YumSugar

Sign Language: "PhD in Waxing"

TresSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Some skills, like brain surgery and kidney transplantation, require doctors with years of training behind them. And although I know having your nether regions waxed within an inch of ~~its~~ your life should only be handled by a professional, I'm doubting this professional needs to have a PhD in waxing. Perhaps the Brazilian has gotten more complicated since the first - and last - time I got one.

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Happy Hour: Caipirinha

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:00:30 -0800

It may be the dead of Winter, but this past weekend, San Francisco felt like pure Summer, with clear skies and balmy temperatures. I decided to celebrate with a drink that couldn't be more appropriate: the Caipirinha.

This drink, is made with limes, as well as a special liquor called achaça, which incidentally happens to be the national liquor of Brazil. Over the past five years, cachaça has developed a large fan base in the United States. Like rum, it's made from sugarcane, but while rum is made from distilled molasses, cachaça is the product of fermented sugarcane juice. To make this cocktail, you can choose any brand, but I used Água Luca ($28.99), a premium variety of cachaça that's filtered a whopping 12 times.

On the nose, it resembles tequila, and it has a light, clean flavor with a slightly sweet finish. Although Água Luca can easily be enjoyed by itself on the rocks, its sweet-tart flavor is incredible when used in a caipirinha. To transport your palate to Brazil, read more.

Caipirinha
From Água Luca

Ingredients

2 oz. cachaça
1 oz. simple syrup
1 lime, quartered
Cracked ice

Directions

In a shaker, muddle sugar and limes thoroughly.
Add cachaça and cracked ice. Shake vigorously and pour contents of shaker, including ice, into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Makes 1 cocktail.

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How Young Is Too Young to Get Waxed?

DearSugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0700

I'm all for the Brazilian Bikini wax, but according to a recent article on MSNBC, mothers are taking their young girls as young as 8 years old into salons to get waxed. I'm sure most of you are in shock reading this, just as I am writing it, but according to Melanie Engle, a Philadelphia aesthetician, “For waxing, 12 years old is the ‘new normal.’"

As we all know, everyone develops at different ages, but even if you get your period or develop hair early, this is still a disturbing trend. Dr. Doris Pastor, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, feels, “the waxing itself is not an issue; the bigger issue is whether they are encouraged to engage in risky behaviors.”

While girls sure don't want to be teased if they develop earlier than their friends, Dr. Pastor has a great point. So how young is too young to get waxed?

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Revisiting Travel Week

partysugar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:50:18 -0800

This Summer YumSugar and I went on a trip around the world, and we invited you along for the ride! We devoted entire days to discussing the delicious cuisines from 10 different countries around the globe. I've looked back at all of our coverage and picked out my favorite memories from our culinary journeys. Here they are for you to revisit! Starting in top left corner and moving clockwise:

Yum celebrated all things Brazilian by making Pão de Queijo, a Brazilian cheese bread.
I planned a travel party.
In Morocco, we chowed down on kefta - spiced meatballs - with eggs.
We learned how to say cheers in 12 different languages.
When we went to Japan, we channeled our inner sushi chef by rolling sushi.

How about you? Where did you enjoy traveling to this year?

Why Do We Have Hair Down There?

DearSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 08:00:00 -0700

Woman can spend a lot of time and money dealing with their pubic hair. Most women shave, wax, or do sugaring, so they have less or none at all. That got me thinking - Why do we have it in the first place?

Pubic hair actually serves a very important purpose. Just like your nose hairs trap pollen, dust, and germs from entering your nose, pubic hair protects your body too. It traps bacteria, preventing it from entering your vagina. If you remove it completely, as with a Brazilian bikini wax, you may be increasing your chances of developing bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections.

All of your hair (no matter where it is) helps to regulate your body temperature and can also reduce friction during body movement, which makes it less likely for your skin to get irritated down there.

Click here to read more

Here's another interesting point - from nature's perspective, our pubic hair has a lot to do with procreation. Your body secretes pheromones that attract the opposite sex, and your pubic hair (as well as underarm hair) helps to capture that erotic scent. It's kind of like a billboard that says, "Hey, look over here!" It attracts others to that area, so we can, well, you know, make babies!

Luckily, getting rid of your unwanted hair won't necessarily affect your chances of attracting someone. It's your personal preference to decide what you do with it, and if you're like me, knowing the purpose of your pubic hair doesn't make you love it any more.

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Definition: Cachaça

partysugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:58:19 -0700

Cachaça, pronounced, ka-cha-saw
The national liquor of Brazil. Both rum and cachaça are made from the sugar cane plant - rum is made from distilled molasses while cachaça is made from pure, fermented sugar cane juice. With origins that date back to Portuguese settlers in the 1600s, the liquor became a symbol of Brazil in the 1920s. It ranges in age and colors, similar to a tequila, and is sipped on the rocks all throughout Brazil.

