Before we started making “Vaca Atolada,” during the Chefs Consortium cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma, I played  some Brazilian music and served “caldo de feijão”, Bean Soup. I called it “Serenade Soup.” Growing up in Brazil, friends would park under our windows or outside the door in the middle of the night to serenade. They would sing love songs or songs to honor someone for their birthday. Or was it a good way to get a refill to make into the morning?! They would sing until we would turn the lights on. The tradition is that we thank them by inviting them in and feeding them. One thing that most Brazilians have in their fridge is a pot of cooked beans. Here all the recipes from the class including the “Caldo.”

Vaca Atolada – “Cow Stuck in the Mud”

2 lbs beef short ribs

1/2 cup cachaça (brazilian rum)

beef broth, as needed

2 Tbsp oil

4 cloves chopped garlic

2 medium onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper

1 Tbsp annatto powder, Coriander, 1 bay leaf

Pimenta de cheiro (banana pepper)

Cheiro verde (scallion and parsley)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste and hot pepper

2 lbs mandioca (yuca, manioc)

Rinse the ribs. Put ribs in a saucepan with cachaça and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Turning as needed and skimming the top removing any  foam. Separate the meat from the broth. Refrigerate meat. In another container refrigerate the broth. When the broth is cooled, the fat will separate to the top of the broth. Discard the fat. Save the broth. Heat oil in a heavy cast iron casserole (Dutch oven).  Sauté ribs until browned. Set meat aside. To the pan, sauté the garlic, lemon juice, the onion, bell pepper. Add annatto. Add reserved broth, a little at a time, to form a nice broth. Add the bay leaf, salt to taste, and simmer, covered until the meat is tender. Meanwhile, wash, peel, and cut the mandioca and parboil in saved broth until semi-soft with 1 tsp salt. Add to the ribs. Continue cooking until it is a thick stew and the ribs are tender. The mandioca also will be very tender and falling apart… like mud Readjust seasoning, add cheiro verde. Serve with rice, collard greens.

Thank you Chef Liz Beals for this action shot! and all your help.

Caldo de Feijão (Bean Soup)

“Caldo” is a thin bean soup.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup bell red pepper
1/3 cup bell green pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp coriander
3 cups cooked pinto beans
2 cups of water or to desired consitancy
1 tbsp tomato paste
few shakes of Tabasco sauce
salt to taste
cheiro verde (a bunch of parsley, green onions and cilantro, chopped) to garnish and serve.
Using a blender, mix all ingredients. adding water as needed until thin to pour into cups.Bring to a pan and bring to a gentle boil. Serve hot. Serve with more hot pepper on the side.

Couve (Collard Greens)

2 tablespoons of olive oil
6 to 8 collard green leaves, cut into a chiffonade
1/2 cup onions, chopped
In a frying pan, sautee onions for 1 minute then add the collards and sautee until tender and bright green

Arroz (Yellow Rice)

serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or enough to coat the bottom of the pan
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water, plus as needed
1 cup rice ( a hand full per person, my mom’s way)
Rinse the rice several times, until the water runs clear. Let the rice dry
Heat up the water to a boil
Mash the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan with a heavy bottom, on medium heat. Add the rice and fry stirring until golden.
Add hot water VERY carefully to rice, covering the rice by about 1/2 inch
Add the mashed garlic and salt. ( 1 tsp of turmeric to make yellow rice)
cook until the water is reduced and you see “tunnels or channels” form.
Add water to cover the rice one more time, by about 1/2 inch
When the water is reduced the second time, turn off the heat and leave rice covered for 5-10 minutes more.
Fluff rice with fork and serve.

Ellie & Liz serving the final dishes

Pão de Queijo 3 Ingredients da Celeste (My Mom’s Cheese Bun)
1 cup of sour cream or greek yogurt
1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp of Yuca (Tapioca) starch
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make small balls by rolling about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough in the palm of your hand.  Use the extra yuca flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.  Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes (Remember no peaking!) Remove from oven and serve immediately, piping hot.

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Moqueca: Brazilian Fish Stew from Chefs Consortium and Story Cooking

from Chefs Consortium and Story Cooking

 Moqueca:  Brazilian Fish Stew

2 lbs of white fish fillets
3 cloves garlic and salt (use a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic and salt together into a paste)
1/4 cup lemon juice
ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup of scallions and 1/4 cup parsley, chopped and 1 large bunch of cilantro, chopped  to make “cheiro verde” (or green smell )
1 green and 1 red bell peppers, chopped
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp paprika
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
Garnish with olives, urucum (Annatto), olive oil, and cheiro verde, or serve inside a pineapple.

