Day 169

Kibe (Kibbeh): With today's post, Brazilian week continues. Even thought I found today's new food in a Brazilian market, it curiously didn't have any Portuguese printed on the box. It was all in English, and the box stated that it was a "product of the USA." So why am I including this in Brazilian week, right? Well, outside of it being featured in a Brazilian market, Kibe is a popular snack in many countries. It's a Lebanese dish that branched out to Lebanese people in several locations, including Brazil. Kibe is basically a little croquette made from a mix of bulgur wheat and chopped meat (usually beef or lamb). The version I found was frozen and made from a mix of wheat and beef. I normally don't spend this much ($10) on a blog item, but I was really curious about these.

I decided to reheat them for dinner tonight, along with some TJ's Biryani Rice and broccoli. After throwing them in a 400 degree oven for 20 mins., they were ready to go. Visually, they reminded me of little chunks of falafel, which I love. I broke one open before eating, and they definitely looked like falafel on the inside as well, only brownish in color instead of yellowy-green. The texture was also somewhat grainy like falafel, but much more savory due to the inclusion of the beef. Honestly, they were a bit dry, and as I ate them I wished I had some sort of dipping sauce - maybe tzaziki? I also tasted a good bit of mint, which was one of the primary ingredients listed under the beef, wheat and onion.

After I opened the box, I noticed that they actually expired a few months ago - oops. Maybe they were dry because of that? Regardless, they were pretty tasty, and I devoured quite a few of them before stopping. I'd love to try a fresh version of kibe, so if anyone knows where I can get some in ATL, please let me know. If you like falafel (and aren't vegetarian), check these out if you can find them.

Day 168

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo): Today marks day 3 of Brazilian Week, and so far, everything I've eaten has been really good. I was lucky to find some great items to take home from my visit to Minas Emporium a couple days ago, and their lunch buffet/pastry counter has provided some tasty surprises. I had one more pastry left, so I decided to go ahead and eat it before it went stale. After yesterday's coxinha awesomeness, I was looking forward to trying this piece of cheese bread, which is apparently a Brazilian staple at many meals.

This ring-shaped little piece of bread held up surprisingly well after being in the fridge for a couple days, but I microwaved it for a few seconds to hopefully return some of the moisture. From what I can tell, these are made from a mix of tapioca flour, milk and shredded queso fresco. I figured it would be good - how can you go wrong with any sort of bread made with cheese?

After heating, I took a bite, and it was a bit drier/crumblier than expected, but that could have been due to not eating it when it was fresh. The interior had a flaky consistency that reminded me of a popover, but without the hollow middle. The mix of bread/cheese was a savory, salty treat, and I bet these would be amazing right out of the oven. I'll have to make sure to not fill up on the buffet next time and eat a couple of these while hot. Good stuff.

I'll be posting the rest of my Brazilian goods over the next few days, so stay tuned. I'm so happy that I discovered a new cuisine - I'm learning a lot!

Day 167

Coxinha: In case you didn't notice on my Facebook page, this week is officially "Brazilian Week" here on my blog. After finding some awesome new eats yesterday at Minas Emporium (a Brazilian eatery/market on Roswell Road), I decided to devote the next 7 days to the Brazilian food I discovered there. After finishing a super tasty lunch, me and the GF did a bit of browsing in the small market. In addition to an impressive meat counter and some interesting dry goods, they also had a hot pastry display with some choices that looked really appealing, including this coxinha.

I'd previously read about coxinha on Blissful Glutton's website and decided to take one home - I was too full to possibly eat any more. It looked like a teardrop-shaped breaded pastry, and it was apparently filled with a mixture of cheese and chicken. Yum. Based on the ingredients, I figured it couldn't possibly be bad.

I decided to give it a try this afternoon, so I heated up the oven to keep the coxinha from getting soggy in the microwave. It looked like it held up well from yesterday, but the paper bag it came in was a bit greasy. I hoped it didn't dry out, but after heating it and cutting into it, it was anything but dry. Once bisected, I saw that it was filled with a creamy mix of shredded chicken and some sort of creamy cheese. After doing some research, I discovered that the cheese was actually Catupiry, a Brazilian style that's reminiscent of cream cheese. The pastry shell was about a quarter of an inch thick, and it held the cheese/chicken mix in well.

On to the eating. I took a bite, and was blown away by how good it was. The pastry dough's texture reminded me of a dumpling, but with a potato-like consistency. The breading had a nice crunch, and the chicken/cheese mix was a bit savory and sweet at the same time. The chicken itself was really tender, not stringy like canned chicken can be. Wow. Definitely one of the better foods I've tried during this experiment, and I could have easily eaten 4 or 5 more of these if available.

Based on what I've eaten so far, I've become a fan of Brazilian cuisine. I can't wait to find out how good the rest of my purchases are.

Day 166

Virado à Paulista: For the past few days, I've been wanting to change things up and try something brand new that I didn't find in my usual shopping locations. After a less-than-productive day yesterday trying to find a reclusive Russian deli on Covington Highway, I stopped by Your Dekalb Farmers Market and found absolutely nothing interesting or new. I know that may sound crazy, but today is the 160th day I've been doing this. I've eaten a lot.

I came home frustrated and wanting to give up, so I decided to get online and do some hardcore research. One of my favorite local bloggers is the "Blissful Glutton" (www.blissfulglutton.com), and based on how many great finds she writes about, I figured I could find a good recommendation on her site. After a bit of looking, I noticed something interesting that I'd never tried: Brazilian food. She featured an article about a traditional Brazilian cafe called Minas Emporium (7405 Roswell Road Northeast Atlanta, GA 30328-1026) that sounded really tasty, and the restaurant/market also had an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. I normally don't like buffets that much, but this one sounded good. Me and the GF made plans to check it out for lunch today.

