Making Tapioca -- After a long search for the proper ingredients and tools (the right pan and the right kind of sifter), Paul and I succeded in reproducing a wonderful Brasilian food: tapioca. No, this is not the tapioca that you're thinking of. This is a crepe-like creation made from the finely grated root of the manioc. the grated manioc comes in many forms. We finally found the right kind (after much asking in our broken Portuguese!) in, of course, the Ver-o-Peso market. The women who sold us the "goma de tapioco" also told us wear to go for the appropriate sieve (right across the street). SUCCESS! today we made four delicious tapiocas! (4 of 11)

Tapioca can be either sweet or salty. Here we have the fixings for both: ham and cheese for the salty one and coconut and cinnamom for the sweet. Butter is used on both the sweet and the salty versions. (Photo 4 of 11)