the sister and me (happy birthday to us)
The sister and Alexandre conspired to buy me a FABULOUS cookbook called "Brazil: A Cook's Tour" by Christopher Idone. (Amazon link here.) It's Brazilian recipes organized by region, and it's all in English and the American measuring system. However, for the ingredients, he has an excellent glossary to explain foods specific to Brazil, how to prepare them (for example, how to cut/serve certain fruits), and the best part is when something is a misleading translation, he explains it. (For example, "abacate" IS "avocado", but the versions are different in the US and Brazil.) He also tells Americans where to buy certain hard-to-find ingredients in the US, and what can be substituted, and what can't. Then it has the conversions between the US and the metric system.
Alexandre found this book here in Brazil, so there's hope for those of you interested in it and living here, too.
Now that I'm finally FINALLY out of the school and I have a normal, post-industrial-revolution work schedule, I'm so excited to try out these recipes! I'm gonna start with easier things first (like tutu à mineira and sopa de castanha) and then hopefully make my way up to the more complicated things, like pato no tucupi (duck soup) and frango com quiabo (chicken with okra). I'll keep you posted (get it? Posted? In a blog? Har har har).
But I don't think I'll be doing much cooking today, because I'm recuperating from my birthday / véspera do feriado dinner and drinks last night. (So I suppose the title of the blog entry is a bit incorrect. Maybe it should be called "Birthday Hangover".) Also, tonight is one of the first Festa Junina parties in town, so we're gonna go pig out there.
Yay! I love food.
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yay! I'm the first to comment;D
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your cooking adventures. Duck soup sounds very ambitious I must say! I miss manjoica/yucca!!!
Parabéns, Danielle! Hope you have an amazing birthday. Congrats as well on the success and quality of your blog; I have it on my blog "speed dial". ;) By the way, I love how you are getting into all the bird species there. I didn't know there was a wiki site for Brazilian species! I have a new way to procrastinate! hehehe
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to both of you! The cookbook sounds great.
ReplyDeleteParabéns!
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on the cooking adventures! The book sounds great.
Me again -- I just visited Amazon.com to read the reviews of the cookbook you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteYikes. You might want to read the reviews and comments just to be aware of potential problems.
Still - have fun cooking!
Happy birthday! At first I thought you were going to say they conspired to bring your sister to Brazil for your birthday.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to hearing about recipes from your new cookbook! I need some new seafood recipes.
Considering moving to Brazil from Indianapolis with my Brazilian wife. Came across your blog when doing some research. Great stuff! I'm glad I found you. I'll try to stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteWanted to say that I have that same cookbook at home and LOVE it. The pics are great (although some are pretty dated) and the recipes are the real deal.
Hope you continue to do well there!
Bill from Indy