Saturday Ecological Market

We visited today the feira ecológica near the Redenção park in Bom Fim neighborhood. This organic market is open every Saturday from 7:30 till 13:00. It's better to arrive as early as possible to find the largest variety of merchandise and less crowd.

The market offers fresh vegetable and fruit, honey, wholewheat bread, fresh herbs, home made jams, flowers, goat milk products and more. Many stands offer tasting samples and the atmosphere is very calm and friendly. Only by seeing, smelling and tasting this healthy food we felt in a better shape(-:

We saw some herbs and fruit we've never seen before like this Hibiscus fruit that is very citric in taste and is used to make tea or jam.

We left the market with a full basket and a tickling inspiration to cook healthy food.

Machry Armazém & Bistrô

My friend MS showed me this charming bakery/deli/bazar store in Tristeza neighborhood in Zona Sul (the southern suburb of Porto Alegre). The two Machry sisters run the place. The front part of the store is a deli, where they sell homemade breads, cakes, pastries, fresh and frozen, all made of 100% natural ingredients. They also sell dairy products, sauces and kitchenware. As you go deeper in the store, it turns into a bistro, where you can eat by a table, from a selection of food served in an inexpensive buffet. The food is original, light and delicious. Don't forget to leave some room for one of the irresistible homemade cakes. Ohh... they're just too good! We usually try more than one kind.At the front there are tables to sit and enjoy the small garden and open air. The store is decorated with different craft works that add an artistic touch to the place, and are for sale too.
Address: Rua Dr. Armando Barbedo, 257, Tristeza Tel. 3266.9301
Opening hours: Mon.-Sat. 10:00-19:00, Sun. 12:00-19:00. Packed on weekends.

Home made soft cheese

Sometimes I really miss having a low fat and tasty soft cheese. The only soft cheese I could find here was Philadelphia or Alluete which are very fat. So I make my own cheese by taking 6-8 containers of Parmalat Iogurte Natural 200ml. (see picture). The blue one has around 4% fat and the green is fat free. I mix them with a little bit of salt and put all in a cloth diaper (the old fashion diapers). I tie the cloth above the sink and let the water drain for couple of hours and...voila! The time depends on the desired consistency. 4 hours would give softer cheese and 10 hours would give a firmer one. The cheese can stay for a long period of time in a close container in the fridge and is also good for baking purposes.

Feta Cheese

A good feta cheese can be found in different delis and also in Nacional stores. It has 4 months validity and is made in Brazil by Lacaune company. Made of goat milk.
Click on the photo below to enlarge image.