Ellie Bain never felt the need to own the flag of her native Brazil. Now she has ordered one, as advertisement for her fledgling business, Passion Moose, on Route 1A in Holden.

It’s not that Ellie isn’t proud of her home country. It’s just that she didn’t want to seem pushy.

“I don’t want to impose the Brazilian way on anybody,” the 37-year-old woman said.

That’s why she and her husband, James, began introducing her Brazilian cuisine slowly at the couple’s gift shop-takeout place. The business has been open since April, but they didn’t begin serving food until six weeks ago, when they received their state victualer’s license.

Initially, Ellie offered Brazilian specials only on Saturdays. Last week, she began preparing entrees daily. One popular dish is feijoada, which is black-bean stew with garlic, pork, bacon, hamhocks and herbs served with rice and collard greens. Another choice is the hot bobo de camarao, which is shrimp gumbo with roasted garlic, onions, three kinds of peppers, yuca root and coconut milk served with rice. For vegetarians, there’s tutu a mineira, which is beans processed in a blender with garlic, herbs, black pepper, yuca root flour, sauteed onions and linguica on top..

The Bains have been amazed at the response of their patrons.

“Mainers and tourists are way adventurous as far as food is concerned,” said James, 50. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised at how uninhibited people are when it comes to food.”

How did a woman born in Brazil and a man born in Puerto Rico end up serving Brazilian cuisine in eastern Maine? It really isn’t as unlikely as it sounds.

James spent time as a young child in Brazil, but he left before Ellie was born.

Elineth Teixeira (Hey-SHAY-da) Bain grew up in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the former mining state of Minas Gerais. The city is located 185 miles north of Rio de Janeiro and roughly the same distance from the Atlantic coast.

Since Ellie grew up, as she put it, “away from the water,” her daily meals didn’t include much seafood, but were made up of vegetables, meat, rice and beans.

She began learning to cook at age 11 and has been working in food service half her life.

The couple met in, of all places, a candle factory on Cape Cod. They’ve now been married for four years, and for most of that time have dreamed of opening their own Brazilian restaurant.

The Bains, who live in Brewer, are also working on another project: gaining resident-alien status for Ellie. Then they want to bring Ellie’s four daughters from a previous marriage to live with them. Two are very interested in helping out with the couple’s food business.

Both Ellie and James speak English, Spanish and Portuguese, and they chose to live in Maine because “we wanted to bring [her daughters] someplace where they would have to learn English,” James said. “We teach them English over the phone when we talk to them each week.”

They wanted to open a restaurant, but didn’t have sufficient funds. They had already leased the blue-and-orange striped building, and decided to start off as a gift shop. In addition to the usual sunglasses and shirts touting the merits of nearby lakes, they offer a series of offbeat arts and crafts.

They also have a number of items imported from Brazil. There’s a rack of bikinis (“not the string-thong type,” James was quick to note, “although we have been asked to bring [that kind] in.”) There’s an area with foodstuffs, including juices, soda, coffee, tea and cookies. Ingredients for Brazilian cooking, including coconut milk, yuca and manioc flour, suba (yellow corn meal), canjica (equivalent of hominy grits), and caramel milk, are available as well.

But, first and foremost, the Bains want to be in the food business.

“Retail on this road is difficult,” James said. “Food appeals to everyone with a stomach.”

So what exactly does Brazilian food taste like? Ellie struggled a little with the question, then replied, “Well, people who have eaten it have said it’s like a mix of Italian and Mexican, with lots of garlic, herbs and spices.”

James also tried to differentiate between spicy and hot for the uninitiated.

“Spicy to Americans means hot,” he said. “Spicy to Brazilians means fragrant and savory. The idea is to taste and smell the food at the same time. About 85 percent of the dishes Ellie makes are not spicy.”

Much of the Passion Moose menu would look familiar to any traveler: breakfast items such as muffins and bagels, sandwiches, salads and soups.

But there are Brazilian options too. For those on the run, there are empadas (chicken pie with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olives and herbs), pastel assados (a dough pocket filled with meat, onions, tomatoes and herbs), esfihas (a sweet bread dough pocket filled with meat, onions, tomatoes and herbs) and pao de queijo miniero (a cheese bread made from manioc starch dough). Ellie bakes the pastries early each morning, and later in the afternoon as needed.

Ellie creates the snacks and main courses in the building’s small kitchen. Everything is baked because the kitchen lacks the fire-suppression and ventilation systems required by the state for installation of such equipment as an oven-range and a deep-fat fryer.

“It’s like cooking in the galley on a ship,” James said. “You put three people in there, and it gets crowded.”

Ellie is more philosophical about the setup.

“I’ll need more equipment as we grow,” she said. “But this is a good chance to find out exactly what I will need.”

On this recent afternoon, two tourists come in, looking for some strong Brazilian coffee. While more is brewing, one of the men mentions that he used to live in Sao Paolo, the Brazilian capital. James then engages him in a conversation in Portuguese.

“It’s amazing how many Americans come in who have visited Brazil or lived there,” James said later.

Although they have many ideas, the couple isn’t sure what direction their business will take in the future.

“We’re only sure that we want to grow,” James said.

Passion Moose is open 5:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 5:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 989-6330.

Ellie Bain offered these recipes with readily available ingredients.

Bacalhau a Mineira

(Mineira-Style Salt Cod)

2.2 pounds salt codfish (bacalhau)

1.1 pounds potatoes

Sprig of rosemary

1 tablespoon parsley

1/2 tablespoon garlic paste

1 cup olive oil

7 ounces olives

1 bunch of kale or collard greens

1 small cabbage

2 medium yellow onions

2 hard-boiled eggs

Soak cod overnight, changing the water four times. Place cod in a pan with water and bring to boil. Remove bones and skin, taking care not to break up the fillets too much.

Separately, cook the potatoes in water with salt (to taste) and garlic paste. Break up the cabbage and the kale (don’t cut), place in layers in a baking pan.

Layer the onions (thinly sliced) first, then the cod, potatoes, kale and cabbage. Sprinkle with rosemary and parsley, then repeat the layering process.

On top layer, garnish with olives and chunks of boiled eggs. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Paella Valenciana

2 cups water

2 cups rice (not washed)

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon garlic paste

1/2 tablespoon saffron

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1 1/3 pounds chicken (breast, legs, thighs), cut into chunks, seasoned with a splash of basil and half of the garlic paste

1 1/3 pounds rabbit (breast, legs, thighs), cut into chunks, seasoned with a splash of saffron and the other half of the garlic paste

7 ounces string beans or green beans

4 medium tomatoes, cut in chunks

In a cooking pan, warm the olive oil. Add the chicken and rabbit. Fry for 30 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally to brown equally. Cut string beans into 2-inch pieces, add to the pan and cook over low heat for about five minutes. Add paprika, tomatoes and water, cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Add saffron and salt to taste. Add rice, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat. If water dries before rice is cooked, add more water. Let rest five minutes before serving.

Figo com Presunto e Alecrim

(Figs with Ham and Rosemary)

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

7 ounces cooked ham, thinly sliced

4 figs (ripe)

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Splash of salt

In a bowl, mix heavy cream, salt, lemon juice and a splash of olive oil. Beat with a fork until lightly thick. Set aside.

Cut each fig in three wedges without separating them. Place a fig in the center of each plate, then place ham around each one. Sprinkle rosemary and pour sauce on figs and ham, then serve.

Note: Fresh figs sometimes are available at local supermarkets. The fruit can be special-ordered through the produce departments of stores in both the Hannaford and Shaw’s chains.