People, Happy food②
A Sunday brunch is something you can’t get through the week without. Camila, Farofa, and her ukulele.
Sunlight, green plants, watercolor, Henri Matisse, and Summer. I doubt if there is a word that describes Camila better than these, funnily the first time we met was a cold windy day in November 2019. She is my classmate, from Rio de Janeiro, a slow living designer and ceramist who has a fantastic green leaf tattoo and plays awesome music with her ukulele. We both came to Milan following our passion for food and had a great time during the study–eating, drinking, and laughing.
Cami used to invite me for a brunch on weekend. Her kitchen and dining room with a large table and windows was comfy and I just loved spending time there so much. Lots of good memories knitting a tea coaster, listening to Brazilian music, and eating her delicious food together bring me back to that place today.
It was one Sunday in December 2019 she cooked for me and our friends. A beautiful yellow dish with a good smell on the table caught my eyes. It was a hearty bowl of Farofa de banana(toasted cassava flour with green banana), which is a common side dish that goes well with rice and Feijão(black bean stew). Another essential dish was ‘Daddy’s Eggs’ and she named it because her dad’s fried egg is the best. There was no rule, no order, but the joy of sharing. Her cooking is simple, tasty, and warms my soul. It has her own stories in it and is always served full of love. So until now Farofa and Feijão is my favorite Brazilian dish.
What makes the brunch even more special was the tableware made by Cami(do check her account @camilamaia.me) and her ukulele-playing. From flat plates to boob-shaped coffee mugs, they have their own characters and I could saw her unique way of seeing things. A cup of coffee, a spoonful of Brigadeiro(a dessert made of condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter), and Cami’s songs are combined and completed the relaxed afternoon.
She went back to Rio last winter and we, the food nerds, say hello to each other sending food pictures. Last time she sent me these three images below. It’s very vivid the memory of the day she packed some Farofa and Feijão for my lunch. I still miss her cool tattoo, her singing Moon River and playing the ukulele, and I am craving delicious Farofa for my brunch so bad today.
If you would like to fully enjoy this Brazilian brunch, I recommend her playlist of tracks you can listen to during the meal.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JWoTOKzICShxGQLUO329N?si=d814b3dd71d7424b
