Dena De Clute
Author
World Geography Wednesday Visits Brazil
I had the unbelievable privilege to live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a year and a half. Our apartment was in the heart of Zona Sul on the coast in the Flamengo district, right across the street from the Carmen Miranda Museum and within view of Sugarloaf Mountain, “Pãu de Açucar”. My son says it was like being on a tropical vacation that never ended.
“Look at me and tell me if I don’t have Brazil in every curve of my body.”
Carmen Miranda
I’d take my kids to the playground across the street by the beach, where we’d eat coconut cake and search for cicadas. Cicadas dig holes in the ground to suck nutrients from tree roots, and they live in Brazil by the millions. We’d also ride our scooters on the hard-packed paths and collect windfall star fruit to eat at home. My kids had so much fun there!
There was never a shortage of things to do and see in Rio. We lived like tourists and found somewhere amazing to go almost every weekend, like Escadaria Selaron. We were still in the Honeymoon stage of our time there when we had to move back to the states, and we never lost our sense of wonder.
Teaching Kids About Brazil
For this World Geography Wednesday, we pulled out our Rio travel guides, South American maps, family photos, and Brazilian story books. My son was in kindergarten and my daughter was a toddler when we left, so I really wanted to remind them what living there was like.
We read “Afternoon on the Amazon” by Mary Pope Osborne, and “The Parrot Tico Tango” by Anna Witte. We also watched the movie “Rio” – which was surprisingly accurate in terms of carioca culture (the people who live in Rio de Janeiro). Personally, I was never served chicken gizzards there, but it wouldn’t have surprised me.
Gringos in Brazil
During our first week in Rio de Janeiro, my husband ordered a Coke at a kiosk in Copacabana beach. This is what they served! (“Coca” means coconut in Portuguese, and he did not articulate it well.) Needless to say, it was deliciously refreshing and he didn’t send it back.
In addition to tons of fresh fruit sold at “sucos” juice stands all over the city, the surrounding rainforest was ripe with exotic animals and vegetation. We’d visit Jardim Botanico for impromptu biology lessons on lizards, bamboo, orchids growing from trees, and freaky little monkeys scampering around scavenging for mangoes.
Cooking Brazilian Food
Drinks and Nibbles
In homage to our magical time there, for our Brazilian World Geography Wednesday we started with fresh watermelon juice, “suco de melançia”. To make it, you literally just put chopped watermelon in a blender. You don’t even strain out the seeds. Kiwi and pureed açai, a berry that grows in the Amazon, made a nice fresh salad.
Our appetizer was cheese buns, “pãu de queijo”, our favorite snack made with cheese from the Brazilian state Minas Gerais. These were store-bought from the frozen food section, since (unsurprisingly) I couldn’t find the right cheese in Houston. They were actually authentic and delicious, and I buy them every time I see them in the grocery store.
Main Course
Our main course was the Brazilian national dish: black bean stew with rice, “feijoada é arroz”. Where I’m from in South Louisiana, red beans and rice are very common and follow the same basic recipe (though Brazilians typically use black beans). You just sauté onions, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Then add pork sausage and beans and simmer covered until the beans are tender. In Rio, I would use “linguiça Portuguesa” sausage, but here I had to use cured pork sausage.
To see how to cook feijoada step-by-step, check out my video: WORLD GEOGRAPHY WEDNESDAY VISITS BRAZIL.
Dessert
To satisfy our sweet tooth, we had coconut cake and homemade brigadeiros, or “soldiers”. Brigadeiros are a velvety chocolate truffle made famous by Brigadier Eduardo Gomes around WWII. My Portuguese instructor made a huge batch of them for my daughter’s third birthday party, and we’ve loved them ever since.
They’re super easy to make and fun for kids. Here’s the recipe if you’re interested. Enjoy!
Brigadeiros
INGREDIENTS:
3 TBSP butter
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
¼ cup cocoa powder (or chocolate milk powder)
sprinkles, chopped pecans, shredded coconut, etc.
TOOLS:
small pot
can opener
whisk
cookie sheet
rubber spatula
mini cupcake liners
small bowls for toppings
PROCESS:
Melt the butter in a small pot over Med-Hi heat. Add the condensed milk and cocoa powder and whisk it until it starts to bubble. Lower the heat to Low and cook (stirring often) until it’s thick, about 10 minutes.
Pour the chocolate mixture onto a cookie sheet and spread it out. Refrigerate it until it sets, about an hour.
Put your toppings in small bowls. Rub a little butter between your palms to get them greasy. Scoop up about 2 TBSP of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Roll it around in whatever topping you want, then put it in a mini cupcake liner. Keep doing this for all your mixture.
I hope you enjoyed this article on teaching your kids about Brazil! Follow my blog, or Subscribe to my YouTube channel, WORLD GEOGRAPHY WEDNESDAY for more kid-friendly geography and cooking ideas! Hope to see you next week.