When we walked in, I had hopes of finding feijoada, a traditional dish made with various cuts of pork and black beans. And until I got home, I thought one of the dishes I had off the buffet was feijoada (more on that later). We got our plates and proceeded to fill up, and there was plenty of tasty stuff to choose from. I got a bit of everything, including fried fish, a mix of rice and chunks of pork, some beef served in gravy and a dish including cauliflower and something else I couldn't quite identify. However, my favorite was the Virado à Paulista, which I actually thought was feijoada until I got home, did some research, and figured out it wasn't.

This dish (pictured at the bottom of the plate) was honestly amazing - it featured rice, tutu de feijão (a paste of beans and manioc flour), sauteed collard greens and a few different types of pork. The pork was definitely my favorite element, especially the crispy pieces that reminded me of a cross between chicharrones and bacon. It also included some pieces of diced up sausage - not ground, but with casing. Not exactly light eating, but I went back for seconds. It was a starchy, salty treat that I definitely plan on trying again soon. I could have eaten it till I made myself sick, but considering I have a show to play tonight, I figured that wasn't the best idea.

I also bought several other things to take home, so get ready for Brazilian Week. And thanks again to the Blissful Glutton for recommending this place. Good stuff.

Day 165

Spotted Dick: Yeah, yeah...I know. Before you make any jokes, just know that I've already thought of them all. My mind's probably way further down in the gutter than yours. Anyway, today's new food is something that I've seen in the international sections of many grocery stores. All I knew is that it was a British product, but past that, I knew nothing. I've had several people ask me if I've tried this stuff yet, and when I was at the Edgewood Kroger tonight doing some browsing, I stumbled upon it again. Since I wasn't finding much else, I decided to go ahead and give it a try.

Based on the ingredients (primarily water, sugar, wheat flour and raisins), I knew that Spotted Dick was some sort of dessert-like substance. The can stated that it was "sponge pudding," so I wondered if it was going to be closer to cake or a dense pudding. After choosing the microwaving option for cooking (it was either that or steam it in the can for 30 minutes, no thanks), I opened the can and emptied the contents onto a plate, and it more resembled cake or bread, not pudding.

Once heated for about a minute, I dug in. The texture was more like a dense bread or cake, but fairly moist. It reminded me of raisin bread, but maybe a bit sweeter and spongier than that. Pretty good, but I couldn't handle eating much of it due to its weight. I'm not sure if it's usually eaten alone or with something else, but I'll definitely finish the rest of it later.

In case you're wondering where the name came from, Wikipedia states that "spotted refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots), and dick may be a contraction or corruption of the word pudding or dough." Hmm, so that explains it.

Aside from the suggestive name, I can't think of much else about it that's too memorable. You could probably recreate it easily at home, and not pay the somewhat exorbitant import grocery store price. Maybe it's a dish that better enjoyed as a British tradition.

Day 164

Satsuma Orange: By now, I'm sure my readers know that I love discovering new produce, especially fruits. The variations sometimes seem endless, even though it might appear that I've eaten everything under the sun already. On my last trip to the BHFM a couple days ago, I noticed that they were demoing a couple different types of fruit. While I've tried quite a few varieties of orange, I'd never heard of these Satsumas. They looked to be a bit smaller than a Valencia, almost like a Mandarin in size. I love oranges, so I snapped a couple quick pics (since their lighting was good) and put one in my basket.

When I cut one open tonight at home, it looked like any other orange on the inside, with the same segmenting seen in lots of varieties. I peeled it and broke it into a few segments, then took a bite of one. It reminded me a lot of Mandarin orange - sweet, but not quite as sweet as a Valencia or navel, and little more sour. I couldn't really tell a difference at all between the Satsuma and mandarin, to be honest. It was really juicy and good, but it didn't really offer any new flavors for me. I'd definitely eat it again, though - it's hard to resist good citrus fruit.

According to Wikipedia, the Satsuma is a relative of the Mandarin that's often referred to as "seedless Mandarin." It comes from Japanese origin and was brought to the U.S. during the 18th century. They apparently grow regularly in Florida as well as a few other states. Interesting.

Day 163

Classic "Baked Milk" Biscuits: Today's new food is a product I bought on one of my recent trips to the BHFM. I've found plenty of interesting stuff in their Eastern European section, and on my last few visits, there's been a "sale" section set up at the back of one row with some oddities that I'm guessing didn't sell that well. When I noticed these "baked milk" biscuits, I was intrigued. Eastern Euro products are often extremely hard to identify, and there usually isn't much English writing on the packaging. I figured they might be like many standard crackers or cookies, but the "baked milk" wording wouldn't let me pass them up.

I tried getting on the manufacturer's website to find out more about these "biscuits" (www.odessalux.com), but the Russian wording didn't translate well, despite Google's efforts. I opened the package, and they looked like any cookie or cracker you'd find on American shelves. However, I wasn't sure if they were going to be sweet or savory. I took a bite, and they tasted exactly like animal crackers or tea biscuits - nothing really new for me. I was hoping that the "baked milk" would result in some sort of interesting filling or new flavor, but it didn't. And I still don't know what "baked milk" is.

These were tasty and light, but nothing really special. Almost like a less sweet graham cracker, so maybe I'll put some peanut butter or Nutella on the rest of these for an easy dessert.