presenting...from your not so local Dekalb Farmer's market...

(If you happen to live in Dekalb, then I suppose it is local for you)

Last time I posted on the Dekalb market, I said I would post pictures. Well I obviously didn't notice the millions of signs they have that say "No cameras" and "Photography not allowed." So I couldn't get you any pictures of the actual place. You'll just have to go there YOURSELF! Imagine that...

However I did get some pictures of the stuff we got. Here's a few highlights. 

This tasted like chocolate ice cream... I KNOW. 

These my dear friends, are limoncillos. What are limoncillos you may ask? Only the most delicious fruit in the world. They grow in the Dominican Republic and have I never found them here, not even in florida. I had lost all hope of ever finding them here a long time ago and then BAM, these show up. They were just sitting there on their shelf with a little Dominican Flag above them. I almost didn't believe that's what it was (apparently in English they are called guinep). Guys, I literally almost cried. 

It was a beautiful moment. 

Of course we can't leave out our dear passion fruit. Unlike Welch's joke of a passion fruit juice, this is straight passion fruit, water, and sugar. Just like lemonade, but a million times better. 

de colores

I think it's a known fact that God is surpassingly creative beyond anything we could imagine.

 I never cease to be amazed.

 The other day at the wonderful Dekalb Farmers market, (which I mention here) I found something called Rainbow Chard. Now I know nothing about chard, except that it is Swiss and commonly green, but at the market we found naturally COLORFUL chard! 

It looks like celery with a head of spinach, but colorful! I looked it up and it's naturally found like this. No dyes or anything! 

Thinking about it, there are plenty of fruits and veggies that are colorful; oranges, apples, tomatoes, carrots, peppers...shall I go on? I guess because it is more commonly known as green chard, this seems EXTRAordinary. Then again, all our fruits and veggies are extraordinary. They do so much good for our bodies, it's mind blowing when you look it up. You should go do that... right now. 

I found a recipe online that said to use a bit of coconut oil, and sauté the chard with sunflower seeds and cranberries. The chard itself has a strong flavor. It reminded me of kale mixed with green tea. Yum.   Especially with the seeds and cranberries. They gave it exactly what you think they would, a nutty and sweet flavor. I know shocking, but still... delicious. I was impressed, and Rainbow Chard is definitely going on my "must get these every time I go to Dekalb" list...which is getting scarily long. Oh well. 

"Celebrate good food, come on!"

Birthdays have always been one of my favorite "holidays." In my family, birthdays last the week, and the best part? Birthdays are the best excuse to eat good food.

Last month, it was my sister Leslie's birthday, and we went to the ATL. We ate at a cool restaurant where the guacamole was to die for. And they dress up the plates beautifully. My friend ordered a Greek salad and it was a work of art. Did you know that Greek salad isn't supposed to come with lettuce? It's just tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and other things we would consider "toppings." Her salad was "accurately Greek", those people know what's what.

That night we decided to get cheesecake at the Cheesecake factory as well. Why not? It was her birthday! We also got lost, ahem, explored the Atlanta area, in the process, but we kept going anyways, it was her birthday! .....It was worth it, we each loved our piece. Mine was Chris' Outrageous Chessecake. I'll let them explain..."A Cheesecake Factory Original - Layers of Moist Chocolate Cake, Chewy Brownie, Toasted Coconut-Pecan Frosting and Creamy Chocolate Chip Coconut Cheesecake." I know right? It was PERFECTION. Chocolate, Nuts, and Cocunut compliment each other so well, and happen to be one of my favorite combinations.

 

no, that's not us, it's them

You might be thinking, "wow, she's a little crazy" but let me assure, I don't always get lost for half an hour just to find cheesecake... sometimes delicious things come to me.

Monday was my older sisters birthday and we went to The Flying Biscuit. If you've never been there, well... it's hard to explain. It's the weirdest place I have ever been. The have a very southern looking restaurant with the most diverse menu I've ever seen. And I don't mean diverse in a good way, I mean a weird way. It's like the owner decided what he likes to eat and that's exactly what they serve. The service is terrible, I'd give them 2... maybe. Lazy, that's what I think of when I go there. They could be so much better.

 

Why do I go back there you ask? Because the food is freakin' amazing.

