Whatcha' gonna eat when there aint nothing better??

Hi All,
Sorry we haven't written anything for awhile. Can't say that we have been all that busy really...there is just nothing much new and exciting to report. We are still in the Recife area and still doing lots and lots and lots of capoeira. That has resulted in a rather dramatic shift in our schedule. Capoeira classes are every evening, sometimes until about 10pm. It generally takes us quite a while to get home (from some classes about an hour and a half or more) because Janga is quite far away from the center of the city (it is part of another city actually, called Paulista)so we come home late, and then take a couple hours to eat and calm down so we are never in bed before one...and therefore never up before about eleven these days. I guess that is what being on holidays is all about.

Of limited interest is the fact that another phase our acculturation into Brazilian society has begun. This is manifested by my cooking of feijão...beans. As sick as I am of eating rice and beans (not that I don't like rice and beans, it is just that we eat them a minimum of once a day, everyday), I have learned make them in the pressure cooker...and now we could potentially eat beans three times a day! I even put the horse/donkey meat (charque) in, just like a real Brazilian!

I have also figured out how to cook tapiocas. Here, tapiocas are kind of like pancakes made out mandioca flour, encasing tasty fillings, like cheese, chicken or coconut, not like the pudding we call tapioca at home. Quite good I think. I wonder, can you buy mandioca flour at home? As far as I can tell, mandioca is the same as macaxeira (also the source of Farinha I think too)...one Brazilian food Mike and I have not taken much of a liking to. Mike has even created a song, to the tune of Macarena expressing his dislike..."whatcha' gonna eat when there aint nothing better? Heeeeey macaxeira!" Maybe we'll get used to it eventually, which would signal the beginning of yet another phase of acculturation.

Speaking of cooking and food and such things, I should mention that the juice here in Brazil is absolutely awesome. For about $0.75CDN you can get a big glass of freshly made juice (comparable to Boosterjuice/Jugo juice juice), which we ensure that we do everytime we possibly can. As of late, Mike has started making juice at home too. Mmm mmm good. We absolutely love maracujá!

Anyway, I had planned to include a few new photos in this update but the computer I am at won't let me, so I will try again next time.