A little of what we’ve been up to, in photos…
Getting drinks at one of our fav spots, Salve Jorge
Is there such a thing as the "Jornal The New York Times"? Regardless, the quotation is amazing.
"Ladies Lunch" w/ 9 other expat ladies and some amazing Japanese food
yum
Grocery store fail: Accidentally buying beer with a completely removable top. Still can't figure out who is not satisfied with the speed at which they can consume beer with the regular top but apparently there is a demand out there for easier access.
Daniel & Fernanda's church -- very cool. Reminded us a lot of our church in San Francisco, only, I didn't understand much. Still really fun though.
Milkshakes at "The Fifties" - the diner is a big thing here, and the milkshakes are GOOD.
Dinner with long-time family friend Pancho Kinney who is working on a project here as a consultant. Our families became friends when I was 4 years old living in California and now we literally live a block away from each other in Sao Paulo. SMALL WORLD!
Out with Trent & Paige enjoying Brazil's #1 dessert - Brigadeiros, aka fudgey/brownie type batter served on a spoon with a side of sprinkles. Umm, yes please.
Sunset
Jeans & A T-Shirt 
It’s not “journal”, it’s “jornal” which means newspaper in Portuguese, so it actually makes perfect sense. 🙂
Get me some Brigadeiros now!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness those looks amazing! I’m still loving the bangs!
Jornal The New York Times. My guess is that there was probably some reference to the drink made in the NYT.
As for Brigadeiro:
– Not to be confused with the term used for a general of the Air Force.. although, if not mistaken the term Brigadeiro can apply to a general officer of any branch of service, for example: Brigadeiro Zais
– Or for a Brigador which means a brawler: uma pessoa q gosta de brigar
So that is your language lesson, now for the history of the dessert.
Brigadeiros, the most yummy treat (so calorie rich!) a child can have, and so easy to make. In fact because we now have Bodegas in many parts of the US, and they carry many Brazilian products, you can buy all the needed ingredients here in the US.
Although brown is the color of these treats, and chocolate is present, the primary ingredients in these sweeties is… WAIT FOR IT… Condensed Milk. Chocolate is said to have originated in the eastern lowlands of Mexico growing wild. The Olmec Indians are said to be the first to grow the KAKAWA bean as a domestic crop. The Olmec indian culture was passed on to the Mayans which expanded into Mesoamerica and northern South America. As many chocolate lovers believe, chocolate rules! And so it did back then as well. In many cases consumption of the cocoa bean as a drink was reserved only for the Mayan elite. The cocoa beans themselves at some point were used as local currency in regions of Mexico and eventually “internationally” as the Mayans expanded south and bartered with the Aztecs.
Like the Mayans, the Aztecs believed that this rich bean and the drinks made from it (apparently there was a large variety) were gifts from the Gods. Specifically the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl who had given cacao to the people and taught them how to cultivate it. Although Columbus took cocoa beans back to Spain on several occasions, King Ferdinand saw no value in it.
It was not until 1519 when the Spanish explorer Cortès conquered part of Mexico that this mentality changed in the spanish court. Cortès’ arrival in the colonies coincided with the expected return of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl—remember him? Quetzalcoatl was believed to be white-skinned and bearded, and Cortès was initially mistaken for that god! Big oops on the part of the Mayans as they later learned. Seeing the value of the cocoa bean, Cortès set up a cocoa plantation to “grow money” in the name of Spain, and began a Spanish cocoa monopoly that lasted two centuries. Imagine that, money did grow on trees once upon a time!!
Bottom line, chocolate originated in the Americas and commercially grew in Europe. In the mid 19th Century fresh milk evolved into condensed milk as a means of storing the product for a longer period of time. The technique for making condensed milk had been tried in France in the early 1820’s, but it was not until 1864, when Gail Borden constructed the New York Milk Condensary that commercial use of the product took off. Condensed milk reached Brazil via the Nestle company which merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company (American) and became large exporters of the product to Brazil. In 19212 Nestle opened up a condensed milk factory in the sate of SP. The can of condensed milk (Leite Condensado) in Brazil is referred to as LEITE MOCA, in reference the young swiss girl on the label that exists to this day, if Im not mistaken. This milk substitute became, and remains, one of the staples in Brazilian culinary use.
But what about the name, BRIGADEIRO you ask.
Originally the name was NEGRINHO. Not just implying the treat’s dark color, and some may say that of the dark masses working on the cocoa plantations and who probably introduced the goodie. After all most of the world’s cocoa (69%) comes from the African continent. This name is still used today by many gaĂşchos (people from Rio Grande do Sul, even further SOUTH than SP)
The name changed to BRIGADEIRO sometime in 1945 when then Eduardo Gomes, Brigadeiro da Aeronáutica (see Wikipedia for his history) ran for president vs. Eurico Dutra (who went on to become president). It had nothing to do with race! Gomes’ campaign slogan was “Vote no Brigadeiro, que Ă© bonito e Ă© solteiro” VOTE FOR THE BRIGADEIRO HE IS HANDSOME AND SINGLE. Being a native of Rio and loving this treat (it is a staple of EVERY Brazilian’s childhood), many women set out making the Negrinhos and sold them in the streets of Rio as money makers for the campaign fund of the Brigadeiro himself. And so the name change started in Rio, but the Paulistas take credit (there’s a surprise) for having created the treat since many of the basic ingredients come from within the state. POINT OF ORDER- if you think about it the treat may have been created in a fazenda Paulista, but the workers on that fazenda were likely either left over slaves or descendants of slaves who migrated from the NORTH of Brazil, worked the farms and probably introduced the treat!
Knowing Paulistas, the desert’s name “Brigadeiro” is probably interchanged for something like:
Brazilian Fudge Truffles. Sounds fancy, but at the end of the day you’ve just stuffed yourself with condensed and chocolate powder (think Nestle Quick) rolled into a ball of sprinkles.
Life is short, indulge and ENJOY!