September 2009

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 12, 2009

I hope this September Saturday is treating you well. It’s a beautiful one here. I’ve only posted a little bit about our trip to Curitiba last week, but I have to share a picture of one of my favorite parts and it has nothing to do with food. Well, actually, now that I think about it, it does have a little to do with food, just not food for me.

I’ve been completely intrigued by the Capivara (Capybara) since living in Brazil. It is the world’s largest rodent and often referred to as the “water pig”. Really, they are like great big, overgrown guinea pigs. They are so fun to watch because the young ones like to play and they seem to be incredibly docile. They hang out at the local parks in Curitiba paying no mind to the huge crowds that gather around them to watch.

When we arrived at the park last Saturday it was dinner time (hence the food reference) and they were just munching away.

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So that really has nothing to do with the links this week, but I figured there are probably some animal lovers out there who would enjoy the photos as much as I do.

May favorites from the week:

Ria’s Collection featured a lovely chocolate cake this week. A simple, straight forward recipe and her photos are always so pretty to look at.

Meatless Mama shared a Sweet Potato Quesadilla. What a great idea! I love sweet potatoes and while I’ve had small pieces in a wrap once, I’d never thought to mash them up with great flavors and make a quesadilla.

Big Food vs. Big Insurance was an article in the NY Times this week from Michael Pollan. The article focuses on how our food system fits into healthcare reform. There are a lot of great points here, a really informative and thought provoking read.

Pure Travel showed off a cool graphic – Around the World in 80 Beers. It’s just a lot of fun to look at.

1000 Recipes: Brazilian Food Will Live On

September 11, 2009

There is a term that was used to describe me when I was younger – spoiled rotten. It is hard to escape that classification when you are the baby by five years and the only girl in a family of four children. As an adult, I’d prefer to remove the rotten part, but it is impossible to remove the spoiled. Especially considering how great my husband is and all this wonderful travel we are blessed with.

The spoiling continued during our trip to Curitiba last week where I got this cookbook to keep all the wonderful foods I’ve had here in Brazil only a recipe (and a day in the kitchen) away.

Just look at it. Isn’t it beautiful?

1000 recipes of traditional Brazilian foods. There are recipes for doce de leite without sweetened condensed milk, feijoada with the tails, ears and all, recipes for the foods I ate in Minas Gerais and countless foods I’ve eaten out, but haven’t yet had a chance to recreate. It’s in Portuguese, of course, so my translation skills will get a workout, but I’ve been cooking enough over the past two years using terms and measurements in the language that it should come pretty easily.

In addition to the cookbook (yes, more spoiling) I got to expand my collection of Brazilian cookware. Remember my Pedra Sabão (soap stone pot)? This is what it looks like now, after seasoning it.

Before that came along, what I had really wanted was to find a Panela de Barro (clay pan) which are used to make many Brazilian dishes including Moqueca. Well, I got my wish.

In my research I found this excellent video about how they are made. It is in Portuguese, but you can still view the process.

So it looks like my Brazilian cooking and blog posts about it will live on long after we leave at the end of the month!

Pause for thoughts and prayers in remembrance of 9/11 today.

Sesame Flax Seed Crackers

September 10, 2009

When I first set out on this journey to reduce and eliminate packaged, processed foods from my diet I knew there would initially be things I missed. One item that I wasn’t expecting to miss so much, however, is crackers.

It is amazing how many things they pair nicely with which you don’t realize until you are trying not to eat them. I love spreads and fancy little appetizer crackers and while I’ve been trying to buy whole wheat versions, I know they still have lots of additives and preservatives that aren’t good for me.

A few months ago Healthy Ashley shared a flaxseed cracker recipe and it has been on my list to make ever since. I finally got around to trying them yesterday and I am happy to announce that they turned out wonderfully! Packaged crackers are getting kicked to the curb along with the once addiction-inducing diet soda.

I changed the recipe in a few ways. First I used whole wheat flour instead of the refined flour called for in the original recipe. I only had ground flaxseed so I doubled up on that instead of adding both the ground and whole. I also had some sesame seeds so I thought they would make a nice addition. Then, instead of squares I cut them out in a circle shape using a drinking glass.
The crackers are crisp with a slightly nutty flavor from the seeds. They are perfect for topping with cheeses and veggies for a tasty snack or appetizer.

