Desperately Seeking...

Living in a place (far from home) where you don't get much of the food you were raised on can be trying, at times. It can be an added stressor, if you are going through a "missing home" phase.

There are three main challenges to finding particular foods or spices. Some can be overcome with time, and some you may just have to work around. (Get creative: think bribery, extreme lengths, etc. Okay. I'm kidding! Kinda...)

The main challenge is availability. Depending on just how far you are from an international hub or port, you might be delightfully surprised with a treasured find, or begin to feel a bit like Coronado in his fruitless search for the Seven Cities of Gold.

I don't remember exactly when I stopped counting how many stores I'd perused in search of chili powder, but I did... It just became a habit of checking the spice aisle, no matter why I was there, or how quick a shopping trip it was supposed to be. I was on chili-powder-seeking-autopilot.

About a year later, it paid off.

Image found here.

The second challenge is the language barrier. This is key, since some spices or foods may sound deceptively similar in two different languages, when they aren't at all. Manjericão [pronounced: "mahn-zheh-rdee-cone"] sounds like a shoo–in for marjoram, not to mention I never even saw manjerona [pronounced: "mahn-zheh-rdoh-nuh"] as it is much harder to find.

...but manjericão is actually basil! I went months without having any basil at home, because I had used it up and "couldn't find any." It was only later that I found out that I had passed on it a hundred times (not knowing it was basil) because I still had marjoram at home. Doh!

Then again, orégano is a direct translation. I love it when that happens!

Image found here.

The remaining challenge in finding flavors from home depends not only on where you are, but the scruples of the people from whom you are buying. Some opportunistic people see an accent as a sort of added tax on your purchase. It may or may not happen to you, but be aware that you run the risk of being ripped off until you get your sea legs and figure out how to barter (or inform them that you aren't a tourist, but a neighbor).

"Eu não sou uma turista, viu?! Eu moro aqui."
I'm not a tourist, got it [see]?! I live here.

...and sometimes, in our search for fabled golden whatevers, we encounter things that are way more cool than things we've previously known.

...and although it may take years or maybe never even happen that we reach our original goal, the unexpected pleasant surprises along the way take the sting out what is "missing," and we learn to not only "live with it," but revel in the bountiful blessings of our new reality.

Yes. I'm still talking food, but apply it as you see fit.

I'm specifically referring to the amazing, out of this world (but not really, since they are the norm in Brazil), delicious giant avocados that regularly rock my world these days.

The typical avocado that is available at any grocery store or farmers' market here in Brazil is about 3-5 times bigger than the Hass avocados that I was accustomed to eating back home. Some local farmers' markets have access to even bigger breeds, and being an avocado lover, I'm on cloud nine.

Sure, I miss Dr Pepper, Big Red gum, jicama, fresh jalapeños, and coffee creamer... but if I left now, I would go crazy missing the humongous avocados that are now a [huge] part of my cuisine.

Here are a few photos of some avocados that my husband brought home from work one day. They were from a tree on a nearby lot. These are the biggest I've seen, yet. I staged them with a few common items for comparison. Sorry for the quality! I still haven't had access to my backed up photos. I grabbed these from my [presently retired] personal blog.

Different angles with a standard measuring tape...



To enlarge pics, right-click and open in a new window.

I know, right!?

I'd wager that these things are so big, that I can list eating them as a legitimate hobby. One thing I haven't seen is an avocado eating contest, but I would love to represent. I'll have to look into that.