52 Weeks of Baking: Brazilian Cheese Bread

YumSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 14:55:31 -0700

When I ~~dined~~ stuffed my face at the Brazilian steakhouse, it was really difficult to not devour the complementary mini loafs of cheesebread. Known as Pão de Queijo, these little puffs are made from tapioca flour and are so light and fluffy and surprisingly dense at the same time. When we decided to highlight Brazilian food today, I knew I'd have to use the opportunity to dig up a recipe. It's pretty easy to follow, just make sure you don't underbake them (which would result in an uncooked/doughy middle). To knead up your own batch, check out the recipe, just read more

Pão de Queijo
Adapted from Recipezaar and Sonia-Portuguese

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2-3 eggs (I had a cracking accident and used 2 eggs, 1 yolk and some white)
2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium-large sized pot bring milk, water, oil, and salt to a low boil. Remove from heat once boiling.
Add in tapioca flour, stirring as fast as possible. Use a wooden spoon, not a whisk, as the dough will become very sticky. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
Move dough to a large bowl and knead in eggs.
When eggs are kneaded in, add grated cheese and knead until dough is smooth. Note: If your cheese is coarsely grated, it will appear a bit lumpy.
Once kneaded, form into balls about 2 inches wide and place on parchment paper coated (or greased) baking sheet. Note: you may want grease your hands with vegetable oil before trying to form dough balls.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.
Serve warm! If you let them sit too long, reheat in the oven/toaster oven, the microwave will make them too gooey.

Note: Next time I'm going to go 2 1/2 cups of cheese!

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Happy Hour: Caipirinha

partysugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:12:33 -0700

A caipirinha (pronounced kai - preen - ya) is the national cocktail of Brazil, made with the national liquor Cachaça. Within the last ten years, caipirinha's popularity has grown tremendously thanks to the International Bartender Association's addition of it to their official cocktail list. Although it's not common in the majority of bars, there are a growing number of establishments where caipirinhas appear on the menu. The ingredients and drink making technique are similar to that of a mojito. To learn how it's made, read more.

Caipirinha
From Drink of the Week

2 oz. Cachaça
1 Lime
1 tsp. Sugar

Cut the lime into 8 wedges and put in a rocks or old-fashioned glass.
Add sugar. Muddle the lime and sugar together until they are well mixed.
Fill the glass with crushed ice.
Add Cachaca. Stir.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Serves 1.

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Go To Rio In Your Kitchen - Brazilian Shrimp Soup

partysugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 08:01:19 -0700

Whipping up a culturally rich dish inspired by a certain country is a great way to travel in the comfort of your own home. Just because you may not be familiar with the dish, techniques, or ingredients, doesn't mean that you can't create a fast, healthy, and delicious supper for your family. A Brazilian shrimp soup is quickly ready with the help of canned tomatoes and coconut milk and is flavored with red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and parsley. Go to Brazil by making this soup tonight, just read more

Brazilian Shrimp Soup
From Food & Wine magazine

2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup long-grain rice
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (from one 15-ounce can)
5 cups water
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and cut in half horizontally
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

In a large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.
Add the rice, red-pepper flakes, salt, tomatoes, and water to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until the rice is almost tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir the coconut milk into the soup. Bring back to a simmer and then stir in the shrimp.
Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just done, 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the black pepper, lemon juice, and parsley.

Serves 4.

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You Call That a Skewer? This is a Skewer!

YumSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 01:48:32 -0700

A few months ago, my friends and I embarked on a magical meat journey at Espetus, a Brazilian steakhouse (churrascaria). Taking a cue from Brazilian Gauchos - who would skewer meats and roast them over a large fire pit - churrascarias serve their clientele barbecued meat directly off of large sword-like skewers. In most places, the servers continue bringing meats until you've had your fill and in our case, we had a wheel that displayed green for more or red for stop. While there we ate at least seven different kinds of meat, including a delicious bbq'd tri-tip roast called picanha. If you can't find a churrascaria near you, I've got a recipe you can try at home, to check it out, read more

Picanha
From Touch Family Recipes

1 tri-tip roast (2-4 lbs.)
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2-3/4 cup coarse salt (0.5-0.75 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil

Trim excess fat from the meat. There's one side that is mostly a large slab of fat; trim down to 1/8" approx.
Mix salt and garlic together to make a paste, rub all over the meat. Add a little olive oil if the paste won't stick. Marinate the tri-tip several hours (2-3 at least), turning it over once an hour or so. Liquid should come out of the meat.
Scrape most of the mixture off the roast, esp. the large chunks of salt. Don't worry about getting all of it, but try to get most of it off. Rub the meat with a little olive oil, and a little more garlic. Do NOT add pepper - it burns on the grill.
Grill over very high (highest setting) heat. Do NOT turn over until the first side is nearly burnt, but the meat is still about 20-30 degrees F from being 'done'.
Turn ONCE, cook until 'done' (rare using a meat thermometer). Take off heat and let sit for 5 minutes before carving.
Carve perpendicular to the grain in 3/16"-1/4" slices (around 5mm). Try to catch the 'juice' for the serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

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