Sesame Flax Seed Crackers
Adapted from HealthCastle.com & Flax Council of Canada

½ cup ground flax seed
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tsp butter, softened
½ cup skim milk

In a bowl, combine the flax seed, flour, baking powder, salt and sesame seeds. Add in the butter and stir or mix until the mixture is crumbly. Pour in the milk and form into a round ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove dough from the fridge and divide into four pieces working with one at a time. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface or between two sheets of plastic wrap. Roll until very thin about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. Cut into squares or circles and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned and crisp. Makes about 24 2-inch circle crackers.

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Happy 7th Birthday to our baby girl, Macy Mae! A couple more months and she’ll be sitting on my lap at the computer once again.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

September 9, 2009

I wouldn’t rate the Italian food we have around here top notch. The restaurants put forth a great effort, but there always seems to be something lacking in the tomato sauce. However, I should clarify that just because it may not be rated best in the world, or even the best in Brazil for that matter, it doesn’t mean it is lacking in creativity.

In a previous post, I introduced the wonderful Italian rodizio restaurant. A quick refresher, rodizio is a style of eating similar to a buffet, but in reverse. The waiters bring all the dishes to you and you accept a small portion of each you want to try.

In that post, I left out a dish that I was pleasantly surprised by. On our second visit to the restaurant we were offered Lasagna com Canela – Lasagna with Cinnamon. As happens with most dishes I’m unfamiliar with, I was intrigued. And after one bite, I was a fan.

I recently recreated the dish at home adding in a few extra vegetables and enjoyed it just as much. It is difficult to describe the flavor the cinnamon adds to the dish. The spice combined with the tomato sauce really brings out a delicious sweetness.

I have to be honest though. I have a feeling this will be one dish that you will either enjoy or dislike. For example, I like it, my husband, on the other hand does not prefer it. It is the sweetness he doesn’t enjoy so much. Nonetheless, I’ll share it here and next time I’ll make a reduced recipe since I may be the only one infatuated by it. Kind of like me and my spicy peanut sauce.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

1 package lasagna noodles, partially cooked

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp olive oil
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste
2 batches Easy Pasta Sauce (add 1 can tomato sauce to the doubled recipe)
2 – 3 cups cheese, shredded

In a skillet brown the beef or turkey, add the cinnamon and set aside. In a separate skillet heat the olive oil and cook the zucchini, onion and garlic for five to seven minutes or until veggies slightly tender. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside. Now add the pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef and mix well to combine.

In a deep 9×13 baking dish layer your noodles, sauce, veggies and cheese in your favorite order. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let set for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 5, 2009

I hope you have had a great week! Any big plans for this holiday weekend?

My posts have been short on the recipes this week because I’ve been away from the kitchen. Next week I hope to have the time to do some more creating. I’m definitely feeling the urge to cook and bake.

Since I couldn’t give you much to fill your recipe box this week, I’ve found a few from around the web (along with a foodie travel adventure) for this week’s installment of links. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Not Derby Pie showed off a delicious No-brainer Zucchini Soup. I’ve actually never used zucchini in soup except to toss it in as a chopped veggie.

Farmgirl Fare is a blog I found not long ago and I really enjoy catching up on it when I can. This week there was a wonderful recipe pulled from the archives for Green Tomato Relish.

Food for Living caught my attention with Banana Date Walnut Bread. Made with date sugar and oat and whole wheat flours this is would make one healthy and delicious breakfast!

I Like Granola takes us on a tour of foodie adventures in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Complete with beautiful pictures of all that was eaten along the way.

In other news, I completely forgot to spread the word about Feet on the Street at Off Her Cork. I was honored to be featured for the August edition. If you want to know a little more about me and what it is like to run and exercise in a foreign country, check it out.

Finally, if you happen to participate in athletic events for charity I’m always looking for people to interview for posts at Charity Mile. Let me know. I’d love to feature you in a post.

Felt like the weekend links were about due for another Macy Mae photo!

Fondue in Brazil

September 4, 2009

Fondue? I love fondue. I’m not sure what it is about it. Maybe it is the slow leisurely process of enjoying the meal, the fact that it is a meal I often enjoy with my husband on special occasions, or maybe it is the food. Yes, the actual food ranks high on the list.

