Strawberry Crumble In English

Our First Italian Bread

2010-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

...came outr like this! For the first time I managed to bake some good bread. I bought some envelopes of yeast to make some bread to go with the ribs and there was one envelope left. I searched the Internet and found this easy and yet delightful recipe. The result was just like the italian loaves of bread we buy in the bakery. I served them with my homemade strawberry jam, made with just 1 package of strawberries, washed, and some confectioner's sugar. Good way to celebrate an afternoon at home!

Italian Bread

from here

Ingredients:

700g flour
10g salt

1 envelope (10g) Active Dry Yeast
400ml Cold Water

Directions:

In a large and deep bowl, lay the flour and the salt and mixture. Add the yeast and, little by little, the water. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticking to your hands. Cover the dough with a moist kitchen cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes. Knead again and make small balls. Put them in your baking pan and let it rest for more 40 minutes. Bake in preheat 200oC oven for about 40 minutes or until it's light brown.

Tuna Cakes

2010-01-25T19:13:00.001-08:00

Everyday I try to enter a new post in the blog, but there's always something happening to stop me doing it. But today I'm determined to share with you this delicious -and easy - recipe, from Tati. I made this cake in the occasion of Marcelo's birthday, because one od my grandpas doesn't eat chicken. That's why I decided to go with these cakes! The recipe is wonderful and the ingredients are nothing but the usual! Grandpa approved it!

Tuna Cakes

from here

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 can tuna, drained

1/4 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt

Directions:

Combine the ingredientes and make little balls with the dough. Press the balls so that there can be a larger surface in contact with the baking sheet, making your cakes look golden. Take them to preheat oven in medium heat for 20 minutes, turning the cakes areound in half the time.

Chicken Breast with Mustard Sauce

2010-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Well, my house is a total mess and we have no courage to fix this! That's why I've been so absent lately. But I came by today just to share with you a recipe that I should have made along time ago - it's simple and really, really good. I always have plain yogurt in my fridge, but never know what to to with it. Finally I got something that is worthed! I'll be back whenever I can with more time to leave comments and post!

Chicken Breast with Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

5 halves of chicken breasts

1 cup plain yogurt

3 tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Salt

Directions:

Fry the chicken breast with 1 tbsp butter and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, the mustard and the worcestershire sauce and salt to taste. Take the sauce to the microwave for about 30 seconds and pour it over the chicken. Decorate the dish with chopped scallions and serve with some braised carrot and zucchini.

Marcelo's Birthday Cake

2010-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Friday was my younger boy's birthday. He just turned 2 and is really into the Cars movie and characters. So, me and my husband decided to m ake a theme-cake for him. The first time he looked at his cake, he couldn't stop saying 'car' all over the place. Even though mine and my husband's parents are away, we decided to have a small celebration - and so we invited my grandmas and grandpas and my brother-in-law to come have with some fun with us. And it was really nice, at least Marcelo was happier than ever!

Party Cake

from here

Cake Dough

Ingredients:

6 eggs

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

200 ml water

100 ml oil

Directions:

Beat the egg whites until firm and, without stopping, add the yolks. Keep beating and add the sugar until it turns into a smooth cream. Boil the water and the oil and pour into the cream, beating quickly (about 5 seconds). Turn off the stand mixer and add the flour gently, beating with a fouet or spoon. Bake the cake in medium oven until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*As I used 2 20-cm diameter baking sheets, I made one recipe, divided it in half and added half a cup cocoa powder to one of the cakes.

Assembling the Cake:

For the filling, I used chocolate paste and coconut paste. Then I covered the cake with a thin layer of whipped cream and froze it while preparing the frosting.

PS: The grass on the cake is not that beautiful because we had some problems with the sugar, that didn't dissolve properly. So, when decorating with the plastic bag, it opened a bigger whole than the one we had opened before.

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

2010-01-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Actually I'm posting this recipe before many others that have been awaiting. I just could not resisit to post this juicy falling off the bone delicious barbecue ribs. They were so simple to make and tasted so good that I could not postpone this post anymore! I did not like baby back ribs until last Sunday, when I prepared this dish. My husband always ask for baby back ribs when we go to american/australian restaurants. I mean always. So I decided to make it for them, and also for our dear friends Bill and Ju. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Barbecue Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients:

2 kg baby back ribs

2 bottles barbecue sauce

Olive Oil

Salt

Directions:

Season the ribs the day before with olive oil and salt. The next day, boil the ribs for about 10 minutes. Get the ribs arranged in a baking sheet and coat them with the barbecue sauce. Cover the ribs with aluminum foil and cook in the oven, in low temperature, for about 2 and a half hour, pouring more barbecue sauce every once in a while. Take off the oven and serve with baked potatoes.

