B is for Brazil

 Time to select the country starting with B - even as I am pulling up the list, kiddo yells Brazil! I guess Brazil, it is! Again, another country I don't know much about foodwise, other than pao de queijo - Brazilian cheese bread, which are totally addicting, and churrascarias - the endless meat buffet that can really test your "all you can eat" skills.

Time for research. I perused the interwebs in search of things quintessentially Brazilian. As I read about Feijoada and fish stew, I remembered there was an episode of Somebody Feed Phil where he traveled to Rio de Janeiro. Its a fantastic show that we enjoy watching, but it is also kid appropriate so we decided to watch that episode for inspiration. 

As we watched the show, it became clearer to kiddo what she wanted to eat - Feijoada, pao de queijo, and for dessert she wanted a guava jelly and cheese platter. 

Pao de Queijo: This is technically an easy to make dish, but since it is so popular at our home we always have some Brazi Bites in the freezer. You can find it at most grocery stores and even at Costco.

Feijoada:  Considered the national dish of Brazil, feijoada is a rustic stew made with black beans (feijão), and traditionally uses different parts of the pig, such as feet, ears, and also includes bacon, and smoked meats. On Somebody Feed Phil we saw that they served it over rice, with  a side of fresh kale and orange segments, topped with farofa (roasted cassava flour).

This is the recipe I used. Some of the modifications were as follows:

• We used pork bratwurst, and Nueske's smoked pork chops in the stew. 
• If you want a little more of a kick, use a spicy sausage like chorizo or linguisa
• Instead of serving it with rice, we ate it like a soup instead since it was pretty rich
• Unfortunately our farofa didn't make it in time, but it would be great to try it with the farofa topping another time
• The kale and orange really brightened up the dish, so don't skip it! I was especially excited  since we had both growing in the garden!  

Dessert: I was able to find the guava jelly on amazon (made in Brazil!), however procuring Brazilian cheese seemed to present more of a challenge. So we settled for manchego, and feta from Harley farms which worked out perfectly!

Things your kiddo can help with: 

• Measure, wash and soak the beans
• Arrange the cheesy bread on a baking tray
• Pick and wash any produce you might be using
• Cut and arrange the cheese plate, or other ingredients (I got this really nice knife for kids on Amazon, highly recommend it!)

Bon appetit!