By the Way: Cozido!!!

Dora's annual feast--Cozido--was held at her home in Sao Francisco on Saturday. She and her two sisters, Olga and Alice, along with the family cook Adriana, had been shopping and cooking for days; and from what Cecilia told me, we were all in for a special day.

Our hostesses for Cozido were "the three Marias"
(l-r) sisters Maria Alice, Maria Auxiliadora, Maria Olga

Cozido (koo SZEE due) actually means "boiled" if you look up the word on FreeLang. C explained that there would be several different kinds of meats and all manner of vegetables served buffet style on a long table. I thought it sounded a little like a pot-luck dinner at church where everyone brings a casserole, meat, vegetable, salad, dessert, or bread to share with a large gathering. And, in fact, that's what Cozido looked like on the serving table; but the difference was, all the dishes were prepared by the hostesses and all were boiled. The Gringa just arrived in time to enjoy it all.

Dressed casually in that comfy faded denim color and clutching a bright bouquet of red tropical flowers, Dora was standing at the second gate to her home. Warm and happy, she called out greetings to us with lively chatter from her perch to the street. Kisses and hugs were the tickets we received to ascend the hill to the party. Packing Daniel in his car seat, stroller frame, shopping bag stocked with a double recipe of my cornbread and assorted other necessities, Cecilia, Will, cousin (and driver!) Andre, and I arrived just a little breathless at the kitchen door.

By the time I met Adriana and walked out onto the patio, Cecilia--with Daniel in her arms-- was surrounded by cousins, aunts, and friends. They were all standing at a polite distance but craning their necks as far forward as possible to get a look at Cecilia and the little 3 week-old miracle.

C's Tia Alice gets the best view of her new great-nephew.

Cousins Talking

Greetings
BTW: The coat rack on the right is provided for purses,
because one must never put a purse on the ground.
The Brasilian superstition is that if you put your purse on the ground,
all your money will run away and you will be poor.

Tio Carlos offered me a chair at the table where he was sitting with three other grown men--one of his sons, a grandson, and a nephew.

Tio Carlos talks politics with his son Alex and his nephew Tacio.

I scanned the patio to take in the guests. A table at the other end of the open-air space held some folks whom I guessed were not blood relatives, only because they weren't hovering around the newest arrival. The Gringa went over to speak to them--brave, huh!? In my best Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese I said my name is Sandy. I'm from Texas in the United States. Several at the table stared, but one woman decided to bite. She and I had a small conversation, which I appreciated. With a smile, I asked her to speak to me as if I were a 2 year-old. She encouraged me to calm down when I got flustered while trying to find a word or phrase. This lady and her table mates were neighbors that Dora had invited to Cozido.

Between the 'north' neighbors and the 'south' family was a large open patio with plenty of seating for the meal. Several couches invited conversations and relaxed views of the tropical mountainsides and Sao Francisco Bay.

The weather was warm and breezy with a smell of distant rain in the air.

The third time I went back to the kitchen for more water, Adriana and Maria Cecilia were plating all the Cozido onto serving dishes. There was a definite way to place the vegetables in each dish. It was clear across language barriers that Adriana took pride in presentation

The kitchen table was a staging area for all the plating.

The Gringa made certain that I put the right thing on its designated platter, and Adriana sprinkled chopped parsley like Kitchen Fairy dust on several dishes before passing them to the serving table outside.

Dora's shouts and the ring of a brass bell were our cues to line up for Cozido.

Cozido from the starting end of the buffet.

Cozido from the other end of the buffet line.

Not sure how the table held all the food; there were probably 3 or 4 yards of plates, bowls, and platters, and all of it looked delicious. Everything on the table was familiar to the party-goers--except the cornbread! As I stood in line for my turn, I watched four women take one 2"x2" square and cut it into tiny pieces to determine what in the world it was. Acceptable to one, disgusting to another, take-it-or-leave-it to two. Helio, who is a big fan of my cornbread, said that would leave more for him.

Line up for Cozido!

Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, and Green Peppers sprinkled with Parsley

Potatoes and Yams
These are the real thing--yams. Not the sweet potatoes that we sometimes call 'yams.'

Collard Greens, Onions, Chayote Squash, Corn

Beef, Pork, Sausage, Ribs

On my plate were cornbread, collard greens, white beans, carrots, pumpkin, onion, and tastes of beef and pork. Sounds like a good ol' down home Southern meal, doesn't it?! I also tried an unfamiliar green pepper that most guests did not like. In fact, Helio said his mother Dora was the only one who liked it because it was "very bitter." What Helio called "very bitter" was tasty to this Gringa--a little on the mild side, not unlike a regular green bell pepper in taste and consistency. Acceptable to one, disgusting to another, right?

