South Beach Mini-Vacation

Lots of little mini vacations makes real life a bit easier and more tolerable. At the end of September, two friends of mine were heading to Miami for a concert so I made the last minute decision to go as well. I'm glad I did because it was a blast! We walked, we ate, we shopped and then we ate some more! And after they left, I stayed back for another two days and had a wonderful, relaxing time, getting reacquainted with myself. There's so much to see and do (and eat!) in South Beach, I can't wait to return!

Fantastic bagels and flavoured schmears
at Einstien Brother's Bagels.

If you're a beer fan, check out Sharkey's at Bayside.

Alligator Nuggets and loaded potato skins at Sharkey's.

Laduree, South Beach

Macarons!

Buying some rambutan on Sunday.

I decided to go to the South Beach Culinary Tour, which was very fun and the food was good. It focused mainly on Cuban food which is available everywhere in South Beach. The tour guide was very nice and seem well-educated. 

Stop 1: Ceviche with passion fruit and canchitas and an empanada
at Bolivar

Dulce de leche filled churros at Manolo's!

Cafe Cubano at one of the many ventanitas in South Beach.

Vaca fritas served with plantain chips at Habanos.

Italian pocket with spinach, feta, sundried tomatoes, kalamata
olives and pesto at Block's Deli.

Argentine Empanada at Charlotte's Bakery

Empanada with avocado-cilantro sauce.

Gelato at Milani's Gelateria to end the food tour!

We LOVE Red Lobster's biscuits.

Maine Lobster > Rock Lobster

Now let me start by saying, I wish so very much that there was better lighting in this restaurant or I wasn't so shy to use flash because I suppose the dim lighting was part of the setting that contributed to the incredible ambiance you can immediately feel when you walk in to The Bazaar by Jose Andres. This simple 5 "course" tapas meal was the best meal I had during this vacation (with the Mushroom Tobanyaki at Sushi Samba being a very close second). I will definitely be returning once I am in South Beach to try some more menu items, and bringing some friends with me as well. If you're in South Beach, try this restaurant!!! The prix fixe is very affordable at 5 courses for US$39.00. You can't go wrong!

"Jamón Serrano and Tomato Bread" 

"Bao Con Lechón (Chinese Bun with Pork Belly)"

"Endive with goat cheese, oranges, marcona almonds and orange dressing."

"Cuban Coffee Rubbed Churrasco"

"Deconstructed Key Lime Pie"

Eating Like A Local

Recently I met up with a couple of foreigners who I unfortunately did not get to spend a lot of time with. However, the time we did spend, we spoke about food, obviously. At first it was difficult to think of Trinidad's food, what we eat and what's uniquely ours. Trinidad comprises so many different types of people and so many different types of cuisine that it was difficult to think of something that represents us all. After naming one thing, I could think of another and then the list just began to flow.
It's no secret we love to eat in Trinidad and that's exactly the reason why we're so inventive and every thing that leaves our kitchen is always full of flavour. I decided to write this partly to remind myself, so the next time someone ask what they should eat when they visit Trinidad, maybe I'll be able to recommend. Not all of it is completely unique to Trinidad but if you want to eat like a local, it's a good start!

Breakfast

Black Pudding

Coconut Bake and Saltfish Buljol/Smoked Herring

Doubles | Aloo Pie | Baiganee | Saheena | Pholourie

Pepper Roti

Bake & Plantain

 

Lunch/Dinner

Callaloo

Pelau

Curried Chicken/Beef/Goat/Duck/ Shrimp Roti | Channa and Aloo | Pumpkin | Curried Mango | Anchar | Mother-in-law | Pepper Sauce

*Curried Cascadura

Sunday Lunch: Stewed Beans | Stewed Chicken | Provisions | Macaroni Pie

Corn Soup

Geera Chicken/Pork

Chicken/Pig Foot Souse

Vegetable Curries or Chokas | Bodi | Cabbage/Cauliflower | Ochro | Caraille | Baigan | Tomato

Oil Down

Accra

Oxtail/Cow Heel Soup

Fish Broth

Crab & Dumpling

Shark & Bake

Sancoche*

BBQ Pigtail*

Snacks

*Local Ice Creams | Coconut, Rum & Raisin

Pone

Fudge

Sweet Bread

Sugar Cake | Benne Ball | Toolum | Tamarind Ball

Mango/Plum/Pine Chow

Oysters Cocktail

*Crix

Local Fruit | Pommecythere, Chennette

Beverages

Mauby

Peanut/Beetroot/Channa Punch*

Coconut Water*

Carib | Stag | Shandy

Seasonal (October-January)

Divali Feast* with Sweets

Black/Fruit Cake

Pastelles

Sorrel Drink

Garlic Pork

My UK & Europe Trip!

After a month, I'm back here, writing, again. It has been a while, but I have no regrets. I haven't had time to write, but I've been living, and that's been fun. This is sort of like a travel post... maybe?
Two weeks ago I returned from a short trip that I decided to take not long before the actual trip. I mentioned my traveling interests before so I decided to take the leap and jump on a plane... all by myself! I booked my flight and tour before doing much research; I would have done a lot of things differently if I had the knowledge, but it was still a blast!
I learned quite a few things while reading including the fact that constant research and keeping an eye out is the best way to find the best deals, unless money isn't an issue for you. A lot of people want to travel, not just the wealthy, and it is possible for all of us to do so. Many travel blogs offer great tips for traveling on a budget.
This trip was a short one which gave me more of an overview of some countries and their cities so that I could make a decision where I'd like to return to... first! I say first because I would like to return to every single city I visited as well as visit many others. It was a great experience for me, and after doing it I was convinced it was something I needed to make a priority. There's so much to see and experience out there, and I want to!

