Kitchen shopping made easy

Shopping online is fun but can also be a bit tiring if you keep looking for things but can't find the right place to buy what you want. Well let me tell you about a place you may or may not know about; ShopWiki. Their kitchen and dining department will help you find what you are looking for in an instant.

As a food lover I can stroll around in shops forever looking and dreaming about buying new things for my kitchen. At ShopWiki all stores are in one place making it easy to find exactly what you are looking for. I love baking so for me it is natural to look at the bakeware section.

Another fun thing to look at are kitchen gadgets. You can always find something fun and necessary to your kitchen there. And if you don't think it is necessary then buy it for the fun of it, with great price comparing you can find what you want at the right price. Just look at this fun little mini soda vending machine, perfect in a fun kitchen!

Shopping for kitchen stuff is definitely one of the best things I know and I'm glad it can be done online, more options and better prices!

Planning a trip to Brazil

I recently wrote a post on my Swedish food blog about planning a trip to Brazil and thought I'd share it with you here as well. If you have any tips that you think should be included please do leave a comment.

When should I go? It is worth remembering that the seasons are opposite here so when it is winter in the US/Europe it is summer here. If you want really warm weather December is perfect. The rest of the year it is pretty mild. The more south you go in the winter the colder it gets. Winter starts around June 20.

Where should I go? I am not the best person to advice in this matter I'm afraid, but I can give you some general advice. If you long to go to beautiful beaches Florianópolis is a good choice. Guia Floripa will tell you everything about what to see and do in Florianópolis. Mind you it is in Portuguese but you might still find it interesting.

The more south you go the more reminders of European culture you will see. Brazil has a lot of European immigrants, especially in the south, and some parts only speak Polish or German.

A trip to Rio De Janeiro should of course be included (you can see the famous Copa Cabana walk to the left ) and if you are a fan of amusements parks you really should not miss Beto Carrero, one of the largest parks in the world. You will need about two days to go through the whole park.

More inspiration on where to go and where to stay I suggest checking out Lonely Planet and Virtual Tourist. There you can find almost any information you are looking for.

Where should I stay? Where to stay depends totally on how thick your wallet is or to say how much you can afford to spend. Trough Hotels Combined you can get hotel prises not only for Brazil but for the rest of the world as well. Just enter where you want to go and how much you are willing to spend and they will giver you the options and prices.

You can also find hostels but in smaller cities you may have to stay at a hotel instead. Or if you are staying for a longer period of time; why not rent a house? Unfurnished house prices starts at $150/month and up. The closer to the beach the more you will be asked to pay.
How much money will I need? It is never advised to go on a holiday and try to save money meanwhile. But if you are on limited funds it might help you to know that our monthly food bill is around $200 and includes fruit, meat and everything else needed for 2 adults and one child. For the rest it all depends on where you are staying and what you will do while here.


Can I bring and use my iPod/MP3/Laptop etc? As long as you can bring it into Brazil on legal terms you should be able to use them without problems. I advice you to buy an adapter before you go, Brazil has several different sockets.

The food: What do they eat in Brazil? That is a common question from tourists. When it comes to food there are some differences as well. The northern part use more spices and fruits in the food while the rest of Brazil normally keep to a more general diet not too different from the rest of the world. You will always see chili sauce on the table but it is optional and not very strong.

Visas: Contact your embassy or consulate for questions like these.

But I don't speak Portuguese? If you want to make yourself understood a crash course in Portuguese will probably be a good idea. Most Brazilians do not speak English, if you approach teenagers you might be lucky to hold a conversation in English.

Safety: Brazil is a wonderful country and people are very open minded and talkative. Though the general advice among Brazilians are to take everything with a pinch of salt and not believe everything you are told. Not that they lie, it's a cultural thing.

If someone wants to help you with your stuff be careful and attentive. If you do not know the person it is better not to let go of your things or leave them out of sight. Avoid walking by yourself at night and especially on deserted streets. Ask at the hotel which streets you should avoid. To wander into the slum is probably not a good idea!

As long as you use common knowledge and are attentive everything should be OK. I know I absolutely love Brazil and I'm sure you would too if you come here! :)

Have a great tip about Brazil? Share!

Click on the images to see more beautiful images from Brazil!

Potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes

Marina Benjamim is from Brazil and 27 years old. From her father's side she had a dash of north Brazil and many brothers and sisters. From her mother's side, beyond a love for food and cook, she got her strong personality and charm of Rio de Janeiro.

She changed the sunny Rio de Janeiro for the grey London where she still trying to mix the flavours and colours of the Brazilian food in the land of fish and chips.

Two years ago I finally convinced myself that was time to learn English. I had tried many different courses in Brazil, but my impatient personality couldn't deal with months of “The book is on the table”.

I couldn't imagine myself spending more than a week in US, other countries like Australian sounded too far away and I couldn't stop thinking of myself only a 45 minutes flight from Paris so I decided that 6 months in London would be my best option.

Full of expectations and excitement I arrived in the Queen's land and completely fell in love. Yes the weather can be miserable, people aren't as friendly as I am used to, but what a city. London is absolutely gorgeous when sunny, I've made really good friends from all over the world (including English people even though finding them in London is unbelievable difficult), it is great being a short flight distance of "must see" places in Europe and I must admit I love pubs.

