Save Room for Dessert: From Texas Tables to Brazilian Kitchens

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #422: Food and Drink

Beth is our Lens-Artists leader this week. She opened her post saying, “This challenge is all about food and drink.” I had trepidation about the topic because food isn’t on my radar when it comes to photography. I somehow felt I couldn’t capture a photo as good as the actual food. Nevertheless, when I looked at my catalog, I had plenty of images to pick from, and all of them were shot with my Samsung S23 phone camera. Suddenly, my problem became one of selecting only a few images for the challenge. Be sure to visit Beth’s post to get more ideas. She opens the topic very wide.

Ever since we moved to Round Rock’s Teravista neighborhood, I’ve been exploring the nearby restaurants. Luckily, there are plenty to choose from, whether for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. One of my favorites is Lupe Tortilla, with over 30 restaurants in Texas. I love a restaurant that dedicates a separate menu to its vegetarian entrées instead of listing only a couple of dishes. I’m not a true vegetarian, and I call myself ‘flexitarian’. I rarely eat meat, but I don’t mind if a dish or side contains a small amount. Lupe Tortilla knows I’m a regular, and the wait staff even remembers what I like.

My go-to is the Spinach & Artichoke Enchiladas. Soft corn tortillas are rolled around fresh spinach, tender artichoke hearts, and melted Monterey Jack, then blanketed in a velvety roasted red pepper cream sauce (other sauces are available, but I rarely stray). The spinach and artichokes bring an earthy, almost buttery richness, the cheese stretches with every forkful, and the sauce adds a gentle, mellow warmth that ties it all together. On the side, I ask for corn on the cob and beans, and here’s where a new waiter gets confused: I prefer charro beans over the black beans you see in the photo. They carry a few small pieces of meat, but they’re slow-simmered, savory, and worth the exception.

Then comes the Mexican Street Corn, which might be my favorite thing on the plate. The cob is charred over the flame until the kernels blister and turn sweet and smoky, then finished with red pepper butter, a cool, creamy dollop of jalapeño tartar sauce, Lupe seasoning, and a dusting of chili spice. Each bite is sweet, tangy, creamy, and just a little bit hot. Yes, corn on the cob is messy. When it tastes this good, a stack of extra napkins is a small price to pay.

I don’t drink alcoholic beverages much. In a social setting, I may have a glass of wine, but with a Tex-Mex meal, a frozen strawberry or mango margarita is hard to pass up. This one is strawberry: icy, sweet-tart, and blushing red, with a wedge of lime waiting to brighten the first sip. No, the restaurant does not serve it with neon lights. That was an effect I added in Luminar.

When it comes to desserts, I do have a sweet tooth. I enjoy many, but here are three of my absolute favorites.

I have never had a bad flan in my life. A good one is silky and cool, trembling slightly under the spoon, with a glossy amber caramel that pools around the slice and leaves a faint, bittersweet edge on the tongue. This one arrived with a candle on top for my husband’s birthday, mint, and a few blackberries, which only made it sweeter. The Brazilian version is called “pudim,” usually made with sweetened condensed milk, which gives it a denser, creamier texture. But no matter the nationality, a flan is a flan is a flan. It’s hard to resist.

One of my brothers makes the best cocada de forno, a baked coconut sweet. Let’s see if I can explain what it is. Cocada de forno is pure tropical comfort in every bite. Freshly grated coconut is folded into a rich mix of sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and butter, then baked until the top turns a deep caramel gold and crackles at the edges while the center stays soft, moist, and almost custardy. The first forkful gives you that toasty, slightly crisp crust, then melts into a tender, chewy layer that tastes of warm sugar and sun-ripened coconut. It’s the kind of dessert you smell before you see it, drifting out of kitchens and street stalls across Brazil’s Northeast, and it’s best eaten still a little warm, ideally with a strong cafezinho, when every square feels like a small, sweet taste of the beach.

The last photo is another Brazilian delicacy. When we were in the state of Minas Gerais this past June, we had been warned about its cuisine. We knew we would have lots of cheese and bread varieties in addition to the main local dishes. What I was not anticipating was this cheesecake with guava jelly. The cheesecake is dense, creamy, and slightly tangy, crowned with a thick, glossy layer of guava that is deep ruby, jammy, and sweet, with that floral perfume only guava has. Brazilians call the pairing of cheese and guava paste “Romeu e Julieta,” Romeo and Juliet, because the two simply belong together, and Minas is where the romance is at its best. I grew up with three types of guava trees in our backyard, and that unmistakable flavor takes me straight back to my childhood. Turning the classic pairing into a cheesecake creates a delicacy like no other. Luckily, a local Venezuelan restaurant has something almost similar to Romeo & Juliet. Theirs replaces the cheesecake with ice cream.

I started this challenge worried that a photo could never do food justice, and I still think that’s true. No picture can hand you the crackle of a cocada crust or the scent of warm guava. But as I look through these images, I realize each one holds more than a meal: a favorite booth where the staff knows my order, my brother’s kitchen, a trip through Minas, a backyard full of guava trees. Maybe that’s what food photos are really for. Not to replace the taste, but to bring back the table and the people around it.

Patti’s Geometry challenge was lots of fun, contrary to geometry itself. I am glad so many beautiful, geometrical images appeared every day. Great posts, y’all! I hope you will join this challenge, too. Please don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag in your posts so people can find your wonderful challenge entries.

Next week, Ann-Christine will feature a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in then to find out more about the challenge. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:

• Tina of Travels and Trifles.
• Patti of P.A. Moed.
• Ann-Christine of Leya.
• John of Journeys with Johnbo.
• Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
• Sofia of Photographias.
• Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
• Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
• Beth of Wandering Dawgs.

That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Brazil, Cellpic Sunday, Cityscapes, Food, Lens-Artists, Teravista, and Texas. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.

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• Posted for John’s Cellpic Sunday.