Baked Potato

Ingredients:

5 large potatoes

Olive oil

Cheddar Cheese

Mozzarela cheese

Chopped bacon bits

Scallion

Sour Cream

Directions:

Wash the potatoes and pierce them with a fork. Coat with some olive oil and take them to the microwave for about 6 minutes. As they are cooked, cut a line in the middle, where you're going to insert the filling. Fill them with mozzarela, cheddar, bacon bits, sour cream and scallions, respectively. And just anejoy this delish dish!!!

No-Bake Cheesecake

2010-01-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today I'll post a recipe I said I would post a while ago - the no-bake cheesecake. It's really simple and reminds me or a cream pie, quite different from the real cheesecake, besides the consistence, which is not the same too. I really could say that I liked more this kind of cheesecake, since the sourness of the cream cheese is not really noticed at all. The main flavour here is the whipped cream. Just woderful combined with my homemade strawberry jam!

No-Bake Cheesecake

from here

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 (12.5 ounce) can cherry pie filling (or other filling of your choice)

Directions:

Mix together graham cracker crumbs, margarine, and sugar in a bowl until well incorporated and crumbly. Press into a pie plate, going up the sides as much as possible. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and spreadable. Whisk whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour cream cheese into prepared crust. Smooth the top with a spatula, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 to 3 hours. Spread the cherry pie filling over the top, and refrigerate until serving.

Banana Farofa with Herb Buttered Steak

2010-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Fortunately all the hurry is over - at least for a while. I'm engaged on some new plans, hoping they will work! Today I'm posting a recipe that I've always wanted to make, but never had the chance. I bought a beautiful bunch of bananas last week to make this recipe, and, after I made it, the other bananasstarted getting kind of rotten. So I had the idea of making this farofa (which is a delicious couscous-like mixture in which, instead of the couscous, we use manioc flour, very common around here). The herb butter was also an idea that worked out really well with the farofa!

Banana Farofa

Ingredients:

1 banana, sliced

3 tbsp butter

1 and 1/2 cup manioc flour

2 tbsp chopped onion

Salt

Directions:

In a saucepan or a deep frying pan, heat the butter and add the onions to fry for about 2 minutes. Slowly pour the flour and mix it well. Put the salt (not too much, the farofa is not to be salty) and the slices of banana, incorporating gently so they won't break or mash.

PS: The secret for a moist farofa is the butter. The more butter, the better.

Herb Buttered Steak

Ingredients:

Fresh herbs (I used basil, thyme and salvia)

2 tbsp butter

8 steaks

Salt

Directions:

Wash the herbs and tear them with your hands. Add the butter at room temperature and mix them well with a fork. Smear the mixture on the steaks, season with salt and grill immediately.

PS: The herb's flavor is very subtle, goes really well with the banana sweetness. You can use any kind of fresh herb.

Chocolate Mousse

2010-01-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

I just came by today to post this recipe. The mousse is so perfect, the texture is so original that I just had to post it! I've been kind of busy - and this doesn't sound bad at all - that's why I haven't shown up lately. Just make it, you won't regret!

Chocolate Mousse

from here

3 eggs
200g bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp sugar
1 can cream

Directions:

In a mixer, beat the egg yolks until they double the volume. Add the sugar and keep mixing. Melt the chocolate and add it to the mixture of yolks and sugar. Add the cream, mixing well. Turn off the mixer and, with a spoon, gently incorporate the very well beaten egg whites. Take the mousse to the fridge for about 2 hours, or until firm, and taste this wonderful dessert!

