Cornbread/ Pão de Milho

My cousin and aunt came from Brasil to visit, and I decided to make a roast, and serve it with cornbread. They liked it so much that my cousin asked me for the cornbread recipe. Since I had to translate the recipe, I thought, "Why not share it with other people too? After all, Thanksgiving is around the corner, the colder weather will be here soon..." So here is the recipe in English and Portuguese.

 

Cornbread Recipe in English

1 ½ Cups yellow corn meal

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 ½ tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 ¼ cup milk

2 eggs

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup butter

Heat oven to 250F

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients. Add milk, eggs, and oil. Blend until smooth. Melt butter in iron skillet at 250F(see note below for glass baking pan). Pour batter evenly into skillet. Cover with tin foil, bake at 250F for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Stick a toothpick – CAREFULLY not to get burned – into center of batter. If the toothpick comes out dry, the bread is ready. Enjoy!

NOTE: If using a 9 x 13in glass baking pan, melt the butter in a microwavable container, in microwave, then spread into baking pan before pouring batter in.

Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy the cool weather, and God bless you. 

Vanías Reed

 Receita de Pão de Milho em Português

 1 ½ xic de fubá

1 ½ xic farinha de trigo

1/4 xic de açúcar

1 ½ colher de sopa de fermento em pó

1 colher de chá de sal

1 ¼ xic. de leite

2 ovos

¼ óleo vegetal

¼ xicara de manteiga

Aqueça o forno a  125 graus C

Misture os ingredients secos. Acrescente o leite, os ovos e o óleo. Misture tudo muito bem.

Aqueça uma frigideira de ferro e derreta a manteiga nela.

NOTA: Se usar refratário, derreta a manteiga no microoondas primeiro, ai espalhe a manteira derretida no refratario.

Despeje a massa na frigideira de ferro, ou no refratário e asse por 20-15 minutos. Espete o centro da massa com um palito de dentes ou espeto de churrasco. Se o palito/espeto sair seco, o pão está pronto. Aproveite.

Obrigada por visitar o meu blog. Deus abençoe,

Vanías Reed 

No-bake Dessert

We are going to make a brief pause on Christmas cards because I need to post this recipe, as I promised on my Facebook page. I made it for 4th of July. You can decorate it the way you want, even with Christmas eatable decorations. ;) But first let me tell you a little bit about this delicious Brazilian dessert. The name in Portuguese is Pavê (Trifle) .
Pavê resembles a tiramisu, but ... much better! It is a wonderful no-bake layered dessert made with different types of creams and cookies, or biscuits. The most common one is made with Lady Fingers and white cream. The recipe I'm posting today is my creation, and, therefore, made with chocolate. Yep, I confess, I am a chocoholic. (smile). But doesn't everything taste better with chocolate anyway? (bigger smile).

Ingredients
3 packages Tea Biscuits (you can use Graham Crackers, if you prefer)
1 can sweet condensed milk 
3 tbsp Nesquick
1 can table cream (you'll find table cream at the international aisle of your grocery store)
1/2 cup milk 
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup sugar (optional)
2 8oz containers Whip Cream
Fresh fruit (I used raspberries and blueberries to make the flag), or any decoration of your choice.


In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine Nesquick, butter, and sweet condensed milk. Cook in medium heat stirring constantly until it thickens and loosens from the bottom of the pan (about 10 minutes). Turn off heat. Add table cream. Mix very well until you have a smooth (almost liquid) cream. 
Put milk in a deep dish (add sugar to the milk if you like your desserts very sweet). One by one, deep the biscuits in the milk and arrange them in a 9"x 13" baking pan. Cover the biscuit layer with chocolate cream. Repeat this process 2 more times. Spread whip cream on top, decorate, put in refrigerator at least for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Let me know in a comment how your dessert turned out. Please post a picture of it on my Facebook page.

Thank you for stopping by. May God bless you and yours,

Vanías Reed  

Streusel Cinnamon Coffee Cake

One of the things I miss the most living so far away from my mother is when we would sit and have a cup of coffee with a slice of cake in the afternoon. Those were the moments we would talk pretty much about anything. Laugh together, cry together... So, Today I'm posting a recipe for an easy Streusel Cinnamon coffee cake. 

