HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!

Hi there Everyone,

So this is the last post of 2010, or the first of 2011 hehe! Thing is as i'm writing this post it currently has been the 1st of Jan for 12:30 hours over here, but it is still the evening of the 31st of Dec 2010 on the west side of the world, where i come from hehe!

Anyways i just wanted to post before the week was done, and i won't bother u with much info, 2010 has been an interesting year but i hope 2011 to be much much better for all of us.

The pics above are of my new work place, the Choc torte and Creme Brulleé are two of the desserts we have in the menu there!

Just as a small note, as i was writing this my I tunes was on and on random, as the Star wars theme is on my music library it came up on the speakers, and my friend Alana says "u are such a geek", which i reply by saying
"i am a big, huge, motherfucking astronomically massive geek!" and proud of it hehe!

Anyways folks there  is no denying who u are, u know be whomever u want to be and be happy with it!

Merry Christmas!

Ho ho ho,

This week since is Christmas tomorrow, as promised i'm posting a traditional Christmas treat all the way from Brazil.

This Recipe/illustration was done for the Holiday contest at http://www.theydrawandcook.com/ and is self explanatory.

Rabanadas are something that we usually have on Christmas morning right before hitting the beach, as a kid growing up on the tropical weather, Christmas and New years are a synonymous of Summer time, our Christmas trees in Brazil r usually the coconut and palm trees decorated with Christmas lights hehe!

Anyways Merry Christmas to all and and to all a good night!

cheers!

Strawberries and chocolate!

OHH hello folks!

This week is gonna be a quick one, afraid of sounding like a whiny person i'll say this first, I took the responsibility of working two jobs, I decided i could do it, but the tiredness is kinda getting a hold of me, as i see myself doing nothing on my very short free time, honestly i haven't draw much lately, i haven't been to the gym in the last 2 weeks, cuz my very little free time, i'm pretty much using for activities that i don't have to do much, and i can't wait to finish working at one of the places to go back to having free time and disposition to do other stuff!

Said that, let's go for this weeks post which is a dessert pizza, the way we do it in Brazil!

U'll need:
-1 can of condensed milk
-5 or 6 Tbs of chocolate powder(not cocoa powder, rather the one u drink with milk)
-100 gr of butter
-1 box of strawberries
-1 pizza disc plain


Get the Condensed milk, chocolate and butter all in a pan and over simmering fire keep stirring untill it thickens enough that on your stir u can see the bottom of the pan. Set that aside for a moment. Cut the strawberries however u like it, presentation is all up to whomever is doing it, if u want to do it like mine from the pic above then go ahead, if u think u would like to see a different look by all means go ahead, the overall taste will be the same. Spread the Chocolate mix over the pizza, place the strawberries on top, take a quick pic if u like what u see, u can also sprinkle the whole thing with some choc chunks, small ones though so when they go through the oven they'll get crispy on the outside and melting on the inside. Place your pizza on a preheated oven at around 180 C/350 F, for not longer than 12-15 minutes and finally have at it!

U can whip some Cream and have that with or have it with plain vanilla ice cream, dessert pizzas are common in pizzerias back home(Brazil), they'll do loads of different flavors and usually serve them with the whipped cream!

To finish it off, i'll be posting a Christmas Recipe probably on Friday, which was my recipe/illustration for the blog "They draw and cook", so come back to me here on the end of the week and then i'll wish guys all the good thoughts customarily at this time of the year!

cheers to all!

Finally done!

Wow it has been a rush doing two jobs over the last couple of weeks, it's quite funny how sometimes your mind can wander to all different kinds of thoughts, like for example the other day i caught myself thinking about how it makes me feel going to one job in the morning and another one at night, and as a geek that i am, regarding my passion for comic books, animations, games and so on, i kept thinking that i'm like a "super hero" with double identities, hehe!


One is Felipe the cafe worker, making paninis, quiches and sandwiches during the morning period, and then when the night starts to take place, i put on my Chef's jacket and become FELIPE THE CHEF!!! hahaha LOL

Anyways don't have much more to say for the moment besides that i started re-reading the last Harry Potter, as i'm about to go see the movie next weekend, and with my well deserved FULL DAY OFF from both jobs, i got to finish my piece on Hisagi Shuuhei, my fav chara. on one of my fav animation!

Hope u guys dig, soon, i'll post a recipe!

cheers y'all!

The naked Chef!

Hello to all, what's up?!

