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MISSING: My Summer Break!

August 2, 2015

MISSING ALERT:
I’m writing to report my stolen summer break. When I went to sleep in May it was here, but when I woke up this morning it was gone. I’m truly devastated. I had such high hopes for it and now it’s vanished. [*In my Robert Stack voice*] If you have any information about my summer or its last known whereabouts, please contact me at…

All kidding aside (not really!), this has got to be the shortest summer ever. I feel like some one pressed fast forward and it was moving at 4X the normal speed. How is it August already?! I’m still scratching my head on this one.

A part from the sadness there is genuine excitement about the new school year. I’ll be taking some nutrition research courses in the school of public health, a survey methods course, and a course on media law, all of which are going to be incredibly useful when I start my dissertation research.

One exciting development from this summer is figuring out my post graduate career plans. I always knew that I wanted to work in a creative space on several types of health communication projects. Beyond that the picture was hazy. Well it’s becoming much clearer now. A lot of reflection (plus late night planning sessions with my wise big sis:) have helped me realize the unique space that I can occupy in my field. It’s nice being able to go in my second year with this type of direction, and I’m immensely grateful to God for more clarity. I’ll continue to flesh out my ideas and goals, and at some point (don’t know exactly when) I’ll be ready to share them with you.

For the time being, I’ll try to enjoy these last couple of weeks before the semester starts by spending time with family and friends (in style, but of course!) Check out some pics below:

Chambray Top: Topshop, Tweed Shorts: Zara, Leopard Print Loafers: Madewell, Clutch: TJ Maxx, Shades: Forever 21

Here’s to a wonderful week!

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Food Style Travel

School’s Out!

June 25, 2015

And just like that a year goes by. I officially finished my first year on May 1st and it was crazy and intense, but wonderful. This past semester really kicked things in to overdrive with harder classes, more research, and new TA duties, but I held my own and for that I’m proud.

MIA
Fast forward to May 7th and my sister and I were in Miami for a birthday celebration. We were concerned that the weather was going to be crappy due to the forecast but it was perfect (minus the humidity).
We celebrated by going on a private yacht cruise around Biscayne Bay where we got to see multimillion dollar homes. Talk about life goals?!

This house is $20 million. Yeah.

Ended the trip on a sweet note by having a churro milkshake with churro bites for dessert on our last night. Too much excitement to contain. If you ever go to STK, you’ve got to try it.

ATL
A couple weeks later I headed to Atlanta to meet up with some friends for Memorial Day weekend. I ended up driving (not a bright idea) but you live and you learn. You’d think the highlight of my trip would be seeing my friends (which was definitely up there), but it was actually the churro pancakes I had at a restaurant called Radial Cafe.
I’m not sure if I’ve declared it here but I have a severe churro obsession. It’s actually tied with my red velvet obsession which is saying a lot. If the two of them ever got together, I’d be beside myself. Anyway the pancakes were ridiculous. Some of the best I’ve ever had. They were cooked perfectly with a nice crisp on the edges but the insides were still nice and fluffy. I think about them often.

Treated myself to some sparkle:)
After breakfast before getting on the road in Old Fourth Ward.

It’s been back to business since beginning of June (mostly). I’ve been working on turning term papers into manuscripts and doing research. I’ve also had churro ice cream (!!!), met up with some classmates for lunch, and have been plotting a trip to an amusement park (it’s been way too long). I have to remind myself to really enjoy this downtime so I can enter my second year refreshed. I’ve also been working to finish decorating my apartment. I know I’ve been here for close to a year, but I wanted to take my time to find pieces that I truly love. Once I do, I’ll share pictures.

That’s about it! Hope everyone is having a fabulous summer.

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Food

Christmas Dinner 2014

December 27, 2014

This year was special. It was the first year that my sister and I cooked the entire Christmas meal, from the turkey to all of the trimmings. After hours of being on our feet, chopping, sautéing, mixing, kneading, basting, and roasting, it was incredibly rewarding to sit down and enjoy a meal that we labored over and to see our family enjoy it as well. But let me tell you, it was hard work! Wow. At some point we both looked at each other and said mom does this every year?! Because we like to be ambitious, we decided to put new spins on the classic holiday meal sides. Check out our menu below.

