Feijoada!

Feijoada lunch with good friends - what better way to spend a Saturday!

Feijoada was slaves' food, black beans with all the offcuts from the big house - pigs ears, tails and trotters, etc, and fat to give it more flavour. Nowadays it 's served at the best hotels and restaurants and rivals a churrasco (barbecue) as favourite way of entertaining at home. Always served with rice and couve, which I believe is kale, orange slices to cut the fat, and often with toasted pork fat (absolutely delicious and, of course, totally bad for the health). Oh, and usually with copious amounts of alcohol - caipirinhas (cachaça with ice, sugar and lemon or other fruits), beer etc.

As designated driver, I was very virtuous today and stuck to grape juice - the non-alcoholic kind. Then we headed for the hills and are sitting in front of a log fire (well, the temperature's way down to 15 or 16 degrees Celsius). Great day all round.