Acarajé

29.05.2012 23:12

It’s late again—hard to get sleep when there’s so much to do and see! I had orientation this morning, then met my Senhora, Helena. We are a perfect match! She is 54 with two grown kids, loves exercise, cooking, outdoors, yoga (we went tonight!), and—get this—is gluten free. Didn’t expect to find that in Brazil! The apartment is along the coast, and I can see a snippet of the bay from my bedroom window. For dinner tonight, we took to the street—acarajé with vatapá and pimento, probably the most iconic street food of Salvador. It was amazing!! Basically, it’s a bean cake (black-eyed peas) cooked (well, fried but it really wasn’t greasy!) in dendê, or palm oil, served with the sauce vatapá, a spicy mix of cashews and coconut milk, with shrimp and chili sauce. Incredible! To wash it down, Helena made a pineapple suco (basically an agua fresca). Talk about an amazing meal!