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.