I Had a pretty good weekend, Lately i've been in a such a great mood for the fact that it seems that things are finally turning up to the way i want them to be, i'm truly enjoying the company of me flat mates, the house and all, got a new job and this one as a proper chef, making more money with that and spending less than what i was spending before, which means more money for me, i finally found time to finish the x-mas illustration for They Draw and cook, and already got an email from Nate saying that he got my email, so for now i just have to wait till i see my illustration there, as for showing you guys, over here, i'll leave for the 24 of this month, cuz it's a x-mas recipe right!

U know how Jamie Oliver use to call himself the naked Chef?! Since pretty much then i've had the idea of doing a pic like this one above (which i know that by now there r many like this), and finally i got around to do it. I had just come from a little bike ride, and i was starving, so to get something going before i started my shower, i chopped up some onions to season and cook some white rice, and decided to do this pic, hehe!

To finish it off, i bought a scanner cuz being honest after having used the one on my previous flat i couldn't go back to simply taking pictures of my drawings, i get such a better quality from scanning them ya know, here's a little example of it:

So my advice is if u draw and like to post your stuff on the net, get yourself one, it's worth it!

And with my scanner fully operational, i've got quite a few drawings to scan and color for the moment, hard will be to find time between the new job and the old one haha!

cheers everybody!

The fusion of cuisines!

Hello to all,

As the post from this Wednesday felt a bit philosophical, and a bit sad to me, i decide to do another post this one being a recipe, and the recipe i choose to share this time is Shrimp/Prawns Stroganoff.

The tittle fusion cuisine, refers to using original techniques from the origin of the dish, using new elements present on the country the "old-new" recipe is being done, or so combining both to come up with a third one.

Originally Stroganoff is a Russian recipe created in 1861, and it was beef cubes browned on a frying pan, finalized by bouillon(broth) and mustard with a little touch of sour cream. with the fall of the Russian empire the dish gained a lot of popularity around the globe, and as it went around "suffered" variations from its original recipes. One of the countries that came to be a largely known Stroganoff eating country is my very own BRAZIL.

Therefore the recipe presented to thee on this blog is Brazilian! 

Now in Brazil we have some variations to the dish such as chicken and prawns, chicken being the most affordable one has definitely the top rank of most popular, but i decided to do the prawns/shrimp recipe over here.

For 3-4 people u'll need:

600gr of prawns or shrimp 

400gr of  heavy whipping cream

1 onion and a couple of garlic cloves chopped fine

150 gr of tomato paste(or ketchup if u like the sweetness) 

100gr of cream cheese

dash of Worcestershire sauce

juice of one lemon

half bunch of Italian parsley chopped

1 tbs of brandy

olive oil

salt & pepper

Now if u bought them prawns "dirty"(which means with the shelf), 1 kg makes for around 500-600 gr of prawns itself, and u can prepare some broth to add on flavor to the dish, and also save the broth to make other dishes later on, u can freeze the broth in ice cubes, to make it easier to use it later. To make the broth start by peeling them and once peeled, fry the shelves on olive oil with a little bit of the onions and salt, add water and let it reach boil, then bring the broth to a simmer for another 10 min or so.

Season the prawns with lemon juice, salt and pepper, fry them on a very hot pot with olive oil, onions and garlic for a couple of minutes, add the brandy and let the alcohol evaporate for another minute,the brandy will add up to the flavor of the dish, and if it catches on fire, don't worry but keep your face away from the pot when adding that (u don't want to loose your eyebrows right?! hehe).

After that add the heavy cream, a ladle of prawns broth (if u made some, if not just a bit of water will do), the Worcestershire sauce and the tomato paste or ketchup (in Brazil is more common to just use ketchup, particularly i like the ketchup cuz it brings out a bit of sweetness to the dish), let it cook on simmering fire for a few minutes to reduce it a bit, and finalize it with the cream cheese and chopped parsley, saving a bit of the parsley for the decoration of the dish. U don't have to wait much just stir to incorporate and dissolve the cream cheese well. Check for salt and pepper, add some if needed, and dig in.

In Brazil we serve it with plain white rice, or potatoes either fried, roasted or rosti, if u find big potatoes my opinion is for u to roast them whole with skin and all, once soft, cut a "lid" on them and scrape a bit of the inside to make room for the Stroganoff, place a bit of butter mixed with some chives inside the potato and pour the prawns with the sauce inside, eat it out of it... uhhhhh delish hehe!   

