DIY Carnival: Recipes From Rio

It's no secret that we're obsessed with Brazil. In fact, it may even be safe to say that the entire reason we started Broke Girl's Guide was so that we could one day expand to Rio and fulfill our dreams of making babies on the beach with a hot Brazilian. In the meantime, however, we are missing out on Rio's Carnival, one of the biggest parties in the world. It begins today and goes through Tuesday and, as one Brazilian friend put it, is basically just an excuse to get dressed up, get wasted, and -- er -- practice making babies on the beach. Sounds like fun, no? 

Since we're assuming you won't be making it down to South America today either, we thought we'd help you bring a little Rio to LA. The first thing you should know about Brazil is that you can't go down there looking to sip on some vodka. Instead, you'll need to get acquainted with cachaça, which is basically brazilian rum. We've combined this popular spirit with açaí -- which the Brazilians have been enjoying since long before it made its way to Whole Foods -- for an Açaí Caipirinha.  

We've also put together a recipe for Feijoada. There are a million different ways to make this Brazilian black bean stew, which many consider to be Brazil's national dish, but the basic ingredients include black beans and fresh pork or beef. Our final recipe is for Brigadeiros, which are basically Brazilian bonbons. As you will likely be full after the Feijoada, these are light and simple sweets to finish off the meal.

If you want a little more Brazil in your life, and/or you also plan to move there, we recommend investing in Portuguese lessons from the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute or The Language Door. Both have classes starting at the beginning of March.  If you can't quite afford the price of tuition, try LiveMocha instead.  And since you can't experience Carnival without also experiencing the best Samba in the world, we recommend Samba lessons from Gisella at Your Neighborhood Studio -- your first class is 50% off. We also see a ton of cheap Samba classes via events listings on Yelp.