makanandcomida

As the UN summit on sustainable development is under way in Rio, about 50.000 activists from all around the world are in Rio to raise awareness to the causes of indigenous populations, diminishing ecospheres, risks of nuclear energy or the future of mega cities among thousands of others. They are meeting and exhibiting in Aterro de Flamengo parque which has been tranformed into a two week activists camp.

Greenpeace sailed their new Rainbow Warrior to the harbor of Rio, and people are awaiting their next big awareness coup after they have taken over Sugarloaf mountain, Christ redeemer statue and the bridge to Niteroi in former years.

Great to see that the volunteers from the Red Cross Rio branch were also present with first aid posts:

Last week friends took us to a great restaurant in Catete, Carmelo, in Rua Correia Dutra 75. It has a great atmosphere and a wonderful italian inspired menu with a twist. I had lovely pasta with nuts, pesto and prawns – sure a meal to remember!

Rio +20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, is starting today and will run until June 22nd. So far 134 heads of state or government have confirmed to attend the conference, but heavy weights such as Obama, Merkel and Cameron will likely stay away. Thousands of business CEOs, government officials, NGO leaders, academics, senior UN officials and representatives from many other groups are currently arriving in Rio as over 50,000 people in total are expected to participate in the Conference and related events.

One of the large side events, the Humanity 2012 pavilion, promotes Brazil’s role in sustainable development through focusing on its biodiversity, human diversity and the future of humankind. Here are some impressions from the exhibition visited today, which is staged in a sustainable structure build at Copacabana fort overlooking the beach – these guys do know where to hold their conferences (Cancun, Rio, Bali …)

This is the center of the exhibition, the chapel of humankind, stressing the importance of education, culture and technology and staging a library with 10000 books selected by 120 brazilian personalities for consultation.

The man and his connections:

Brazilian biodiversity

the stunning roof top terrace

and the view from it

after the visit!

Recipe for duck breast on asian noodles for 2

• 2 duck breast
• 200g asian noodles fresh or dried
• 1 red pepper sliced into strips
• 100 g of snow peas
• 100g green asparagus sliced
• 1 large carrot sliced into fine strips
• 1 piece of ginger finely diced
• 1 red chili finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic pressed
• 3 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs honey
• sesame oil
• fresh coriander
• lime
• salt and pepper

As mentioned in my Valentines day blog on 15th of February, the Brazilians celebrate the dia dos namorados (lovers day), today on the 12th of June. But very much in the same fashion as the february counterpart to boost the sales of flower shops, lingerie stores, restaurants and chocolatiers! So flower and chocolate prices have soared from an already indecent high!

Over the weekend we had friends over for a spanish inspired feast of Paella and Flan:

and what better way to start the evening than with my own take on a light and easy Sangria – here comes the recipe for 4

• 1 bottle of Spanish red wine – Rioja or Tempranillo, chilled
• 100ml of dry white martini
• 100ml orange juice, chilled
• 1 orange skin on cut into cubes
• 1 lemon skin on cut into cubes

Marinate the orange and lemon in the martini for a couple of hours. Add the chilled red wine and orange juice and stir well. Serve! Couldn”t be easier yummy summer drink!

Some days back in Rio, still thinking about the great time I had in Johannesburg and Dubai. Here are some pictures from the large fish market in the old part of Dubai:

and the spice and pulses market next door:

I could not resist but to buy some nuts and pine kernels as well as some Iranian saffron which was weighed the traditional way:

what a perfect ingredient to lift up any pasta cream sauce!

Recipe for pasta with salmon in saffron sauce for 4

• 500g of pasta boiled
• 500g of fresh salmon filets diced
• 2 shallots finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic pressed
• 1 tbs butter
• 200 ml of cream
• 50ml white wine
• 1/2 tsp saffron diluted in a little hot water
• 1 red chili deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tbs capers optional
• 2 tbs dill

What a city – I spent the last three days in Dubai visiting my old friend Birgit and her family.

Everything here seems to be of larger size and proportions – whether the stretch Hummer

or the tallest building of the world

or the largest aquarium in a shopping mall

Even if you fancy skiing while and shopping in the same mall this is the place to be

And the prawns we had for dinner were the largest I have ever tried – delicious. Thanks Birgit, we will be back!

