This is just a sample of the stuff our new found online friend Linda has on her blog. For more of her posts, you can reload this page to get some other random entries, or visit her site and read them all!
- Cooking with kids at home - I am at home with my 3 year old son at the moment. He is on school holiday until Thursday next week.
He is slowly but surely driving me insane, no question. But I love him to bits of course so I really shouldn´t complain. Every day, not only now when he is on holiday, I struggle to make dinner without feeling stressed.
Having someone calling you the whole time doesn´t really give you much pleasure cooking. I always try different things like giving him a snack or try and make him play with something. usually it fails. He keeps calling me and it is amazing that while I am writing this he hasn´t called me once. So really I should go and cut my chicken now.
We are having fried chicken with rice for dinner. It´s not something we eat very often as it´s fat. But once in a while...
If you have kids at home, what do you do to keep them busy while cooking? And don´t tell me that they are helping you... :) - Hey Linda aren´t you cooking? - Of course I am!
It feels as if I am eating more than ever, I just haven´t had the time to write about it.
I have a yummy cupcake recipe coming up as well as a recipe for Pão de queijo, cheese bread.
Seriously I have sooooo many recipes that I want to share with you, I just need to write them down...
Well who ever waits for something good can wait a bit longer... OK I know that is freely translated from Swedish " Den som väntar på något gott". :) - Menu Plan Monday July 23rd - This is the first time I participate in Menu Plan Monday.
Menu plan Monday is a theme that is held every Monday over at Laura´s.
We are on a budget this week so this week there are no extravaganzas at all on our table. Simple, healthy and cheap food. I am cleaning out my cupboards this week! So I am only cooking what I have at home.
Monday: Simple Tomato Soup w meat and Cheese bread, Pão de Queijo. * Recipe coming up*
Tuesday: Black bean burgers with basil risotto and fried cauliflower.
Wednesday: Rice and steak with mushroom sauce.
Thursday: Minestrone soup á la Linda
Friday: Lanche - Typical Brazilian hamburgers without the hamburgers but with sausages.
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Lunch at my MIL, dinner- leftovers.
Minestrone soup á la Linda: No exact measurements as it depends on how many portions you want to make.
You need:
Onions
Garlic
Water
Herbs such as basil, thyme and salvia
Tomato puré
Paprika spice
Pasta
Quickly fry the onion and the garlic.
Add the remaining ingredients except the pasta, put it to the boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add the pasta. When the pasta is cooked, serve the soup with bread.
Simple, or simple??
Tags:menu plan monday, minestroni soup, brazilian, cheese bread - Planning a trip to Brazil -
I recently wrote a post on my Swedish food blog about planning a trip to Brazil and thought I'd share it with you here as well. If you have any tips that you think should be included please do leave a comment.
When should I go? It is worth remembering that the seasons are opposite here so when it is winter in the US/Europe it is summer here. If you want really warm weather December is perfect. The rest of the year it is pretty mild. The more south you go in the winter the colder it gets. Winter starts around June 20.
Where should I go? I am not the best person to advice in this matter I'm afraid, but I can give you some general advice. If you long to go to beautiful beaches Florianópolis is a good choice. Guia Floripa will tell you everything about what to see and do in Florianópolis. Mind you it is in Portuguese but you might still find it interesting.
The more south you go the more reminders of European culture you will see. Brazil has a lot of European immigrants, especially in the south, and some parts only speak Polish or German.
A trip to Rio De Janeiro should of course be included (you can see the famous Copa Cabana walk to the left ) and if you are a fan of amusements parks you really should not miss Beto Carrero, one of the largest parks in the world. You will need about two days to go through the whole park.
More inspiration on where to go and where to stay I suggest checking out Lonely Planet and Virtual Tourist. There you can find almost any information you are looking for.
Where should I stay? Where to stay depends totally on how thick your wallet is or to say how much you can afford to spend. Trough Hotels Combined you can get hotel prises not only for Brazil but for the rest of the world as well. Just enter where you want to go and how much you are willing to spend and they will giver you the options and prices.
You can also find hostels but in smaller cities you may have to stay at a hotel instead. Or if you are staying for a longer period of time; why not rent a house? Unfurnished house prices starts at $150/month and up. The closer to the beach the more you will be asked to pay.
