Bom Dia BRASIL

Good Morning Brazil

I thought I would share some insights into Brasil to share with my lovely readers on occasion. There are so many neat and wonderful things about this country and its culture, food, music, and of course, its people :) First lesson... in English we spell it "Brazil" it is written as "Brasil" in Portuguese. Lesson number two (though you should all know this) is that the native language of Brasil is Portuguese, not Spanish. I only share this explicitly because there are some hispanics that are not aware of that, and if the average American is aware that Brasil is located in South America, understandably so, assume that they speak Spanish. :)

Anyway... what I thought I'd really share with you all this time is a crowd pleaser over and over and over. One of the main things I love about Brasil is its food, and my husband has acculturated me to many wonderful new dishes. One that everyone loves (brasilian and american alike) is Cheese Bread (pao de queijo). The recipe is easy, and is as follows:

400 grams povilho *see below
1 cup Parmesean cheese (the kind you use on spaghetti, etc)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Mix together in a mixer to get a solid but moist dough. You can play with the exact amount of water to get it so that the dough sticks together easily when rolled together, but not too wet. Roll dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. As you begin to smell them, they are nearly done. Should come out nice and golden brown.

May also freeze the dough balls for future use. Freeze on a plate, and after a little while put in a plastic bag. May take them straight from the freezer to the oven, but up the temperature to 400 degrees.

*"Povilho" is the portuguese word. In the US it is commonly referred to as "tapioca starch". It is actually yucca root ground into flour, fyi. You can buy tapioca starch in the bake aisle at some supermarkets that have more specialized flours, or probably a natural food store would also have it. It is much cheaper at Asian supermarkets, though. They will often have packages for 69-79 cents each and the perfect size for one recipe.

This is great at anytime of day; for breakfast, an afternoon snack, an appetizer before dinner, or an evening snack too. Great with coffee for those out there that enjoy that too. One word of warning though... as many as you bake is what will be consumed. There are never leftovers!

Try it and enjoy!!!