International Women Day!

Today is the International Women Day.
I know there is at least one woman who in her own way have taught you something valuable and served as an inspiration, which in turn has helped you become a better and stronger woman, and even how to enjoy those unexpected moment in life. I have been blessed to have a dew of them enter my life and in one way or another have help me navigate this world with a smile always on my face. so today I want you to help me celebrate her and all the women of this planet who have inspired & helped you be a stronger woman today!

To the women in my life, I say keep on being inspirational to me and many others!

Embrasing My Natural Side

If you ever met me, you would never imagine I am a natural curly gal. You see for many (many) year I spent the majority of my Saturdays mornings and Wednesday late afternoons heading to the hair salon so my hair can be washed, put in rollers and the blow dry. I go to a Dominican hair salon, as ( I hope I don't offend any other salons out there) my hair its a tad hard to handle. I have lots of hair, enough so that if it was possible I could uproot half of it and provide it to someone else and still have enough scare hair dressers around the tri-state area! and the few times I have entered a non ethnic hair salon expert their faces after wetting my hair is always priceless!

So, after setting a bet that I could and would save $2200.00 under a 3 months period, I set to to the task of cutting out a few necessities, and hair salon visits 2x a week was the most logical one to axed as it would save me about $100.00 a week (oh yes Dominican salons are inexpensive starting at $50.00 per visit)

This was a gigantic deal for me, as the last time I had let my hair curly I was at the beach in Dominican Republic and proceeded to blow dry my hair as soon as I reached my mother home.

So, the bet started the last week of September, and although I had to spend some money to get my curling maintenance products I can say I not only saved the bet amount, but surpass it by  a cool $1000.00 total.

 Before & After

And yes, I do get my hair blown out every few weeks, however I have learned to finally embrace my natural hair, and if I must say so myself it has given me an exuberant amount of extra sex appeal lol

Below are the only two products I use in my hair, they prevent it from frizz and conditions my tresses at the same time. Although not inexpensive, trust me when I say a little goes a long way.

They are available at your local Target Store

oh how I wish they were in existence during my college years!

Tell me, have you embraced your  natural side yet? If so what's your curly ritual?

Until next time!

XO

Bring on the Suffle!

Souffles are one of the most scary desserts to make, but they could not be easier to do, trust me!
If you have not given it a thought, I encourage you to give it a try,  and use the recipe I found at I Breathe... I'm Hungry... a blog full of delicious low carb & gluten free recipes that would make you hungry just by reading them!
SO last night I tried the recipe at home and although the top was a bit crisp (hence why not my own pics) it was totally delicious, so much that hubby asked me if it was a pre-mixed package (as if!) AND you know what the best part was? they are only 57 calories; which is great because due to our hectic schedule we tend to eat quite late at home (7:30pm-9pm) and try to make it as healthy as possible without forgoing flavor; we are a culinary - hospitality home after all!

Raspberry -Molten Chocolate Souffle picture from www.ibreatheimhungry.com

This also would be the perfect dessert for a girls night in event, it would go perfectly with some Cava or Prosecco. You would be the low-carb-delicious dessert goddess!

Let me know how it comes out for you, perhaps your top would not be as crispy as mine?? lol

Get the recipe here!

Until next time!

XO

A Day of Tuscan Food

Many times we (hubby & I) like to re-live certain times/memories from our previous vacations by re-creating a dish, and this time around we were feeling a bit nostalgic about Tuscany.

The Tuscan region is known for its deep rooted history of wine & food, and one of our most memorable dishes was at a small organic farm and vineyard called Fattoria Poggio Alloro whilst overlooking the wonderful vines and San Gimignano in the distance. We had an amazing freshly made Tagliatelle with a Rabbit Ragu (yes Rabbit) and an organic Chianti which I proceeded to buy large quantities to bring home of. I truly recommend you stay here at least for a night, it is quite the experience!

 Click Here for Fattoria Poggio Alloro Site

So, here we are with our last bottle of the Vin Santo Chianti, and the idea of re-creating the dish came to life. Now, I wish I could say I had anything else to do besides running the dough by our pasta maker lol but we all know this is the hubby forte while mine is eating it all.

We did not have Rabbit, but made our version with a few lovely pieces of short ribs we had a day prior. Wait, does helping shred the beef for the ragu counts as creating the dish? If so I guess I did!