Funghi Risotto

2010-01-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

I didn't like risotto. I don't know why, but that was the kind of food that could turn my stomach around. Maybe it was because when I thought about risottos, all that came to my mind were those disgusting doggy-bag mixed rices.. Whatever, I just didn't like it! It happened that my dear aunt learned how to make them. Last year's mother's day, the main dish was risotto. And you can imagine what happened. I fell in love with it. She made leek and funghi risotto. What a delicious treat, I had actually never had a real risotto before! And now I proudly present you, my first real risotto! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Funghi Risotto

from here

Ingredients:

2 cup arborio rice
20g chopped dried funghi
1 cup white wine
½ onion, chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 ½ litres hot meat stock
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain well. Keep the stock hot in a pan over low heat ehilr making other things. Heat 3 spoons of butter in a large, heavy based saucepan and add the onion. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add 1/3 of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. Roughly chop the soaked mushrooms and stir into the risotto, along with the rest of the butter, salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Super Moist Banana Cake

2010-01-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

So, how were the festivities for new year? Everything was OK in here, now it's time to enjoy 2010! Today's recipe came from the restaurant downstairs. Everytime we go there to have lunch and they're serving this cake, my husband comes home talking efusively about it. The restaurant's owner, who is now our friend, kindly gave us the recipe of this delicious cake. I made it right away and the kids loved it. Even my mom, who doesn't eat sweet, ate the cake and loved it too. It's a super moist cake, as the title says. Let's start our new year in a banana-mood!

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

4 large bananas

2 cups sugar

2 cups breadcrumbs

1 lemon zest, grated

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 tbsp baking powder

Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

Blend together the eggs, bananas, oil, sugar and lemon zest. Pour the mixture in a bowl and incorporate the breadcrumbs, cinnamon and baking powder. In a baking pan, greased with butter and sprinkled with sugar and cinammon, lay the dough and take to preheat medium oven for about 35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Grilled Salmon with Bacon Pumpkin and Broccoli

2009-12-30T16:20:00.000-08:00

Oh well, new year is knocking on our door! 2009 was such a nice year, I really hope 2010 will be as good!

And I really wish you, my dear readers, a really good new year, and that we can evolve even more, day by day, in our lives. Today I will post an easy but really good recipe. Good for new year's eve, a light and healthy dish!

Thanks a lot and see you next year!

Grilled Samon with Bacon, Pumpkin and Broccoli

Ingredients:

500g salmon
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
500g pumpkin, unpeeled and diced
2 straps of bacon
1 broccoli

Directions:

Season the fish with the lemon juice, olive oil and sat to taste. Boil the pumpkin dices in salty water until they're soft, but not overcooked. In a baking sheet, put togehter the pumpkin and the bacon, cut in small pieces. Take to the preheat oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Wash the broccoli well and cook it in boiling salty water. Grill the fish for about 15 minutes, turning over in the halftime. And now, enjoy!!!!

Lemon Pie

2009-12-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

This pie is just sooo easy to make that you just won't believe it! My brother came for lunch last weekend and, as it was right after a holiday, I woke up too late. I came back from the market at 11.30 and started making it. By half past noon, it was already ready to be devoured. This pie is among the hall of fame in my house! There's no way to go wrong in this recipe!

Lemon Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

250g flour
125g softened butter
100g sugar
1 egg

A pinch of salt

Filling:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

200 ml cream

3/4 cup freshly squeezed cup lemon juice

Directions:

Pie Crust - In a bowl, add the butter, sugar and salt and mix them with the palm of your hand for a while. Stir in the eggs and mix. Add the flour, previously strained, and mix until you get an even dough. If the douhg is sticking to your hand or bowl, add some more flour, and knead the dough, delicately. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using ( I used it at the same time, had no time to wait). Open the dough 3 or 4 mm thick and line it in the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil, fill it with raw beans (or any other grains) and take it to the preheated oven 200oC for about 35 minutes.

Filling - Blend all the ingredients for about 5 minutes. Pour into the pie crust and refrigerate until serving time. You can grate some lemon zest in the top of the pie.

Fried Chicken Popcorn

2009-12-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

What a delighful Christmas we had! Food, chatting, gifts, cookies.. Everything was great! Unfortunately I didn't have the time to take pictures of the things we made for the mealtime, so I'll have to post a recipe I've made a couple of weeks ago. My son's friend was going to have lunch in our place, so I defrosted some small frozen pieces of chicken breast to make some fried chicken. But later I found out I had no breadcrumbs in the house. So I decided to blend some crackers to make it even crispier. And it really worked out great!

Fried Chicken Popcorn

Ingredients:

400g chicken breast, in small pieces
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tbsp flour
100g crackers, blended
Oil, enough to fry

Directions:

Season the chicken pieces with the garlic and the salt. Put in three different bowls, the flour, the eggs and the crackers. Heat the oil (about 1 1/2 inch of a deep frying pan). Roll the chicken pieces on the flour, eggs and crackers, respectively. Fry them in boiling oil until crispy and brown. I served them with some honey mustard sauce, in which I use the same quantity of each ingredient.

