Pancakes

I like pancakes but for me they are only another excuse to eat berries, lots of berries, any kind of berries really. That's why I chose the picture above for this post's main picture.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Oh, Peanut Butter!  People either love you or hate you, right? My daughter and I love you so this peanut butter smoothie recipe is one of our favorites. I hope you like it.

How To Freeze a Banana

 This is the first post of my new 'menu' of How To's.

Bananas are great for smoothies and it is a shame to have them go bad. So the solution is
FREEZE THEM.

Rice Pudding / Arroz Doce

This recipe of 'arroz doce' has become my son’s favorite desert. After many trials with different recipes and variations I came up with this recipe that is 'creeeeeammy' and has the right amount of sweetness. 

Brazilian Ambrosia

Ambrosia is a sweet that my mother used to make as a special desert. It is totally different from the ambrosia known in the US. The Brazilian ambrosia has Portuguese origins. It takes a long time to cook but it is actually very easy to make.

What You Need:

• 1 liter milk
• 6 eggs
  
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 cinnamon stick  ( 1 pauzinho de canela)
• powder cinnamon

What To Do:

Gather your ingredients. 

I made just half the recipe and that's what you see in the picture.

Put milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a blender and blend until all ingredients are well mixed. This will take less than a minute and transfer to a tall pan.

OR Put milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a tall pan ...

... and using a hand blender mix it until all ingredients are well mixed (like in the picture to the left). 

Using a tall pan assures the mix will not overflow when it boils. Note: Actually the pan in the picture is not very tall so I needed to be extra careful when making this ambrosia.

Put the cinnamon stick and turn the heat to medium high.

 

Mix gently until it boils.

The mix will rise, so be careful. Turn down the heat to low and keep mixing until mixture goes down a little.

Put the lid on the pan and let it cook in very low heat for about 2 hours or until the liquid reduces to a thick sauce.

Stir once in a while so the eggs do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
The eggs will start to form lumps.  

After 40 minutes you can see that there is still a lot of liquid in the pan and that the eggs are solidified and forming lumps. 
Be patient, the liquid will slowly be reduced to a nice thick sauce. 

Keep using the spatula to loosen the eggs from the bottom of the pan.

 


The ambrosia will get darker.

When the liquid is reduced to a thick sauce remove the cinnamon stick and turn off the heat.

Use a silicone spatula to break the eggs into smaller lumps.  
Put the ambrosia in a covered glass container and store in the refrigerator but serve at room temperature.
You can leave it out of the fridge if you'll be consuming it in 2 to 3 days.

Before you serve sprinkle with cinnamon powder.













Receita em Português

Você vai precisar de:

• 1 litro de leite integral
• 2 ovos
• 2 xícaras de açúcar
• 1 colher de café de baunilha
• 1 pauzinho de canela 
• canela em pó para colocar em cima quando servir

Um detalhe: esta receita de ambrosia é bastante doce mas se você é daqueles que gostam de doce que dá arrepio quando a gente come, ou quer matar a sogra diabética, então coloque 3 xícaras de açúcar.

E agora pessoal, mãos à massa:
Separe tudo o que vai precisar, assim você não fica correndo de um lado para o outro que nem uma maluca (ou maluco) na cozinha.

Coloque o leite, ovos, açúcar e baunilha no liquidificador. 
Bata até que os ingredientes estejam bem misturados o que deve levar menos de 1 minuto.

Transfira tudo para uma panela 'alta' e coloque o pedaço de canela.
Use fogo médio alto e fique mexendo.
Deve-se usar uma panela alta para que a mistura não derrame quando o leite ferver. Já pensou que chateação limpar leite derramado?

Mexa até a mistura ferver. Fique de olho pois leite não tem muito boa índole e vai ficar esperando você atender um telefone e se distrair pra subir, transbordar e ficar rindo de você limpando a sujeira. Já aconteceu comigo, é claro.

Quando o leite ferver abaixe o fogo para o mínimo possivel e fique mexendo até o leite se acalmar, ou seja até ele não subir mais.

Tampe a panela e deixe nesse fogo baixinho por 2 horas mas você vai precisar checar o doce de meia em meia hora. Não vai esquecer do doce no fogão como eu já fiz. Coloque no timer do seu iPhone, iPod, iPad ou Macbook (deu pra reparar que eu sou uma iGirl?) 

Depois de meia hora a mistura já começa a empelotar. Dê uma mexida para soltar as pelotas do fundo e lados da panela. 
Repita esse procedimento a cada meia hora.

