Roxanne's Brazilian Beach Bungalow

No, it's not your imagination. Yes, it’s late January, and you really are feeling the warm and balmy glow from the day’s radiating, Rio de Janeiro (River of January) summer sun. Roxanne is going to be your hostess tonight, mostly because she could really use a break after romping her way through each zodiac sun sign. She loves warm, sunny beaches, so it was her idea to have us all head to Brazil for fresh fish.

Take a deep breath and smell the clean, tantalizing South Atlantic breeze as it moves across your dewy skin. The sky is clear and bright, and the stars above sparkle like diamonds. The full, saffron-yellow moon is so close that you could pluck it from the sky like a ripened canteloupe.


Roxanne and I are happy to see everyone dressed casually – wearing your sundresses, shorts and tee-shirts, because we’ll be dining outside tonight on the beach of Ipanema.


Yes, by all means, remove your sandals and flip-flops and wriggle your naked toes in the warm and delicious sand. Along with the sound of waves running onto the shore, the sexy rhythmic music you hear is the Bossa Nova and that’s the rich, distinctive voice of Astrud Gilberto (an Aries sun sign) and Stan Getz (an Aquarius sun sign) is on saxophone.



As you scratch your head trying to figure out why I'm sharing our musical entertainment's zodiac sun signs with you, be patient, you'll know soon enough. In the meantime, please try a Brazilian rum cocktail called a caipirinha. One of these will surely get you into a sultry, samba, kind of mood.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
juice of 2 limes, rinds reserved
1 cup cachaça or white rum

Directions:
Add one cup crushed ice in a cocktail shaker; combine the sugar, lime juice, cachaça, and crushed ice. Shake well. Cut the rinds into pieces and divide among four (8-ounce) glasses. Pour the caipirinhas over the rinds, stir and serve.

The double French doors in the living area lead to a covered porch and then outside onto the wooden deck. There you’ll find tiki torches lighting your way down the stairs and onto the beach. This is where our beautiful, white linen covered dinner table awaits us.


Flamingo pink, tangerine orange, crimson red, banana yellow, and parrot green are the explosive colors of the ceramic chargers and bowls at each place setting. White linen napkins sit patiently in pedestal water glasses, and look like fans waving hello. Two, large, hurricane candle holders sit on each side of the freshly cut exotic flower centerpiece.

You’ll notice Roxanne has set out place cards for everyone. And you're probably sitting next to someone you don’t know very well. No worries. She's purposely planned things that way because tonight's discussion question is:

“What's been your most memorable sexual zodiac sun sign experience? Please be prepared to elaborate with the person next to you."

While you’re all sharing your most intimate detailed astrological tryst (s) Roxanne would like to serve her succulent, fish dish now. Sticking with the theme of Brazil, she's prepared an authentic Brazilian dish called fish muqueca.

Even though we’re dining in Brazil tonight, fish muqueca served with its traditional farofa is a hearty and delicious fish stew that is easy for you to prepare at home anytime:

Ingredients:
Start by selecting a meatier type of fish, like monk, red snapper, or swordfish.
Roxanne chose swordfish for tonight’s muqueca because it was the catch of the day.


Cut fresh fish into large bite-size pieces
6 red tomatoes (diced into small pieces)
1 onion (sliced)
1 red pepper (sliced)
1 red chili with seeds (chopped)
1 bunch of fresh coriander (chopped)
1 clove of fresh garlic (chopped)
2 tbs of tomato puree
1/4 cup shrimp stalk
½ cup of coconut milk
1 tbs of palm oil
2 tbs of olive oil

Heat a large size pan and add the olive oil. Add onions and let them sweat in the oil for about a minute. Add the fresh garlic. Add red chili with seeds. Add red peppers. Add tomatoes. Stir ingredients gently. Add shrimp stalk. Add tomato puree. Let simmer for about 10 minutes until ingredients start to soften. Add fish. Let fish cook in ingredients for about 5-6 minutes. Add coconut milk. Stir ingredients. Add palm oil. Stir. Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with yellow farofa.

Ingredients for yellow farofa:
4 tbs of butter
½ cup chopped onions.
1 tbs of palm oil.
¾ cup of casava flour.
1 pinch of sea salt.

Add butter to hot frying pan. Add onions. Let onions simmer and soften in pan. Add palm oil. Add cassava flour and stir. Add salt. Serve hot with fish muqueca.

Roxanne thanks you all for coming tonight. She's enjoyed having you here. I hope you’re feeling a bit warmer now after spending an evening on Ipanema beach. I hope you enjoyed tonight’s setting, the caipirinhas, the fish muqueca and the titillating discussion of one another's most memorable, sexy sun sign experiences -

Tomorrow, the dish is a meat entrée and our hostess is multi-talented Kirsten Monroe. Kirsten flashed me her vibrant, paprika-painted toe nails as a hint of what's on the menu - we're all headed to the Mojave Desert for a Moroccan-style dining experience, complete with big pillows and a tent. Oh, and there's more too...cocktails and skinny dipping in the hot springs before dinner....I can hardly wait!