In a bowl, mix lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and pour over the fish.
In a dutch oven or stone pan, coat the bottom with olive oil, sauté onions, bell pepper and paprika.  Cook for a few minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and “cheiro verde”. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered.
Arrange the fish pieces on a bed of vegetables to steam. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Pour coconut milk on top of fish. Cook for another 7 minutes on low, covered
Adjust seasoning.
Serve with rice or crusty bread and hot pepper sauce on the side.

My digital story telling cookbook has recipes for how to pair granola and smoothies with 3 camera shoot and the art of interviewing.
It is so exciting to play a part in fueling the youth with real food, cooking with them, and helping them express their voices. It was a great day at the 3rd annual Youth Media Film Festival — NY Shout Out!

I am energized and grateful for the all day help from Mary Vickerman, who arrived with produce from Capital District Community Gardens, including  donations of onions, peppers, avocados, cabbage, peas, cucumbers, lots of sweet potatoes…some great sides for our Mac and Cheese lunch and toppings for Quesadilla dinner. Thank you all helpers and volunteers.
You can watch the filmstrip of six short videos produced by groups of youth working with adult mentors during NY Shout Out! Enjoy.

And bellow you can dowload the recipes from the Cookbook we put together–Thank you Andrew Lynn for the cover art!
NY Shout Out! 2012 cookbook web

I love cooking with people, hearing their stories and sharing how food transforms us. March 31, I got to do that again, at Saugerties Performing Arts Factory. This time with filmmaker Jane Watson of Green Peas TV, Chefs Consortium’s Noel Conklin and Liz Beals, Chef Bob Turner of Omega FoodWorks, and Chef Peggy McEnroe. The live audience arrived to an immersive experience–pots were simmering and local fresh food being prepared and served as guest got to hear local food advocate and chef Frank Serpico tell stories and a demonstrate how to make gnocchi with wild mushrooms. “Frank Serpico, the onetime undercover officer for the NYPD whose uncompromising honesty got him into such a dramatic peck of trouble back in the 1970s that his story was made into a movie starring Al Pacino.”

The Menu:

Each course will be accompanied by wine tastings from Whitecliff Vineyard!
ACT 1 : Stracciatella soup (Roman style egg drop soup) with spinach and pecorino romano cheese: chicken stock created with chickens from Northwind Farm, Tivoli; Spinach from Little Seed Gardens, Chatham, eggs from Featheridge Farms, Elizaville
Wine tasting: 2010 Steel Barrel Chardonnay

ACT 2: Handmade gnocchi tossed with fall mushrooms, garlic, sundried tomatoes, peas:  Gnocchi made with flour from Wild Hive Farm ,Clinton Corners and oyster mushrooms from Wiltbank’s Mushroom Farm in Saugerties.
Wine tasting: 2010 Reserve Chardonnay.

ACT 3: Winter Greens Salad topped with toasted goat cheese:  Includes chopped kale, cabbage chiffonade, Hudson Valley ruby kraut, Hudson Chatham Winery‘s vinegar, a touch of Hawthorne Valley Farm‘s hot pepper sauce, toasted nuts from Valatie’s Tierra Farm and toasted goat cheese from R&G Cheeseworks . All greens and other veggies from The Berry Farm (between Chatham and Valatie), Hawthorne Valley Farm and Angelo’s Organics.
Wine tasting: Awosting White

Chocolate tasting course: Specially created chocolates by Oliver Kita whose secret ingredient will be revealed the night of the event!
Wine tasting: Hudson Valley Heritage “Red Trail.”

In a recent visit to New Lebanon, NY, I learned that Chef Rebecca Joyner, Director of Dining Services Darrow School, and I share a passion: we cook meals for our families from scratch. Mine a family of 4; hers a family of 175.

When I shared my family recipes with Chef Rebecca Joyner, I did not picture a home style cooked meal being served. Fifteen minutes before hungry students came through the door, a homemade meal made from scratch was coming together. The staff rushed to the dinning hall with trays of food that smelled and tasted like my mom’s cooking! It gave me amazing satisfaction to watch students making tall plates of rice, beans, greens, turmeric chicken and fish.  Rebecca had it all under control. I was in charge of the cheese bread and watched Lindsey Garner fast chopping greens.  I kept looking at the clock on the wall–they will be here anytime now, I thought.
So much love went into the meal. Students came and went. Half hour later, the dinning hall was empty, the dishes lined up to be washed, and counters cleaned to start preparing the next meal–dinner. If you are looking for a recipe for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner, here the potato salad we made at Darrow:

Salada de Maionese

2 lb white potatoes
1 lb carrots
2 hard boiled eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cooked green peas
salt, pepper, garlic
Cheiro verde ( parsley and green onions)
1 green apple
bunch of green olives
hearts of palm
1/2 cup seedless white raisins (optional)

Vegan Burial Feast

It is an honor to design a feast to follow Kathy High’s  screening of the new video entitled “Death Down Under”.

