Getting There

Well, today's foray into Centro was a success! The stores were abuzz with Carnaval frenzy and the sequin and feather sellers were doing a brisk trade. In all I picked up four bottles of paint, a coffee thermos, a kilo of italian tomatoes, and ... the beginnings of my costume ....

Early to Bed, Early to Rise...

... Makes this Recifense healthy (debateable - you should see what I had for dinner and what I will have for breakfast), wealthy (here's hoping!) and costumised...

My goal for tomorrow is to head into Centro in search of a new costume for Carnaval. Since Centro closes down early on Saturday, it'll be a relatively early start to the day. A full report to follow tomorrow, post recovery session ...

A Haggis by any Other Name

* * * WARNING * * *

* * DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE, ARE ABOUT TO, OR JUST, ATE * *

I was reminded this morning that it is Robby Burns Day, and while whisky flows aplenty in the Northeast (particularly Johnny Red), finding a bonny piece of haggis could be a challenge. Or is it ... ?

One of the Northeast’s delicacies is buchada, pleasantly described as a traditional Brazilian dish, composed of heart, lungs, liver, spleen, intestines, and blood of goat wrapped up and cooked in the stomach. Aside from replacing sheep with goat, sounds suspiciously like Haggis to me, minus the spices and other taste equalisers. Goats are one of the Northeast’s most popular animal as they are able to prosper without many amenities (e.g.: water, good quality grass, shade, etc.). While the meat is the most important product, apparently the viscera can be up to 20% of a goat’s total weight. Enter buchada.

According to a study done by a group of Brazilian scientists in the state of Paraiba (just north of Pernambuco) and published in the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology (2006) 37:362-367:

Samples of buchada produced in the different areas of the State of Paraíba, Brazil, presented a high number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, with values ranging from 5.5 to 6.9 log10 CFU/g. All samples presented total coliforms, and 96.6% presented fecal coliforms [ed. note: 96.6 PERCENT??], with values between 2.3 and 5.0 log10 NMP/g. The occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus was observed in one sample only, at a proportion of 4.0 log10 CFU/g. Salmonella was absent in all samples. [...] Results indicate inadequate hygienic-sanitary practices during slaughter and processing, requiring preventive measures to minimize contamination at the critical points of the process and to guarantee products with longer shelf life and desirable quality standards.

Now there’s a ringing endorsement!

The article also states that while the demand for processed viscera has increased significantly in large Brazilian urban centers, society still presents a negative perception of the edible components not belonging to carcass of small ruminants, associating them to low-quality products.

No kidding! Who would have thunk?

Me thinks that this Burns’ Night will find me with only half a celebration. Bottom’s up!

Future Buchada?

I Went to Mexico!

Please do not ask why a girl who lives in Brazil and spent Christmas in Canada went on vacation in Mexico. While on the surface, I realise that it makes little to no sense, at some point, back in time, when the plans were being made, it made sense! So there it is. I spent ten sunny days in January trepsing over Mayan ruins and participating in a quasi-scientific and definitely academic comparative study of Guacamole of the Yucatan. I also tried to cobble together a Hot Chocolate of the Yucatan study [think spicy, pure & delicious], but unfortunately there were simply not enough willing participants. Well that, and the fact the Nestle seems to have engaged in strong marketing techniques in Mexico. Blech!

Ruins which were enjoyed by friend Nell and I include Cobá [very cool, rented bikes to get around], Tulum [small, but beautiful - the only Mayan ruins next to the sparkling turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea], Uxmal & Kabbah [pictured above - definitely worth a day trip from Mérida], and of course the überfamous Chichen Itzá [amazing! stay overnight in one of the nearby Hacienda hotels and get an early start to beat the crowds]. We left a few ruins untouched, thus opening the door to la próxima vez....

Guacamole, on the other hand, was enjoyed in Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cobá, Mérida and Chichen Itzá. Data crunchers are still trying to figure out the subtle differences....

Intergenerational and Cultural Strangeness

One of the buildings in the Chichén congolmeration of ruins is El Caracol - the Snail - or Observatory. Aside from the obvious lack of scientific astrological equipment, it's a little uncanny how an observatory built in the middle of the jungle centuries and centuries past resembles today's observatories rather closely. Clearly the Maya were on to something....

Careful What You Blog About...

... you just might get it for Christmas!


Here's me with two of my prize possessions from Christmas ... a cookbook totally devoted to mangos and a little black backpack; one to figure out what to do about these and the other to replace this! Ah-ha! Solid proof that my family reads my blog - even if I never intended to get any presents out of it. Thanks Stuart! Thanks Susan! You can both be sure that I will be eating and going out in style and good health.

If anyone is still reading this, here is the house that I am hoping to live in when I return to Ottawa. The MLS link gives all the details.

DoPoFoMo

You've heard of NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - and its amiable companion NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month - in which particpants pledge to either write a 50,000 word novel or to create a daily blog entry over a one-month period. Lesser known, but just as difficult, is distant cousin DoPoFoMo - Don't Post Fora Month, and aside from one small slip in early January (no one is perfect!), I can clearly claim to have done rather well with it! It took effort and determination, but in the end, success was (nearly) mine....

* * * * *

Finally back in Recife after a whirlwind month that took me to four countries in two continents, I am happy to be:

- doing laundry (hurray!)
- bonding with Felix (the cat)
- catching up with friends (an hour and a half after arriving in Recife, I was whisked away for dinner)
- sifting through zillions of emails (okay, this makes me less happy)
- once again walking home along the beach (ah, the beach)

Tales of travel & fun to follow as I slowly unpack my memories as well as my suitcase!

Once again, Happy 2007 to all!

Happy 2007 ...

... from Mexico!

Don't ask ... it's a long story which involves not mangos but rather copious amounts of avocados!

Stay tuned for explanations!