PS: I called them Chicken Popcorns just because they're so small and delicious we cannot stop eating them! It's practical and great, just like popcorn!

Christmas' Dessert

2009-12-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

Well, here's my small contribution for Christmas recipes. A slice of panettone covered with some homemade vanilla ice cream and a chocolate syrup. So easy to make that you'll have time to enjoy all the good time with your familya and friends!

But I'm here to wish you, my readers, a Merry Christimas, filled with delicious moments and foods!

Chantal's NY Cheesecake

2009-12-22T16:24:00.000-08:00

My hysband loves cheesecakes. Even though I think they're quite disgusting and a little too sour for my taste, he asked me to make some. Last week I tried a recipe. I found on AllRecipes a no-bake cheesecake and thought that would be just great. As a result, I had more of a big whipped cream than anything else. I'll post ti here, it's good but not actually a cheesecake. So this week I decide to make the real one. And it finally worked out! He loved it, and devoured it right after I took it from the oven. I still don't like it, but I surely have some nice feelings when I talk about it! And I cannot end this post without mentioning that we had a great visit today. My friend Marcelo, who lives in France, came to Brazil for a couple of weeks and came for a visit tonight. We loved it!!! I'm just so sorry you couldn't eat the cheesecake!

Chantal's NY Cheesecake
from here

Ingredients:

Crust:

15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

PS: He couldn't wait the 4-hours resting and took it half an hour after I turned off the heat. It cracked, but it doesn't change anything when it comes to taste.

PS2: I served mine with blueberry homemade jam, but I had also strawberry and raspberry.

Penne with Vegetable Sauce

2009-12-21T15:35:00.000-08:00

Last week I was really into eating some pasta, without all that grease of the canned tomato sauce. Something lighter and more simple. I went to the fridge and noticed that there was only some leftovers from my recipes: carrot, zucchini, tomato, onions and other unimportant ingredients. Then I remembered I still had the rest of the powder onion cream used to make my chicken burgers. Apparently I already had my meal! I searched on the Internet but found nothing really interesting to make with the ingredients I had. So I ended up by inventing a recipe, that went really well with the penne! Delicious!

Penne with Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients:

250g de penne

1 small onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 big carrot, grated

1 zucchini, grated

1 tbsp powder onion cream

2tbsp olive oil

Salt

Directions:

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir-fry the onion. Add the vegetables and let it fry for a while. Add half a cup water and the powder onion cream and mix it well. Cook the sauce in low heat until the vegetables are soft. Take off the heat and serve with the pasta. I used some of the frozen turkey breast left from the other recipe and grated some parmesan cheese on the top of it.

Fruit Skewers

2009-12-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

Today is not about a recipe - it's more like a tip for those who don't know what to do to present fruits in a creative and beautiful way. It's kind of a well-known idea, but worked really well in here. I just got some skewers and filled them with strawberries, seedless grapes, melon and banana. I served them with some yogurt, to dip the fruits in it. The kids really enjoyed it and ate all the almost the 20 fruit skewers we'd made - notice there were only 4 kids! And us, of course! Simple as that, a healthy snack!

Roasted Carrot Soup

2009-12-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I could not prepare lunch for my family, so, following my tradition, I made some soup for dinner. And the chosen one, already for the second time, is Pat Scarpin's carrot soup. It is really easy and good, and everyone around here liked it a lot. I cannot write much today, there is a little person here pulling my leg to take him to bed!

Roasted Carrot Soup
from here

Ingredients:

1kg carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
340g brown onions, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and cracked black pepper
1.5 liters vegetable stock
1 cup (240ml) pouring (single) cream
parsley leaves, for sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Combine the carrot, onion, oil, salt and pepper in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes or until the carrot is tender.
Process, add the stock and blend until smooth. Place in a saucepan over medium heat, add the cream and bring to the boil. Cover, cook for 5 minutes and sprinkle with the parsley.

PS: I'm really glad with the good feedback I've been receiving from the blog. This just gives me more inspiration to keep writing and posting! Thanks a lot!!!!!

Star-Shaped Cookies and Guest Recipe

2009-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

I've talked a lot about not being on the mood for sweets lately that, at the moment I turned off the computer I felt like eating all the chocolate in the world. So I made these fast and delicious cookies from Tati's blog, and they were just awesome. The recipe reminded me of the Berry Pie pastry. Because some of them got, let's say, a little bit tanned, I decided to cover them with chocolate. Then I finished with some sugar frosting and, voilà, there you go another Christmas treat!