 

 Excuse my language. Everything I've ever tried there has been delicious. The menu fits me perfectly. Weird but tasty. This time I had a wrap. I didn't expect much, but boy was I surprised. It had Chicken, apple wood bacon, honey Dijon mustard, walnuts, Baby greens, Tomatoes, onions, and a few other seasonings or sauces. It was incredible. Then to top it off, Meylin (older sister) brought her own cake. It was the extremely chocolatey with a touch of strawberry kind. All three of us consider that our favorite kind of cake. It was made from scratch by a super cool cake lady meylin has befriended and I have gotten to know and love through various birthday and party desserts. (she made a T.A.R.D.I.S cake for my brother in law's birthday. Need I say more? Fantastic.) 

 

Like I said, occasionally good food comes to me too.

Kabobs

I never blog because I never have any pictures. WELL. I'm sorry I'm too busy enjoying the times and the food to remember to photograph everything. Ergo, the Googled picture. Because no one likes to read a blog without pictures.

                                    I got this here

Yesterday we had family over for lunch... Just the family that lives within 30 miles. Oh wait, that's most of my mom's family... Why do we all live so close to each other in the first place?

 

 I ask myself that every birthday.

 

We had FOUR generations in the house that day. Kinda cool in retrospect, not so cool when you are trying to find a place to sit.

 

Anyways... I discovered something. Barbecued meat tastes AMAZING. And I'm not talking meat that has been cooked and smothered in BBQ sauce. I'm talking meat cooked on a grill, outside, over hot coals. Back in the day we used to grill out a lot, but I never appreciated it. This time, I noticed. How can it have taken this long for me to realize? Oh right, we haven't had a cookout in ages.

 

My real question was, why? Why does meat on the grill taste so different, so much better, than meat cooked inside? Well, good thing my Uncle was there. Dad isn't a wuss, but grilling out isn't his thing. My uncle on the other hand, is a grilling master. My aunt gave him an apron that says so, so it must be true. Anyways, he told me that when you cook meat on the grill, it sears in the flavor, plus the coal adds that "cook out" flavor we all know and love.

 

Well there you have it. I have found another food love. And one more thing. Can I just say, "Shish Kabob" is so much fun to say.

Little Earth

Now, I know what you might be thinking, but this isn't a post on how "it's a small world after all" nor am I belittling the hugeness of the earth. You know how when you go to New York you find yourself in "Little Italy" or "China Town" or "Dominican York" and so on. Well the other day, I found a "Little Earth." That's right. In our very own state of Georgia. It's actually called "Your Dekalb Farmer's Market, A World Market." I'm telling you, you step in there and you feel like you've been transported, but you don't know exactly where. They have EVERYTHING from EVERYWHERE. I went with my older sister and her two kids so I couldn't really get a look at everything, but I'm determined to go back, armed with plenty of money and a camera. And I'll put a better post about it. If you've never been, It's worth the trip. I could post everything I saw but it would take forever and it wouldn't be the same, it's something you have to experience first hand.

Brace yourself, this is going to be incredible cute...

I just thought I'd take a moment and put my nephews on display.

 Julian

alexander (we call him xander)

I think xander looks like a little frog in this one. 

 both (below and above) of these are xander :)

 this is Julian over a year ago

Now didn't that post just make your day? It sure made mine.

\

One too many...

It's high time I posted about food eh?

I've had a revelation. Sometimes, there can be.......too many..........flavors.

WHAT!?

Yes, It's true.

The other day I made this sandwich

Beautiful isn't it?

 It was so tall that it couldn't stand up (the bread was really skinny). Turns out though, that I had put so many different things in it all jumbled up together that I couldn't taste anything distinct. I ended up taking out the avocados and eating them separately so I could enjoy them. They were drowning under all the other flavors. Lesson learned.

Just because all these things taste good...

...does not mean they should all go together at the same time. (For the record, I did NOT put all those things in my sandwich.)

We have to find the right balance when it comes to combining flavors. I guess that's where all the experience comes in for Chefs and all other brilliant cooks. Like the guy who invented this awesome pizza.

I can't remember what it was called, but that is not a Supreme pizza my friends. It has different meats and veggies that tasted good together, but not ALL you have ever heard of.  It was perfect unlike the Supreme, which to me, is another one of those what I now call, Flavor Bombs. 

