Goats and Soda – In the stories below about the soups, you may spot ingredients that the average shopper is unlikely to encounter at their local grocery store. (Good luck finding “a chicken that has not yet sung,” waterleaf harvested at 5 a.m. and zebu organs.)
We’ve provided substitutions that will hopefully help you cook up something similar.
As the traditional Brazilian soup pirão simmers in the kitchen, Geraldo Gomes prepares another traditional dish in the backyard, pounding red rice with a wooden pestle.
“Women would eat this rice with the pirão,” he says. “It helps prevent anemia and makes both the mother and baby stronger. I read somewhere that research shows red rice is good for the blood, digestion and even the heart.” Its high fiber content is the reason why.
In southeastern Brazil, Aparecida Gomes, 60, stirs a pot of pirão de galinha, a traditional Brazilian dish made by mixing broth (often chicken broth) with flour and usually served with rice.
This dish has been prescribed by midwives to postpartum women for generations and is meant to fortify the body, enrich breast milk and ward off infection (despite a lack of scientific evidence for the claims).
“When I was younger, the way we cared for women after childbirth was rooted in nature,” Rita says.
“We used what the land gave us — herbs, broths and the wisdom passed down from our ancestors. The postpartum foods and remedies we prepared were essential not only for healing but for strengthening a woman’s body after childbirth.”
In the backyard, Aparecida’s brother, Geraldo Gomes, 62, prepares arroz afogado, pounding red rice with a wooden pestle. He planted and harvested the rice himself.
The rice simmers in water with salt, pepper and onions, bubbling into a thick, hearty paste …
