The #6 thing I love about Brazil is..............

Pastel de feira or homemade deep fried pastries. I think that just about anything deep fried is good, If my parents had deep fried my vegetables as a kid I don't think their would have been any problem with me eating my greens. Anyways, Pastel de feira is a homemade pastry with various flavors, such as ground beef, chicken, cheese, calabreza(spicy sausage which they mince), The special though is well, special. It comes with ground beef, onion, cheese and an semi-cooked egg(which cooks inside the pastel when you fry it). The special with a Guaraná chaser and your good to go. Top it off that you get this at the local farmers market, which in and of itself is an interesting experience which will fall on this list at one point or another. Pastels are cheap, big and filling, and after you usually feel like the way you do when you eat at dicks drive-in. Is there anything more pleasant than that sick greasy feeling? I don't think so. The typical pastel is usually about 6 inches long and about 3 inches wide. and costs about 2-4 reais. If you really want to try REAL Brazilian food, you can't go wrong with Pastel de Feira, just be sure to give me a call so I can come along to. Até logo e um abraço.

#5 on my list of things I love about Brazil is.........

           Feijoada Paulista. Feijoada is a dish made of black beans and pieces of pork. In the old days and in the northeast they still eat the original stuff which is made from the left over parts of the pig, being the ears, feet, nose and tail. Now, I have had the pleasure of eating old school feijoada but, It's about as good as it sounds. Feijoada Paulista on the other hand is much more appetizing because they use the good parts of the pig and don't use those parts of the pig that you would rather not eat. feijoada is traditionally served with rice, and accompanied by chopped fried collard greens (couve mineira), lightly roasted coarse cassava flour (farofa) and peeled and sliced orange. Other common side dishes are boiled or deep-fried cassava, deep-fried bananas, and pork rinds (torresmo). A pot of hot pepper sauce is often provided on the side. It's a heavy meal and traditionally you have to take a nap for about 2 to 3 hours afterwards so make sure your not planning on running a marathon after having a hearty helping of feijoada. Here in São Paulo we usually have feijoada on wednesdays and saturdays. If your not at the rodizio eating beef until you drop then this is your next best option, até logo e um abraço

http://www.ilhabela.com.br


This is a link to the official website of ilha bela

#4 thing I love about Brazil is...

The litoral norte or the northeast cost of São Paulo. It is absolutely amazing that it is possible for a city as large as São Paulo to have beaches like these. I spent a week on these beaches for my honeymoon. Some of them you have to definitely take the road less traveled to get there. One of my favorites is call bora bora where we had to drive for 30 minutes on a little dirt road through the mata atlantica(Atlantic jungle) to get to the beach. The beach itself was almost deserted and the water was crystal clear. São Paulo has other beaches like Santos, Praia Grande and Guarujá but those are not the best beaches. In my clearly biased opinion I think that these beaches could easily compete for best beaches in Brazil. The Drive to get there is breathtaking, as you leave the city there is a distinct division or border, its almost as fast as you can snap your fingers you are surrounded by forest, clean air and mouth dropping scenery. If you ever visit São Paulo, it is imperative that you take a couple days out of your vacation to go to places like Ilha Bela, and the rest of the litoral norte. I will try and post some links about the litoral norte throughout the day for you. Até logo, e um abraço

Cajuina?

OR

Guaraná?

Whats your guy's opinions? I vote Cajuina.

Guys, in case you didn't know, I live just outside of São Paulo, if your curious about the city, I found this website you might like.

http://www.sao-paulo.info/sao-paulo-facts.html

Como surgiu o rodízio de churrasco (Villa Zanella) - Pgm Índice 41

#3 thing I love most about Brazil is......

Rodizio, One of the best inventions ever. Wikipedia defines rodizo as a style of restaurant service in Brazilian restaurants. One pays a fixed price and the waiters bring an offering of food to each customer at several times throughout the meal, until the customers signify that they have had enough. In churrascarias, servers come to the table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, most commonly local cuts of beef, pork, or chicken. There are other Rodízio style restaurants, for example serving pasta or pizza rodizio (where various pizzas are brought on trays). 


I love the fact that they describe it as the waiters bring you an offering, it kinda makes me feel kingly. So Rodizio is becoming well known now in the USA, almost everyone has been to one, but I can say I have been to Rodizios in the USA and I have visited Rodizios in at least 3 states of Brazil. Tips for a great Rodizio experience, If you are just wanting to try Brazilian food, go ahead and have a small helping of the buffet that is offered, otherwise Rodizio has one purpose, MEAT! You go to a Rodizio to eat beef, chicked and pork. They are usually expensive so make sure that you don't waist to much stomach space on rice and beans, something that is easy to make at home. Also, the one thing you cannot forget to try is guarana. Its a Brazilian soda pop that is a MUST. If you are really feeling crazy, ask for an orange wedge to be put in your guarana. So there it is my friends, Number 3 on the list, Rodizio. Até logo e um abraço

Guys, feel free to comment on my posts, I would love to know what you think.

