Good morning!
I will be having a few of my girlsfriends, my mom and Tiza over for breakfast in a couple of weeks so I decided to do a bit of research on breakfast dishes that are easy to make in larger quantities. Here are my top picks:
I hope these ideas spark some creativity for your own breakfasts! Make sure to visit our Breakfast Pinterest Board for more ideas.
Cheers!
Hello everyone! What a beautiful day wandering the Pinecrest Gardens Green Market. It made me feel good all over to see how so much beautiful and healthy produce was right at our door step. Both Tiza and I had to control ourselves because it was all so tempting. I bought loads of veggies which I cooked as soon as I got home. I would like to share how I cooked them so that those of you who have little time to spend in the kitchen will also be able to enjoy these delights not only fresh on the day you buy them, but also on other days, just by storing them in a tight containers in the refrigerator. They keep perfectly for an entire week! You will find these good to accompany any meat or on their own as a healthy snack with crackers or bread.
Ingredients
On a large sheet pan spread out like veggies. Salt all vegetables liberally then add a light shake of pepper. Lastly pour a very light stream of olive oil over all little by little making certain that all the veggies have their due amount.
Put in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. They will brown bringing out their natural, wonderful sweetness. Take out and put in containers to store in the refrigerator. These are delicious to eat at room temperature but if you prefer, heat them very little, using the re-heat option on your microwave oven.
My hopes are that my easy and quick recipe will help those with limited time to eat healthy and take advantage of the fresh selections at their local markets.
Enjoy, eat, and relax!
For the last couple of years I’ve gotten my veggies and fruits from a great organic co-op. For reasons too complicated to explain in this post, I opted out in June and have been very messy when it comes to our family’s fruit and veggie grocery store purchasing and home consumption. So, I decided to start a local Farmer’s Market adventure. I want to see what I can find, how much it’ll cost me, how much organic variety is offered, and how much is local.
My mom and I ventured out bright and early on Sunday and here is some of what we found:
Tons of vegetables, herbs, fruits, some meats, eggs and a few prepared foods.
The people from Coconut Grove Farms had an amazing variety and they were all very knowledgeable. About half there produce was organic but not all local.
We bought stuffed vegetarian grape leaves and baklava. I would go back for more of the grape leaves any day.
From central Florida: grass fed, sustainable beef. 
She was the sweetest girl and let us sample her dried fruits and leather (like store bought fruit roll-ups except no sugar or preservatives).
The Healthy Break people were sooooo nice and offered these great spreads. The cool thing is that everything is olive oil based with no mayo added. Serious homemade flavor, perfect for a lunch, snack, appetizer or for a cocktail party. Want to order some for yourself? {healthybreakinfo at gmail dot com}
These nuts were DELICIOUS! She had fantastic suggestions for serving: with salads, with fruit and cheese platters and as a healthy snack. Can’t resist temptation? {thespicednutfactory at gmail dot com}
No. I had better things to do… taste test all free samples offered, talk to everyone, eat more, have smoothie, etc. I was very busy. However, I’ll mention a couple other vendors that caught my eye:Copperpot Jams & Jellies (loved the sweeet jalapeño flavor), Proper Sausages (we actually bought some for lunch and had an overcooking until way-too-charred incident. even then, delicious),and Kreative Gardenswith their spectacular succulents, money trees, and other exotic plants.
All in all…SUCCESS! I scored a good variety of fruits for snacks and lunchboxes, plenty of veggies for everyday meals, and even a money tree for my house! So, check your local markets and make time to visit one, ask questions, buy and cook something new for your family, and enjoy!
Pinecrest Gardens Green Market – Sundays 9am-2pm – Red Rd & 112th st.
Happy shopping and cooking,
Have I told you that my dad is Colombian? Well, he is. Thanks to him and my grandma (his mom) I love Colombian food. It is the epitome of home cooked comfort food to me. Assorted meats, a variety of root vegetables, hundreds of soups, and TONS of cilantro. Yum.
I am a foodie at heart (and soul) and constantly read recipe books, food magazines, talk to fellow foodies, and well, try to keep up to date and well informed. I am moderately familiar with Colombian cuisine yet was not aware of this life changing dish. Why? How? After I tried it for the first time I mentioned it to anyone who cared to listen and apparently I was among the few how did not know of it! Here is my story:
This summer good friends of ours invited us over for a pool day and a “Lomo al Trapo”. Literally translated: “Loin in rag”. Not so appetizing? Well, I beg you to reconsider… think beautiful lean beef loin, coarse sea salt, red wine, wrapped tightly in cheesecloth and tied with twine, charred directly on a blazing wood fire, cooked to tender perfection. Sound better? Just take a look:
It was beautiful to watch and amazing to eat and enjoy with special friends.
