I remember this candy from my childhood. My mom used to love them.  They have a texture of a caramel, but taste like sugar and bananas.  I decided to try to make it from home and see how they turned out.  I have to say I like the homemade a bit more than the ones we can buy packaged in Brasil.  Hope you enjoy them as well:

4 ripened bananas about 400 grms
1  3/4 c sugar
1 T butter
1 T lemon juice
1 T Nesquik chocolate

In a sauce pan, mix all together (slice the bananas). You want to cook it on medium high heat for about about 8-10 minutes.

It will start to turn into a caramel color and the bananas will melt.  Then lower the heat to about medium to medium-low.  Cook for another 10-15 or until the mixture is thicken and  comes loose from pan.

Spread mixture into a buttered pan ( I used a square cake pan)

Refrigerate it over night.  Cut into rectangular slices or any shape you may like.

Roll each individual shape into some sugar and set them aside in a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Leave it out (room temp) for at least 1 day until it hardens a bit. 

I then rolled each candy into a piece of wax paper. You can use any type of candy wrapper to make it more fun!  Enjoy

2 cups cooked pumpkin (I baked the pumpkin, then scrapped the meaty part out)

1/2-1 c flour

1 egg

1 T butter

salt and pepper

Mix ingredients adding flour little by little until desired consistency.  You want the dough to be soft but able to holds its shape.

Divide the dough into 4 and roll it into long snake like strand. Cut into small rectangles.

Using a fork or a Gnocchi maker, indent the gnocchi.  Press gently while rolling it off the fork.

You may freeze them on a cookie sheet then transfer to a Ziploc bag.  When ready, fresh or frozen, boil water with a little salt and drizzle of olive oil. Drop gnocchi into boiling water. (not all at the same time. I usually do about 6-10 at a time) Wait until they surface. About 4 minutes.  Drain the gnocchi and once finished serve with your favorite sauce.  For the picture below I use about 2 T of butter in a frying pan, and as the gnocchi were coming out of the boiling water I would drop them in to the frying pan.  Then I served it with shredded cheese, crispy bacon and fresh basil. Simple and delicious!

Arroz Carreteiro is a rice from southern brasil made with left over churrasco (BBQ) meat;  usually beef and sausage.  The tradition is to make with charque, a dried meat that doesn’t need refrigeration.  This way wagoners could make this meal on the go in a heavy duty iron pan.  The word “carreteiro” translates to “wagoner” or “cart rider”.  For this recipe I only used sausage. I also used can tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes.  I choose the Rotel Diced with Green Chilies tomatoes and it gave a nice spicy taste to the rice!  This recipe will feed at least 10 people. You can halve the recipe if you don’t need to feed a multitude 😀

1 medium onion (chopped)

4 clothes garlic (minced)

2 T oil

5 slices bacon (sliced thin)

16 oz linguica (kielbasa sausage- sliced thin)

2 cans diced tomatoes (usually I use fresh diced tomatoes, but the can works just as well)

1 T salt

1 T black pepper

1 t beef bouillon

2 c rice

5-8 cups water

1/4 c green onion

1/2 c Parmesan cheese (shredded)

Add oil, onion and garlic together in a large pan on medium high heat until onions are translucent.  Add bacon, and sausage.

Cook until bacon is done.

Add the tomatoes (if using fresh make sure you take skin and seeds out. Use about 1 to 1/2 c of diced fresh tomatoes.) , salt and pepper, bouillon, rice.  Simmer until rice gets a nice color.

Add 5 cups water.  Taste water for seasoning. If needed add more salt.  Turn heat down to low. It will cook for about 1 hour.

You many need to add more water as it is cooking. Usually I say DO NOT STIR THE RICE, however for this recipe you will need to.  I usually check the rice every 15-20 minutes, see if needs more water and stir it a little.   You want the rice to be soupy like, but not too wet. Keep checking and adding the water (if needed) until the rice is soft.

When rice is cooked add  green onions and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.  I like to serve some cheese on the side, so you can sprinkle on your own plate.

As some of you may know, I found out that I am pregnant. With this pregnancy came a delightful craving for lime pie.  I used to go to the bakeries in Brasil and have this delicious pie.  I figured I would make some. But instead of a simple lime pie, it ended up as lime, chocolate truffle and mousse pie. Even better, right?

For the crust:

1 1/2 c graham cracker

1/3 c butter (melted)

Using a blender or food processor, break the crackers until fine dust.  Mix with the butter. Press into a 8 inch springform pan.  Cook at 350 for about 8-10 minutes.