Oh and did I mention that everything was made from scratch!

Menu
Sweet potato cornbread stuffing
Jalapeño and bacon macaroni and cheese
Cheddar bay biscuits
Garlic mashed potatoes with spinach and bacon
Roasted vegetables
Cilantro and curry jasmine rice


Desserts
Banana cream pies (one with a ginger molasses crust and one with peanut butter)
Sweet potato pie
Blueberry hand pies

After dinner we went to see the Christmas lights they put up every year.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

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Food

Sugar and Spice and Sweet Potatoes!

December 23, 2014

I’m not even going to attempt to mask my deep love for the sweet potato. It’s one of my favorite things to eat.  When I go out to restaurants it’s the first item I scan the menu for. If I were stranded on an island, and could only eat one thing, it’s the one thing I’d choose. So when I came across a sweet potato bread recipe here I knew that I had to make it. This recipe is bananas (technically it’s sweet potatoes, but you know what I mean).
This bread will have your home smelling amazing. I mean the smell literally beckons. Beyond the smell, it tasted incredible. My sister, who I consider the resident baking expert in our family tried it and loved it. I got the recipe here. I initially baked the bread to take to a potluck dinner with friends. It was so good that two days later, I baked it again, only this time as muffins, to take to my school’s Thanksgiving pot luck luncheon, and I have every intention of baking it again for Christmas 2014.
Make this bread!

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Food

Culinary Pursuits: Baked Gingerbread Oatmeal Cups

December 19, 2014

When I think of the holidays, one of the first things I think about is all of the amazing seasonal food. And since they’ll only be around for a limited amount of time, I convince myself that it’s okay to indulge. Well I’m all for indulging every so often, but at some point it can get to be overkill. Between the cookies, muffins, cakes, and pies, I start to feel a little sluggish. The truth is that you can enjoy those holiday seasonal treats without all of the guilt associated with it. Enter these baked gingerbread oatmeal cups. They deliver on that comforting and familiar gingerbread Christmas taste while skipping the tons of sugar and icing that usually comes along with it. Check out the easy recipe below:

Ingredients:
2 cups of old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
a pinch of sea salt
2 cups of almond milk
1 beaten egg
3 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of honey

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
Combine oats, baking powder, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sea salt.
Add almond milk to dry ingredients, then beaten egg, then melted coconut oil, then vanilla extract, and then honey.


Add 1/4 cup of batter to each cupcake liner.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

One of the great things about these cups is that they’re so customizable. Similar to my frittata muffins that I’ve made before, I can switch up the ingredients to satisfy whatever craving I may be having. I’m already planning to do a maple sweet potato version, a banana chocolate chip version, a white chocolate chip and cranberry version, and a mango pineapple version!

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Food

Pumpkin Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Bars

December 15, 2014

In case you have yet to get your pumpkin fill I have a pumpkin recipe just for you. Last month I made some pumpkin bars to take to class mainly because I had leftover pumpkin that I needed to use up. I wanted to make them health*ier* so I used white whole wheat flour and coconut oil in place of any butter. Well, they came out amazing. And don’t just take my word for it – my classmates agreed too. So of course I had to share the recipe. Check it out below!

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of coconut oil (melted)
1 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon + 1 teaspoon of nutmeg + fill the rest of a 1/4 cup with brown sugar
1 cup of canned pumpkin (I used Libby’s found at Walmart)
3 tsp of sweetened almond milk (you can also use water)
1.5 cups of dark chocolate chunks, cinnamon chips, and white chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup of each)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9×13 inch pan with PAM (or a coconut oil spray if you have it – it’s not necessary though)
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, vanilla, and milk, until smooth.
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until smooth.
Fold in the chocolate and cinnamon chips and then spread the batter out on the pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving

Enjoy!

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