{kids in the kitchen} How to make a Brazilian flag sandwich.

Remember how we are on a journey Around the World in 12 Dishes? Well we are spending  this month in Brazil (metaphorically- in actual fact we are in Bromley. But they both begin with a ‘br’ so there’s that!) Because The Girls are advancing their independence in the kitchen, I took a different approach to this month’s challenge. I gave them the tools and the project and helped when asked. And they learned how to make a Brazilian Open Sandwich.

I know. Brazil did not invent the Sandwich. But bear with me, since this is a food ‘craft’ that can be adapted to any country.

You need:

slices of bread

butter

cucumber

cheese

a date (the edible kind, not the boyfriend kind)

So, first I found a picture of the Brazilian flag and left it on the laptop screen so that they could use it as reference.

Next, Dimples got started buttering the bread.

Meanwhile LBG peeled the cucumber. Peeling is challenging and definitely a skill that takes practice but she is doing very well. Or at least she was. She managed, in a momentary lapse of concentration, to peel her finger. Cue blood, plasters and a determination to take no further part in proceedings.*

Anyhow, the cucumber was peeled, so I helped Dimples cut it to size. We chopped a chunk of cucumber the same length as the bread slice. Then we sliced the chunk lengthways- my top tip for putting  cucumber in sandwiches, by the way: straight edges work much better for sandwich filling and are less likely to fall out.

So, we put a slice of cheese on the buttered bread, then covered that with cucumber. Next, we cut a diamond for the top of the cucumber. The one in the picture was cut by me: Dimples ate hers.

Finally, using an apple corer, Dimples cut a circle from a date to go in the middle of the diamond.

And that is how to make a Brazilian Open Sandwich.

*I would like to point out that LBG is fine: she has a scab across the top of her finger and is milking it for all the Disney Princess plasters that she can. She has since been swimming, created art, had a bath and gone happily to school. Just  in case you were worried.

Welcome to “Around The World in 12 Dishes”. We will be taking you on a journey around the world, (loosely) following in Phileas Fogg’s footsteps, exploring 12 different countries with our children, by cooking 12 dishes with them. One for each country visited.

The world is such a wonderfully diverse and colorful place. Our children see maps, flags and books. They see postcards and maybe they see films about the world.. but let’s really bring it to life through food! Taste and smell don’t often get explored, we think this would be wonderfully fun and interesting for you and your children.

Not only is it an exciting and different way to learn about cultures, but cooking with children brings a host of benefits – from numeracy to science. How can you beat that?

Adventures In Mommydom, Creative Family Fun, Domestic Goddesque, Glittering Muffins, Here Come The Girls, Juggling with Kids, Kid World Citizen, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Mermaids’ Makings, Montessori Tidbits, Mummymummymum and The Educators’ Spin On It have come together to help you on your food journey and will each cook a dish with our children and post about it – to help inspire you to have a go! Then go out there, cook, blog, and join in the linky fun! Check out the other great posts as well!

Around the World in 12 Dishes

We had started our journey the same way Phileas Fogg did in London, UK, and now are arriving in Brasilia, capital of the biggest South American country Brazil.!

• March 4 – First country was the UK
• April 1 – The second country was Sweden
• May 6 – The third country was Russia
• June 3 – The fourth country was India
• July 7 – The fifth country was Japan
• August 5 – The sixth country was Australia
• September 2 – The seventh country was French Polynesia
• October 7 – The eighth country was Mexico
• November 4 – The ninth country is Brazil!

How to join the fun!

• The only mandatory part is the dish, the rest is all up to you, we just thought it would be fun and more concrete to the kids as to why we are making a unusual dish.
• Cook a dish from Brazil: The goal is to explore this country through FOOD and activities if you wish. Make a typical dish (sweet or savoury) from the country with the kids, take photos and have fun!
• Typical dishes: Feijoada, Baião de dois, Sarapatel, Galinhadaplus Queijadinha, Moqueca de peixe and Bridgardeiros.
• Print your passport: Click here to download, comes with space for a photo of the child with the dish. Here is a little cover for it if you wish 🙂
• Color a placemat: Once colored/painted or whatever other way you want to do this, you can laminate it or put it between clear contact paper to use it over and over. Great conversation piece for you and your kids. Click here to download it.
• Make a craft: you can make a country related craft with the kids [optional!]

• Fun fact: Brazil has one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the Christ Redeemer statue, located in Rio De Janeiro.
• Share with us: Our Brazil challenge starts on November 4th and will remain open for a year, so attach a link to your blog to enter the linky party or go to the comment section and post a photo together with what you did together with your child(ren).
• Pinterest: We will add your photos to a “Around the World in 12 Dishes” Pinterest Boards (one for the dishes, one for the crafts) you will be a great source of inspiration for everyone 🙂
• Are you a blogger? Let your fans know about the challenge and grab our cute lil’ button to share it on your blog.

<a href=”http://www.glitteringmuffins.com” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i1145.photobucket.com/albums/o502/theeducatorsspinonit/world.jpg” alt=”Around the world in 12 Dishes” width=”125″ height=”125″ /></a>

Please check out our partner blogs and their Brazil ideas: Adventures In Mommydom, Creative Family Fun, Domestic Goddesque, Glittering Muffins, Here Come The Girls, Juggling with Kids, Kid World Citizen, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Mermaids’ Makings, Montessori Tidbits, Mummymummymum and The Educators’ Spin On It

If you do this, we’d LOVE to see a photo of it. Email it to us or post it on our Facebook page. We’d love to do a Facebook album, a Pinterest board and a page of your creations 🙂

Please link up your Brazilian dish and/or craft in our linky below, we would love to see it!