In the US our fondue experience has been limited to Melting Pot. We still enjoy that restaurant very much, but we have found a rather outstanding substitute here in Brazil.

I may have mentioned it before, but in the city we live in right now, food variety is limited. Sure there are lots of great Brazilian foods and even Japanese for that matter, but you won’t find a lot of cultural variety.

Curitiba, one of my favorite cities, is a completely different story. There you can find foods from just about every culture of the world and we take full advantage when we are visiting. On one of our first visits a friend told me about a great fondue restaurant, Chateau de Gazon. It was love at first bite and we’ve been back each trip since. We celebrated our anniversary there, my husband’s birthday and even no special occasion at all.

The fondue here is different, but in a very good way. However, those who fear they may miss the Brazilian cultural influences by eating at a fondue restaurant need not fear; there is a purely Brazilian twist in many ways.

I’ve been to a couple different fondue places in Brazil and it appears that using oil to cook the meat is the most popular option. I’m not a big fan of this and the broths seem hard to come by, but at this particular restaurant they have a great variation – na pedra – or a small stone grill they bring to your table. See, I told you there would be Brazilian twists all over the place.

We always have to start with the cheese fondue, of course. It’s served with bread, broccoli, carrots and mini-potatoes. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what cheese they use here, but it has a mild flavor and pairs nicely with the bread and vegetables.

The meat usually consists of beef and chicken, sometimes there is lamb as well. It is cut into small pieces and pounded very thin so that it cooks quickly on the small grill. Along with the meat comes one of the best parts, the sauces! Thirteen total. From the Brazilian side of things you get farofa (toasted cassava flour), vinaigrette (chopped veggies tossed in lime juice), rose sauce (ketchup, mustard and mayo; not a favorite) and chopped eggplant in oil. To round that out there is spicy mustard, curry mayo, gorgonzola, onion marmalade, orange marmalade and a few more that we can never fully identify. I want to eat more meat just to try all the sauces!

The dessert course offers all the tropical goodness of Brazil – seven different types of chopped fruits. You get melon, papaya, strawberries, pineapple, banana, apple and grapes. With that there is typically marshmallows and one time we even got little wafer cookies.

The chocolate is of the dark variety and goes so well with all the fruit. The second time we went they started adding an extra dipper to the dessert. In addition to the chocolate we got a bowl of half melted ice cream to dip our fruit in. I wasn’t a huge fan of this. I guess I just find it difficult to get excited about melted ice cream. On our most recent visit, though, they pulled out the ultimate offering. Along with the chocolate we got a bowl of warm doce de leite! With each piece of fruit I speared I was faced with the difficult decision of which one to dip it in, they were both equally fantastic.

To sum up, fondue in Curitiba is a must. In fact, Curitiba in general is a must. If you ever plan a trip to Brazil you’ll likely get a lot of advice on where to go. My vote? Do not miss this great city. I’ve thought a lot about why it is so appealing to me. In addition the diversity and some of the best food I’ve eaten in Brazil, it is also that the city is manageable.

I travel a lot with my husband when he works and that means I’m out and about on my own much of the time. There are lots of great cities here in Brazil, but to be honest, I would not feel courageous enough to tackle many by myself mainly due to their size. I don’t feel that way with Curitiba at all. It is a city of about 1.8 million and it is the ideal size for exploring alone or with a partner. It’s full of parks and historic attractions, not to mention shopping malls and small boutiques. When you combine all of that with outstanding food you’ve got one great travel destination.

Where to find the fondue:
Restaurant Chateau de Gazon
Rua Pasteur, 134 – Batel
Curitiba – PR, Brasil
www.chateaugazon.com.br

Feasting on Pine

September 3, 2009

For a tropical country Brazil has some impressive evergreen trees, at least in the mountainous regions of the country. In fact, the claim-to-fame of the state we are living in is the majestic Araucaria tree. There are about 19 different types of Araucaria tree and each looks just a little different.

While some varieties can be found in other parts of South America, the type the state of Paraná is known for is the Araucaria angustifolia. It is also sometimes called the pinheiro-do-paraná (the Paraná pine). There are a few where we are living, but many more in Curitiba, about a 6 hour drive away, towards the coast. They can also be found in a few states north and south of here such as in Santa Catarina where the island of Florianopolis is located.