Brasilian food is not spicy at all--at least not the Garcia Maia Brasilian food that we've shared. It's tasty, and there's no shortage of onions and garlic, but there's no heat like one finds in TexMex or Italian or Caribbean cuisine. The "National Dish of Brasil"--black beans or feijoada (fay DJWAH duh)--is really good. It's generally served with rice and a generous sprinkling of farofa (fah ROF ah), which is manioc flour toasted with butter, salt, and bacon. What's not to like, right?

I sat at the table with Will, Cecilia, Helio, and Maria Cecilia. We were pretty much in the middle of the patio, surrounded by what I would guess were 30 or more people.

A great afternoon for eating, drinking, and talking.

Chatting

You know that tag-team eating dance you do with a new baby, where the least hungry or tired adult steps up to walk/rock/sway/jiggle or otherwise entertain the little one? I was up, and grateful for a date with Daniel. Food can wait!

In the house after lunch, Cecilia and Will found a cool, calm spot with a small fan for Little Man to nurse and chill out.

Calming down in a cool room.

The last time these three sat on this couch, Daniel was yet-soon-to-be born.

Friends came in to visit and get a close look at the baby in his "Made in Texas" onesie. Lots of people needed and explanation of the onesie's message. "Wait," they'd say, "wasn't he was born in Brasil?" Yes, but . . .

Daniel--Made in Texas

There were several other children at the party with their parents. All of them were so cute in their diverse ways. Will hatched a plan to amuse three of the older children with a section of gutter material and a big tub of matchbox cars that belonged to now-teen-aged Joao.

At 4 months, he was a little young for matchbox cars.

This little guy stayed busy with hands full of cars and an impromptu ramp
designed by Will.

Some of Joao's Treasures

A Pretty Smile and Angel Hair

The only thing missing to duplicate Brasilian traffic
is beeping motorcycles weaving helter-skelter between lanes.

Joao and two of his friends were down one level below the patio where two of Dora's three dogs were tied up. Instead of playing X Box in the cool room where Daniel was nursing, they were involved with their skateboards and a curved wooden ramp. I'm not sure they even ate anything; but we all heard the occasional wipe-out throughout the afternoon.

A beautiful, huge, fluffy, white layer cake now sat on the table where we had eaten our lunch.

Adriana's Beautiful Cake

Olga, Dora, and Alice were passing around trays of little sweets. One was very similar to a praline, only with peanuts instead of pecans--yes, I'll have another!

C's Tia Olga offers me another delicious sweet.

There was a large tub of sugar cane, fresh from Tio Carlos' yard in Itaipu. Also available were watermelon, pineapple, and a candy that seemed to be stiff tapioca coated with fresh grated coconut.

The older children try to be patient over cake and ice cream delays.

When Dora called everyone together for the cake, it was to celebrate the birthdays of Cecilia, Dora, Helio, and Maria Cecilia. All of these happened from February 24 through March 2! The entire group gathered around, clapping and singing The Birthday Song. Then there were organized cheers, a song of blessing, and other songs that I wasn't familiar with.

Happy Birthday to You! -- Parabens pra Voce!

The quartet of birthday celebrants was duly recognized. The cake was cut and served. Adriana had made this beauty, and it was a delicious, moist, white layer cake with white icing and fresh grated coconut.

Cutting the Cake
Dora (February 27), Cecilia (February 24),
Helio (March 1), Maria Cecilia (March 2)

Close your mouth so you don't drool!

I fed a piece to Will, who was holding Daniel . . .,

. . . then went back for my treat. (Maybe if you're coming in April for the wedding, you'll get to have a piece. Well, not a piece of that specific cake, but another just like it that Adriana might agree to make for the occasion.)

Not long after the cake and ice cream, Will told me that we were leaving. The afternoon was so pleasant, but we needed to exit before any mosquitoes started their hunt for Daniel's tender skinny legs. Besides, both Mommy and Dad could count on both hands the number of hours they had slept in the previous 36 hours. After many good-byes and thank-you's--kisses on one cheek or two, hugs, tchau, 'brigada--we were down the steps with all the Daniel gear, back in Andre's car for the ride home.

I enjoyed my first Cozido very much. Dora and her sisters did a great job of hosting a huge feast for family and friends. I'm glad I was invited!