Having lived in this country since she was age 28, Raquel Ott says although she “did not cook when I lived in Brazil,” she has learned since being here. “I watched the Food Network for the longest time and a lot of cooking shows. I still watch several cooking channels. I learn a lot online.” She has even researched and asked her mother about the foods she grew up with. “I am a realtor with Keller Williams and I call myself the Foodie Realtor.”

Raquel recalls memories of family foods dating to the early 1980s. “It’s on weekends, holidays and birthdays and especially at Grandmother Almerida’s house in the country in south Brazil. She was bossy and fierce but she could cook, bake, slaughter pigs, sheep and chickens for all celebrations. She even made homemade dark beer and made the best chicken soup. It was a lot of good simple country cooking,” Raquel remembers.

“She’d cook on a woodstove as some of my relatives still do. Most households have 6-burner stoves and use them all. My grandmother, Santa, I don’t think really enjoyed cooking. But she could make a potato cake stuffed with ground beef, breaded and fried, and a potato stew in tomato sauce served on rice. There was rice with every meal and to this day, my mom still needs to have rice with every meal. Black beans are also a Brazilian staple. Meals were served with a simple salad on the same plate as the rest of the meal. Usually lentil soup is eaten on New Year’s Eve at midnight. Christmas and New Year’s suppers are at midnight, not a minute later.”

Churrasco and Carreteiro are traditional dishes from Raquel’s hometown, “It’s an all you can eat.” Churrasco is basically a weekend cookout. Meat is roasted on a sword-like skewer over an open fire. Most houses have a built in “Churrasqueira” grill. “It’s an all-day event. You eat until you nearly pass out.” Everything is made from scratch, even the mayonnaise, and as always there is rice and a fresh green salad. Carreteiro is a one-pot rice dish made with leftover meat from the Churrasco celebration.

Raquel explains that “in Brazil, at least it was my family’s experience, that we and our relatives would eat three maybe four meals per day. All meals were time-consuming and Mom would be in the kitchen basically all day. The day started with chimarrao (yerba mate), a hot herbal tea. It’s served in a hollowed-out cup made from a gourd. With a metal straw everyone drinks from the same cup. You fill it up, drink, fill it up and pass it on to the next one.” The tea drinking continued for the day and between meals; “Just sit around outside and drink tea.” However, following the morning tea “as soon as the kitchen was cleared from breakfast it’s time to start lunch.”

Raquel was living in Florida in 1999 where she met her husband Arthur who is from Pittsburgh. They remained in Florida for several years before reaching Mathews in 2002 via Charles Town, West Virginia. They now reside in Gloucester in a home they purchased in 2014.

LENTIL SOUP

7 c. water
1 c. green or brown lentils (rinsed and stones and debris discarded)
2 bay leaves
2 whole cloves of garlic
½ Vidalia onion, chopped
4 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 links of Andouille sausage (We use Calabrian sausage, a spicy smoked Italian sausage), cut up in small bite-size pieces
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2-3 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut into small chunks
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
2 chicken bouillon cubes

Sea salt to taste (or more chicken bouillon)

Cook the lentils in water with the bay leaves, garlic and onion until tender. In a separate pot, brown the sausage. Add in garlic, onion and diced fresh peeled Roma tomatoes to sausage. Cook for 5-8 minutes. Add the bouillon cubes and the diced potatoes and cook until tender.

Once the lentils are cooked, add the sausage and veggies mixture to the lentils and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add parsley and serve as is or over rice.

RAQUEL’S FISH MAQUECA
(BRAZILIAN FISH STEW WITH COCONUT MILK)

1 lb. white fish and/or shrimp
3 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
1 green bell pepper (I used 1 yellow and 1 orange)
4 Roma tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
1 Tbs. dendê oil (red palm oil)
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1½ c. coconut milk
1 lime, juiced (about 2 Tbs. juice)
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
Cooked white rice for serving

Cut the fish into large chunks, about 2 inches. Cut the pepper and onion into strips (I dice mine); dice the tomato. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until warm. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the peppers, tomato, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté until softened. Add coconut milk, lime juice and cover; bring to boil. Once boiling, stir in the seafood and cilantro. Simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes or until cooked (shrimp will only take about 5 minutes, fish may take a little longer). Taste for salt and lime, adding more if needed. Serve with white rice.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
Meatballs

1 small onion, grated
1/3 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
½ c. grated Parmesan
1 lb. ground turkey
Soup
12 c. organic chicken stock
Lemon zest from ½ a lemon
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (or escarole, spinach or other dark greens)
2 large eggs
2 Tbs. freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds, if you have them (Whole Foods sells them)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and ground turkey. Using 1½ tsp. for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.

To make the soup: Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, lemon zest and endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the endive is tender, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

AVIATION

2 oz. gin
¼ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. maraschino liqueur
1 bar spoon Crème Yvette (or crème de violette)
Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Add all ingredients except garnish to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Double-strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry or pineapple chunk.

RAQUEL’S CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF HER MOM’ S BLACK BEANS AND RICE

“Chances were you’d have rice and beans for either lunch or dinner.” Beans were picked and cleaned. Her mom made the beans in her pressure cooker. To beans in the cooker add:

1 or 2 bay leaves
1 sliced onion
2 or 3 cloves garlic
Cook approximately 30 minutes. Check for doneness. Should be well cooked and soft.
Roux
Pork fat
Flour

Mix until blended and add to beans still simmering on the stove. Season with chicken bouillon. Add choice of meats, smoked sausage, pork ribs or leftover meat. Cook until the meat falls apart. The meat will turn black from the beans.

Rice

Rice used was similar to the rice you get from Latin markets or Latin food sections. Not long grain, not short grain, just your enriched white rice. Stickier than jasmine and basmati. Rice is rinsed until water runs clear and then drained.

Sauté some garlic in oil (soybean oil) and add the rice. Sauté until it smells toasted and nutty but not browned. Add hot water, salt to taste and cook 20-25 minutes.