We've come to the end of this recipe, remember to enjoy it, while u do it, put on some music and have some wine, it will enhance the experience, at least that's what i can say for myself!

cheers everybody!

A bio of who writes to thee!

I’m a person very related to arts in general, since early days I love to draw, in my teenage years I developed an interest for photography and music, my family has always had passion for food and kitchen in a non-professional way, therefore when I came up to the decision of joining a culinary arts school, I was more than supported by almost everyone and the ones that found mine an odd choice where convinced not long after I started my journey in the cuisine.

   Once I had my finished my studies I knew that I wanted to travel around searching and experimenting different gastronomical backgrounds. As a Chef throughout my travels I've been able to do that on all 34 countries I passed by, which has opened my mind regarding cooking. To me cooking is more than a job, being a Chef goes beyond the "glamour", the success for me lies on experimenting different flavors, aromas, textures, combining  beautiful dishes such to come up with a one of a kind experience to the ones that are there to try, them being friends, family or clients .

   During my experience with Carnival I wanted to learn more about mixology and wines, for I think the compliment of a drink/beverage on a dish makes up for a complete  gastronomical experience, that is much more to constitute something memorable on one’s life.

That would be a succinct Bio of who writes to thee !

 Haven't been drawing lately For I've been a bit nervous with all the wait on my work visa, I really CAN'T wait to start to work back again, the thing is working sucks when u have to do it everyday, but it also sucks doing nothing everyday huh?!

cheers brothers & sisters!  

Beautiful earthy flavors!

Photo & dish by Felipe Barros

Risottos are definitely something that a lot of people are afraid to do, and some others don't really know that they are making a mistake, but for any of you that would like to learn how to cook one well then I'll try my best to explain this to ya.

Back in College and when I started my first professional experience at a contemporary food restaurant Garcia & Rodrigues back in Rio de Janeiro, I had to learn from the very start what to do in a kitchen, of course I started with the simple "mis-en-place"(French term for the pre-Preparation of the menu items) things, but after a while one of the great experienced cooks that was there thought carefully how to prepare good risottos, and once I got the hang of it, it became part of my responsibilities to do those ones.

Mushroom Risotto

- 1 large onion finely chopped

- Approx. one litre of chicken or meat stock

- Two white wine glasses (dry grapes like chardonnay are best)

- 400 gr of risotto rice (arborio)  

- 90 gr of butter

- 120 gr of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (if too expensive buy at least the long grated ones, not the fine)

- sea salt and ground pepper

- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

- mix of mushrooms around 6 or 8 Portobellos, 10 white buttons and 10 swiss brown (these ones are easy to find and not so expensive) all nicely sliced 

- a Pinch of finely chopped parsley and chives

   With mild heat cook the onions with a bit of butter without coloring them, add up the rice and and crank it up on the heat, stir in the wine and let the heat evaporate a bit of the alcohol, feel the beautiful aroma of the wine spreading around you, the rice will pick up on the wine flavors and aromas.

  After a little while start adding up the stock ladle by ladle(don't over do it, u need some moist on your rice but not for it to become a soup) seasoning a bit at this part, turn the heat down a bit and slowly cook stirring the rice every now and then ,this should take around 15 to 20 minutes, this type of rice is not the usual kind and risottos are not meant to be grain by grain loose and separate, in fact the final result should be creamy.

    While you cook the rice heat up a pan and with a knob of butter cook the mushrooms with the garlic, u'll notice that it may seem like a lot of mushrooms and for that I prefer to divide into small bunches so i can get them nicely grilled and get the garlic flavor going on them. Season to taste and for the last part spread part of the parsley and chives on top for a finishing touch.

    Try your rice ,it should be cooked well but still firm on the inside, as the Italians say "al dente", if it's cooked, correct the salt and pepper, put in the mix of mushrooms, finish with a good piece of butter and Parmesan stirring to dissolve .

Your risotto is ready serve as it is or if u need a sort of protein grilled lamb chops go perfect with it, marinate for a couple of hours the lamb chops with some red wine and herbs like rosemary, thyme and sage. Once u have them grilled deglaze the pan with the red wine correct the salt and a pinch of sugar, finish it with some butter for a great quick sauce for your lamb chops!  

