Another Point of View

Hi, Here is a link to my friends blog about the BBQ at my house on Sunday.  It is called "Melting Pot".  I think you will like it, I did.
http://addisunshine.blogspot.com/2011/07/all-brazilian.html

Whats for Lunch Today?

Let me introduce you to my Brazilian meal.  Today I made a Salsa, Rice, Beans, Farofa & another salad.  So, here’s a picture of the lunch I made. 

Farofa :  Fry up bacon, sausage, onions first in canola oil.  Then you add some spices, olives & golden raisins.  Once everything is cooked I fold it into Farofa which is yucca flour. 

Other Salad:  You cut up eggplant, garlic, onions & green/red peppers and sauté it well in oil.    When it is soft add regular raisins and refrigerate.

Salsa:  Tomatoes, cilantro, onions, green pepper, cucumber, this beautiful lemon fruit (its orange), garlic, olive oil, a bit of water, a bit of vinegar and salt. 

Feijao:  Brazilian beans.  I set out beans for the night and then pressure cook them with water.  Add onions, garlic & garlic Salt. 

Generally a meat is also served and of course rice; however since we have been having a ton of Churrasco’s (BBQ) lately…we are all taking a rest from meat today.  Our digestion systems are in overdrive. 

So, this is what you will find at a typical Brazilian lunch.  Lunch is the largest meal of the day.  The food is so simple and whole.  The taste is divine and everything goes together like a symphony.   I am working on my kitchen skills because I want to incorporate these foods into my daily life forever.

For dinner we have leftovers and a desert.  Breakfast consists of French bread, usually lightly grilled with butter.  I prefer a cheese spread on mine.  There is no stress when planning a meal or eating, we hardly ever snack and we use everything we have in the fridge most of the time.  

Brazilian food is a beautiful experience and one that we would call diet food in America.  It has become at times the best part of the day and I know overall it will be the thing I remember most about Brasil. 

La de da...

Sitting around tonight chatting with Addisun, looking at facebook photos of our families.  She is from Oklahoma and always reminds me of my family.  Especially my cousin Becky, they are both so cute and Oklahoma.  I am listening to Willie Nelson and relaxing. 
Last night we went to my school Festa Julina party, it was so much fun and for so many reasons.  One that comes to mind was the Festa Junina dance which everyone dances.  The whole party!  At home, when there was dancing there was always a large crowd watching the dancers and a smaller crowd dancing.  I actually said I would watch until I realized it would have been me and 2 other people.  So, I grabbed Gabi and we met Bernard and danced.  What a beautiful time, I danced with Gabi all night.  Bernard is very independent and would never dance with me... never.  I wanted this so so much.  Well last night my prayers were answered, the laughs and love in Gabi's eyes when we were dancing was enough to melt my heart.  I was holding Gabi and also dancing with Ben during the main song.  It was a dream come true.  I didnt care about anything last night except dancing with my kids and sharing this time with them, it was as if all I was ever looking for was finally right in front of my eyes.  What a beautiful new stage in my life.  Truth is...I am actually starting to really like it here.  It is nice to smell the roses...it has just been too long.

Urgh....

Rodrigo stepped on my glasses and broke them last night... oh man!  They are even broken in such a way that they cant be fixed.  They are on their way out now. 
The family is gone but Tony is still with us through the weekend and my friend Addisun will move in with us during the vaccation.  It is going to be fun... probably too much fun :)

Pizza, Futebol & Kids

Tonight I am home after a long long night last night. Every Tuesday we go to my favorite restaurant with my teacher friends and some students who want to talk English.  Last night I met some great people and we were out till 2am.  Lots of fun. 

Tonight I am so happy to be home eating pizza and watching futebol with my family.  The Brazil team isn’t looking too good this year so far, even I can see it…well we have 2 years to practice, so I have my fingers crossed.  Tonight we are playing Ecuador, god help them. 



Today we played all day with the kids, they are so tired.  It is so great that we have so many kids around; this will be some of the best times of their lives.  Bernard loves to play with Julia (10years), and Marina (2yrs) loves to play with Bernard so they all play nicely.  Now Gabi, I am not sure what she is after; she wants to do what Julia and Bernard are doing but spends most of her time trying to take everything away from Sophia (2yrs).  Sophia loves babies and spends all of her time taking care of Gabi’s babies, it is so adorable.  Soon I realize that Gabi is nowhere and I will either find here riding her bike or doing something by herself…or I will hear one of the girls crying, run out to see who it is and find Gabi cornering them…its GABI!!!!  Or more appropriately….its Gilly!!!!