I had no idea what they were talking about when I first read the list of 100 Brazilian Dishes. Blender cake? I learned later that most homemakers here make cake by throwing all the ingredients in the blender then pouring it into a cake pan. One more use for that trusty kitchen tool–juices, seasonings, and …
100 Brazilian Dishes: Vaca Atolada
My husband and his construction crew are proving themselves to be excellent cooks. Although most of their recipes seem to demand large amounts of meat and the world’s largest pressure cooker. This week’s menu selection was vaca atolada. I did a little, hidden dance of joy over behind the sacks of plaster because it was on …
100 Brazilian Dishes: Caldo de Mocotó
One of the cousins that I’m staying with is a big fan of caldo de mocotó (cow hoof soup–yeup, you read that right). He can rattle off the best places to get it and when we all went out on Sunday night he lead us straight to a restaurant that served a buffet of six …
100 Brazilian Dishes: Geléia de Mocotó
Geléia de Mocotó = Cow hoof jelly. Not so appetizing an image, stewed hooves. However, it’s fantastic for you–loaded with tons of vitamins for strong hair, skin, and bones. I was sure that no one was going to convince me to try this anytime soon. From the time that I wrote that I wasn’t …
100 Brazilian Dishes: Artisanal Cachaça
Talk about learning the hard way: I have learned there are different grades of artisanal cachaça. All are made from sugar cane, but it seems that it makes a huge difference what type of sugar cane is used and how young (thus juicier) the cane is. How did I learn this? What bumps and bruises …
100 Brazilian Dishes – Part 2
Two weeks ago I started counting how many foods I had eaten on Onivoro’s list of 100 Brazilian Foods. It’s taken a bit of research on my part to figure out how many of them I’ve actually eaten, plus include “food-porn” photos for all my foodie friends. Here’s foods #51-100, with some of my all-time …
100 Brazilian Dishes – Part 1
Don’t ask me which is my favorite Brazilian food. I’m useless at answering that question. I love many. I can’t pick one. Reportedly food from our state of Minas Gerias is reported to be some of the best in Brazil, so maybe it’s because I’m swamped with so many fine choices. In any case, what …