Star-Shaped Cookies

from here

Ingredients:

75g butter

125g flour, strained

50g sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a bowl, add the butter, sugar and salt and mix them with the palm of your hand for a while. Stir in the eggs and mix. Add the flour, previously strained, and mix until you get an even dough. If the douhg is sticking to your hand or bowl, add some more flour, and knead the dough, delicately. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. Open it, shape them as you wish and take to the preheat oven to 180oC for about 7 minutes. Let it cool thoroughly.

Chocolate Covering:

Ingredients:

170g bittersweet chocolate
40g milk chocolate

Directions:

In the microwave, melt the chocolate (in mine, it takes about 1 minute in maximum heat). Mix it well and delicately lay the cookies in the mixture. Let it dry in a sheet of baking paper.

Frosting - you can use the recipe available in here. Put the mixture in a plastic bag. Cut a tiny piece of the tip of the bag and walk it on the cookies in zigzag. Complete sprinkling some star shaped sprinkles.

Now I'm going to introduce something new in the blog. Whenever I have onther people's recipes, I'm going to post them as Guest Recipes. Today's is from my cousin's husband, who have become my neighbours a couple of months ago. We are always sharing our recipes and foods. And this simple chocolate triffle was devoured in less than 24 hours. Simple and delish!

Easy Chocolate Triffle

Ingredients:

1 package digestive cookies
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream (200g)
8 tbsp powder chocolate

Directions:

Mix well the condensed milk and the powder chocolate. Add the cream. Make layers of the cookies and the cream. Finish with some crushed cookies at the top of the last layer of cream. Cool the triffle for about 5 hours, or until firm.

Homemade Chicken Burgers

2009-12-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

Oh well, finally my bad mood is over! What is happening now is that we've been quite away from desserts and sweet recipes. The end of the year is right here and our choco-thermomether is reaching negative degrees. Anyway, I'm sort of out of all this caloric things. So today I decided to make a homemade chicken burger. I've made it once, but the taste of the onion was too strong, I liked but not that much. I ended up by mixing a couple of internet-found recipes and it turned out soooo much better than the other. Besides being much easier! I promise that, when I'm back with the sweets, I'll bring nice things to share with you!
Homemade Chicken Burgers

Ingredients:

500g chicken breast, boneless and skinless
1/2 envelope powder onion cream/soup
2 cloves of galic
Salt

Directions:

In a food processor, grind all the ingredients until they are homogeneous. Model it, in your hands or in a burger shape and fry them in a tbsp of olive oil. I served them with potatoes and a simple salad.

PS: My husband says I that it's not interesting to post in the blog the recipes that are too easily done. But I think that, sometimes, you have all the ingredients but lack of a good idea to use them. So, I'm just sharing my ideas with you.. And I hope they're worthed!

Turkey Breast With Mashed Sweet Potato

2009-12-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

I've been kind of stressed out this week. Well, both stressed and disappointed. And this state of mind ends up by affecting my performance in the kitchen. I didn't cook much this week and some dishes went technically wrong. Well, but I guess it's over! This week I was watching a TV show in the cable TV and saw a cooking program from a guy called G. Garvin I guess. And he made some delicious mashed sweet potato. I love sweet potato, but I have to confess that I'd never made a puree of it. It was really good, and went really good with the turkey breast!

Turkey Breast With Mashed Sweet Potato

Ingredients:

Turkey:

500g turkey breast
5 tbsp seasoning (onion, garlic and parsley, dehidrated)
Salt

Mashed Sweet Potato

2 big sweet potatoes
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
Salt

Directions:

Turkey : Season the breasts with the dehidrated seasoning and fry them in a tbsp of butter til completely cooked. Set apart.

Mashed Potato: Cook the potatoes in salty water. When they're soft, take them out of the water and mash. Add the milk, the butter and the salt.

I served the dish with steamed vegetables. Carrots and green beans.

PS: This seasoning already comes in a small package, ready to use. It's onion, garlic and parsley.

Fish Stew

2009-12-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

A while ago, we went to have luch with our dear friends Girlane and André. They prepared for us a delicious fish stew, which instigated me to learn how to prepare it too, since I've never quite worked with other fish than salmon. So, I got a basic recipe on the Internet and adapted to what I had in here. It's the third time I make it and the kids really enjoy! It's a light and fast dish, besides being really good!