  As i said it may seem like a lot of work but it's not really that much this recipe above serves 4-6 people and u can gather your friends on a lovely Sunday and cook them this i guarantee everybody (that likes mushrooms) will love it, the only thing left for me to say is no matter how hard it is always cook with your heart into it, and enjoy what you're doing, when i cook things like this at home i like to have a nice wine with some mixed nuts as an appetizer, and that my friends keeps me happy through all my journey in the kitchen!

cheers to all!!

The one behind!

What up y'all?!

   The pic above was done by me and it's also a self portrait, a rather more developed one (compared to the previous one). As u can see some of the items that I possess and are figurative to whatever type of art I love and take on, either as hobbies or professionally; 

  The giant pencil I'm holding is much like the one I use( the real one is smaller of course hehe ), the guitar is my SG Gibson, which unfortunately I didn't bring with me to Aotearoa (NZ), the chef hat is quite like the first one I had, I realize that I'm missing my photo camera but that's only cuz my Olympus fell into the foul waters that surrounds my lovely home sweet home, in a act of hastiness as we were leaving the house for my mom's wedding, it slipped off my hands for the first time and right when I was standing near water hehe, have you ever heard of Murphy's law, yep that's my view of the incident! 

For those that don't know my house in Rio de Janeiro ( home for me) is in a island in the middle of the city, not off the coast but in land, i take a little "five minute ride" boat to get to it!

The incident of losing my camera made an excuse for me to buy a better one, but i definitely miss my camera, being in a new place and having all this beauty around me!!

That's all for now f-f-f-f-folks! 

A sweet way to start your day!!!

OK folks so here we go for the first recipe i'm posting here, in case it's you first time here my name is Felipe and I'm an arts man, graduated in gastronomy(Chef); i love to draw, mostly comic book and manga (japanese comics) style, I play some guitar and I'm amateur photographer, therefore with this blog I intend to write down  recipes I cook, drawings I do, photos I shoot and interesting facts with links to videos regarding my experiences of life, and that's why I titled the blog "Art of Living", hope u like it!

The Photo above was taken by me, and the dish itself was done by a good friend Chef Juliene & myself.

These are american style pancakes with Greek yogurt infused with honey, and a French style wild berries "coulis". A delicious option for a special breakfast, rather balanced in sweetness with a slightly sour finish,

if you prefer a more sweet option you can whisk up some "Creme fraiche" and make you own whipped cream as sweet as you like.

Pancakes

-135 gr plain flour

-1/2 tbs of baking powder

-pinch of salt

-2 tbs of sugar

-130 ml of milk

-1 large egg lightly whisked 

-2 tbs melted butter

  Sift the dry items into a bowl, whisk the milk together with the egg and 

the melted butter(make sure the butter is not hot), mix them up until u get 

a smooth batter (add a little vanilla syrup, or some chopped nuts if you like). 

Heat up your pan and use a little bit of butter or oil so your pancakes won't 

stick to it, just a little tip, once u put the batter on the pan pay attention  

for the bubbles that will come on top, as soon as they appear

flip them over wait another minute and a 1/2 or so and that's it.

Mild fire/heat u don't want to use high heat cuz them you burn the batter

without cooking it!

Coulis  

-5 or 6 Strawberries

-A handful of raspberries( or any berries you like)

-2 tbs of sugar or honey

-a squeeze of lemon juice

   In a pan slightly heated, drop all of the above, stir up so it won't boil,

until it gets mildly thick, try it and add sugar or honey if you prefer sweeter.

Again mild heat if it boils too much a lot of the flavor gets lost in the air and u 

need this flavor, believe me!

For the Yogurt, whisk up some natural unsweetened yogurt with honey to your taste, mount the pancakes put 

everything else on top as much as you like and indulge yourself into it, when u do it let me know how was it, 

leave a comment  !

Cheers folks!

  

A great weekend has passed went through a day tour to the south on a very small "beach"city, while there got on a "Cruise" on a extinct volcanic crater, it was an immense thing, when the Captain said on the speaker "the MOUNTAINS around us used to be the mouth of the volcano", I couldn't believe my eyes, they say this volcano has been extinct for millions of years, therefore i can't help but wonder around imagining the dinosaurs around it and how big everything was back then, isn't it awesome to think that the nature and all forms of life have been able to adapt themselves around each other since the beginning of times, and how much destruction the "giant" insects of those times would cause nowadays! I would love to be able to travel in time, and for that i let my mind wonder around whenever i can...

Lately i have been getting back in touch with my artistic side, just finished last night a drawing i did of myself, and for that i'll start now posting drawings as well, this one i entitled: Me drawing myself!

cheerio!