Zucchini flower risotto - and each one gets the right to be excited about what they will.

(Em português)

Well, I'll admit it might be weird for many people, but the fact is I get excited about the farmers market. (About other stuff too, sure. But today I feel like telling you about the market).

Every time I leave home with a list in mind, so that I won't buy too much food, and every time I come back with more than I had planned. Everything is so fresh and pretty, it's hard to resist.

The down side is that I may end up not being able to manage that much produce, and some times food spoils.

Now, follow me: with the Autumn arriving, there's plenty of tasty fruits showing up again in the stalls, the flowers (which generally fade when the heat is intense) are on sale again.

When available, I usually get some poppies and Calla lilies, but the last time I went there, the flowers available where nasturtiums and zucchini flowers: beauties that go to the plate.

Of course, I had to experiment the zucchini flowers, with all of that pretty color. I just didn't know what to do with them.

The lady who sold them guaranteed I could find many recipes on internet besides the classic fried flowers (which are not too appealing for me).

She suggested risotto. Oh well, I came up with a risotto of my own.

Routine - who would say? - is something likeable. A post about formulas and savory (or not) energy bars.

(Em português)

I don't know about you, but I am a person who likes food. Really.
It gives me severe bad mood if I get hungry/ crave for food, and have nothing to nibble.
And the plot thickens, as I've been in this healthy-eating-well wave.
Because sometimes I could give it a way having snacks at any bakery down the street, but I haven't been feeling like it lately (besides, each little bite you buy around São Paulo represents a significant percentage of one's monthly budget).
So, in May 2012, gathering information here and there and testing a little, I found myself happy about a recipe/ formula that I came up with for oatmeal granola bars.
You see: they are just the way I like it. Crunchy, and accepting a wide variation of ingredients.
The point is: if I'm hungry, I urge for something savory. And that is just not possible with the recipe mentioned.
There are some options of savory bars being sold out there. But I heard that mostly they taste weird.
Anyway, there are possible.
So, there goes Flora looking in the internet for savory energy bars recipes. But they are not easy to find, not at all.
I had found a website which I really enjoyed, I read it on my mobile in the subway, then never found that link again.
I remember the person who wrote that post worked at a hospital, and s/he commented how clumsy it was to eat trail mixes for a snack.
The idea is good, allright. However, it is not functional:
Picture yourself in the bus/ your car/ in the middle of a film set/ at the office, wherever, holding a bag or a cup of nuts in one hand while feeding yourself with the other one.
So, it seemed like a good idea to merge all of the ingredients into one bar.
This person had some vague ideas of ways to put it together, nothing very concrete.
Going on with my research, I found a post at No meat athlete. Then I figured:
I did not need a recipe, I needed a formula. What a smart guy!
It so happens that his formula wasn't exactly what I was looking for, despite of it filling all nutritional needs etc etc etc.
Next step? Make mess in my kitchen until I found a formula I liked.

Bifum with shitake. What?

(Em português)

Maybe I haven't mentioned this before on the blog, but I have a fascination for Japan and Japanese people. I think the foods are pretty, the absurd clothes are pretty, those many colorful things I don't understand, the martial arts movies, the incredibly specific stationary items, the design, the architecture solutions, I find it all pretty.

But I never enjoyed Japanese food, because I think the textures are weird.

Recently I ate at a ramen restaurant with my boyfriend, and I really liked it. Then I went to a place at Liberdade with a couple friends and had yakimeshi, then I went somewhere else in Liberdade with other friends, so forth and so on...

I continue not having interest in seafood and raw fish, but Japanese cuisine has so much more than that.

This was my lunch today, and look how nice: I did it without any recipe, just from the ingredients I had at home.

Bifum is this very thin noodle made from rice, and shitake is the kind of mushroom.

You can improvise something similar substituting the ingredients with what you have around.

Julienne pickles.

(Em português)

This recipe come straight from Germany - to be more specific, from Delicious Days.

Last weekend we were going to have a picnic, and this pickled vegetables seem to go really nice in a sandwich.

The picnic didn't actually happen, but the sandwiches did (eve though I took a picture of the pickles served with another salad and some cheese). They were great.

Vegetable curry - as known as one bowl lunch.

(Em português)

Sometimes I happen to eat mostly out of home for a couple days, or eat mostly junk food, for any other reason.

Then I just need to stop by the farmers market and buy a bunch of veggies and fruits, and eat only fresh food to compensate.

When I'm in that mood, and still very busy, this curry works wonders.

It's quick to prepare, can be done with almost any vegetable you like, and is comforting.

Works best in cold weather, but whatever. I like it in summer too.

Ginger crystals - and the lack of constancy.