Fish Stew

Ingredients:

1 kg fresh fish fillet

2 onions

3 tomatoes

1 red pepper

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp dendê oil (olive oil is fine)

1 small bottle coconut milk (200ml)

2 tbsp oil

Salt and pepper

Chopped parsley

Directions:

In a bowl, season the fish with lime and, garlic, salt and pepper for at least half an hour to get the taste. Slice the vegetables and set aseide. In a big pan, heat the oil. Put a layer of vegetables, the fish and finish with the rest of the vegetables. Add the coconut milk and a glass of water. Cook in low heat for about 20 minutes. Add the dendê oil on the top of the stew and let it cook for more 5 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Serve it and decorate with some chopped parsley.

Perfect Chocolate Muffins

2009-12-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

When I see the end of the year coming closer, I like to make special things to those people who have walked through the year with us. My oldest son already goes to school, and whenever I have the time and the occasion is proper, I like to bake things for his teachers. So, this year I decided I would make a chocolate muffin for them, as a Christmas little treat. And I would top the muffins with sugar icing. This muffin recipe is the most delicious I have ever made, and I've made it like millions of times. My hubby, who`s not that into chocolate, ate 4 (!) in a day!!

Perfect Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:

slightly modified from here

340g squares semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups with papers. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate together with the butter and the yogurt. Let stand until cooled, about 10 minutes. Lightly beat the egg. In a small bowl, stir together the chocolate-butter mixture with the sugar, egg, and vanilla, until blended well. In a large bowl, stir together flour, soda, and salt. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the chocolate mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tin from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes, before removing the muffins and letting them cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cooled; can be frozen as well.

Sunday Waffles

2009-12-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

Since we got married, about four years ago, we have a waffle machine, that also works as a grill. We have used the grill several times, but we have never made waffles. Maybe it was because all the waffles we had eaten were those not sweet or salty, and kind of rubberish too. So, Saturday night and I found out there was no bread in the house. I was wandering about what I could do when it came to me that I could make some waffles. Checked the ingredients.. OK! Kids liked the idea.. OK! And, now I know, a homemade waffle cannot be compared to those cold stuff we used to eat in the lousy restaurants around here> I'll post the two recipes I made this morning!

Chocolate Waffles
from here

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour
1 egg (I used 2 small eggs)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp softened butter
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients and put 1/2 mixture in your waffle machine.

Cheese Waffle

from here

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup manioc starch (polvilho doce, in portuguese)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
1/2 cup muzzarela cheese

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients and put 1/2 mixture in your waffle machine.

I served the chocolate waffle with banana, honey and oatmeal and the cheese waffle with cream cheese and scallions. In the recipes available on the Internet, it says you can make these on a frying pan as well.. And I really believe you can!

PS: Please vote on my recipe!! It is already available on Trem Bom. It is recipe n. 7, if you can just post your vote I'd really appreciate!!! Don't forget!!!!!

Leek Quiche

2009-12-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to learn how to make quiches. After all, it's my gradma's milenar tradition to make them for family parties. But I never had the guts to make them, 'til now. I thought it would give me a lot of work to roll out the pastry, or make the filling. But, in an ironic opposition to what I was thinking, the recipe iwa really easy and we made it quite quickly. Bruno and I made and rolled out the pastry. He's a wonderful helper in the kitchen! And, besides that, he helped me slicing the leeks and the scallions. Just a great family program! The recipe comes from a dear friend's lovely blog, who wanted to share this delish with us. Mamá, this is for you!!!

Leek Quiche

from here

Ingredients:

Pastry:

2 cups flour
125 g cold butter
1 whole egg
50 ml filtered water
Salt

Filling:

2 leeks, slices only until the light green part
3 whole eggs
1 can cream (aprox. 330ml) - I used heavy cream
Salt, pepper and mustard
1 or 2 scallions

Directions:

Pastry: In your working table, that can be inside the pie pan, pour the flour and work until crumbly. Mix the salt. In a small bowl, beat the egg and mixture with the water and stir the mixture into the crumble. Roll out the pastry until it easily comes off of your hands. You shouldn't take long to do this. The crust shall be homogeneous. Ball it and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling: Slice the leeks as indicated and set apart. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the cream and the seasonings - you'd better use a high-quality mustard, as strong as possible. Add the leaks and scallions and set apart.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and open it in a medium pie pan. Crimp edges. With a fork, puncture the pastry. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake it in low-medium heat for about 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Brigadeiro with Macadamia Nuts

