*Hora do lanche* - *Snack time*

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Que pensaria o poeta que chamou metafísica à confeitaria se tivesse se deparado com esta caixinha? Não, não são chocolates, embora o site da Trio proponha que se substituam aqueles por estas miniaturas de barras de cereal.

Com menos de 45 kcal por unidade e em 10 diferentes sabores, as barrinhas da linha Delícias Light não são nenhum chocolate belga. Mas enganam a fome num piscar de olhos e, para quem curte lanchinhos saudáveis, até que são bastante aprazíveis.

Mas não, não são um quitute metafísico.

Comprei nas Lojas Americanas, a R$ 3,99 a caixa.

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What would the poet who called confections metaphysics think if he had found himself facing this little box? No, these aren't chocolates, although Trio's website proposes those to be substituted by these miniature cereal bars.

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With less than 45 kcal a pop and in 10 different flavors, the bars of the "Delícias Light" line aren't exactly Belgian chocolates. But they'll fool your hunger in a heartbeat and, for those who enjoy healthy snacks, they are quite enjoyable.

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But no, they are not a metaphysical treat.

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These were purchased at Lojas Americanas, at R$ 3,99 the box.

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*The Perfect Bite*

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I started subscribing to a Brazilian food magazine this month. Honestly, it was the first thing in a long time I've read from cover to back cover. At last, a fresh breath of inspiration. And hey, it's quite conservative, I must add.

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After plating lunch I decided to use some of my roast onions to create a rich and sinful bite: a quail egg, fried on the griddle, seasoned with salt and pepper, nestled in the sweet half caramelized onion.

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I hope to be around more. Cross my heart.

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*Fridgin' out*

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I'm leaving to visit my parents later today... Will spend 9 days in the south, enjoying the world's biggest dance festival and the delicious typical dishes and sweets.
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Nom!
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But because I'll be gone for over a week, I had to clean out my fridge, so that nothing goes bad in there. And boy, was it a delicious way of fridgin' out! But then again, when is it that a stir fry is NOT delicious?
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100 grs itokonnyaku, 1 carrot, 1 yellow pepper, one medium red onion, half a package of portobelo mushrooms sautéed with garlic, stir fried and dressed with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sriracha, toppe with blanched and sautéed asparagus and a poached egg. With lots of sesame seeds.
I read somewhere the Japanese way of evaluating a dish as healthy or not is color. I think my lunch passed that test.
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*It's soup*

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Ok, I know it doesn't quite make sense in English. It's just that we have this expression in Portuguese, "É sopa", which literally translates to the title. Literally, because it actually means "It's a piece of cake!".
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Yup! Something easy, nourshing and comforting. Something to go with the cold, albeit beautiful, Sunday we were having. And I've been wanting to make this soup for a while now. Thing is, I have never written down the recipe, so usually end up using whatever I feel like at the moment. Believe me, this is good.
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Cream of Carrot Soup


700 gr. carrots
700 ml water
100 ml cream (milk or soy)
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp thyme
pepper to taste
fried garlic and parmesan, for garnish and taste

In a pot, sauté the garlic and ginger in the olive oil. Add the carrots, peeled and sliced, the mustard seeds and the salt. Cover with water. Allow to boil for 20 minutes.
With an immersion blender/mixer, blend with cream, butter and nutmeg.
Return to low heat. Add thyme and correct spice. Allow to simmer for a while.

I like to make it even creamier by beating the soup with a whisk before serving.
Serve with fried garlic and freshly grated parmesan.
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And if you're anything like me, aiming to please, serve this for dessert:


Just the good ol' cheesecake, with a bit of brown sugar and some macadamia in the crust. To sweeten the Mister's life up. And mine.
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Have a great week!
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*Cream of Arraracha - His and Hers*

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Ah, vacation! After the stress of the semester's finals, I can finally kick back and enjoy my kitchen once again.
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In all truth, I first made this cream exactly one month ago. I was fighting off the sniffles, needing something nourishing and filling while I studied, and had some arraracha (known as mandioquinha in Brazil) begging to be used. Arraracha is the Mister's thing, not mine, but I decided to give it a try. A girly, frilly, healthy try.

Cream of Arracacha – One for the ladies
250 gr. Arracacha
2 cups chicken stock (homemade is better)
½ cup sliced leeks
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp silken tofu or soy cream
½ large red onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the leeks and garlic.
Peel and chop the arracacha. Add to the pot with the leeks and garlic, and cover with the chicken stock. Cook for 20 minutes.
Blend with tofu and adjust spice.
Garnish with thinly sliced red onion or shallots and freshly ground pepper.
Makes 2 servings.
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This week I bought the tubers thinking of this cream. It's been cold down here, and awfully gray and rainy. Nothing like comfort food in such weather, eh?

Or as I told the Mister when he got home, dinner was gonna rock his socks off...

Block Rockin’ Cream of Arracacha
500 gr. arracacha
3 ½ cups water
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp butter
1 cup roughly chopped old Dutch master or other hard cheese
½ cup milk cream
1 tsp nutmeg
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
4 or 5 sprigs of green onions
½ cup Paris mushrooms

Mince the garlic finely. In a deep pot, sauté the garlic till golden.
Cut the arracacha in small pieces. Add to pot, salt and cover with 2 cups of water. Let boil for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, sauté the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of butter. Thinly slice the green onions. Reserve.
When the arracacha is done, add the remaining butter, water, the nutmeg and milk cream. With an immersion blender or food processor, blend until the mixture has become a smooth cream. Add cheese and blend. Not incorporating the old master completely gives the cream an interesting texture. You could use grated cheese instead, and skip the blending.
Taste and adjust spice.
Serve and garnish with mushrooms, green onions and black pepper.
Makes 4 servings.
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Sure, potatoes would do too... but arraracha has a distinctive strong flavor of its own, definitely worth giving it a try.
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Once again I'm tortured by all the photos of burgers and hot dogs and the description of warm picnic/grilling weather online. So even if the weather ain't right, I'll be making myself a cheeseburger and enjoying the spirit of the day.
Happy 4th of July!
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