Bine ati venit!

Pe buna dreptate se spune ca ceea ce e mai frumos in Sao Paulo se afla in spatele usilor inchise. Prin intermediul acestui blog va voi invita sa deschidem impreuna usile muzeelor, galeriilor, restaurantelor, magazinelor si ale salilor de concerte. Pornind de aici vom descoperi Amazonul, Pantanalul, plajele cu nisip alb, apa cristalina, palmieri si cocotieri de pe coasta de est, Rio de Janeiro, cascadele Iguacu si alte locuri care inca din anul 1500, cand primul explorator portughez, Pedro Alvares Cabral, a patruns pe teritoriul Braziliei, au fascinat calatorii si au atras un numar imens de imigranti.

Cunoscand istoria, economia si cultura acestei tari vom intelege de ce Brazilia se afla astazi in randul asa numitelor economii emergente - statele BRIC (Brazilia, Rusia, China si India) si de ce, chiar in aceste momente, presedintele Brazilei, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, este primul sef de stat care se adreseaza celei de-a 64 Adunari Generale a ONU.

Nu in ultimul rand, vom cunoaste oamenii care traiesc pe aceste meleaguri, fie ei africani, libanezi, sirieni, japonezi, europeni, amerindieni sau metisi.

miercuri, 11 iulie 2012

Retete cu Doce de Leite (Dulce de Leche)

Pentru o vara dulce va recomand doua retete braziliene cu Doce de Leite (Dulce de Leche in spaniola):

Pavê de Chocolate, Laranja e Doce de Leite

Ingrediente:
- 2 pachete de piscoturi de sampanie
- 200 grame de doce de leite
- 2 cutii mici de smantana
- 250 grame de ciocolata cu lapte
- 2 oua
- 2 linguri de zahar
- 2 linguri de coji de portocala rasa
- sucul de la trei portocale

Bate galbenusurile celor 2 oua cu 200 de grame de smantana. Topeste ciocolata in baie de apa si aduga apoi galbenusurile si smantana. Amesteca toate componentele in baia de apa pentru a forma un amestec omogen.  Bate albusurile de ou cu zaharul. Amesteca apoi jumatate din cojile de portocala rasa cu ciocolata iar apoi adauga usor albusul batut.
Separat, bate cele 200 grame de doce de leite cu restul smantanei. Inmoaie piscoturile in suc de portocale si intercaleaza intre straturi crema de ciocolata si crema de doce de leite. Ultimul strat trebuie sa fie de ciocolata. Imprastie restul de coaja de portocala pe acest ultim strat. Se lasa la congelator cel putin 6 ore inainte de a se servi.

* Baie de apa ( bain marie) - un sistem de incalzire a unui preparat pentru a nu veni in contact direct cu caldura. Practic, cratita de mancare se pune in alt vas cu apa fierbinte.  

Sugestie: la crema de ciocolata poti adauga o lingura de lichior de portocale (Cointreau).

Cuca de Banana Com Doce de Leite
Ingrediente:
  - 200 grame de unt nesarat
  - 1 1/2 ceasca de zahar
  - 3 cesti de faina
  - 1 ou
  - 2 tablete de drojdie de bere
  - 1 ceasca de lapte cald
  - 1 lingurita de sare
  - coaja de lamaie rasa
  - 1 Kg de banane
  - 1 ceasca de doce de leite
  - scortisoara, nucsoara, zahar vanilat dupa gust

Aluatul: Amesteca o lingura de zahar cu drojdia de bere si bate pana se dizolva zaharul. Adauga jumatate de ceasca de faina si laptele cald. Lasa sa creasca. Separat, bate 3 linguri pline de unt cu jumatate de lingura de zahar pana se formeaza o crema. Adauga oul si 1 1/2 ceasca de faina. Adauga acest amestec impreuna cu putina coaja de lamaie rasa la amestecul care a crescut deja. Lasa sa stea circa 20 de minute.
Intre timp, se prepara pesmetul: restul untului, zaharul si sarea se amesteca bine pentru a forma o crema. Se adauga restul de faina, coaja de lamaie, scortisoara, nucsoara si zahar vanilat. Se amesteca bine pana devine o masa fina.