What a special treat – coming back to the continent that first inspired my cooking and spending some days with my old friend Kate in Johannesburg and the bush. A wonderful couple of days of autumn sun soaked lunches on the veranda of their weekend house in the african bush, dinners in front of the fireplace and walks in the bush.

Followed by culinary treats in stylish Joburg cafes and restaurants. One of my favorite discoveries – tashas – a wonderful place to have breakfast like this super delicious wilted spinach, fried mushrooms and feta on toasted rye bread topped with poached eggs. Heaven on a plate!

But no girls trip without some serious shopping, going back to Sandton and Nelson Mandela square

Recipe for my friends Kate smoked chicken pasta salad for 4 – makes a lovely lunch dish or as part of a larger bbq buffet

• 500g smoked chicken breast cubed
• 1/2 cucumber cubed
• 250g boiled penne
• 100g sundried tomatoes cut into slices
• 100g black olives pitted and halved
• 1 can artichokes drained and sliced
• 8 slices parma ham sliced

Mix all these ingredients together in a nice serving bowl. To make the dressing, heat 5tbs of olive oil with 1 tbs white wine vinegar, 1tbs grainy mustard and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add 50ml of fresh cream and shredded basil leaves. Mix into the salad. Garnish with more basil. Serve warm or cold.

Last weekend we visited the Feira de San Cristobal – a large open air permanent fair, presenting all things typical from the northeast of Brazil – food, artwork and music.

Here some very hot chili sauce in beautiful bottles:

Or for the more adventurous once, cachaça with seafood!

Patriotism clearly ranks high at the fair:

No fair visit with indulging into some typical brazilian food. This rice dish was a new try:

Recipe for Baião de dois – a beans and rice one-pot meal from the north-east of Brazil, great to combine leftovers of rice and/or beans 1/2 kilo of brown or black beans, soaked overnight 1 sliced chorizo 1 onion finely chopped 3 clove garlic pressed 1 green pepper finely chopped olive oil 1 bunch chopped coriander 300g of rice 150g cheese cut into cubes (e.g. halloumi cheese, mozzarella, feta whatever you prefer) salt and pepper Cook the beans for about 1,5 hours until al dente.  Drain the beans and set the cooking liquid aside using it to cook the rice. In a large pan heat the olive oil and fry the onion, garlic, pepper and chorizo. Add the cooked rice and beans and some of the cooking liquid. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the coriander and the cheese to allow to melt. Serve with grilled beef. Here you can see the large amount of meats served at the market, the rice and beans in the background with fried manioc and a tomato salsa. Not to forget the yellow manioc flour rounding up any traditional brazilian feast.

Great friday night out and about last night. Started the evening with drinks and dinner at Terra Brasilis restaurant in Urca overlooking the sea and Sugarloaf mountain.

As it was close to full moon, the nearby marine base was setting up a beach party for their staff and families in true style – old boats, filled with ice to hold drinks, a bbq, popcorn and bouncing castles for the kids, a caipirinha stand for the adults and life music.

And best of all, worth asking, for a minimal fee we where invited as well – so off came the shoes, caipirinha in hand we spent an hour partying at praia vermelho.

And we really would have loved to stay on but we had tickets for a samba concert – Fundo de Quintal featurin Seu Jorge – true traditional carioca samba band on the road for more than three decades and music that makes you dancing right from the start.

A night to remember!

Recipe for pineapple rum – thanks Carolin for sharing – makes 8 glasses

• 1 large ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
• 600ml white rum
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• juice of 2-3 limes
• ice

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve over ice in eight cocktail glasses.

As the UN Conference on Sustainable Development is coming to Rio end of June this year, it is estimated that about 50,000 people, including many world leaders, heads of states and their large delegations will be attending. As there are only about 30,000 hotel rooms available in the more conventional hotels, the authorities are hoping to fill that gap at least partly by the use of the 320 love motels.

This will mean love motel owners will not rent out their rooms by the hour, turning down their  regular guests. But Rio being the host city of several mega events such as the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, love motel owners have spotted a business opportunity and realised growth is in the corporate sector – sustainable business development!