Layer 1- Lime Custard:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

1/3-1/2 c lime juice (depending how tart you may like it)

Mix it together, put on top of prepared crust and bake at 350 for about 8 minutes. Refrigerate until firm.

Layer 2: Chocolate Truffle

300 grms dark chocolate (or milk chocolate)

1 can table cream (creme de leite)

1 T butter

2 T nutella

1/2 pkg of unflavored gelatin (dissolved in 1/4 c water)

Melt the chocolate, mix table cream, butter nutella, and gelatin. Pour on top of first layer.  Refrigerate until firm.

Layer 3- Lime Mousse:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can table cream (creme de leite)

1/2 c lime juice

1/2 pkg unflavored gelatin (dissolved in 1/4 cup water)

Mix it all together. Pour on top of second layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

You can decorate this pie with chocolate shavings, lime zest or meringue frosting.  YUM

In Brazil, we celebrate Christmas late at night on Christmas Eve.  I remember trying to stay awake for dinner and being so excited that as soon as midnight hit, I could open my presents.   Christmas dinner is a serious meal 😀  We call it “ceia de Natal”. Usually, you will find different types of rice, farofas, turkey, ham, pernil (pork shoulder), salads, fruits and a lot of friends and family around (so you can eat all this food).

Going back to the Rabanada, this traditional Brazilian treat is very well known in the US as French Toast.  My mom would sometimes “spoil” our dinner with Rabanada, as we kids just couldn’t wait for the late night eating.  Rabanada is usually served as a Christmas dessert amongst many other delicious treats, flans, cakes, etc. The word Rabanada literally means “blown tail”. (Such a weird name.) We make this using day old French bread, which is soaked in a egg and milk mixture, then fried and lastly sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.  Different from the United States, Brasilians don’t use maple syrup.  Some people will make a Port wine syrup to drizzle on top of the Rabanada. I have never done this. The sweet bread is fine by itself!

Hope you like it:

French Bread (sliced)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 c milk

3 eggs

oil or butter to fry

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cinnamon

Mix the sweetened condensed milk, milk and eggs.  Soak the slices of bread in this mixture.  You may just want to get the bread wet instead of soaking it. It just depends how soggy you like your bread.  Fry the bread either in oil or butter. I much prefer butter (yeah not a healthy meal)!  You want the bread to get some color, it will take 2-3 minutes on each side. Mix the sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle both sides of the bread with it. Generously!   Enjoy. I like to eat it warm.

Final Note: I have also seen some people bake the Rabanada instead of frying it.  For baking, you would use a baking dish, pour the milk mixture on top of the bread and bake until the liquid thickens.  It makes the bread a lot softer, but it will still taste good!

This is one of the most refreshing juices I remember from Brasil.  I also love the combination of the smell of the pineapple and the mint leaves.

1 1/2 c pineapple cut into chunks (tip: you can freeze the pineapple and have it ready for any time you want)

1 c cold water

1 T sweetened condensed milk

2 fresh mint leaves (you can use more if you want more mint taste)

Sugar to taste (I prefer to sweetened my juice with the sweetened condensed milk. Unless the pineapple is not sweet enough, I do not use any sugar)

Add all ingredients in a blender, and blend until liquid.  Strain the mixture and serve.  I like to decorate the cup with swirls of sweetened condensed milk, 2 cubes of ice, then pour the juice and add a couple leaves of mint! This will make about 2 cups of juice.

So refreshing… YUM

8 oz cooked pasta (I like to use a short pasta like penne, rotini, spirale or the no yolks- like the picture)

1/2 lb ham (cut into squares)

1/2 lb cheese (either mozzarella, white cheddar, swiss or a combination)

2-3 T of mayo ($1/1  Hellman’s Mayonnaise)

1 t oregano

1/2 t basil

2 tomatoes (diced)

olives (optional)

broccoli (optional)

Mix the cooked pasta with the rest of the ingredients and put in a casserole dish. You can sprinkle the top with more cheese if you would like.  My family is a cheese-a-holic, so the more the merrier here at the house! Bake at 350 until all the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.  Most the the time the mayo and the cheese is enough to make a nice creamy sauce if not add the pasta is too dry. I usually add a couple splashes of cream or milk.

Homemade bread is one of my comfort foods. I love the smell, the texture and especially the taste.  This Wednesday is homemade bread day!  Why not make your favorite homemade recipe to celebrate this wonderful day?  I have been playing with a potato bread recipe and I thought this would be great to share in case you want to try it. In Brasil, it is very common to find Pao de Batata recheado com Catupiry (potato bread filled with catupiry-my favorite cheese from Brasil).  We were lucky to find catupiry cheese in Florida and I just had to make some potato bread to go with it! Enjoy!

