I love the Olympics. Summer. Winter. It doesn't matter a lick to me. I'm just all in to cheer for my country, and learn about the host country. I especially love to kick off the games by eating the food of the host country.
Brazil was interesting to learn about from a food perspective. Lots of rice paired with other bean/meat dishes. Very few desserts, sides, or other dishes that I could find. No matter, we ate well with the selections I did find.
I started with this Quick Feijoada as our main dish. The ingredients sounded familiar, but paired in new ways. I was not reading closely and rinsed the black beans in error. I think everything probably would have thickened a bit more if I hadn't, but it didn't change the flavor, which was excellent.
Almost all the recipes and blogs I read, said that Brazilians eat rice. With everything. So, of course, I had to make Brazilian rice. It's not too different from the Butter Rice I made recently, but excellent in it's own right. I especially loved how it came out perfectly done when following the instructions just as given. (Maybe I should do that more often...)
If you search for Brazilian food on Pinterest, you will find a multitude of recipes for cheese rolls. Luckily, Costco saved me some work by stocking them in the freezer department. They were so yummy. Yummy enough to try them on my own some time. Our other side was tropical fruit from my sister. It was the perfect light addition to our other dishes.
Our drink was Brazilian Lemonade. Sounds fairly ordinary, right? It is anything but! And also, no lemons! I thought it sounded delicious when I pinned it several months ago, but this was so much better than I imagined. It was lovely and smooth with absolutely no bitterness at all. Too bad my calorie counts won't allow this on a regular basis.
For dessert it had to be Brigadeiros (this recipe, but this micro cooking method). They were easy and so good. The hardest part was getting the toppings to stick. I also made this coconut variety using the microwave cooking method. They took a bit longer, but still turned out perfectly. Based on the recipe reviews I read, I increased the coconut in the mixture to a half cup, and then added a little vanilla. They are my daughter's fav; she can't stop eating them!
Lastly, I had a few extra minutes, so I made this Corn Meal Cake. I was skeptical that it might be just a version of American corn bread. As much as I love corn bread, homemade versions are so often hit or miss--dry, not sweet, there are so many variables that can take away from my enjoyment of a good cornbread. This was not cornbread at all! The cake creates layers within itself, one of which is "custardy". It's not overly sweet, and I think I'm going to really enjoy the leftovers for breakfasts.
The fun of planning and eating this meal always makes me look forward to the next Olympics even more. The 2018 Winter Games are in Korea so stay tuned for more fun and games then.
Comments