Want more detailed instructions? Visit this site of a Colombian food blog or if you prefer a video, visit Mango and lime blog .
After that memorable meal, we capped it off with delicious snow cones with our traditional topper: sweetened condensed milk!
I hope you try this recipe soon. It is easy, fun, and YUMMY.
Enjoy,
One of my great joys in life is food! Yes, food! I am one of those people that loves to curl up with a great cookbook and read it as if it was the greatest of novels. I love to cook a meal and then sit and taste each delicate ingredient. I love to make a meal and share it with friends and family or to make a meal to celebrate anything.
Today, I would like to share a recipe for a fantastic Ragu spaghetti sauce, alongside a wonderful friend who, through the many years we have known each other, has generously and lovingly taught me among other things a few of her wonderful Italian secrets for a yummy quick sauce. With pictures and directions you too will be able to celebrate with those you love a great meal for children and adults alike.
This recipe is as my friend gave it to me. It is a close measurement but not exact as she seldom measures. We had a wonderful day together, laughing as I tried to quickly measure her ingredients while she rolled her eyes as if to say, just watch and add a bit of this and a bit of that. It is all so easy!
For these moments I am grateful. Thank you Giuditta!
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
William Arthur Ward
Here we go…
RAGU SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Ingredients
Directions
Now enjoy and with any luck this recipe will bring you great memories too.
Last week was my 13th year Anniversary and my husband and I went to Las Vegas for the very first time. I have to confess that Vegas was approximately #857 on my “Must see before I die” list, but as life sometimes happens, my hubby had a work training in Sin City ending on our exact anniversary and it only seemed natural for me to meet him there.
I had low expectations and only 1 item on my to-do list: To lounge pool-side in silence and read in peace. Yup. It’s that simple. I live in Miami yet I have to fly 5 hours to enjoy a pool, in silence and be a able to read, in peace.
Mission accomplished! We happily retreated to the adult-only pool for 2 days in a row. I lounged! I read! True story: I didn’t take a book and apparently the only reading material aside from gossip magazines (I read 5 of them) is a very limited selection of Harlequin Romance novels. I picked my very first (and very random) Harlequin and… I loved it!
Now, aside from all the deep/spiritual literature (not!) and skin damaging rays of sun, we also enjoyed wonderful food and extraordinary service. On the very last day of our trip, just before we left for the airport, we had a late lunch at José Andrés‘ CHINA POBLANO – Chinese and Mexican fusion – restaurant. 
The restaurant is hip, the decor is cool, the food was memorable and the service was impeccable. The server, I dare to say, was more of a foodie than me! He was so passionate about the menu, ingredients and preparation that I was even talked into the cocktail special the “Ponche Rosa”. It was a delicious tequila concoction with a coriander and raspberry simple syrup, and a couple other ingredients I cannot recall (lame…I know). However, the point of the tequila story is that: I don’t even like tequila! But my server was so convincing that I ordered tequila! AND I LOVED IT!
Now, regarding the unforgettable food, we ordered four of the “tapas” style dishes, mostly recommended by again, the super-server:
We also indulged in a couple of desserts:
A quick recap of the trip:
Now, I need you all to know that I truly enjoyed Las Vegas. The architecture, vintage and new, the food, cheesy and ground-breaking, the shows, classic and cutting-edge, and although not IN Vegas… The Grand Canyon. It is spiritual and awe-inspiring. We saw only a peak of the vast wonder but I can now look forward to going back with my girls, maybe camping overnight, and taking them to a couple of shows in Vegas. Even if it means skipping the zen pool experience, I can’t wait to go back as a family.
Is it good? Is it bad? or sad? I think I am ready to get back to our routine. Funny enough, the girls are really excited to get back to school ASAP. I’d like to think it’s because they also miss the routine, but it most likely has to do with seeing their friends.
Now, although I have absolutely no control over our school/vacation schedule, I have decided to try my very best and extend the vacation “mood” as long as possible. I’ve been over-analyzing what it is about summer vacation (other than the no-school part) that makes us feel so, well, summery? In our family’s case it’s the pool, beach, more casual meals, and plenty of relaxed family time.
