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How do you make feijoada?
August 31, 2010 – 6:55 am | No Comment

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Mark has a Brazilian Neighbour. He asked her how to make feijoada.

Mark: How do you make feijoada?
Brazilian Neighbour: To make a feijoada you need black beans, chorizo
Mark: That is a kind of sausage, isn’t it?
Brazilian Neighbour: It is. Spanish sausage.
Mark: Uh-huh.
Brazilian Neighbour: You can also get a Portuguese chorizo
Child: Daddy…..!
Brazilian Neighbour: And also you need…you need pork.
Mark: Yeah. Like a piece of pork?
Brazilian Neighbour: A piece of pork. M-hm. And you also need bay leaf.
Mark: Ah!?
Brazilian Neighbour: Put a little bay leaf in there. And you need paprika and you need cumin. And also you need coriander. Coriander..
Mark: Fresh or seeds or …?
Brazilian Neighbour: Fresh. Fresh.
Mark: The leaves?
Brazilian Neighbour: The leaves. Yeah. You put it right in the end.
Mark: Right. OK. Wow!
Brazilian Neighbour: So that is the ingredients. How to make it. First you need to soak the beans overnight.
Mark: Right.
Brazilian Neighbour: Right. And then…Normally I have a pressure cooker.
Mark: Yeah? So it does it quickly?
Brazilian Neighbour: It does it quickly. Yeah. It only takes about a half an hour.
Mark: It is good to soak them though.
Brazilian Neighbour: Yeah.
Mark: Germinate. Grow a little bit.
Brazilian Neighbour: So..Alright then..You put the beans into the pressure cooker, water, then you put the pork meat and you put also the chorizo in it
Mark: Yep.
Brazilian Neighbour: And in another pan you chop up some onion and garlic and you fry it with olive oil and you put it into the beans …
Mark: Yep.
Brazilian Neighbour: And you cook that for about half an hour.
Mark: Right.
Brazilian: And then.
Mark: All in the pressure cooker?
Brazilian Neighbour: All in the pressure cooker…Yeah…

Can you tell us more about Brazilian food?  How do you make feijoada?

Check out the Brazilian Food page or go to the Food Page.

A New Life in Mosquito City – part 39 – Here he comes
August 31, 2010 – 6:53 am | No Comment
A New Life in Mosquito City – part 39 – Here he comes

Mark waits for Frank in a cafe. Frank turns up. They are going to eat.

Almanac – 24 August 2010 – Tuesday
August 24, 2010 – 11:29 am | No Comment
Almanac – 24 August 2010 – Tuesday

On this day in history, in the year 79 A.D. the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, erupted in Southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman Cities of Pompeii and Hurculaneum, killing thousands of people.

A New Life in Mosquito City – part 38 – The Cafe
August 24, 2010 – 11:12 am | One Comment
A New Life in Mosquito City – part 38 – The Cafe

Mark finds a table at a Brooklyn café. A harmonica can be heard playing in the background. Have you ever tried playing the harmonica?

Almanac – 23 August 2010 – Monday
August 23, 2010 – 5:57 pm | 2 Comments
Almanac – 23 August 2010 – Monday

Some cannot understand the fuss over a house of worship and how a democracy promoting religious freedom, like the United States, could even be having such a debate. Others are offended at the conflation of the 9/11 attacks with all Muslims.

A New Life in Mosquito City – part 37 – Driving under the Overpass
August 21, 2010 – 3:32 pm | No Comment
A New Life in Mosquito City – part 37 – Driving under the Overpass

Frank drops Mark off near and overpass in downtown Brooklyn. Mark will get a table at a nearby café while Frank finds a parking spot.

Almanac – 20 August 2010 – Friday
August 20, 2010 – 10:20 am | 6 Comments
Almanac – 20 August 2010 – Friday

What are you growing at the moment?
Are you growing any of these?
What is your garden like? What’s your garden like?
Which one is the odd one out? Which one is the odd one out and why?
How important is an impartial media? How important is an impartial media and why?
What did he do? Where did he do it? What did he do and where did he do it?
What is the difference? What is the difference between them?