4-5 medium size Potatoes

1 cup Milk

1/3 cup Butter

3 T  Honey

4-5 cups Flour (start with 4)

2 T instant dry Yeast

1 1/2 t Salt

1/4 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Water (if needed)

First you want to peel and boil your potatoes. (make sure you salt the water)  Once the potatoes are soft, mash them either using a ricer, fork or food processor.

Add the mashed potatoes, milk, butter and honey into your mixer (with the bread attachment). You could mix this bread by hand as well. I used my kitchen aid mixer (also known as FRED).  Mix it for about 1 minute.  Add 4 cups of flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix for a little bit then add the eggs (one at a time).  Mix for about 4 minutes and check the consistency. Here is where you will use either the rest of the flour (if dough is too sticky) or some of the 1/2 cup of water (if dough too dry).  I usually end up adding about another 1/4 cup of so of flour and 1 T of water.  The consistency will be wet, soft but not too sticky.  Let it mix for about 5-10 minutes. If doing it by hand, kneed it until soft.

Transfer the dough to a bowl drizzled with oil. Cover and let it rest until it doubles it size. It will take about 1 hour.

Punch the dough and transfer it to a floured surface.  Shape your bread and let is rise until double size. It will take about 30-40 minutes.  I like to make rolls filled with my favorite cheese, catupiry!  I also make loaves and hot dogs and hamburger buns.  Just let your imagination go wild! 😀

Bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350. If you like a more gold-ish brown color, use 1 egg (beaten) and coat the top of the bread before putting it in the oven.

This recipe will make either 2 loafs, or 1 loaf, 6 dinner rolls and 4 hot dog buns.

Here are the hot dog buns:

Here are the dinner rolls:

And the best for last, filled with catupiry:

YUM!

I used to eat Okra a lot in Brasil.  It is difficult for me to find it fresh in the markets around where I live, but you can easily find it cut and frozen at the frozen isle of the supermarket.  My mom couldn’t believe that you could buy pre-cut Okra here in the US.  Okra can be a bit slimy when you start to cut it. So, if you can get that step done for you, even better.  One of my favorite dishes to eat with Okra is the famous Quiabo (okra) com (with) carne moida (ground beef).  It is a common lunch option in Brasil. Hope you like it!

For the Okra:

8-10 fresh medium sized okra (or use a 10-12 oz bag)

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 T olive oil

1/2 fresh lime (juiced)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sautee the onions with the oil.  Add the cut Okra and sautee them for about 5 minutes.  Season with the salt and pepper.  You may notice that it might become a little slimy.  Just don’t worry about it!  After the Okra is soften and has a nice color, squeeze the lime juice on top of them and give it a quick mix.

For the Ground Beef:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 c chopped onions

3 clothes garlic (minced)

1 t salt

Pepper

2 T oil

2 T green onions

Sautee the 1/2 c of onion with the oil.  Add chopped garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, add the ground beef, salt and pepper. Cook until ground beef is done.  Taste for seasoning. If needed add more salt.  Top with the chopped green onions.

Now, you just need to mix the cooked Okra with the ground beef.   Serve it on top of rice!

According to holiday insights calendar today is National Dessert Day. When I think of dessert from Brasil, I always think sweetened condensed milk, which then brings memories of Brigadeiro. This dessert was created in the 1940s and is still popular today. This truffle like goodness is served at pretty much every type of party in Brasil: weddings, birthdays, get togethers or just a sweet tooth desire. They are easy to make and delicious!

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 T butter
3-4 T Nestlé Nesquik (you could use cocoa powder for a stronger taste, or melted chocolate)

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Choose one that has a thick bottom, this way you will be less likely to burn your candy.

Mix it constantly. Don’t stop mixing it.  It will take about 10 minutes on medium high heat.  It will start to thicken, lower the heat to medium low and continue mixing it (in a figure 8 pattern).  Do this until the mixture is thick and comes out of the bottom of the pan, like the picture bellow. I usually twist the pan to one side a little bit and if it looks like the picture it is ready!

Pour the mixture on a plate and let it cool.  When cooled, roll it into little ball shapes and dip them into chocolate sprinkles.

You can also use this to fill or top cakes.  Just make sure to take the brigadeiro off of the heat just before it thickens too much.  Pour this heavenly chocolate gooey deliciousness on top of your cake and voila!