(Em português)


Made victim of a cold that caught me out of a sudden, I prepared this ginger crystals to
help relieve the sore throat.
Besides the tea with propolis extract, honey, lemon...
In case you don't find it weird, take a look at the recipes.

Ginger and pepper salad dressing.

(Em português)

I think salad recipes are something funny. I've always had this impression that salad is a matter of combining whatever you have on hand. It's just washing the leaves, chopping some vegetables, add olive oil, salt, and lemon or vinegar. There, why complicate it?

But then I saw this chinese salad recipe, from which I took the inspiration for this dressing.

And I started reading salad pride more often, because I used to just pass by there quickly to take a look at the pictures. So I changed my mind on the subject.

My grandma Nelci's cheese biscuits.

(Em português)

During these last summer vacation I have looked for the treasure of treasures:

the folder where my grandma Nelci's recipes were kept - which I brought home.

Some things, like the bee hives and the bread were never written down - she used to prepare them by heart.

On the other hand, these cheese biscuits, the cornmeal spongecake topped with cream and oranges, the grustuli, are in her notebooks, in her handwriting.

These are recipes that will inevitably bring memories to my family, and will make us happy whenever we prepare them. Every once in a while I'll share one of those, and I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Guacamole sandwich.

(Em português)

Well, people. Forgive me for not posting the panettone pan origami like I promised in the previous post.

Truth is I haven't taken the step by step pictures yet.

But come on, you can forgive me, since the reason for that is I'm spending time with my family, in vacation.

In one of these afternoons, I prepared this sandwich for us. It's so quick, so easy, so light.

It's also great substituting the tuna for a nice salty cheese slice.
I wish you all great holidays and parties! In a week I'll be back to São Paulo, and - I hope - starting a year of hard work.

Soup for sad stomachs.

Whole wheat flour and olive oil quiche - to the changes.

(Em português)

In the next posts, probably I'll increase the quantity of all natural food lunches.

I'm making an effort to improve eating habits, and this quiche was the first attempt.

I was successful!

I took the recipe from here, and made up the filling, based in a couple of recipes I read.

Pasta over garlic, oil and mint.

(Em português)

I think that lazy and/or tired people do have the right to a nice little dinner after a long work day.

So I just decided to get a bit off the beaten track by adding ground fresh mint leaves to the oil in this classic pasta.

Pouched eggs.

(Em Português)


For a robust breakfast, pouched eggs work like a charm.
They are fast, can be served over a nice toasted bread and green salad, and we're good to go.
Different from what I thought, they don't necessarily result in a runny yolk. To test, I poached one egg for a longer time than the other.

Gnocchi for life.

(Em Português)


This is the - best - gnocchi - recipe - of - my - life.

It will never be exchanged or abandoned, never more abstract gnocchis.

It is so simple, so tasty, so light, and so versatile.

I would say I am in love.

Onion soup.

(In Portuguese)


Lately I was making an effort to post at least once a week, but in the last few days it
simply wasn't possible. Thankfully, for good reasons.
And even without recent posts, without many frequent readers, I was very glad to know
- through blogger's statistics - that some readers showed up from places I hadn't imagine,
from faraway countries such as Turkey or Estonia.
Be welcome, everybody! Tell me about you. Leave comments about the ways you eat and cook, or about something else.
Everyone, Brazilians, Americans, Spanish too! Tell me what you think of what is in for today. :)

I adapted this recipe from Jamie Oliver, and it fits perfectly for a cold night.

I don't really think it is very much like his recipe, but it tasted good and cozy.

Unlike the famous chef, I put potatoes in the soup and left the bread out.

Soooft pizza, Chicago style.

(In Portuguese)

Think of an extremely soft, fluffy pizza.

Filled with a lot of grated cheese and sauce. With browned edges.

I took from Annie the recipe that leads to it.

Italian-ish: pumpkin and carrot soup.

(In Portuguese)

In a cold night, there is nothing like a good soup. Which is an indication that many soups will appear in the next posts...

This one, seasoned with cinnamon and rosemary, won my heart in no time. I found the recipe here.

Pasta with snow peas and radishes.

(In Portuguese)


Food for the eyes.

A classic is a classic, and vice-versa.

(In Portuguese)

The classic in question is rice and beans, which always has one small change or another, but I never get tired of it.
After a couple days without stoping at home, I went to the supermarket and cooked a lunch comme il faut.
I had it with a colorful yummy salad, and a roasted pumpkin slice that doesn't show in the pictures.

Oh - the forgetfulness.

(In Portuguese)


I'll tell you a very sad story.
I forgot my photographic camera's cable at my mom's house. 
The end.


That's why we'll have some more posts illustrated by the computer's camera.
But she'll come to visit soon, and bring the cable along.
Now, another subject, the sandwich I had for lunch today:


Tuna and grated vegetables.