The trees have different shapes, but I love the ones that are more flat along the top. The branches extend out to make them almost look like a candelabra.

So what does all this talk about trees have to do with food?

Well, the pine nuts from the Araucaria tree can be eaten and happen to be quite popular around the area.

Typically available from May through July (winter), the pine nuts, or pinhão, are most often associated with Festa Junina events. This June festival celebrates rural life and is often equated to a hillbilly party. The hillbillies, so-to-speak, are referred to as Caipiras, a term which lends to the name for the popular Brazilian cocktail, caipirinha. Foods such as canjica, peanuts and popcorn are served at these parties as well as pinhão.

In addition, you can also find the nut in the supermarkets during this time of year. If you happen to be on a road trip like we were in late April you will also pass plenty of roadside stands selling cooked pinhão by the bag. The pine nut (still in it’s shell) is prepared most often using a pressure cooker and is seasoned with salt. It is also made into a soup, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try it.

When we were at the Curitiba Zoo last fall we were able to read a translated description of the pine nut including details about its nutritional value – rich in vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus and protein.

The pinhão are quite difficult to get into. Our friends here suggest biting off the end, spitting it out and then pushing the nut out with your fingers. We tried this, but I always ended up having to peel it.

The texture and flavor are like a cross between a nut and firm bean which is enhanced by the added salt. It is a great snack, but given the difficulty of getting one open only a handful tend to be consumed at a sitting.

This has most certainly been one of those local foods we won’t be experiencing anywhere else anytime soon. Even parts of Brazil aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy this winter treat. The pinhão and the Araucaria tree are big foodie benefits of living in Paraná.

Apple, Carrot and Pear Crisp

September 2, 2009

Some vegetables go surprisingly well with desserts. Of course, this isn’t anything new with all the zucchini breads and carrot cakes out there. So when I wanted to put together an apple crisp and had an extra couple carrots hanging out in the fridge, I thought, why not?

I’ve been trying to decide if adding veggies to desserts makes me feel better about eating them. Actually, I don’t think it does, but I am in agreement that an extra serving of vegetables here or there, whether sweet or not, can’t hurt.

Aside from their beautiful orange color, carrots are of course known for their vitamin A content which has long been associated with healthy vision. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the carotenoids protects the heart and may reduce the risk of cancer.

I always remember a conversation I had once with my grandma. She developed macular degeneration which caused her to lose much of her vision late in her life. When discussing dinner once, carrots came up. She said, “Oh yes, carrots are great for your eyes. I’ve eaten them all my life!” And then she burst out with laughter at her own joke. Ah, as Grandparent’s Day approaches I’m reminded of how much I miss her.

The carrots turned out to be a great addition to the crumble. I sautéed them in a little butter to soften them just a bit and added cinnamon to flavor them even more. They added a slightly crunchy texture and a mildly sweet flavor that complimented the apples and pears well.

I used mascavo sugar (unrefined cane sugar) for this dessert; however, I did use a table spoon of white flour for thickening. Anyone have any suggestions for a thickening agent that isn’t refined? The whole wheat flour I use isn’t so great at thickening, but perhaps something else would work.

Apple, Carrot and Pear Crisp

1 tsp. butter
¾ cup carrot, shredded
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
2 pears, sliced
2 apples, sliced
½ cup mascavo sugar
1 tbsp. flour

Topping:
½ cup oats
¾ cup mascavo sugar
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup butter

Heat the butter in a skillet and add the shredded carrot. Stir in 1 tsp. of cinnamon and cook the carrots for about five minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the pears, apples, sugar, flour and the remaining 1 tsp. of cinnamon. Mix well to coat the fruit. Into a greased baking dish, layer the apples and pears with the carrots, filling the dish.

In a smaller bowl mix the topping ingredients except for the butter. Cut the butter into the mixture and combine with a with a fork or pastry blender until the butter is evenly distributed. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until crisp on top and bubbly.

Newer Posts

Links to a Healthy Weekend

1000 Recipes: Brazilian Food Will Live On

Sesame Flax Seed Crackers

Lasagna with Cinnamon

Links to a Healthy Weekend

Fondue in Brazil

Feasting on Pine

Apple, Carrot and Pear Crisp

Thanks so much for reading!

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