Montajul: o tava dreptunghiulara trebuie unsa cu unt pe care se presara faina. Se intinde cu ajutorul unei linguri aluatul in forma. Pe intreaga suprafata a aluatului se intinde cu o lingura doce de leite. Urmatorul strat este de banane taiate in jumatate si presarate cu zahar si scortisoara. Finalizeaza adaugand stratul de pesmet pe deasupra. Pune tava la cuptor la 180 grade Celsius pentru 15/20 de minute. 

Pofta buna!

Brazilia in numere











O scurta prezentare a Braziliei:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html

luni, 28 mai 2012

Brazil Takes Off vs. Brazil's Economy: A Bull Diminished



In 2009, in articolul denumit "Brazilia, tara viitorului?!", faceam referinta la un articol din The Economist, "Brazil takes off", un raport special de 14 pagini privind Brazilia care reliefa potentialul acestei tari de a deveni una dintre primele cinci cele mai mari economii ale planetei. Dupa 2 ani si jumatate, exuberanta analistilor privind economia Braziliei pare a se fi racit. Un nou articol din The Economist descrie economia Braziliei ca fiind "un taur slabit" ("A Bull Diminished"):


Un comentariu interesant al articolului din The Economist:

"Now, if we could at least say "hey but we greatly diversified our economy and became a major exporter of this this and that manufactured product" or "hey but we now through our great education we produced and created products that are less elastic in price" or "hey at least because we invested so much in infrastructure and de-bureaucratization the costs of business are so low that we can still keep going" I'd agree with you.
But none of these was done. And we know that we had to do that for a long time now.We didn't do our homework, and when that happens, you know the consequences. 
Question: what percentage of the entire government's budget goes to pay interest? 
More than 40%. 
Think about that figure and tell me if the govt will EVER do much without either a)increasing taxation (not likely) or b)decreasing costs aggressively (not likely either).
Brazil is hardly viable as a country. 
Brazil cannot grow faster than internal consumption (credit is already overstretched) without attracting production from elsewhere (impossible given our competitors and our crappy infrastructure). Even the automotive sector is now getting beaten up by Mexico.
So, does Brazil have nice beaches, agua de coco, mulata, music, 5 world cups, Garota de Ipanema, Rio, Iguacu, picanha, pre-sal and what not?
Yes.
Is this enough? 
Not really...not if one aspires to have a civilized country, which Brazil most certainly isn't (50% of houses don't have sewer, 20+ million illiterate, 85th position in HDI ranking, more people dying violent deaths per year than Vietnam War, roads that are ridiculously expensive to make, operate and kill your own population, ...)."

Un contra-comentariu:

"Yes, it is Brazil´s fault winning five World Cups.
Brazil has been very sucessful on historical grounds, and that is why it has attracted 6 million immigrants, and has expanded far beyond the Tordesillas Treaty limits at the expense of other territories, until the XX Century. Rio Grande do Sul, Acre, Roraima...
While the lands of the former Spanish Empire in the Americas are now divided in 18 different countries, and have lost 2 million sq. Kms. since Independence, Brazil has enlarged half a million sq. Kms. with an increasing population.
Of course, with a better management, Brazil would be now the 4th industrial power in the World, instead of the 6th. And income per head would be at least as high as in Portugal ($ 24,000) instead of $11,000....
But the result is not a failure but an incomplete success...
"

Si un punct de vedere mai moderat:

"Nobody likes to be criticized, especially in comparing countries... America has its problems, Europe has its problems, China has its problems and Brazil has its problems! Just as the FIFA president said yesterday, Brazil is not a poor country, we are the 6th largest economy in the world. But where is all this money going? Well, definitely not to improve our country."