My new plan

Alright, so, originally I was going to take this one day cooking class through the town of Bloomington. This class was supposed to be tonight. Unfortunately, when I tried to sign up for the class a few weeks ago, it was already full.

We were supposed to learn how to make feijoada, farofa and a few other smaller dishes.
Since I can't take this class, I've decided to teach myself how to make feijoada. This might be a problem, since I've never even tasted feijoada much less tried to cook it.

According to cookbrazil.com feijoada was created by the slaves who cooked the pork meats that Farmland owners discarded such as ear, tails, feet in a big pot with black beans.

Now, this dish has been changed to include different parts of the pig, depending on how the cook likes it, but is one of Brasil's most famous dishes.

The recipe in my new cook book would be way to expensive to make and it takes 5 hours! So, I've decided to use a different recipe.

The recipe I've decided to use if from the site Brazzil.com. It claims to be "news from Brazil" and the page this recipe came from is labeled "1001 Feijoada recipes" I've copied the recipe here, in case anyone would like to try it.

Feijoada à Nordestina (Northeastern feijoada)

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large yellow onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, crushed

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup Italian parsley, chopped

5 large tomatoes, chopped

1 red cayenne pepper, chopped

4 cups dried beans (any kind of small brown bean), soaked overnight, drained

1 lb. salt pork, boiled for 5 minutes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 lb. Italian sausage

2 lbs. corned beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 lb. smoked lean ham hocks

1 whole chicken breast, boned, skinned, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 lb. round steak, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

4 bay leaves

2 1/2 quarts water

1 lb. pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 chayote squash, peeled, cores removed, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/2 lb. green cabbage, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 bunch collard greens, washed, shredded

1/2 lb. fresh string beans, ends removed, cut into 2-inch lengths

1 large potato, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 small sweet potato, peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

3 ripe plantain bananas, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths

Heat the oil in a large, heavy, deep pot and stir-fry the onion, garlic, and bacon for 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Add the Italian parsley , tomatoes, and cayenne and sauté for 1 minute. Add the beans, salt pork, Italian sausage, corned beef, ham hocks, chicken, round steak, salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and water. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed to ensure that the beans are completely covered while cooking. Add the pumpkin, chayote squash, green cabbage, collard greens, string beans, potato, sweet potato, and plantain bananas. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Do not overcook the vegetables. Serve immediately. Serves 8-10.

I would feel more comfortable with this recipe and it's authenticity as an actual recipe from Brasil if I knew exactly who was giving me the recipe. I was hoping that by using the recipe from "The Art of Brazilian Cookery," I would feel more comfortable because a bunch of Brasilian language websites came up when I searched for her name. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find much information about her or any pictures of her. But seeing as I am a poor college student, I'm not able to afford all that her recipe calls for. I think I'm even going to be creative with the ingredients for the recipe above.

Oh well. Wish me luck!