It as an amazing cold Sunday afternoon meal which reminded us of the wonderful adventure we lived under the Tuscan sun - even if only for a few days.

Here's a simple yet delicious homemade Parppadelle & Beef Ragu Recipe

 

So tell me, do you have any memorable dishes to share?

Until next time!

XO

My Brother's Milestone: The big 3-0!

Do I have a brother? If we go by the traditional standards I guess no, I do not have a blood (nor adopted) brother; however I do have what I call soul brother. He's has been one of my oldest and best friend; his name you ask? Oscar aka  "mi chicquito" (my little one) which is my nickname to him as his is "flaka" (skinny) for me. 

You see, our story began  when we were 12 yrs old, at 9am right on the 703 Classroom at I.S. 302. We had both just arrived to this new and fascinating country known as New York (back in the island the rest of the US does not really exist much) we have navigated H.S College and adulthood life and our story has not yet reached its final chapter; one I pray /wish /hope never reach us.

Like brothers and sisters, we have argued, stop talking (if only for a day) and done many an antic to keep count or talk about in our lives. However the one constant is that we can count on each other no matter the distance or the time.

So, on his special day his wife; (who's my cousin by the way) and the "crew" made sure we celebrated such an important day on the life of such an important friend, father, brother, & hubby.

Of course, no get together of ours can miss delicious food and wine (lots) oh yes and the infamous Karaoke Machine - Yes that's me and my cousin singing our hearts out on the bottom.

I cannot deny that in the friendship pool, I have been dealt a great hand; I hope you my friends were dealt the same if not better hand than mine!

Until we meet next time!
XO

Junot Is Back!

I love, really love reading and if I was asked what's my favorite topic I would say it has to be based somewhat on real facts of life; hence why I love Junot Diaz. His books have a way of capturing, and catapulting you into the time frame in which the stories are based, whether you speak Spanish /Spanglish/ or English.

On his latest book, "This is How You Lose Her" a book billed as a collection of love stories we see Yunior reappear. We first met him on Yunot's book "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and now he's back detailing a few pieces of his life, that of his brother Rafa and even his mother.  

Although the book its cataloged as love stories,  in my opinion it is about the love we see in our youth and how that love shapes who we are and how it shapes how we love. This is about how we find love and how we can or cannot make love last.
It is about love, life, and also loss; all mixed in with a bit of humor that will make you not want to put the book down until you have gotten to know each person's life love story. So I recommend that you grab it (or any of his other books for that matter) and get to know all, Yunior, Rafa, Magdalena, Miss Lora, and Elvis (to mention a few) and you will not regret it, trust me!

Again Yunot Diaz does the trick and brings us another master piece! 

XO!

Sundays are Made for Dosa!

Dosa: according to Wikipedia is a fermented crepe or pancake made from rice batter and black lentils, and is a staple dish of Southern India.

Dosa according to me: A delicious thin crepe like pancake that can be stuffed with what your heart (and stomach) desires and eaten with yourhands (yes hands).

We always do the brunch thing; however our friends had sugested we switch it up a bit and eat Dosas instead. Now, I can honesly say I have never thought of this as a Sunday outing, but what a great idea it was. We went to their favorite spot near Journal Square (Jersey City, NJ) called Dosa Hut

http://dosahutnj.com/ And as the name says it; it does look like a hut or a hole in the wall kind of place.

We quickly sat down and started the ordering process.  We ordered Poori to start with, and let me tell you; I had poori before, but never with chole and raw onions. Poori is a fried bread, to be said simply, and the slight crunchiness of the bread, paired with the tenderness of the dough, with the flavor of the raw onions and the flavor-packed chickpeas was EXPLOSIVE!

 

 

We then moved on to our Dosas; we only ordered 3 because theyare so large and really stuffed that they fill you up quickly. Every single one from the Spianch and potato with cheese one to the curry vegetables one were to die! I cannot wait until our next trip to the Dosa Hut.

 

Oh before I forget, if you are still looking forthat last piece of something, such as dessert walk down 1.5 block and order a "Milk Ice Cream Pop" from the corner ice cream shop, you will not regreat it!

 

So are you ready & willing to get your hands dirty? I am!

 

XO