”Death Down Under” is a documentary (directed by Kathy High with Cynthia White) about death and decay, and eco-friendly or ‘natural earth’ burials. This video was shot in Western Australia and follows the collaboration of a young fashion designer/artist and funeral celebrant, Pia Interlandi, and a forensic scientist, Ian Dadour. An experimental research project was created between them, allowing Pia to test out her fashion-for-the-dead and Ian, an entomologist who studies human homicide, to research clothing decay on dead (animal) victims. “Death Down Under” looks at ideas of green burials and the ecology of death.

Every performance is a conversation. I focus my interaction with ingredients I am about to use. When I design a dish that has a new ingredient, I want to know everything about it! This time, Kathy High and I wanted a vegan feast. I learned a lot from sites like Peta, that has a section on baking (http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/baking.aspx). I did not know about the different sugar processing methods and what was vegan sugar. According to http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qasugar.htm, “Over half of the cane refineries in the United States use bone char (charcoal made from animal bones) as their activated carbon source.”  Hope everyone enjoyed their treats prepared with
Produce from Capital District Community Gardens.

“Dirt”

First Layer: Vegan Chocolate Coconut Pudding
1 can coconut milk (1 1/2 cups)
32 ounces soy milk
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup of certified vegan sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp espresso or very strong coffee
pinch of hot pepper optional
Heat up all 6 first ingredients. Cook 1-3 minutes. Stir in vanilla and coffee.
Pass through a sieve to avoid lumps before pouring into serving dishes. Chill before serving.
Second Layer: Vegan Brownies
1/2 cup Earth balance vegan buttery sticks
2/3 cup water
2 cups of certified vegan sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Mix all dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix 1/2 cup of flour with the water and cook to form a paste, let it cool.
Beat my hand: buttery sticks, sugars, vanilla and flour paste. Add the dry ingredients.
Bake on a 350 oven, on a 9×13 greased pan for 25 to 30 minutes
Makes 12 large squares or 48 mini bites.

Raw Beet Gazpacho

4 large beets
4 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup orange juice
2 cucumbers
1 large red onion
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika and a pinch of chili pepper
2 tbsp maple syrup, 
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 red pepper
2 apples
Salt to taste

Cold Mango Ginger Soup
3 large green mangoes
1/2 onion
3 cups water
1 wax pepper, seeds and ribs removed
pinch of cayenne pepper or other chili to taste
1/2 cup of lime juice (about 3 limes)
4 tsp grated ginger
Salt to taste
3 tbsp of rum
Blend and Chill. Garnish with mint leaves and serve

Raw Beet Gazpacho
makes 10 cups

4 large beets
4 cups water
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup orange juice
2 cucumbers
1 large red onion
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
pinch of chili pepper
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 red pepper
2 apples

salt to taste

Blend the beets and water. Strain the pulp. Put the juice back into the blender and working in batches, blend together the remainder of the ingredients. Chill for 4 hours. Serve with sour cream, lemon zest and fresh dill.

Mrs. Baines kindergarten class exams, smells, plays a game and makes a spicy tea mix during an Interactive Spice Workshop with Ellie Markovitch. Children crushed, pounded, and pestled spices and also tasted them in the form of a tea. No tea party is complete without cookies with spicy toppings. Thank you Susan Baines for the photos and her class for the lovely cards!

Spicy Tea Mix recipe:
rooibos tea
cinnamon stick
whole cloves
crystallized ginger

Sugar Cookies recipe:
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened
2 large eggs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl; set aside
Mix sugars, juice, eggs until well combined. Add flour mixture. Refrigerate cookies until firm and then make 1-inch ball cookies. on medium speed 30 seconds. Add butter; mix until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and then the lemon juice. Reduce speed; gradually add flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Bake cookies until golden, about 8 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes.

When cool, sprinkle Garam masala spice, ground cinnamon or unsweet cocoa powder.

Parents and staff members of Children at the Well Youth Storytelling took part in a StoryCooking demo with Ellie Markovitch

at Christ Our Light Catholic Church in Loudonville NY

Check out more photos here

We cooked a vegetarian meal:

Feijão Refogado  (refried beans)

2 pounds of pinto beans (black, pinto, pink, etc)
2 liters of water
2-3 bay leaves (optional)
1 large onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
Oil
Salt to taste

Wash the beans, removing any stones or broken beans and drain. In a pressure cooker heat the water and place the washed beans and the bay leaves. and Close the pan and cook the beans for 20 minutes. (Follow instructions about attaching the lid, reducing steam pressure, and opening the pot when cooking is completed). As the pressure is removed, saute the chopped onion and garlic in oil, almost golden. Pour cooked beans and cook smashing a bit to thicken the sauce. If necessary, add more boiling water.