Next time you are cooking, don't just throw everything on your spice rack in the pot. We don't want an avalanche of flavors, just a nice steady roll. 

NOW DON'T GET ME WRONG.

I'm not saying to stop trying new flavors and combining things you thought wouldn't go. By all means add some sweet to your sour. Mix that salt with your pepper. How will you ever know when you have too many flavors if you never try any of them together? My sandwich was still good... after I took out a few things.
Yet, I would have never known what to keep had I not TRIED it. 

So when you're cooking, use all the flavors you want to make a colorful picture for your mouth...just try to avoid a gray blob. 

 

Memorial Day

No, I'm not confused about the holidays, I am aware that tomorrow is July 4th. This post is just a little over a month late... can I just say that June was the craziest month of my life?

So, memorial day, think back to May....

"I was deprived as a child." that was my excuse over and over while celebrating memorial with my southern family. Usually my family doesn't do anything for memorial day so how could we say no when  my sista from another mista invites us to hang with her fam for memorial day. I don't really know what I was expecting, but boy was I pleasantly surprised when I found out it was a full out cook out complete with corn hole,  homemade ice cream and sweet potato fries.   It was so much fun. I found out there is so much to southern life that I have been missing out on. For example, corn hole, shrimp wrapped in bacon and covered with pepper jack cheese, and the fact that mango is not only a delicious fruit but also a reminder of Christmas. Anna's bro in law told us that mangoes tasted like the smell of Christmas trees to him, and of course that's all I tasted after that :\. Hopefully he didn’t ruin the taste of mangoes forever for me.    The whole night was a blast, even when we stayed a whole two hours afterwards to clean. During that time we got to discuss the art of drinking straight vodka with anna's musical grandpa who apparently is a pro... At drinking vodka. ;) I was reminded that day of why I love the southern part of me so much. Actually, Southerners and Dominicans are a lot alike, they are social, loud, love to eat, love to gather, love to eat to gather, and stay all day...and many other similarities. In reality, people in general are alike.  Where, who, when we get together, and what and how we eat does differs greatly, but when we get right down to it, we all love to gather and feed each other. There is just something inviting and pleasant about sharing a meal. I've always told people I enjoy sharing food because I then I'll have someone who is enjoying it with me. Maybe we all are that way. We love sharing in each other's joy. 

Sangria :D (No, I didn't drink it straight, I mixed a tiny bit with lemonade. it was SO good.)

God is good.

So tonight I almost had a heart attack. I made a mistake that would have bummed out a ton of people, but of course God used it for good, better actually. He is forever teaching me that His plans are better than mine. That despite all my planning and supposed control, things WILL spiral out of my tiny grasp into His bigger hands.
Tomorrow a bunch of girls and I planned to go to six flags to take a friend who had never been. We "planned it perfectly" so that those with passes could get others a discount. I completely forgot that I had made a commitment to baby-sit for someone the same day. Which of course, I didn't remember till about 10pm tonight. So for a little over an hour it was a crazy rush to get someone to replace me. We were so close to canceling the trip and bum out six girls. Then Leslie says she didn't want to go to six flags in the first place so she is going to babysit! So that solved one problem. Unfortunately, she was one of the season pass girls. To shorten the story, we finally decided to give her season pass to a friend. Leslie apparently didn't want one of those either. So in the end, everyone got taken care of better than I could have hoped. Leslie gets out of sixflags and gets to make money in the process, I get to go, mom doesn't have drive us, and a very deserving girl gets a cool surprise present. God is good

oh right...

hello my few followers. Sorry, I've been so neglectful. It would be awesome if I had a really cool excuse about being busy with exciting stuff, but alas, my life isn't that interesting these days. I do have a couple posts in the making, have no fear, they'll be up soon. Next week is my church's second ever VBS and MY MOTHER is in charge. That's right ladies and gentlemen. My. Mom. Our house looks like a storage facility for disney's "The Sword in the Stone". It's been crazy. So I suppose that's my excuse. When I do get some downtime, I usually watch Doctor Who or sleep. So I suppose that obliterates my excuses huh? I hope you are all having a grand summer so far and soaking up every minute!