How much money will I need? It is never advised to go on a holiday and try to save money meanwhile. But if you are on limited funds it might help you to know that our monthly food bill is around $200 and includes fruit, meat and everything else needed for 2 adults and one child. For the rest it all depends on where you are staying and what you will do while here.
Can I bring and use my iPod/MP3/Laptop etc? As long as you can bring it into Brazil on legal terms you should be able to use them without problems. I advice you to buy an adapter before you go, Brazil has several different sockets.
The food: What do they eat in Brazil? That is a common question from tourists. When it comes to food there are some differences as well. The northern part use more spices and fruits in the food while the rest of Brazil normally keep to a more general diet not too different from the rest of the world. You will always see chili sauce on the table but it is optional and not very strong.
Visas: Contact your embassy or consulate for questions like these.
But I don't speak Portuguese? If you want to make yourself understood a crash course in Portuguese will probably be a good idea. Most Brazilians do not speak English, if you approach teenagers you might be lucky to hold a conversation in English.
Safety: Brazil is a wonderful country and people are very open minded and talkative. Though the general advice among Brazilians are to take everything with a pinch of salt and not believe everything you are told. Not that they lie, it's a cultural thing.
If someone wants to help you with your stuff be careful and attentive. If you do not know the person it is better not to let go of your things or leave them out of sight. Avoid walking by yourself at night and especially on deserted streets. Ask at the hotel which streets you should avoid. To wander into the slum is probably not a good idea!
As long as you use common knowledge and are attentive everything should be OK. I know I absolutely love Brazil and I'm sure you would too if you come here! :)
Have a great tip about Brazil? Share!
Click on the images to see more beautiful images from Brazil! - Blog contributors wanted -
Do you love to blog about food?
Brazilian Food Love is looking for contributors!
I do not have the time needed to post regularly myself but this blog receives a steady flow of traffic everyday and it would be a shame to let it go to waste, therefor I am now looking for blog contributors and guest bloggers!
What I am looking for:
One or two experienced bloggers with a passion for food. Experience in writing recipes is a must as well as fluency in English. Ability to post at least 1-3 posts per week. You also need to be willing to spread the word about BFL- the more exposure for the blog the better for you as well. SEO experience is good but not necessary.
Brazilian writers will have preference but is absolutely no requirement.
What you get:
This is the sad part for some- no money but you do get exposure. Brazilian Food Love receives a steady flow of daily traffic and has a high rank in Google searches. You will be presented on the blog as a contributor in which you can link to your blog(s). A link to your blog and introduction post will be available in the sidebar.
At the moment this blog does not have any kinds of income, however, should it start to receive a steady flow of income I will discuss payment with you. As freelance writer myself I do know how important it is to get the right exposure and to get paid for it.
You will also receive blogging guidance if needed.
Don't want to become a regular contributor but a Guest Blogger? That can also be arranged.
If interested please send an email to: brazilianfoodlove *@*gmail.com with subject: Blog Contributor or Guest Blogger
Remove the *. Please include a link to your current blog(s) as well as tell me how often you would be able to post.
Technorati Tags: blog contributors, blogger wanted, guest bloggers, brazilian food, food blogs
- Jabuticaba cooking -
My mother in law called me on Saturday and told me that there were lots of Jabuticabas on her mother in laws jabuticaba tree. I had already told her that I wanted some so I told my husband that we needed to go there immediately.
Jabuticaba is like a big blue colored berry that grown along the tree branches. Inside it is white and got tiny kernels. Those you either spit out or squeeze out.
We got to my husbands granny and my husband climbed the tree and started picking the jabuticabas. He picked 4 plastic bags. One being really big. I ended up with almost 3.
When I came home I rinsed them all in the sink and started to think about how I would store them. All my bowls were too small so I went and got the biggest bowl I had.
I am not sure how big this bowl is but it´s huge, probably 20 liters or so. The Jabuticabas are really big so I figure I had about 10 liters in the bowl. Here you can see the differnce between my big one and a normal little bowl.
My mission was to make squash and jelly from it. I have made 2 liters of squash so far. Burned one load of jelly and managed to make one load of jelly into syrup.
