Posts under "Customs"

Brazilian Recipes: Pastel de Feira

Posted by polyana 1 Comment
Feb 21 2011

If there’s one place one needs to visit in Brazil, no matter what city you go to, it’s the local feira, or farmer’s market. Every neighborhood or small town has at least one (please let me know if I’m wrong!)  and you can buy all sorts of things you need for the week without having to go to the supermarket.

The feira near my house on Saturdays has all sorts of fruits (and the feirantes, those selling the goods, let you taste the fruit before buying it!), vegetables, meats, fish, spices, and even flowers to decorate my apartment and random kitchen utensils!

I don’t know about many other states or cities, but at least in São Paulo, every feira has at least one booth with pasteis and another usually right in front of it that sells caldo de cana (sugar cane juice) and água de coco (coconut water).

Pastel de Feira - Dona Maria - Perdizes, SP

Pastel da Dona Maria - Voted the Best Pastel in São Paulo!

This past Saturday, my friend and I went to the feira and decided to have pasteis and caldo de cana for lunch.  Um pastel is a deep fried pastry stuffed with all sorts of meats, cheese, fish, and vegetables.  There are even sweet pasteis with banana, chocolate, or doce de leite. The ones here run at R$3 each and are quite filling! My personal favorites? Pastel de palmito (heart of palm pastel), and pastel de chocolate com banana (chocolate and banana pastel).

<3 my pastel de palmito

After filling myself up with pasteis and caldo de cana, I started wondering if I could make pastel de feira at home… so I looked up a recipe for us and found this easy one on Tudo Gostoso em português! And then I found another on in English already on It’s all about food!

Have you ever had or made pastel? 

Carnaval 2011 Countdown – Chiclete com Banana

Posted by polyana No Comments
Feb 7 2011

Carnaval is in five weeks!  In exactly one month, I hope to be dancing in the streets of Olinda, Pernambuco for their traditional Carnaval festivities, and I can’t wait to share it with you all! Do any of you have plans for Carnaval this year?

For my next posts until Carnaval, I’ll be posting different songs from different Carnaval celebrations in Brazil.  Each region tends to have different styles of music or ways to celebrate, but one thing is universal: to dance and be happy!

One of the most famous blocos in Salavador’s Carnaval parades is Chiclete com Banana’s, and having seen them live before, I can understand why.  This song is supposed to be their signature hit for 2011′s Carnaval in Salvador which is why I couldn’t find a live version and there’s a creepy picture of the singer on the video.

YouTube Preview Image

Não me Lembro de ti, mas já sinto saudade
Guardei meu coração, estou curado desse amor
Já me lembro de ti, já nem sinto saudade
Guardei meu coração, estou curado desse amor

Quem sabe um dia você vai me entender
Meus olhos secos como pedras pelo chão
Conchas vazias vem rolando com o mar
Trazendo o frio em forma de solidão
Ai quem me dera esse amor tão estrangeiro
Tão cobiçado pela fúria do prazer
Já tenho a Rosa entre todas margaridas
Já quis você pra nunca esquecer

Refrão: Chorarei amor quando preciso for,
Morrerei de saudade junto com a felicidade
que o vento levou,
Ô Amor…

Quem sabe um dia você vai me entender
Meus olhos secos como pedras pelo chão
Conchas vazias vem rolando com o mar
Trazendo o frio em forma de solidão
Ai quem me dera esse amor tão estrangeiro
Tão cobiçado pela fúria do prazer
Já tenho a Rosa entre todas margaridas
Só quis você pra nunca esquecer

Refrão…

But if you want to see what they’re like live – here’s another one they’ll definitely be playing in Salvador this year!

YouTube Preview Image

Você quer Chiclete no Carnaval?!

How to Order Coffee in Brazil

Posted by polyana 4 Comments
Jan 17 2011

Since it’s Monday morning, let’s talk coffee, shall we?

For those of you who are big coffee drinkers, the best advice I can give you for when you get to Brazil and walk into a corner padaria is… take what you can get. Depending on where you are, there are very limited choices in what you can order.  In some places, the coffee’s really strong and they serve sugar separately.  In others, the coffee’s super weak and filled with sugar… and a little of everything in between.  Each state and region has its different way of drinking coffee, so in respect for the region you’re in – if you’re not making coffee at home… just drink it!

That being said… if you have options, in general, you can get by with the following vocabulary:

cafézinho/expresso/café curto – This is usually a cup of coffee in an expresso cup.  It may or may not be an expresso.  If an expresso is what you really want, to be on the safe side, order a cafézinho expresso, or just um expresso.

média/café com leite – Different places will say different things.  In most places, a café com leite, will be a tea cup sized coffee with more milk than coffee.   It also may or may not come with sugar, so if you prefer it without, make sure to ask for um café com leite sem açúcar! In some places, you can just order a média, and they’ll bring you the same thing.

café duplo/pingado – This is like a big média! And the same rules apply.  Also, if you order a pingado and the person stares at you like you’re crazy, go for a café duplo, or vice versa :-)

capuccino – In some places this is the same thing as a cappuccino you’d find in the US, but some coffee shops (in SP at least) will add chocolate to their capuccinos! (I highly recommend the one from Kopenhagen, mmm mmm yummy and worth the R$9!)

As for vocabulary, I think that’s it… Depending on where you go – if it’s a small restaurant, forget the options of descafeinado (decaf), leite desnatado (skim milk) or leite de soja (soy milk).  That’s just frescuragem.

If you’re going for coffee, don’t forget to order a pão de queijo to dip in your café com leite. And if you’re ordering coffee with dessert, order a pudim de leite with it! :-) Oh! And don’t be surprised if your coffee comes in a glass…

Happy cafézinho!