So, thanks to our fabulously extended summery South Florida weather we’re going to try to celebrate summer – the season – as opposed to summer – the vacation. We’ll try to make it to a pool or a beach on the weekends and for our everyday routine, we’ll try to make time for casual family time and infuse that relaxed feeling into our meals. Here are some brilliant recipes I found on Pinterest:
Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich - Source: exPress-o blog
Chicken Mango & Brie Quesadillas - Source: Chatelaine
I’d also like to be more practical and experiment with make ahead meals so our evenings can be dedicated to more talking, playing and laughing, and less chopping, cooking and cleaning.
“43 freezer meals in 4 hours” – Source: TheKtchen (yes, that’s how it’s spelled)
Finally, I think it will be fun to simply shakes things up a bit with little unexpected surprises:
A whimsical outdoor setup – Source: tumblr
Coffee table with seating on cushions - Source: Pinterest
A bright and fun Bandanna table runner (so easy!) – Source: Country Living
I can’t wait to see how my little experiment works out! Do you have any “cease-summer” anxiety? I’d love to know how your family handles the end of summer. Leave us a comment below 
Keep having “sunny” fun!
My daughter said to me, “Mom, don’t leave the posting until the last minute”. As I assured her that I wouldn’t, I deep down knew I hadn’t taken the time to write anything as yet. Not because I was lazy or even procrastinating but because I have company and the reality is that spending time with my dear friend held precedent over my blogging. My posting was always in my mind but these two weeks I have been blessed with a long over-due visit by my friend. We have filled our days with lots of remembering, giving her a tour of the sights of our great city of Miami, we read and shared our opinions on whatever we were reading, whether it be a book, newspaper or magazine. We talked about politics, love, getting old, grandchildren, our children. We were up late like two teenagers looking for goodies to munch on…..oh yes, there was lots of eating, and lots of laughing.
As I sit to write this, I have come to understand that one of the great things about aging is that you realize first things first. Ann came first! Now here I am sharing these thoughts with you all. Reminding everyone that with all the wonderful techy stuff that fills our world right now, there is nothing more valuable than life itself. There is nothing more important than sharing a hug, smile, and laughter with those you love. The older one gets the easier it is to step back and see the big picture.
Speaking of the big picture, Ann introduced me to the most delicious candy. The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory candy. For me the enormous slabs of chocolate smothered and almond covered toffee are to die for and Ann equally loved the bear paw sized milk chocolate pecan bears. Well, our diets will have to start tomorrow…
Keep living the moment!
I am still in love with pinterest and all the inspiration it stirs up in me. With all the cooking I want to do, Guayo my husband, can’t complain either! I ran across a delicious looking stuffed zucchini pin from a post on Kay’s Kayotic Kitchen blog.
I had most of the ingredients – missed the parsley and I should have used a chunkier shaved parmesan (or more of it?) to get a better gratin effect. In any case, it turned out super yums! The trick is that 1/4 tsp of curry powder with the sauteed onions. Magic. Here is what they looked like before the oven:
Recently we’ve been reminiscing about our trip to Spain last summer and the wonderful meals we enjoyed. So, I decided to eat outside because the weather was mild and the sky was clear and beautiful, and turn the meal into a “tapas” style buffet. To accompany the stuffed zucchini I included anchovy stuffed olives, a small cheese tray, crusty bread, orange preserves, fresh cherries and mandarin oranges.
Here is the stuffed zucchini post-oven:
The girls helped me set the table making it “fancy” and fun with a hand-me-down lace tablecloth, a cute runner I have from Guatemala, and fresh flowers. I also used my grandmas pretty silver spoons (more about that story later). It’s amazing how much my girls love to participate and help out in anything out of the norm. 
And I realized that doing something out of the ordinary and different from the every day routine, is also fun for me. Somehow, dinner didn’t have that “replay” effect because we changed the setting. Hummm… what next?
Hope you enjoyed,
I have no idea how this day came to be, but according to the Holiday Insights website, July 9th is National Sugar Cookie Day! So, needless to say, we MUST celebrate! Here we are baking and decorating some very easy sugar cookies. We bought the Pillsbury pre-made, refrigerated dough and Betty Crocker cookie icing. Easy and fun.
Happy National Sugar Cookie Day!