2009-12-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

Last Monday was my younger brother's birthday and I was responsible for taking the dessert. I decided to make a flan and a brigadeiro. A brigadeiro is a typical brazilian chocolate sweet, made with sweetened condensed milk and cocoa powder, basically. I decided to make mine using some macadamia nuts that I had in here. And the result is just wonderful. You can chew the small pieces of macadamia, and it tastes awesome! The next day, he told me he had eaten all the brigadeiro's leftovers. A nice gift at all!

Brigadeiro with Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tbsp butter

4 tbsp cocoa powder

70g crushed macadamia nuts

Directions:

In a saucepan, put the condensed milk, the butter and the cocoa powder. Mix them all together and cook it in high heat. When it comes to boil, lower the heat and stir it until the mixture loosens from the bottom of the pan. Take off the heat and add the macadamia nuts. Let it cool completely and roll in small balls or serve in a spoon. You can use chocolate sprinkles or some crushed macadamia nuts in the top of it.

Super Easy Alfredo Sauce

2009-12-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone who reads my blog knows that I'm a big fan of easy recipes. If it takes a long time to prepare or to cook, it's not good for me. Unfortunately, as much as I wished to have time, I can't spend all my day around the oven. I found this recipe unintentionally and, as I had all the ingredients available at home, I just decided to make it. Total success! I made it to my birthday dinner to serve with a steak and everybody loved it! Of course it's not the real Alfredo, but I'm sure nobody will ever notice that!

Super Easy Alfredo Sauce
from here, slightly adapted

Ingredients:

200 ml heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped butter
Milk, if necessary

Directions:

Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan. Stir in the butter and the cheese and mix with a fouet. As it starts to boil, turn off the heat and keep whisking. If the sauce is too thick, add some milk and whisk. Serve the sauce either with pasta or steak

Berry Pie and Trem Bom Challenge

2009-11-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not the kind of person who participates a lot in these blogs challenges, but Valentina is such a nice and thoughtful person and Trem Bom has served me such a variety of times with the most delicious recipes that I decided to join this. I wanted to prepare something special - and beautiful! And nothing better than a celebration for me to serve this joyful pie. The recipe is really easy and the crust - which I thought would give me a lot of work - was quickly done. I hope that you enjoy and, specially VOTE on my recipe, available on Trem Bom from december 6 to 12!

Berry Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

250g flour

125g softened butter

100g sugar

1 egg

A pinch of salt

Cream:

50 ml milk

150g sugar

4 egg yolks

50g flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Pie Crust - In a bowl, add the butter, sugar and salt and mix them with the palm of your hand for a while. Stir in the eggs and mix. Add the flour, previously strained, and mix until you get an even dough. If the douhg is sticking to your hand or bowl, add some more flour, and knead the dough, delicately. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using. Open the dough 3 or 4 mm thick and line it in the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil, fill it with raw beans (or any other grains) and take it to the preheated oven 200oC for about 35 minutes.

Cream - In a saucepan, boil the milk with the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until they get white and foamy. Add the strained flour. When the milk starts to boil, pour it into the mixture and mix it well with a fouet. Transfer the mixture to the same pan where the milk was boiled and cook it in low heat, mixing constantly with the fouet or a wooden spoon. Boil the cream for a couple of minutes and pour in another bowl, covering with a plastic bag until cold.

For the topping I used 250g strawberry, 200g raspberry, 150g blackberry and 100g blueberry.

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

2009-11-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

My brother is 2 years older than me. Last year he was hired for a job and moved to another city. Even though I didn't meet him so often when he lived here, I knew that I could see him everytime and everyday. Since he moved out, I realize we cannot see each other whenever we want to, but I remember him everytime I make something special. When we were kids, he used to like bananas with everything. Cakes, pizza, skakes, everything! And he loved strawberry as well. Cookies, ice-cream. If he was around here, I'm sure he would enjoy this smoothie. My hubbie tried it and said it is not a smoothie, but just a nice regular shake! But it certainly didn't feel any regular to me!

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 bananas (I used frozen ones)

5 fresh strawberries, rinsed & hulled

350 ml milk

1 tsp sugar

Directions:

Blend the ingredients thoroughly and serve it cold.

