Eat, Eat, Eat, All Day Long

Zinho: I am in Nazare Paulista, Brasil, which is about an hour outside of Sao Paulo in the heart of what little is left of the southern Atlantic Forest (refer to this for detailed information).

Some context: All meals are served buffet style in a beautiful little tree-house style dining hall. Bfast, aka Cafe da manha, is the same everyday: platter of ham, platter of farm cheese, bowl of crusty rolls, yogurt, granola with raisins, an assortment of fruit, fresh juice, coffee, mate tea, water. Almoco (aka lunch) is the biggest meal and consists of a platter of whole lettuce leaves (sometimes topped with tomato or cuke slices), a few cold salads, several hot dishes, meat, and a dessert.

Late afternoon is time for Cafe da tarde, which means coffee, tea, and cake (varying in nature). Dinner, or jantar, is similar to lunch but tends to be a bit lighter, with fewer options, and does not include dessert. There is an organic garden on site, so most of the produce comes from there, and my guess is that the meat source is not too far away--this is pretty hardcore farmland. Everything is all-natural, nothing processed, right down to the sugar, which is made from cane--raw and delicious. I actually chewed on a big chunk of sugar cane on a hike the other day--one of our guides cut it down along the way. SO good, and fun.

Today's menu, so far (jantar to come but if I wait until then for the full report I will forget what I had for lunch):

cafe da manha: yogurt with granola and honey, half a crusty roll w/ farm cheese and mango spread, slice of papaya, banana, mate tea

mid-morning snack: espresso-sized mate tea, mini-sugar cookie w/ dollop of vanilla frosting

almoco: lettuce leaves w/ oil and vinegar, shredded beets topped w/ papaya chunks, marinated cauliflower, pot roast, brown rice and red beans sprinkled with farina, half a passion fruit, fresh juice (fruit undetermined but it was of a nice orange-y yellow shade)

P.S. I am writing this during class--what a rebel. Food for thought: is eating more important than learning the ins and outs of conservation biology?

Brasil = bomb.co.uk