Tuesday, June 14, 2011
#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.
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.
Monday, June 13, 2011
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 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!)
- 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
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!)
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.
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