here's a recipe idea

i cant say i am big on cooking but i really want to be. my family is known for cooking great meals.  we are caribbean people with a passion for rice, beans, plantains and well-seasoned food. i mean garlic, cilantro, and spices. and meats are a big part of our diet.

on my end, i  like meat and respect in some sort of way. i don't like it too much and to be honest i feel so much better, health wise, without too much of it. i've even considered going vegetarian.

for the last few weeks i've been doing a vegan fast at my church. it's been challenging but it has also helped me to  get creative with meals and to seek out how to eat better. oh how i miss eggs. and cheese. which leads me to say that if i ever go meatless, i wouldn't go vegan. i need me an omelette in my life.

not too long ago when i started to go the route of more natural eating and less meats, i bought this magazine that has become my healthy eating bible. Good & Fresh from Better Homes and Gardens.  it was a special edition and you may not find it anymore. i have found myself drooling over the pages and trying different, easy to make dishes various times in the last 5 months.

i'm sorry to say that i am not ready to post recipe pictures, it's not pretty, but once i get it down i will surely share the goods.

but i do want to share one of  my favorite recipes so far.

Indian Garbanzo Bean Salad with Pitas

ps: what makes this is the dressing. the recipe includes the dressing instructions.

pps: ok, i know you may need some convincing on the drooling part and so i took a picture of the picture (i know somewhere i must have broken a blogger rule). there was just no good photo to compare to it on google. so i apologize.

dinner party success

we enjoyed such a good time together, my youth group and I.

not many words can express the fun it was.

my turkey was a success.

the food, entirely, was succesful.

delicious!

all the "kids" dressed up and look the part.

so fun.

thank you 2011 for giving us such a good time.

we look forward to making it count in 2012.

a friday confession

im not sure if you've noticed, but i love food posts. and food pictures.

and eating. ha!

and i've noticed that everywhere i go, if i have a cool looking plate,

i'm snapping a photo.

i have no shame anymore.

recently though, i've had the geunine desire to get in the kitchen and whip something up.

cooking is not something i do often, but it's something i believe is in my blood.

my family has great cooks, one of those being my father.

the man makes the best turkey i've had.

and whenever i need to get in the kitchen, i call him.

good cooking genes is something my grandma, who is no longer here, left me.

and it makes me proud to say that she was an amazing cook.

and my father carries that gift.

and i want to learn it, nurture it and put it to good practice

so that my grandma's legacy and recipes carry on forever.

preparing some pasta at our youth camp.

about a month ago my church held a youth camp and when the ladies that were assigned to cook didn't show up in time, i stepped up to the plate and without hesitation, began to cook ribs.

a.good.twenty.pound.of.them.

i know, this is a terrible photo.
i look pretty exhausted. as you can imagine if you've ever been a staff for a youth camp.
and then bloody ribs.
BUT i needed to show you proof.
and don't worry, i'll bring a hair net big enough next time. :)

it was the most fun i had in the kitchen. one, because the camp had an amazing restaurant-like kitchen with so much space. and two, because it blew me away that everyone allowed me to cook the main dish for about 80 people, for the first time.

and even better, they ate them all.

it felt great.

and i want to do it again.

this weekend my youth group is having a sort of belated thanksgiving dinner to celebrate our year together and enjoy each other. so with that said, i took the challenge to cook for this dinner. so i'll be whipping up the turkey. unfraid. well maybe a little.

wish me success...please.

last night i had an amazing evening...

first. rachael lampa in an acoustic set. sharing stories and songs. while surrounded by books.

then. miami food trucks. cause you know food is a must. any day.

the end.

i wanna do it again.

i had a really dear time with my family this weekend. it's just too bad i dont have pictures of me smiling or them smiling back. my twin sisters (not me a twin, my sisters are twins) are the sweetest things, but dont like to be photographed. neither does rocio, the youngest. nor dad or stepmom. so instead i took pictures of food we had. and i caught one of the lovely twins on our dinner date.



i drove two hours, get off the car and this is how dad welcomes me.
can't say i complained.



i convinced one of my dear sisters to dinner, without the others,
they all work and being with them is a balancing act.

 

and of course the meal is the most important part of this ordeal.



oh the sweet taste of overly tangy, sweet ribs.
they were worth the upset stomach after.

happiness of some sort this middle of the week

hello friends.

it's early morning. 

and i havent even had my coffee yet, but there's a glow. 

i'm feeling happier than other early mornings.

so i figured i talked about food on this happy day.

cause food is like a happy song. 

it never gets old. (ok, bad joke)

anyway, here are some YUMMY photos 

(please dont drool on my post)

taken during my trip to ecuador.

ceviche. basically fish salad. lots of lemon.

traditional casserole. made of plantain and fish. i dont know how they got that soft thing out of plantain.

real fresh calamari.

filet mignon. cheap. and at it's best.

yummy traditional plate.

fish in a yummy mushroom sauce.

another traditional platter.

yummy. period.

this guy needs no introduction.

avocado was everywhere. i did not complain.

traditional platter. corn and plantain based empanadas. stuffed with meat and rice.

 so are you hungry yet?

by the way, i didnt eat all those at once.

or alone. i had help.

somewhere along the lines of office party heaven

i love birthdays.

especially when it's someone at the office.

cause then this happens.

is that cupcake heaven or what??

uuh. yeah.

its's taste {sigh} beyond what my words can describe,

 so yeah,

heaven.

to end my day with a bang.

my friend had her rehearsal dinner last night.

im a bridesmaid. woot woot

and well here's a recap.

rehearsal was so sweet. i held tears.

and dinner, was different than most rehearsal dinners.

but,

it was FUN.

i didnt take a lot of pictures,

but i made sure to capture the important stuff

that's right. food.

cause at the end of it all, that's what matters.

food really brings people together, don't it? 

ps: yes, those are chicken wings.

from a little sweet pizza place in Miami.

if ever in town.

look up Casola's Pizza.

it's a little hot, humid, and loud.

but without those three,

you wont really experience the place.