Cake Ingredients
1 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins or dry cranberries (optional)

Streusel Ingredients
3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Heat the oven to 350F  (If using a toaster oven, heat it to 325F)
Grease an 8x8 inches baking dish. 
In medium bowl mix dry cake ingredients and set aside. In another bowl whisk egg with sugar. Mix in milk, egg, and melted butter. Add dry ingredients, nuts, and raisins. Pour mix into greased 8x8-inches dish.
Mix all streusel ingredients and sprinkle it on cake batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes in regular oven, or 25-30 minutes in toaster oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Make the cake, let it cool completely, wrap it with cellophane paper, decorate with a beautiful bow, make a beautiful card or tag - or both- and bring it to your Mom on Mothers Day. Sit with her, have some cake together, and, most of all, give her your full attention. This recipe is mine, so feel free to copy it on a cute recipe card and give to someone you know to be a special mother - or just someone special. :)

I made this one yesterday and had a piece with my 9-year-old son. What a great time we had together. No TV, no smartphone, no tablet or computer of any kind. Just the two of us enjoying a piece of cake and talking.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you make something beautiful and/or delicious and spend time with a loved one.

God bless you

Vanías Reed  

 

Easy, Delicious Cookies

What do you feel like eating on a rainy winter day? Cookies? I like to have a good cup of tea with these "melt in your mouth" cookies. But these cookies, which recipe I'm posting today, are good in the summer too because you can make ice-cream sandwiches with them, and they are SO EASY to make. So whether you are going to wait for winter or you're going to make them right away,  while the children are on school break, here is the recipe for you. 

 2 1/2 cups (20 oz) corn starch
1 can sweet condensed milk
3/4 cup (6 oz) butter or margarine at room temperature

Heat the oven to 350 F
In a medium bow mix the ingredients until smooth (a little sticky) dough forms.
Using a cookie scoop or a teaspoon, place small balls on a cookie sheet (I cover mine with parchment paper first) at about 1 in apart. Bake for 10 - 13 minutes.

Variations
1st. Add 1/2 cup shredded coconut, if you like coconut cookies.
2nd. Add 1 tsp mint or peppermint extract to the mix 

Serve them with tea to your guests. Don't forget to decorate your cups with the little paper butterfly (July 7th post)

 I hope you like these as much as I do.

Thank you for stopping by. May God bless you and yours.

Vanias Reed   

Brazilian White Bonbons (Beijinho)

In the beginning of the 20th century, in south Brazil, a cook created a little treat that is the white version of Brigadeiro (see my post from 03/05  /2014). This delicious bonbon was named Beijinho, which literally translated means little kiss. They say it given this name because it is as sweet and delicious as a kiss. The recipe I'm posting today has coconut, but you don't have to use it if you don't like it.

Ingredients 3tbsp shredded coconut (optional - I use fresh coconut) 1 can sweet condensed milk 1 tbsp butter Granulated sugar in any color (I use sugar in the raw) 1 egg yolk (optional) Cloves (optional – for decoration How to make it Grease a large plate with butter and set aside In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut, butter, egg yolk, and condensed milk. Cook stirring constantly until it thickens and loosens from the bottom of the pan (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat (don’t scrape the pan – it should fall off the pan easily) and spread it on buttered plate. Let rest until cool. Butter your hands and roll the thick mixture into small balls. Roll the balls in the granulated sugar. Place the bonbons in mini cupcake liners. Nutella Version When rolling the creamy mix into balls, use your thumb to push a small cavity in the beijinho, and add 1tsp of Nutella. Close and roll into ball. Note: These were rolled in powdered coconut, and not sugar. I hope you enjoy this delicious Brazilian treat.  Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderfully blessed day. Vanias Reed

Easter Egg in a Bowl

I can't believe how time is going by fast. Wasn't it Christmas yesterday? Now Easter is almost here, already? (smile). Anyway, today I'm posting another Brazilian recipe. This time it is a delicious "Easter Egg" with a twist. It's a dessert to be served cold that I translated from this website. Here it is.

Ingredients

• 3 cans of sweet condensed milk
• 2 tbsp of starch
• 2 cans of milk (use the empty sweet condensed milk cans)
• 6 egg yolks
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 can of table cream
• 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped cashew nuts (I like walnuts or pecans better)
• 2 cups of milk chocolate chips.

• In a medium size pan cook, in medium heat, the sweet condensed milk, the starch dissolved in the milk, and the egg yolks stirring constantly until a thick cream forms (about 1 ½ minute)
• Turn off heat. Add vanilla to the mix and set aside to cool down. Add the table cream to the cool mix. Set 1/3 of the mix aside
• Mix the semi-sweet chocolate to the other 2/3 of the mix. The chocolate should melt.
• Place one layer of the chocolate cream in the bottom of glass baking pan. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Take it out of the refrigerator and cover with a layer of the white cream.
• Sprinkle with the chopped cashew nut and put back in the refrigerator for 10 more minutes. Take it out of the refrigerator, and cover with second layer of chocolate cream.

·         In a separate bowl, melt the milk chocolate. Cover the dessert with a layer of this chocolate.

·         Put dessert in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving it.

  Thank you for stopping by. God bless you.

Vanías Reed