Depois de 2 horas a ambrosia já deve estar pronta ou quase pronta. Gente, e o cheirinho do doce que delícia! Aliás tudo com canela cheira bem demais.
Pode então retirar o pau de panela e jogue-o fora.

Se ainda tiver muito caldo destampe a panela e deixe o caldo engrossar. Fique de olho senão o caldo seca todo e a panela queima e o único jeito é jogar a panela fora, Também já fiz isso. 

Guarde em uma compoteira fora da geladeira até uns 3 dias. Depois disso é melhor guardar na geladeira, principalmente no calorão e umidade do Rio.
Salpiquem canela ralada antes de servir.

E comam com alegria pois doce pode não fazer bem para o corpo mas faz bem pra alma. Como dizem os americanos, it's comfort food, adoro isso!

Beijos!  

updated May 9, 2013

Butternut Squash Sweet

 

This is my adaptation of the Brazilian 'doce de abóbora'. I used butternut squash and it tastes really good! Butternut squash is a wonderful healthy 'fruit' but the sugar in this recipe kind of 'defies' its 'healthyness'. So eat it sparingly.

Brazilian Farofa with Onions

Farofa is a delicious side for "feijoada" or black beans. Family recipes vary widely.

When I tried to find a good English translation for 'farofa' nothing worked for me. It is not stuffing and if you try to eat 'farofa' like you eat 'stuffing' you will choke and die. Well not really, but you will have a horrible mass of dry stuff in your mouth that you will not be able to swallow.

Farofa is better eaten with something 'soft and wet' like beans or any meat with lots of sauce.

There are many ways to make farofa. I like it with butter (lots of butter, OMG) and chopped onions only. Occasionally I add sultanas or raisins. You can also add chopped nuts if you like.

Farofa is made with 'manioc flour'.

In LA I can find it in Latino stores of course. The store I bought this manioc flour is called "El Gaucho Meat Market", in Redondo Beach. They have all sorts of things including the famous Brazilian soda called 'Guaraná'.

There is also an online store that sells this same Manioc Flour called Amigofoods. Click HERE to go to their site. They also have a wide variety of Brazilian ingredients and foods.

The brand Yoki you see below is actually the one I buy when I am in Brazil.

 

For each cup of farofa use 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup chopped onion.  

Put the butter in a saucepan. Let the butter melt and sauté the chopped onion. 

When the onion changes color add the manioc flour and salt, about 1 teaspoon salt. If you want to add sultanas and nuts add them now.

Stir all the time so the 'farofa' cooks and toasts equally. When the 'farofa' turns into a nice golden brown color take it out of the pan, otherwise it will continue to cook and the farofa at bottom will burn. The degree of 'golden brown' is very personal.

Here I am having 'farofa' as a side for chicken stew and rice.

Variation: If you like bacon: Fry the bacon in its own fat and when it's crispy, quickly remove the bacon from the pan and cut it into small pieces. Return the bits to the pan and add chopped onion. Then add the manioc flour and let it turn golden brown.

Lentils

Lentils are a legume, which means they are part of the bean family. They are a great way to get a good daily dose of proteins. About 30% of lentils calories are from protein. Lentils have the third highest level of protein of any legume or nut.

Banana and Cheese Tortilla Sandwich (a quesadilla perhaps)

This tortilla sandwich (or should I call it open quesadilla) recipe has three sinful ingredients: sugar, butter and white flour (from the tortillas). But it also has healthy ones, 'bananas', 'cinnamon' and 'cheese' (the latest is open to discussion). Does that compensate for the harm of the sugar and white flour? Probably not. So don't indulge. Eat this quesadilla in moderation. It is a delicious treat! 

A quesadilla is actually a wheat or corn tortilla filled with a savory filling and folded in the middle. So the end shape is a half circle. But there is so much you can do with those tortillas and why not have a mix of sweet and sour like my recipe? I also think that by frying the quesadilla gives it extra flavors and color. 

Russian Borscht

I learned this recipe from a Russian friend when I lived in Finland. It was a family recipe. She said her grandmother told her that a Borscht did not have soul if it did not have meat. The meat her grandma used was not 'beef for stew' as it is in my recipe. However since I got this recipe I wrote down 'beef for stew' as I adapted for my taste and I do not remember what she used. Her grandma also used to make her own beef stock. I am sure my soup will never taste like hers but it tastes pretty good. Good enough for my kids to ask for it over and over again. Enjoy!