#2 thing I love about Brazil......FESTA JUNINA!!!!


I don't know if there is a better holiday in all of Brazil than Festa Junina. If you were to ask most people what comes to mind when you think of Brazil they would say Carnaval. But let me tell you, Carnaval is not a good holiday, in fact it is a terrible holiday, the only good thing about carnaval is that you get two days off of work. During carnaval people drink WAY too much, then they drive, just a quick fact for everyone out there, during the 2011 carnaval there were at least 189 deaths caused by car accidents that were registered with the federal police and 3,566 people injured in car accidents that were also registered with the Federal Police during the 4 days of carnaval. 


Festa Junina on the other hand is GREAT! It happens during the month of June. In São Paulo where I currently reside we have the famous Quermesse, which is a type of county fair, for all you Seattleites it would be like the Evergreen state fair or the Puyallup fair. Of food there is plenty, it has a common theme of country food, lots of corn based foods and desserts. Corn cake just might be my favorite, its sort of like corn bread but sweet. Then you have Pamonha which is where you take creamed corn and steam it inside the corn husk. Very Delicious. There is regular boiled corn, barbecued corn and many more. There is barbecued beef sandwiches, barbecued sausage sandwiches, there is the famed fogazza. I can't forget that there are candied apples to. Lots of popcorn. For people who drink there is Vinho quente which is hot wine(if its already hot outside, why would you want hot wine?) there is also quentão which is a hot drink that is made with ginger and apple juice and cinnamon. Suffice to say that the food is a huge part of Festa Junina. Then there is lots of Quadrilhas or square dancing where the participants always dress up as Caipiras. (country folk) I bought a cowboy hat specifically for the occasion. The music is always Forró de raiz. (which is a play off of english "for all") A song you might know has been done by David Buryne in English which is called Asa Branca. Camila can sing the entire song. Another typical custom of Festa Junina that I love are bonfires. There is always someone on almost every street who starts a bonfire. And last there are lots of games to play like bingo and typical fair games that are near impossible to win. 


So Festa Junina Is my number 2 thing I love about Brazil, I really can't wait to take my parents next year. Até Logo e um abraço.

The #1 thing i love about Brazil is.......

My beautiful wife, she is the number one thing I love PERIOD! Although most people don't know this about her, she has a great sense of humor. She is super humble. She always laughs at my jokes, even though they aren't that funny. She is really patient (she's married to me right?) She is a wonderful cook, I think my personal favorite is her coxinha de calabresa* or her cheesy meatballs. But the best thing about Camila is that she would do anything for me if i asked her. She always pushes me to do more, to be more, to never be comfortable with being mediocre. She reminds me that I should always do more in the church and to take any calling in the church very seriously. She is the number one thing i love about Brazil.

• 1 colher (sopa) de cheiro-verde picado
• 1 xícara (chá) de farinha de trigo
• 2 xícara (chá) de farinha de rosca

• 1 quilo de batata cozida espremida
• Sal e pimenta-do-reino a gosto
• Óleo para fritar
• 2 ovos
• Recheio:
• ½ quilo de lingüiça calabresa defumada e moída
• 1 cebola picada

Em uma tigela, colocar todos os ingredientes da massa (menos 1 ovo e a farinha de rosca) e misturar bem até formar uma massa homogênea e firme. Em uma tigela, misturar os ingredientes do recheio. Abrir a massa em círculos, rechear e fechar no formato de coxinhas. Passar no ovo restante, na farinha de rosca e fritar em óleo quente até dourar




1 tbsp (tablespoons) chopped parsley
1 cup (tea) of wheat flour
2 cup (tea) breadcrumbs
1 pound baked mashed potato
Salt and black pepper pepper to taste
Oil for frying
2 eggs
Filling:
½ pound smoked sausage and ground
1 onion, chopped
Oregano to taste

Preparation:
In a bowl, place all dough ingredients (leave out 1 egg and bread crumbs) and mix well to form a firm mass. In a bowl, mix the filling ingredients. Open the dough into circles, fill and close in the format of drumsticks. mix coxinha in the egg and breadcrumbs then fry in hot oil until a golden color. (oil needs to be HOT!)

ExPat In Brasil

ExPat In Brasil

So I have decided to make a blog in hopes that it helps me to have a better attitude with regards to Brazil, which I am apparently super critical of. My goal is simple, One post, per day, for one year saying something that I love about Brazil. I really hope that I am able to see the better things in life while living abroad. It is not always easy to just simply accept a new country as your home. So there it is, soon I will follow this post up with my number one thing I love about Brasil. Até logo, abraço.