Brazilian Reveillon Traditions, Part II

Posted by polyana 1 Comment
Dec 30 2010

Yesterday I wrote a post on Brazilian traditions on what to wear for the New Year.  I also mentioned how we have all sorts of superstitions and that I would share that with you all today!  For many Brazilians, what you wear, eat, drink and do at midnight or around that time, determine how your next year is going to be.  I’m not usually a very superstitious person, but this year’s New Year’s party is going to be na minha casa, and I like to play around with these kinds of traditions.  So here goes the rest of the tradições e simpatias do reveillon brasileiro:

O que comer:


- Lentilhas, or lentils, are eaten in various forms (soup, sala, with rice & meat) in order for your next year to be financially successful!!

- Carne de Porco – It’s uncommon for anyone to eat any poultry on new year’s eve here because chickens & turkeys kick back their legs to walk and pigs walk forward.  This is simbolic of the way the year will be – walking forward or moving backwards!

- Uvas & Romã – Eating grapes or pomegranate right after midnight and keeping 12 seeds and putting them in your wallet.  This also attracts more $$!

O que beber:


- Champagne & Vinho – Like with eating grapes, champagne and wine are made of grapes, so why not, right?!

O que fazer:

- Limpar a casa – Cleaning your home, taking out and donating all things you don’t use, and are overall superfluous is a good way to start the new year with no bad energy.  Catholics will also sometimes sprinkle holy water on doors and/or door handles.  Oh, change your sheets too!

- Pular Ondas – A tradition that stems from Candomblé and Umbanda, African inspired religions, if you’re at the beach, many will jump over 7 waves and make a wish on each hop for the year to come.  This is supposed to bring good vibrations your way all year long!

- Poem o pé direito no chão – Another superstitions actually quite literal.  At midnight, if you lift your left foot, you start the year off on the right foot ;-) . This is usually done with a glass of champagne in hand and hopping 3 times.  Hopping up a step on just your right foot also gives you a leg up!! (ok, I’ll stop with the cheesiness now)

I’m sure there are more I haven’t listed, but these are the most common ones I’ve heard of (or tried!).  Can you think of any others?  Do you think you’ll try out some Brazilian traditions to bring you luck in 2011?

Hope you all have a Feliz Ano Novo!

Brazilian Reveillon Traditions, Part I

Posted by polyana 1 Comment
Dec 29 2010

Reveillon? Oi? Yup, reveillon, or “new year,” is right around the corner already!!

And like with many other holidays, but especially for reveillon, Brazilians have all sorts of simpatias, or superstitions.  Since there are so many, I’m going to make this a 2 part post!!

First, we’re going to talk about colors and their meanings.  Most people traditionally wear white, which simbolizes a peaceful year ahead, and then women especially, wear different color underwear following the meanings below.  But hoje em dia, outfits are worn in various colors (but always paying attention to the simpatias!), and not just white!!

Roupa para o Reveillon

my outfit this year's somewhere along these lines...

I read this post on Toda Perfeita, a really girly Brazilian blog, that has a pretty complete description of each color and its meaning (boys, this counts for you too!):

Branco- vamos começar com a cor tendência do réveillon brasileiro; Essa é uma prática que herdamos da cultura africana, que acredita ser o branco, cor ideal para a atrair as energias positivas. Simboliza a paz, verdade, sabedoria, estimula a memória e proporciona equilíbrio interior.

Amarelo- use-a para ter dinheiro, riqueza e sabedoria – para gastar o dinheiro – o ano todo. Ajuda a estimular a intuição.

Rosa- para obter sorte no amor, beleza e afastar as energias negativas.

Vermelho- para quem quer romances intensos, muita paixão força e energia no novo ano é a cor indicada. Não quer se vestir de vermelho? Acessórios avermelhados já garantem sucesso na simpatia.

Azul- mas se o que você quer é calmaria, e literalmente que fique “tudo azul”, invista nessa tonalidade. Harmonia e saúde também são atraídos por essa cor.

Verde- representando as energias da natureza, o verde significa esperança, equilíbrio e recomeço. Renova as energias trazendo vida nova junto ao novo ano.

Laranja- assim como o amarelo, atrai sucesso financeiro. Proporciona um ano muito alegre, repleto de conquistas pessoais e profissionais. Se você está sonhando com aquela promoção ou procurando um emprego, o laranja é a cor certa.

Violeta- a cor da pedra filosofal, o violeta traz junto com o novo ano inspiração, sensibilidade, imaginação e estabilidade. Também eleva a auto-estima e ajuda a manter o foco. Ótima opção se seu objetivo no novo ano for a superação de algum obstáculo.

So for a recap in English…

Branco/White = peace, truth, wisdom, good memory and balance

Amarelo/Yellow = money, wealth and wisdom (to spend it!)

Rosa/Pink = luck in love, beauty and to drive away bad energy

Vermelho/Red = passion, strength and energy 

Azul/Blue = harmony,  health, and an overall calm year

Verde/Green = hope, balance and new beginnings

Laranja/Orange = financial success, happiness, professional and personal success

Violeta/Purple = inspiration, sensibility, imagination, stability; raises your self esteem and helps to keep you focused.

Doesn’t it make you want to just wear a rainbow?! Well, it doesn’t count… but don’t forget, the outfit, underwear and accessories count ;-)

Since I plan to have a 2011 with a lot of changes in my personal and professional life, I’m going to go with laranja this year (above is my dream reveillon outfit put together on ByMK)! What about you?

Now that you know what to wear on the 31st, keep an eye out for part II!

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