Quickbreads from the book Gabriel gave me - made with fine cornmeal and poppy seeds.

(Em português)

Quickbreads, this wonder of humanity!

In fact, I would call these tiny guys cakes, because they are made with baking powder, not yeast.

And this is the reason why you can whip up a batch so fast.

They are great as last-minute snacks, for those times when someone comes over and you're not ready for it, to serve as an excuse to turn on the oven on chilly days, this kind of thing...

The recipe comes from a book a friend gave me last year, it's called "Marvellous mini cakes" by Ilona Chavancova.

Cheese-monkey: a classic in the Brazilian family.

 

(Em Português)

I want to know how many of you have never eaten bread with banana. You know what? I think there is actually plenty of people who never eaten it. Oh my.

Look, you should try. There are millions of possible versions. The sandwich in the picture I have prepared with a soft store bought cornmeal bread, a thin layer of banana chimia (banana sauce? Banana spread? How do I call this thing in English? Anyway, the recipe will be after the jump. It's one I have prepared without sugar, pretty nice), unsalted white cheese, and the banana itself.

Real fruit jelly. In this case, mango.

    (Ignore the fork in the first picture. The breakfast table was set, so there was a spoon nearby          as well...)

(Em português)

About 300 years ago I bookmarked this recipe in Patricia's blog, and I really wanted to test it.

Ana Elisa posted another real fruit jelly, and I started to like the idea very much.

People say jelly is good for many things, and it's quite easy to prepare but, honestly, those boxed jello flavors can't be appealing.

So the other day I stumbled upon the agar agar package almost expiring in the back of the drawer, I looked at the overripe mango crying for help, and I knew what would I have for breakfast. 

And why agar agar instead of regular jelly?

Well, because it's hard to stop myself from buying cute packaged things  in the grocery stores of Liberdade. Anyway, I try to keep those purchases down to things that might be useful, even though they're not necessary in my life.

Confessions set aside, let's get to the recipe.

Dona Benta and the fantastic banana waffles.

(Em português)

My mother called me about two weeks ago, and at some point in the conversation she said "when I come to visit you, I'm bringing a surprise".

The damage was done. Miss Curiosity here spent this whole time forgetting and remembering to think

whether it would be something to eat, something for my home, to dress myself, if it had something to do with cinema...

She arrived at last, and what a beautiful surprise!

It was that huge book "Dona Benta - Comer bem". The best selling Brazilian cook book in the country ever since it's first edition - in 1940 -, according to the foreword. 

It comes with many traditional recipes, the ones that might end up forgotten once in a while.

The ones that feel great to be reminded of suddenly.

As soon as I could, I spent hours browsing the book and reading recipes.

To start it up, I cooked these waffles this morning.

Gooood! :)

Oatmeal.

(In Portuguese)

This is a classic among the breakfasts in my mom's house, specially in the winter.

It is real simple, heartwarming, and works wonders when one needs to eat and has a stomachache.

Carrot bread, and the week after the holidays.

(In Portuguese)


Well, we all know what happens in a week with the family during holidays.

We have fun, forget about our lives, and enjoy good food.

So I stole from my uncle and aunt a nice idea, which is to spend the following week "detoxifying" the body with more fresh vegetables and less carbs.

Back to São Paulo, I went to the supermarket to get several vegetables and fruits, had soup for lunch. And at night I decided to make a carrot bread.

When I cook breakfast, I cook breakfast!

(In Portuguese)


Cooking for some people is more fun than cooking for few people, even more if it is family's breakfast in a holiday. :)
Today we had pumpkin pancakes, quick and easy.

Red dawn.

(In Portuguese)

Granola with dried cranberries + iced hibiscus tea.

The saga of the chimia.

(In Portuguese)

Continuing thes to make a tasty and decent-looking chimia [which is a kind of fruit spread made here in Brazil] -  meaning a dark brown one, rather than a pinkish one -, here is another recipe.

Good morning, baby.

(In Portuguese)


Chubby pancakes, american style, to start Sunday with nice vibes.

Dry.

(In Portuguese)

I bought almost 1,5kg of apples the last time I went to the supermarket,
and for my sorrow they were sweet to death (I like more acidy fruits).
Wel... what to do?
Put in practice an idea that's been in my mind for ages: dry them out.

Oh, really?

(In Portuguese)


I was finishing reading some texts last night,
thinking I should go to sleep early, because I was very tired.
So, what's better than a cup of tea, right?
So I made some yerba mate tea, cozy and stuff.
Well, I just found out that mate contains a whole lot of caffeine.
In fact, twice as much as there is in coffe.
So I ended up going to sleep at 3am or something, to wake up at 7am.
Anyway, for unknown reasons, I woke up great.
I enjoyed my newly-discovered caffeine source, which made a fabulous breakfast
along with the granola.

Super natural.

(In Portuguese)

I got home from work tired,
and that happens in part because of the hot weather.
So I thought I deserved a nice fruit juice.

Special breakfast.

(In Portuguese)


Since the year is ending and everything seems like a wacky race,
at least breakfast can be cute.
Mini panetone that simply showed up at my place + tea in the teapot
that I just received as a gift. :)
(Thanks, Ric!)

Banana spread.

(In Portuguese)

Banana spread. Yummm.

I still don't know what to do so that it won't acquire that pinkish/lilac tone, which I find a little strange. But it's so good on a bread as a breakfast!