, there were clowns, jugglers, gymnasts, unicyclists, acrobats, fire breathers, and dancers. But I specially liked that part where they used confetti to mimic rain. The visual effects blended together perfectly and that scene made me feel cold as though I was really playing under the rain on a cold night. The visual impact was incredible! They are a bunch of talents! What a beautiful show to start another week.

Puxa-puxa brings back the old times

Isn’t it amazing how a foreign food can be exactly the same as the one you have enjoyed at home long time ago? The moment I took a bite of the puxa-puxa, I told myself that indeed, this world isn’t at all too big.

Puxa-puxa is a sweet made from sugarcane. As the name suggests (puxa literally means “pull”), one has to bite one end and pull the rest of it away from the mouth to tear it apart and eat it. When it’s freshly made, it has the consistency and texture of melted mozzarella cheese.

In the Philippines, specifically in my home province, puxa-puxa is called “kalti”. My earliest memory of kalti took place in my grandfather’s farm where he had a traditional sugarcane mill. The mill had a long wood attachment and the tip was tied at the back of his carabao.  The poor carabao would then walk in circles like a planet rotating around the sun, as the sugarcane was fed into the mill. The juice from the sugarcane was pressed then cooked until it produced the kalti.

Now with the puxa-puxa, I can enjoy once again a good old favorite and let my heart delight on the memory of a family tradition. Thanks to my dear Brazilian friend who made me try one and gave me some more to take home.

Music from home

Something unexpected came out Saturday night at the home of a lovely couple who invited us for dinner. Before we sat down to enjoy our meal, our hosts led us to a small room and played a medley of familiar songs, one after another.

They were popular Ilocano folk songs – Pamulinawen, Naraniag a Bulan, Manang Biday – that they stumbled upon in the Internet and downloaded them because “the melody sounds good and lively”. What a surprise!

Brazilian and Filipino breakfasts

A week ago, a Brazilian friend asked me what a typical Filipino breakfast is like. She was surprised to know that Filipinos eat rice for breakfast.

A typical Filipino breakfast is composed of garlic fried rice known locally as sinangag, sunny-side up eggs, and one or several of the following: longganisa (garlic pork sausage), beef tapa (cured beef), tocino (cured pork), tapang bangus (cured milkfish), tinapa (smoked fish), daing (dried fish), sardines, hotdogs, or tortang talong (eggplant omelette). In all this, a sawsawan (sauce) – made from a variety of choices such as vinegar, fish sauce or paste, tomatoes, soy sauce, calamansi (Philippine lemon), ketchup, or their numerous and almost unimaginable combinations, with or without chili – is a must.

Sweet treats at the Fenadoce

We got these delightful treats from one of the numerous stalls at the Fenadoce, which we visited last weekend.

I enjoyed the one covered with ground nuts the most because the bland nutty taste provided a perfect complement to the creaminess and sweetness of the mound it covered. My husband and daughter preferred the one with shredded coconuts. These goodies were really appetizing but too sweet for us to gobble in one sitting. I finished my nut-covered treat in three days, with just a bite or two after a meal!

On that very cold and windy day, we managed to get through the traffic, find a good parking space, and squeeze ourselves through the dense, animated crowd. It was a relief to have finally made it to the exhibition hall and a huge achievement to buy a box of sweets to take home.

Rediscovering beans

Living in Brazil where most people, if not all, eat beans every day has reintroduced me to this old favorite comfort food. 

The Brazilian way of preparing this food they call feijao, however, is totally different from the one I grew up with and eating them takes me to another road of experience that leads, anyway, to an old destination. 

A full serving of friendship

A mother-and-daughter team carried the huge steaming hot casserole and maneuvered their way down the hall, towards an antique expandable eight-seater table.

As soon as the deep casserole landed gracefully at the center of the table, the soup bowls were more than ready to be filled and hearts were eager to be cuddled by the usual warmth of Brazilian camaraderie and hospitality.

Our host family made sure the towering glass windows beside the dining table were closed to keep the cold air from spoiling the fun that was yet to begin and to seclude us from the busy sidewalk, which from the window, was just more than an arm span away.

The soup dish is called mocoto, which is made mainly of beans, sausage, and entrails.  It was a perfect lunch for everyone.  Just by looking at it, I knew Fernanda and her mom did a very good job.