TGIF! I went to yoga last night and it was fantastic, I love Lauren's classes! As I had suspected, practice is a little easier now than it was on Monday. There was something though, and it's not the first time it happens. Sometimes when we start moving through sun salutations I get really lightheaded. Lauren later told me that it could be the detox, blood pressure issues or in her case, she had problems with iron deficiency. This really scares me because I've always had a low iron issue and it seems every time I go veg my body tells me to eat meat! I'm not a full-on vegetarian as most of you know, it's just not in Brazilian blood to give up red meat forever, but I probably only eat it once or twice a month. Now I'll have to get a blood test to make sure I'm doing ok. Blegh.
I love Fridays. Everyone starts to relax and gear up for the weekend and I am just one day away from sleeping in. This week has been one of tremendous mental and physical effort and I have not had a moment to lay on my couch and appreciate my lovely apartment, my patient boyfriend, relax (meditating is not relaxing, in case you were wondering) and finally catch up on
True Blood. I am planning on some yoga this afternoon and then an evening at home with wine, fog and comfy brazilian food. I am going to do my best to adapt my strogonoff recipe to fit my ayurvedic restrictions, but I am going to eat meat! The recipe is as brazilian as it gets, meaning a lot of it is just a guessing game but this is the basic outline of how I make it.
Brazlian Beef Strogonoff
1 lbs beef (filet mignon or tri tip)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 3/4 tsp dry oregano
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
dry white wine
heavy cream or Brazilian creme de leite (I'm going to attempt using yogurt and skim milk)
3-4 tbsp ketchup (I am going to sub with tomato starter sauce)
3 tbsp yellow mustard
Cut up meat into 1-inch pieces. Put into a bowl and mix with garlic, half of the onion, salt, nutmeg, oregano. Let it marinate for 1 hour. Sauté mushrooms and onions in a large saucepan with a little white wine and set pan aside. Fry meat briefly in batches in separate frying pan and transfer to pan with onion and mushrooms. When ready to eat, add catsup and mustard and cream and let cook for one minute. This last part is all about your palate as far as quantities and final taste.
Serve over white rice and with matchstick potato chips (in Brazil, they're called batata palha and sold in bags and thanks to
Mercado do Brasil I have some at home).
Last night we stopped by our friend Heaven's birthday party and then went to The Mighty to check out Bonobo's new set up with a live band. It was fire hazard crowded and sauna hot but it rocked my world. Especially the surprise appearance of Bajka, I had no idea she would be there. Joe and I danced and sweat for a good chunk of the night and it felt so good! I drank water for most of the night and was really proud of it, not to mention nicely hydrated and hangover free this morning. When we got home Joe wanted a midnight snack of cheese and crackers and I had also made Brigadeiros earlier that day thanks again to Mercado do Brasil. It reminded me of my teenage days when me and my girlfriends in brasil would come home late at night and raid the refrigerator and make brigadeiros, trying to keep it down and not wake up the parents. I have never met anyone that loves chocolate as much as my friend Tassi and I did at that time.
In case you are wondering, brigadeiro is a very simple brasilian desert made from condensed milk, chocolate powder and butter. Just mix one can of condensed milk, 3 heaping tablespoons of chocolate and one tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan. Keep mixing over medium heat for about 10 min. Pour it out into a buttered plate and let it cool. Roll into balls and coat with sugar or chocolate sprinkles. Heaven.