So it’s going pretty good. *lol*
The syrup will be for ice cream or yogurt, it´s very sweet. And todays mission is to make Liquor de Jabuticaba, a sweet tasting liquor with Cachaça – sugarcane rum.
I haven’t started on that yet so I can´t tell you how it´s coming on. But hopefully it will be good. And I still have about 4 liters of Jabuticabas left that I need to take care of today so I think I will make more squash as that seems to be the easiest. - Abacate -
I love avocado. It´s a wonderful fruit, yes it is a fruit actually, and you can use it in so many different ways.
I usually just use it in salads but you can make just about anything from it.
For more tips on how to use avocados and to see what nutrients it contains read more over at Daily Power Walk and Avocado, a versatile fruit.
How do you like your avocados? - Updates - It´s funny, I don´t even update this blog very often and yet there is a handful of people that comes here everyday.
That makes me very glad of course!
When you realize that you have readers you get a kick to continue and of course it´s the same for me.
So what will happen here in the near future? Well you can be prepared to get lots of food talk, foodbloggie talk, reviews and an insight in daily Brazilian life.
Thanks for stopping by! See you soon! - What will the food be like? -
What will the food be like?
That is a normal and very common question when you go abroad. But strange as it seems it´s never anything that has worried me. I have never thought too much about it.
When I traveled in Thailand for 6months it was a slight problem, I don´t like noodles, I don’t eat spicy food and I hate curry. So basically you could say I don´t like Thai food. But actually I do. I learned to find other kinds of food that I enjoyed. I learned how to say “fried chicken with cashew nuts". That was my favorite food when I traveled in Thailand. The way they prepare the food varies, in the south they do it one way and in the north they do it another way. I like all ways, as long as the cashew nuts are included. *lol*
And it´s the same here in Brazil of course. We in the south don´t eat the same food as they do in the north. In the north the food is more "picante" - spicy then it´s here. Or at least that’s what I’ve heard. I have never been to the north but the culinary experience is supposed to be special there.
So what will the food be like? Well that is an impossible wquestion to answer but you will surely find something you like. You can expect a lot of rice tha´s for sure. *lol*
Technorati Tags: food, thai food, brazilian food, cashew nuts, rice
- Potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes -
Marina Benjamim is from Brazil and 27 years old. From her father's side she had a dash of north Brazil and many brothers and sisters. From her mother's side, beyond a love for food and cook, she got her strong personality and charm of Rio de Janeiro.
She changed the sunny Rio de Janeiro for the grey London where she still trying to mix the flavours and colours of the Brazilian food in the land of fish and chips.
Two years ago I finally convinced myself that was time to learn English. I had tried many different courses in Brazil, but my impatient personality couldn't deal with months of “The book is on the table”.
I couldn't imagine myself spending more than a week in US, other countries like Australian sounded too far away and I couldn't stop thinking of myself only a 45 minutes flight from Paris so I decided that 6 months in London would be my best option.
Full of expectations and excitement I arrived in the Queen's land and completely fell in love. Yes the weather can be miserable, people aren't as friendly as I am used to, but what a city. London is absolutely gorgeous when sunny, I've made really good friends from all over the world (including English people even though finding them in London is unbelievable difficult), it is great being a short flight distance of "must see" places in Europe and I must admit I love pubs.
Experience a culture completely different to yours can be quite hard if you aren't open to understand and try it and I was determined to get into British culture all the same.
My second try (the first was a whole evening in a pub drinking enormous 568ml pints of beer which I can't tell much about because I have barely any memories from that night) was a trip to a supermarket.
A whole new world disclosed to me: different fishes, a whole range of can food, beans never seen before, a bacon that looks like an ham, kind of hams that look something that I couldn't have never guessed, all sort of eggs, every single dish to be microwaved. Although my biggest surprise came from one of the simplest ingredients: Potatoes. Even the smallest local mini market in the UK has at least 6 different sort of potatoes, in some places you can find more than 10 kinds for various purpose. I knew about the fish and chips but 10 was absolutely craziness for me.
Initially I couldn't believe that taste could vary, for God's sake they are potatoes, but after 2 years and many discussions drinking pints, I had to give in and admit that King Edwards is great to make chips and there is nothing like a farm fresh Nadine for a smooth and cream mash.