Chicken Soup

2009-11-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

Today was a very long day in here. Lots of things to do, many things to organize. I wasn't able to prepare lunch and, according to my 'tradition', it's a perfect day to prepare soup for dinner. As there weren't many vegetables in the fridge and I had bought so many potatoes yesterday, I decided to prepare a chicken soup. Bruno liked it so much that he ate the whole thing, quite incredible for a kid that isn't into soup! So I took a recipe from the internet, for all of my chicken soups 'til now always ended up like a thick porridge. And this recipe was awesome, the result was great!
Chicken Soup
from here

Ingredients:

4 carrots
4 potatoes
2 peeled tomatoes
1 pound chicken breast, cooked and pulled
1 cup brown rice
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp oil
Salt

Directions:

Dice the carrots and potatoes. In a saucepan, heat the oil, the onion, the tomatoes and the salt. Stir-fry until they get a light brown color and the tomato is softened. Add the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Add water and cook it for 10 minutes. Pour the rice and chicken and mix it well. Sprinkle some dehidrated parsley to serve.

Steak with Caramelized Onions and Potato Gratin

2009-11-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

I think that my main motivation to write a blog is the need of varying a bit the way things are. Now everyday I want to make something new, just to take a picture and post it here for you to read. A while ago I was the 'queen of the same'. Strogonoff, plain steak, roasted chicken.. Now I can no longer be like this, or else how would I be able to update my recipes daily? Anyways, I went to the market today and bought some potatoes. I got home with the idea of making potato gratin. I ended up by replacing most of the ingredientes, but it turned out amazing! Sometimes the easiest things are the tastiest!

Steak with Caramelized Onions and Potato Gratin

Ingredients:

8 steaks

3 cloves of garlic

4 purple onions, sliced

6 medium-sized potatoes

300g cheese (I used a brazilian cheese called Minas, but Mozzarela woud do great)

1 tbsp cream cheese

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt

Olive Oil

Butter

Directions:

Steak: Finely slice the garlic and mix with 1/2 tsp of salt. Season the steak and fry them with 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Onions: Place the onions in a frying pan with 1 tbsp of butter. Fry them in low heat, until they wilter and get a light brown color.

Potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them in thin slices. Put them in boiling and salted water for 3 minutes or until they get soft. Take off the heat, drain and put together, in a baking tray, the layers of potato and cheese. Finish with the cream cheese and the grated Parmesan. Bake it for 20 minutes or until the Parmesan gets light brown. Take off the oven and serve it with the steak and some steamed broccoli.

PS: We all love the Beatles here in my house. From our little boy to my husband, it is something that has become a trademark in here. Now, to top it off, even the picture has a Beatlemaniac detail..

Pat Scarpin's Cookies

2009-11-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

You might not know, but it hasn't been long sinca I became a huge fan of foodie blogs. I've always read them, but never really left any comments. Many and many times I took some recipes from them, and I were always praised for them. And suddenly this recipe showed up. I've always enjoyed to visit Pat Scarpin's blog. The pictures are gorgeous, such as the foods. I've done this cookie many and many times, and people's responses are always the same! Everybody loves these cookies! Some friends suggested me to open my own cookie store!! And here's another fact: it is very easy to make them, and in 30 minutes you can have 30 delicious bits to devour. Even my kids and hubbie, that are not so into chocolate, love it!

Better Than Brownie Cookies
from here, slightly modified

1 1/3 cups (233g) de bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp - 28g - butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup (134g) refined sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup (35g) flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (175g) milk and bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Melt the 1 1/3 cups chocolate with the butter in a small saucepan over low heat – stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add your dry ingredients. When stirred, add the cup of chocolate chunks/chips and stir.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside (dough loses its sheen). Leave to cool completely on sheets.

Strawberry Sorbet

2009-11-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! From today on, I'll try to post all my recipes in english for all our english-speaking readers. And nothing better than starting with a super-refreshing strawberry sorbet. I really wish every reader of mine could have an ice cream maker, so that they could have the same feeling as I do in these sooo hot and crazy days. This sorbet tastes just like a strawberry popsicle, incredibly delicious! And, besides being super easy to make, its colour shines all over the place.

Strawberry Sorbet

from here

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed & hulled
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tsp kirsch (optional)
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt

Directions:

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and kirsch, if using, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand for 1 hour, stirring every so often. Purée the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove seeds if you wish. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.