Experience a culture completely different to yours can be quite hard if you aren't open to understand and try it and I was determined to get into British culture all the same.

My second try (the first was a whole evening in a pub drinking enormous 568ml pints of beer which I can't tell much about because I have barely any memories from that night) was a trip to a supermarket.

A whole new world disclosed to me: different fishes, a whole range of can food, beans never seen before, a bacon that looks like an ham, kind of hams that look something that I couldn't have never guessed, all sort of eggs, every single dish to be microwaved. Although my biggest surprise came from one of the simplest ingredients: Potatoes. Even the smallest local mini market in the UK has at least 6 different sort of potatoes, in some places you can find more than 10 kinds for various purpose. I knew about the fish and chips but 10 was absolutely craziness for me.

Initially I couldn't believe that taste could vary, for God's sake they are potatoes, but after 2 years and many discussions drinking pints, I had to give in and admit that King Edwards is great to make chips and there is nothing like a farm fresh Nadine for a smooth and cream mash.

Blog contributors wanted

Do you love to blog about food?

Brazilian Food Love is looking for contributors!

I do not have the time needed to post regularly myself but this blog receives a steady flow of traffic everyday and it would be a shame to let it go to waste, therefor I am now looking for blog contributors and guest bloggers!

What I am looking for:

One or two experienced bloggers with a passion for food. Experience in writing recipes is a must as well as fluency in English. Ability to post at least 1-3 posts per week. You also need to be willing to spread the word about BFL- the more exposure for the blog the better for you as well. SEO experience is good but not necessary.

Brazilian writers will have preference but is absolutely no requirement.

What you get:

This is the sad part for some- no money but you do get exposure. Brazilian Food Love receives a steady flow of daily traffic and has a high rank in Google searches. You will be presented on the blog as a contributor in which you can link to your blog(s). A link to your blog and introduction post will be available in the sidebar.

At the moment this blog does not have any kinds of income, however, should it start to receive a steady flow of income I will discuss payment with you. As  freelance writer myself I do know how important it is to get the right exposure and to get paid for it.

You will also receive blogging guidance if needed.

Don't want to become a regular contributor but a Guest Blogger? That can also be arranged.

If interested please send an email to: brazilianfoodlove *@*gmail.com with subject: Blog Contributor or Guest Blogger

Remove the *. Please include a link to your current blog(s) as well as tell me how often you would be able to post.

Technorati Tags: blog contributors, blogger wanted, guest bloggers, brazilian food, food blogs

Fried cheese balls

My mother in law gives me lots of fresh cheese every month. We rarely eat it all so I use it when I cook instead.Today I had an urge to make cheese balls and so I did. it turned out wonderfully! It's extremely easy to make and a prefect snack. Don' mind the calories though *lol*

 

Fried cheeseballs (makes 20)

2½ cup grated fresh white cheese (queijo mineiro)

1tbsp Cheddar soft cheese (or other flavor)

salt and pepper

chili sauce

garlic sauce/dressing

1 egg

bread crumbs mixed with flour

Mix the cheese in a blender, add chili sauce, garlic sauce and salt and pepper.  Stir in the soft cheese, preferably work the cheese with your hands so that it becomes like a dough.

Use a teaspoon as measurement and shape into small balls.  Beat the egg lightly, roll the cheese balls in it and roll in breadcrumbs. Fry until golden brown and serve immediately.

Parents fast food

"Mom make rice pudding"

"Mom make pizza"

"Mom make.." and the list goes on.

Rice pudding is something my son has started to ask for a lot lately. The first time he asked my immediate thought was: "I can't make rice pudding just like that, it takes time to make rice pudding" Well my son is very demanding so of course I made it to please him. And I realized it doesn't take that long. For me rice pudding is one of those things you have to cook with a gentle hand. I learned from a friend that rice pudding is best if you stir constantly.

With little time for that and a hungry child near by you kind of skip that step. Improvise. That is the thing, to do. If you are in a hurry to make rice pudding  you simply cook the rice in water first on high heat, when it is almost done you lower the heat and add some sugar, cinnamon and milk. Time to cook: No more than 15 minutes! During that time you only need to make sure your kid is occupied and wait.

Same thing with pizza. Make a quick dough without yeas and make pan pizza instead of in the oven.

This is what I call parents fast food. Do you have any Parents fast food recipe or tips to share?

Technorati Tags: parents, fast food, quick, kids, rice pudding, pizza

New year- new food

I don't like to make promises that I won't be able to keep so I am not going to promise  anything on this blog. Or any other blog for that matter :)

But I do have some thoughts and that is that this year I will cook more than last year and blog about it.  The year has just begun but I think I will have more time to cook and blog than last year.  At least that is what I would like to.

I started with "Double Chocolate Chip Cookies" today, first time ever I made them but they didn't turn out right. Instead of cookies I had melted dough after I took it out of the oven. So I will have to find a better recipe for "DCCC" and then I can share the recipe.

I wish you all a Happy New year!