Afternoon Tea at my hotel.
BEST. DECISION.

The Atomium in Brussels. 

Tiroler Landestheater

Swarovski Kristallwelten

Giant Cuckoo Clock in Germany

Gelato in Sirmione

Lake Garda

At Rivoire in Florence

Making a wish in the Trevi Fountain

Flower  Clock in Geneva

You know where this is...

The view from the top of Le Tour Eiffel

UN Geneva

Following my little vacation, my sister's wedding was the very next weekend. We headed over to Tobago to celebrate and it was such a blast there too! The wedding was absolutely brilliant, including the food that was served by the hotel, Magdelena Grand. The wedding food was a lot better than their regular lunches and dinner however. Those were a little disappointing but breakfast was quite lovely!

Hi, from Paris!

Plan B

I was in the process of writing a very long, extremely detailed post about my feelings tonight. While writing a little about these things is okay, I rant. After an hour of writing I decided that a lot of it was unnecessary (after all, this is a blog, not a diary), and I can talk about me without going on the way I did. So here's the thing, I need to make some changes in my life. I'm not exactly where I want to be, a lot of us aren't. We all realize it at some point - often in our early twenties - and we then reevaluate our lives and our life plan. I've written a bit before about what I want in my life (even though no-one might be reading). After we decide what we want, we need to make a plan. And that's why I am here.
What does "finding yourself" really mean? I'm not about to answer that question, if that's what you thought. I don't know what it means, honestly. My assumption is that it has something to do with finding what makes you feel good and what makes you happy. It may have something to do with learning what you love and what motivates you and most of all, really getting to know You.
I love food (you knew that), but I also love travel, as I mentioned in earlier posts. I should correct myself to say I love the idea of travel. I love learning through experience, and culture is something definitely worth learning about. I've traveled before but when I was a bit younger and with my family. While that type of travel is also lovely, I was unable to determine from those experiences if this is really something that I want. I will be travelling in the near future and though it is not the ideal length of travel, it should help me figure out what I really want. From there, I will decide in what way I will accomplish it.
We all make a lot of plans, and though it's always okay to have a Plan B and C, don't forget about Plan A. Don't forget about that thing you wanted to do and that life you wanted to live. Don't worry so much. I am still young. I have no responsibilities. I do know I will have to settle down and build a life at some point (if I have to, lol) but until then, use this time, health, strength and energy you have now, to do what you really want to do.
I hope you are following your dreams, doing what you love and whatever it is, being happy!

Donut Boys' Munchies

(source)

So I've been searching for the perfect donut recipe to make for my friend who has a craving. Though I did not yet find that perfect recipe, it reminded me of something that I've had a problem with for a while now. Munchies. Recently, Donut Boys (part of the Pizza Boys/Burger Boys company) announced that "Munchies" were back. I was ecstatic. Seriously... ecstatic. Munchies were a favourite treat for my siblings and I when were growing up. We never really cared much about the donuts, it was the munchies we were always excited for. Even a bit before they announced that they were back, I remember talking to some people about it. Problem was... No one remembered! How could no one remember munchies? (Except my family, of course. They all remember.) We would sometimes have pizza and always munchies after, sometimes before. And sometimes we would just get munchies for the hell of it. They had a couple flavours including blueberry (the best one, in my opinion), strawberry, vanilla and I can't remember exactly what else. I ran (not literally) to Donut Boys (in Ritual's) to get my munchies. Only... they weren't munchies; not the munchies we knew and loved, not the cakey, different-flavoured, absolutely brilliant munchies we remembered. These were donut holes! The same exact thing as their regular donuts, only really small (and sometimes a bit stale too). How could they call these things munchies? Why did they even stop making munchies in the first place? What on earth did they do with that recipe? It was horrendously disappointing. You may think I'm being dramatic, and I might be, but if you had those munchies as a child, you would be disappointed too. Such fond memories.
My goal now is to make myself some munchies. If I can't get them at Donut Boys - since they're passing off donut holes as munchies - I'll simply have to make them myself. Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to figure it out. Until then, I'll make some lovely cake donuts and hope they compensate. Maybe some yeast donuts too. We'll see... I'll decide and I'll definitely share it next time.

All Eggs Are Not Fried Equal

Not too wet, not too dry... the most indulgent eggs! (And some banana bread.)

Okay... this is important. I have always thought, "a fried egg is a fried egg". Apparently it's not. I've been seeing a lot of articles around the Internet lately about the best way(s) to fry an egg, what to do, what not to do etc. I thought it was silly, and probably not worth the effort but decided I'd try anyway. No harm in trying. Basically, today I had the best scrambled eggs I have ever had in my life, and I still took shortcuts! If you just search it, you will find endless articles about how to treat your eggs right! Just find one that you trust. If you do, I assure you, it will be worth it.
My method is low and slow... cook the eggs on low heat, stirring constantly; it will cook slowly and the end result is velvety and delicious!