If you want the refried beans, do not add water right way, add beans to fat and keep smashing them and stirring. You can use a wooden spoon or other mashing utensil, a little bit at a time while they fry in the hot pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of water water in the end if desired.

Tutu de Feijão à Mineira
“Tutu is a dish of refried beans, which is again refried with pieces of fried bacon, onion and garlic, and mixed with roasted cassava flour (farinha de mandioca).  The beans can blended before refrying to get to the consistency of cornmeal mush.” But in Minas Gerais, they use toasted corn flour.
please note: manioc (also known as mandioca or cassava or yucca or yuca) into farinha, used as both ingredient and condiment in Brazilian cooking. cassava flour = farinha de mandioca = casabe = manioc flour   Brazilians use this as a thickener for stews.  Look for it in Hispanic markets.  Substitutes:  gari (This is a Nigerian flour that’s also made from cassavas.) OR toasted bread crumbs OR all-purpose flour  OR panko.
In the Tutu, the beans are thickened with manioc flour or pre-cooked corn flour flakes and added other ingredients and seasonings.
serves 6
3 cups of cooked pinto beans
1 / 2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 tablespoon of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of green onions, chopped
4 ounces bacon (optional) or vegetable oil
8 ounces of smoked sausage, sliced (use smoked paprika if omitting)
6 collard green leaves, chopped finely
2 boiled eggs cut into small cubes
salt
2 bay leaves
panko or bread crumbs

Fry the bacon. Add sausage and pan fry. Let it cool. Next add onion, garlic and saute. Add cooked beans with water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add salt, greens, egg, bay leave, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add the toasted corn meal to taste and get a smooth look.

Rice
serves 4
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water, plus
1 cup rice ( a hand fool per person, my mom’s way)
Rinse the rice several times, until the water runs clear. Let the rice dry

Heat up the water to a boil
Mash the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan on medium heat, add the rice and fry stirring
until golden.
Add hot water VERY carefully to rice, covering by about 1/2 inch
Add the mashed garlic and salt. ( 1 tsp of turmeric to make yellow rice)
cook until the water is reduced and you see “tunnels or channels” form.
Add water to cover the rice one more time, by about 1/2 inch
When the water is reduced the second time,
turn off the heat and leave rice covered for 5-10 minutes more.
Fluff rice with fork and serve.

Salpicão Salad
serves 6
1 whole chicken breast, boneless and skinless, poached, cooled and shredded (ham can be used as well) also meats can be omitted.
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peans, cooked and cooled
2 cups cabbage finally chopped
2 small green apples (Granny Smith or similar) cored, peeled an shredded (optional)
1 bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1 standard package shoestring potatoes
salt and pepper to taste, paprika and boiled eggs to decorate

In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, grated carrot, corn, peas, apples, cabbage, parsley and red onion. Stir well with wooden spoon to combine. Add 1/2 of the package of shoestring potatoes, and stir again. Add the mayonnaise and creme fraiche or sour cream, and stir until all ingredients are combined and coated with dressing. Taste for seasoning.
Put into a large serving bowl, or onto a serving platter, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 package of shoestring potatoes over the top. Or use boiled eggs and paprika to decorate.
Hint: To have a crispy salad, just stir in the shoestring at the time you will serve it.

Celeste’s Bolo de Fubá
I usually make half of the recipe for 6-8 serving. It is a very sweet recipe.
It fits on a 8×13 pan or a 9 inch pie pirex plate.

1 1/2 cup fubá flour (in the US I  use corn meal)
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 small plate, 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon baking powder

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend for 4 minutes. Pour into a buttered and floured pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden. Cool the “bolo” before cutting it.

Pão de Queijo” 3 ingredients da Celeste
Mom’s cheese bread ; that is made with Yucca starch
1 cup of sour cream or greek yogurt
1 cup plus 2 TBSP of Yucca (manioc) starch
1 cup of parmesan cheese
Mix well and make balls. Bake 30 minutes on 350F oven.

Mousse de Maracujá  (Passion Fruit Mousse)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces of whip cream
1 can of passion fruit juice (“suco de maracujá”) (measure the juice on the can of condensed milk)
Blend everything well in a blender. Pour the mixture into a large glass bowl or individual containers. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Zhora’s Armenian Coffee
“I was born in Moscow, but I learned to make coffee from my relatives from Armenian that came over to visit on the summer time.”

Artist and friend Zhora (www.girairpoladian.com) shares his recipe for the best coffee–he adds incredible hospitality, poetry, and love!

You’ll need an Armenian coffee pot (available in Middle Eastern stores)
Measure
3 heaping tsp of super fine ground coffee in the coffee pot
2 tsp of sugar or to taste

Pour one cup of cold water in the pot
Stir 11 times.
Turn small on small fire. When coffee start to rise to the top of the pot, take off the heat and stir 11 times.
Place pot back on low fire. When it rises to the top again, it is ready.