Guava Cake

How about a taste of Brazil for breakfast?  Go shopping in the ethnic section of your grocery store for guava paste (sometimes called guava cheese) and maize flour (flakes of corn, not powder like cornmeal).  Then enjoy this with a strong, black cup of coffee and pretend you're here.

5 TBS. butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup natural yogurt

2 cups maize flour 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 TBS. baking powder

1 cup guava paste, cut into cubes

Grease and flour a square pan.  Mix butter, sugar, eggs, and yogurt until creamy.  Add maize flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder.  Mix well.  Pour into prepared pan and top evenly with guava paste squares.  Push squares down into the cake.  Bake at 325˚ for about 30 minutes.  

Cappuccino Cake

Our neighbor in Nashville brought this cake to a cookout.  It has since become one of my favorite dessert recipes.  It seems to be a hit with coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers alike. Just a tasty little treat, or one step closer to total global coffee dependence?

Cake:

Yellow or white cake mix

3 tsp. instant coffee

Follow the directions on the cake mix, diluting the coffee in the liquid.  Grease and flour pan.  Bake at 350º for 35-40 minutes.  Poke holes in cake while hot.  

Topping:

1 TBS water

2 tsp. instant coffee

1 can condensed milk

Mix well, in order, and pour over cake while hot.

Finishing Touch:

Top with 

whipped cream

cinnamon

chocolate shavings.

Panquecas

This is pronounced pun-keck'-uhz and Jonah thinks you're going to love it.  After his first bite, he said to me, "Mom, you make goood food!"  I hope you agree.

2 cups flour

2 cups milk

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

2 tsp oil

1 pound of ground beef 

1 onion, diced 

1 tomato, diced 1 can tomato sauce

8 oz softened cream cheese

grated parmesan cheese

Put flour, milk, salt, baking powder, eggs, and oil in a blender and mix until creamy.  Add a little oil to a pan and pour just enough of the mixture to spread around and make a crepe-type pancake.  Flip and brown on other side.  Set aside and make as many as the batter allows.

Brown the meat with onion and tomato.  Mix with cream cheese.

Fill each crepe with meat and cream cheese mixture, rolling to form something like a burrito.  Cover with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.  Bake on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Brazilian Stroganoff

I know the recipe is a bit vague, but the meal is decidedly delicious.  I'm in Brazil now and this is the way they do things - relaxed.  Use your creative flare to decide what "tender beef" means and how big a "small carton" is.  I put in extra tomato sauce and was very happy with it.

        2 pounds of tender beef

1 TBS of butter or margarine

1 pinch of black pepper

1 pinch of oregano

1 pinch of rosemary

1 tsp of salt

1 TBS of Worcestershire sauce

1 small carton of heavy cream

1 jar of mushrooms

1 diced onion

1 diced tomato

5 tsp of ketchup 

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 jar of palm hearts, diced

Clean the beef, cutting off all fat and slice into small pieces.  Spice with salt, pepper, oregano, and rosemary.  Melt the butter and brown the meat.  Add the onion, tomato, and Worcestershire sauce.  Mix well then add ketchup, tomato sauce and 1 cup of water.  Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms and palm hearts.  Finally, add the heavy cream and simmer for 15 minutes.

Best served over rice with shoestring potatoes.