Feijoada

Did you know that a large chunk of my childhood smells like flowers, and fruit, and the smell of an overcrowded bus on a sweltering hot, humid day?

It looks like beaches and fireworks, gumbas, coatis, and sloths, bidets and cockroaches.

It feels like rain and heat, soccer and dancing, smiling and singing.

It tastes like feijoada, brigadeiros, and guarana.

It is huge chocolate eggs for Easter, sweating on the beach for Christmas, lighting candles in the sand for New Year's, presents on Children's Day, a week off of school for Carnaval, it is giving figas to friends, it is the ciaza, and dust, buildings made of concrete and stone, it is awkwardness and growth.

Sometimes, I want a taste of that again. Wouldn't you?  So last night for dinner I made feijoada.  With orange slices on the side.
Because my childhood was one part Freddy Flinstone glasses from Pizza Hut, and one part feijoada with orange slices.

Hanna is tasting a chocolate covered pretzel, and Hallie is tasting an orange slice.  Yummy childhood.

What did yours taste like?

Comments

  1. Mimi CollettJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:10 PM

    I'd say you pretty much nailed it! Now I know why Mom was saying those things on the phone. :) I'll never forget those animals at Igacu who climbed all over me, trying to get my cookies!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Phil BolingJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    So I am more than a little jealous of a) your memory b) that fejoida and c) who can make farofa.

    I just used Google translate; they have added "listen" how cool is that. I learned farofa means crumbs :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Gregory'sJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:33 PM

    I love those Ikea plates! They make childhood the best!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. RigelJanuary 12, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    I have some of the same memories! Except for Carnaval and the week off school! Oh, and our feijoada is called rice and beans! :)
    How nice that you had the blessing to live in Brasil! I must say though, I do not miss the bus with sweaty arm pits all around! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. JamiJanuary 12, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    AHHH! How fun! You'll have to send me the recipe :D It was the very first Brazilian dish I ever had... lol Jacob was working with some Brazilians for a culture day at the library... that was a lot of fun! :D How fun for you to make that :D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ThanksGIVEaway

Image
This giveaway is now CLOSED. In a week we will find ourselves feasting with family and friends.  We will reflect on and share with each other the good things in life that we are grateful for.  And I think that's great, to give thanks. My heart lately though has been leaning in a slightly different direction, I've felt an emphasis on a different part of the name of next week's holiday.  My heart is filled with gratitude to people who have reached out in love, sympathy, and support when they see others in need..  Those who have voiced prayers, and kind thoughts and words on our behalf, and on behalf of people seeking comfort everywhere.  The people who have watched children, sent flowers, made meals, and done so much more to try and ease burdens.  And my thankful heart wants to GIVE back to these people, as a small way of saying Thank You. So today I present you with my ThanksGIVEaway.  You know those big fancy blogs that are sponsored by corporat...
Read more

Come Take a Tour

Image
This is the longest post of all time, but that's because of all the pictures. So I know I shouldn't let myself get carried away since we still have the inspection to go, but... I feel like we've won half the battle, so I will show you pictures now. This backyard is one of the  main reasons I wanted this house.  It is on a corner lot, and it is really quite large.  It extends just as far off to the left.  Here you can sort of see the nice swingset we've inherited also, which Hallie will love as it has swings and a slide. This is the playhouse in the backyard.  It's about nine square feet inside, and has electrical set up and in the spring/summer you can tell it is landscaped.  My girls will be a little spoiled. This is the first thing you see when you walk in the house, aside from the stairs which you can barely see in the left corner.  It is a formal dining, but we may use it as a formal sitting room. This is the front door, with the stair...
Read more

Which One?

Image
Look, I know I ask for your help a lot, but you guys are just so good at being helpful, and I am so bad at making decisions. I have about ten posts that I have wanted to write, but I spent a ridiculously silly amount of time on these pictures instead, and now I can't decide which is better.  That's your cue to step up and say you'd love to help, so that I can free up my brain to tell you all the other things I've been wanting to tell you. (Oreos are involved, so get excited.) What I do is I take pictures that represent the words of the song I am teaching and then I hold up the page for the line and they (hopefully) remember the words and know what to sing, until they have the song memorized. I do this because about half the kids are too young to read, or read very well.  Now you know what I do at church on Sunday. The line of the song in question that I have to teach the kids is "for all His creations of which I'm a part".  Originally I just took ...
Read more