Language Lesson- Herbs & Spices

I have been in Brazil for a little while, and while I know enough Portuguese to get me in trouble but I can't make my way around a kitchen.  The Brazilian kitchen lacks even the most basic herbs and spices and if I want something other than salt, garlic, and onion then I have to pull out the dictionary and make a trip to the store or open-air market.  So, if you are planning on making a meal while in Brazil or translating a recipe, here is a helpful guide of herbs and spices in English and Portuguese.  Boa sorte!

Allspice	Pimenta-da-Jamaica
Anise	Erva-doce
Basil	Manjericấo
Bay Leaves	Louro
Cardamom	Cardamomo
Cayenne	Pimenta-de-Caiena
Chives	Cebolinha
Cinnamon	Canela
Cloves	Cravo
Coriander	Coentro
Cumin	Cominho
Dill	Endro
Fennel	Funcho
Garlic	Alho
Ginger	Gengibre
Marjoram	Manjerona
Mint	Hortelấ
Mustard Seed	Mostarda
Nutmeg	Noz-Moscada
Onion	Cebola
Oregano	Orégano
Paprika	Pimentấo
Parsley	Salsa
Pepper	Pimenta
Rosemary	Alecrim
Saffron	Açafrấo
Sage	Sálvia
Sesame Seed	Gergelim
Thyme	Tomilho
Vanilla	Baunilha

You Say Tagliatelle, I Say Campanelle

I'm in Brazil this month for work, and can't do a lot of cooking at the hotel. Since we can't cook my colleague and doing pretty well trying out the Sao Paulo food scene. Her and I (and a few others) were at Duo Cuochi at Shopping Cidade Jardim a couple of nights ago and my colleague asked, "what does Tagliatelle look like?" I was confident I could answer her! "They look like trumpets with ruffled edges." Fast forward a few minutes and out comes a plate with a very pretty nest of neatly wound Tagliatelle which looked a lot more like Angel Hair than trumpets with ruffled edges. I was convinced I was right, so I thought I would find a picture of the 'real' Tagliatelle and send it to her. In my pasta quest, I found a neat quiz on pasta shapes and names. I got 18 right, 6 wrong. How well did you do?

Take the quiz here http://www.slashfood.com/2009/09/01/pasta-shape-id-quiz/

In case you were wondering, the chef at Duo Cuochi was right and I was wrong. For more on Duo Cuochi, check them out here: http://www.duecuochi.com.br/

Tchau!

Tips for Substituting Wheat Flour

I started a new job recently and this new group participates in a "Friday Breakfast Club." It used to be "Friday Treats" until someone brought in Moonpies (eek!) for breakfast. So now the members of the group alternate days to bring in breakfast that fits within the accceptable items list: bagels. One of my co-workers, Jenn, is very health concious and normally does not partake because Panera bagels are 400+ calories each before the cream cheese. Double eek! So, she found a recipe for lemon raspberry muffins she wanted to make and bring in for the group and wanted to use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. Since wheat flour is made from all parts of the wheat it provides health benefits that plain old all purpose flour does not. Since baking is a delicate chemical reaction you can't just substitute anything and everything. Items made with wheat flour will generally result in a more dense and "gritty" product than using all purpose flour. Here are a few tips to succesfully substitute wheat flour for all purpose flour:

1. Start Small: Replace 1/3 of a cup of all purpose flour for every cup of flour. So, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of all purpose flour, use 1/3 cup wheat flour and 2/3 cup all purpose flour.
2. Moving Up: Depending on what you are making, you can move up to 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose without adverse results or adjusting the remainder of the recipe.
3. Depends on Taste: If you like baked goods that are dense and have texture, replace all of your flour with wheat. All purpose flour yields silky smooth baked goods whereas wheat flour does not.
4. No Over-Mixing: Regardless of what kind of flour you use, don't overmix your batter! Just mix until all the flour is incorporated. Over-mixing creates glutens which result in dense baked goods. Blah!

Healthy eating!

A New Obsession

I love to make as much from scratch as possible. Yes, it tastes better than anything over-processed and treated you can get at the store, but mostly because it's fun and I love to be able to say, "I made my own ice cream, vanilla and mint extract, beer, taco shells, caramel..." Heather, my fabulously supportive Sister-in-Law, commented on my recent mozzarella with oregano post saying, "I thought you had made your own fresh mozzarella!" I would like to say I stopped to think about that comment for a while, but no, I just moved straight ahead to making fresh mozzarella- at least in my head. Which lead me to actually buying what is necessary to turn milk into creamy and dreamy fresh mozzarella and yummy yogurt. I found a great site that sells what you need to make everything from "beer to bubble gum and wine to cheese." After some quick comparison shopping, I found this is the least expensive place too! Shipping costs are another story...

Check out the site here: leeners.com

If you have a health food store near you, try them out for cheese making ingredients. Most of the health foods stores I've visited are willing to order what you want if they don't carry it so don't be afraid to ask.

Anyway, depending on when my goods arrive, I should have a batch of fresh mozzarella and yogurt to blog about soon. I can't wait! YEA!

Free O-S-C-A-R M-A-Y-E-R

Kraft is giving away a package of Oscar Mayer All-Beef Dogs today! Yea! It's a coupon thing: sign up at the link below to get your coupon while supplies last. The promotion ends at 11:59PM Central tonight. Enjoy your free dogs!

Oscar Mayer has a way with H-O-T-D-O-G-S!

http://kraft.promotions.com/ombeeffranks/front.do

The Finished Kitchen is Here

A picture of the kitchen as it is right now- almost done. Only some spots to touch up with paint are left and we are just waiting for the drywall mud to dry to finish. Thanks for hanging on and encouraging the work. We hope to have everyone over soon.

Earth Friendly Kitchen Cleaning Tips

I have been using white distilled vinegar to clean our kitchen counter and coffee pot for a while now, but in honor of Earth Day I thought I would look up the actual protocol for using vinegar as a cleaning agent. How does it compare price-wise to other cleaners? Is it effective? Does it kill germs? What surfaces can it clean?

I'm happy to report that vinegar is an excellent cleaning agent! It cleans, disinfects, it is inexpensive ($2.99 for a 2-gallon jar at Costco) and Earth Friendly, non-toxic, and works for nearly every surface. I found this great website that explains how to use vinegar to clean every surface that comes to mind, except Granite and Marble: http://www.vinegartips.com/cleaning/

Now that's a budget friendly way of being green and clean! Or white and distilled...

Happy Earth Day!

P.S. Check out the new "green" colored template for today too!

Kitchen Facelift (or Disaster...)

Since this is what Ryan and I have been dealing with and will likely deal with over the next week or so, probably no posts for a little while. Can you spot: Ryan, the car jack holding up the cabinet, and a broom that clearly hasn't been used today?

Ryan and I ordered the pendant lights today that will hang above the countertop you see. They are from Wilmette Lighting and called Clark Pendant. My brother was kind enough to order them for us. Yea! Let me know what you think!