Country 23: Brazil
I've had to go slightly out of order on this one. After Bosnia and Herzegovina, it's supposed to be Botswana, but I've deviated slightly as I've found a recipe that calls for specific ingredients that are completely out of season at the moment, and I'm not a fan of the alternatives. So while I will come back to Botswana eventually, I have moved on for the time being.
I burnt out I think. I'm enjoying this project a lot but I think it became a little draining as I was suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed by all the preparation that goes into it, then the cooking, and then the blogging as well. So over the weekend I didn't do anything. I still cooked, but not for the project - in fact, I was determined to empty my fridge from all the leftovers the last few days of the project had left me! I remember saying earlier, when I was still at the beginning of the A countries that I needed to work on my portion sizes - I do feel like I've been successful at that, but there are definitely still countries where we've had leftovers for the next few days.
So I took the weekend off, and then moved on again to Brazil.
My partner has family friends who are from Brazil, who I reached out to next. They sent me across a family recipe of Berinjela ao Forno, a roasted eggplant dish. I decided that this would work fine for one part of the meal I would cook, as an accompanying side dish.
I also am part of some wonderful Facebook groups who are filled with people from all over the world. I posted on one of these groups about the project and at least 3 people suggested pao de quejo, a Brazilian cheesy bread. Unfortunately, this called for tapioca flour which I have no idea how to source, so unfortunately I couldn't do this either (which is unfortunate because everyone who suggested them were raving about how good they are!).
So finally, I found a recipe for moqueca, a Brazilian fish soup/stew. And I knew I was onto a winner.
Therefore, on the menu today, we have:
I burnt out I think. I'm enjoying this project a lot but I think it became a little draining as I was suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed by all the preparation that goes into it, then the cooking, and then the blogging as well. So over the weekend I didn't do anything. I still cooked, but not for the project - in fact, I was determined to empty my fridge from all the leftovers the last few days of the project had left me! I remember saying earlier, when I was still at the beginning of the A countries that I needed to work on my portion sizes - I do feel like I've been successful at that, but there are definitely still countries where we've had leftovers for the next few days.
So I took the weekend off, and then moved on again to Brazil.
I am grateful to a bunch of people to thank for my Brazilian meal. My colleague's boyfriend is Brazilian and he originally gave me the idea of doing a vegetarian feijoada, which is typically made with beans and pork - ultimately I decided not to do this as I have found previously that vegetarian versions of meat dishes are not worth doing.
My partner has family friends who are from Brazil, who I reached out to next. They sent me across a family recipe of Berinjela ao Forno, a roasted eggplant dish. I decided that this would work fine for one part of the meal I would cook, as an accompanying side dish.
I also am part of some wonderful Facebook groups who are filled with people from all over the world. I posted on one of these groups about the project and at least 3 people suggested pao de quejo, a Brazilian cheesy bread. Unfortunately, this called for tapioca flour which I have no idea how to source, so unfortunately I couldn't do this either (which is unfortunate because everyone who suggested them were raving about how good they are!).
So finally, I found a recipe for moqueca, a Brazilian fish soup/stew. And I knew I was onto a winner.
Therefore, on the menu today, we have:
- Moqueca - a Brazilian fish stew, made from cod, bell peppers (capsicum), tomatoes, coriander, and coconut milk
- Berinjela ao Forno - roasted eggplant with peppers, olives, parsley, and raisins
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