Office by Alex Penny
Food Blog for Refugee Youth Project:
recipes, photos, video, and more
Interesting op-ed piece from the ED of Soccer Without Borders, a group we work closely with (some of our students attend this program, too).
What a perfect project to have done with the kids! Of course it would have been impossible to keep them from eating up all the supplies….
Talk about edible art! If you like food, art, and Adobe food-o-shop (<— you can’t like that because I just made it up) here are some great portraits for you. Can’t guess who is who? Click on the pics for some clarifi-taste-tion, and of course my carb conscious comments. I mean come on, Margherita Thatcher? That’s gold, people. Although, I guess a rice portrait of Condoleezza Rice doesn’t require much…
Contributing artists:
Busy putting those pages together! We’re off to the presses next week!
A couple weeks ago, my friend Emma visited RYP to make brigadeiros, a Brazilian chocolate treat, with the students. Emma’s dad is from Brazil and she has spent some time there as well. The kids got to learn about Brazilian culture and cuisine. See the photos posted below! Continue reading to learn more about the history and the super easy (and delicious) recipe.
History of Brigadeiros:
This candy is named after a renowned Brazilian politician of the 1920’s, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes. He was an Air Force brigadier general who first gained notoriety for playing a part in quashing a communist coup in Rio. He later ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1946 and 1950, during a brief breeze of democracy which blew after WWII in Brazil.
The name of the candy is that of his rank, Brigadeiro. Now, why would anyone name candy after an army general?
Well, back in 1922, he was tall, dark-haired with blue eyes. AND SINGLE!!!
The Brigadeiro campaign slogan was “Vote no Brigadeiro que é bonito e é solteiro”.
Or the other version “Brigadeiro Brigadeiro, e melhor porque e solteiro”.
Then, this candy was created by some ladies from Rio de Janeiro. And they named the candy after the Brigadeiro. This was a time of shortage of traditional imports such as nuts and European fruits because of the WWII. But in the same time, Nescau ™ was introduced in the country.
Therefore, one might say that the creation and success of this candy was a combination of opportunities. The multinational who introduced chocolate powder, had the help of cookers who named it after a famous politician and the need of the time to find replacement to traditional imported sweets.
Today, brigadeiro candy is a must have in any birthday party and kids love them.
In time, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes lost the presidential campaign to Marechal Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who was not that handsome.
Moreover, as far as we know, there is no candy named after Marechal Dutra.
Please take note that in south of Brazil brigadeiro candy is called negrinho.
Brigadeiro Recipe:
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. In a small / medium pan cook the cocoa / Ovaltine, condensed milk and butter over medium heat.
2. Stir continuously for approximately 10 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the stove and let it cool so that you can touch it without burning yourself.
4. Once the mixture has cooled, create small balls by rolling it in your hands.
5. Roll each ball in sprinkles, coconut, cocoa powder, chopped nuts, or powdered sugar.
Mmmm smoothies!
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Following the Foodies to Africa - WSJ.com
Interesting article about the advent of sub-saharan African food in Western culture. Some of the comments make me uncomfortable (equating an entire continent to Mexico?). However, the cookbook he’s referencing (Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s, “Soul of a New Cuisine”) is fantastic and an inspiration for our own forth-coming cookbook.
Photos from when we made Brigadeiro’s, a chocolate treat from Brazil!
first try at designing a recipe page for the cookbook!
A couple photos from our lesson with Evodie on how to make traditional Congolese beignets. Wide Angle shot a lot of film and took some pictures, so hopefully we’ll be able to share those with you!
Student photos from when we cooked Ms. Zoe’s recipes: noodle kugel (from Germany) and bissap (from Senegal)
The Biscuit Effect: Photos from our cooking lesson with Chef Damian Mosely of Blacksauce Kitchen
Check out more photos on our flickr site
Student photos of our Shish Kabob lesson, 3/7
Student photos from our philly cheesesteak lesson, 2/22
We have tons of new photos to post! In good news, we found the ones from our cheesesteak lesson and have some pretty great ones from our biscuit making session with chef Damian Mosely. Getttttt ready!
“An Education in Apathy” - a film by Evodie Ngoy, today’s guest chef
We’re all looking forward to making some beignets using her mother’s traditional recipe from the Congo! Also, the class will be part of Evodie’s newest film with Wide Angle Youth Media on the experience of refugees growing up in the US. When it’s out, we’ll post it here!