New Orleans

While on our way home, we stopped in new Orleans to eat. We didn't get to see the city, it was jazz festival weekend, so it was super packed... "ain't nobody got time for that" ...we still had two states to drive through. 
We did get to stop at this little place called Sammy's. Man it was good. I thought I had eaten gumbo before...I was WRONG. It was so deliciously different, I dont even know what that cheapo wanna be gumbo I had before was THINKING. The whole atmosphere was different. In Georgia you get used to the slow paced kindly southern folk who hold the door for each other and will give you a nickel if you're short at the checkout. That tiny restaurant we stopped in was nothing of the sort. It was fast paced and crowded. Not fun to be caught in, but fun to watch from the sidelines. There was literally a lady who yelled "if you don't know what you want, STEP OUT OF THE LINE." I ordered quick as I could and stepped back to watch. It was crazy but everyone seemed to be getting what they wanted. Our group was a little lost, but all the other people seemed to be having a fine time. Just another Saturday afternoon lunch rush for them. I hope I can go back and spend a little more time there. And not just for the food either. 

taste of atlanta

I MUST GO TO THIS.

 

Mexico...

I've tried to explain this trip so many times and it never comes out quite right. The truth is, this trip left me speechless. Its taken me awhile to process it. There is just so much to tell that can't be said right. It was an experience I'll never forget. I'll do my best to tell the tale as best I can. 

 

 

 I'm part of a group at my college called Christian campus fellowship (ccf). Every year or so the take a group to Mexico to work with Casas por Cristo. It's a really cool organization that works with local pastors to provide houses for families in need that the pastors are already ministering to. They are literally the hands and feet of what these pastors tell their people every day.  

 

This year Leslie and I were able to go. The whole trip was about a week, but we only spent three days in Mexico. What did we do the other four? Drive. Yep, we drove to mexico. At first I was a little skeptical, especially because I didn't really know most of the group. But throw 11 people (9 students, two staff) in a 12 passenger van for 40 hours, and you get to be real close. Literally.  

 

I think that the road trip part was my favorite, but of course so was the actual build in Mexico. On the road we did everything from catchphrase, to random radio sing a longs...even chess. I learned a lot about those 10 other people on the way there, and on the way back it was even more fun, because now we knew each other and had jokes and stories to share.  

 

In Mexico we were able to build a house for a family in need. The mom had applied for the house about six months ago. She applied mainly because one of her sons had a brain tumor which prevented him from walking. It was hard for him to get around in the house they were living in. It was poorly built. I don't have a word for how sad it is...but the son died before we got there. He passed away on the day he was scheduled to have surgery to remove it. I can't even imagine what it was like for the mother when we came to build the house...too late. I don't know what God's plan is with them or His reasons for why that happened, But I sure am going to continue praying for that family.

 

 

I loved working with everyone, we really got to know each other. People always talk more when their hands are busy, and boy were we busy. We finished the house in two and a half days. Only by God's grace I tell ya.  

 

I could write five more paragraphs, explain every awesome  moment, but I won't. How about we sit down one day and get tea or coffee and I'll tell you about instead? In the mean time, I hope you are all gearing up for summer.  We gotta soak up every second of sunshine. Yes, its cliché to quote "Life is like a box a chocolates..." but I say Georgia weather is like a box a chocolates, grab the good ones while you can.

 

 

before

 

 

 after

 

study break

I love studying when no one is home. Usually, especially if mom is home, study breaks mean I have to do something else. like chores. When I am home alone, study breaks mean running around the house, dancing to loud music, and random baking. This time I was really in the mood for biscuits, (they are my second love, after avocados) but I also wanted something sweet. So I added sugar to my biscuit recipe and voila! It was fun trying to make them as quickly as possible and trying to distract myself while waiting for the eternal 15 minutes to pass to eat them. I barely measured anything, hoping and wishing that my rushed eyed measurements turned out well. Well I was not disappointed my dear friends. These slightly sweet biscuits were delicious. I've noticed that when ever I'm in the mood to bake something, I always make biscuits, maybe I should branch out...or not.

 

These pictures of Alexander are just because...

 

20

Well...I turned twenty... I suppose that deserves some sort of acknowledgement on here. Especially since I tend to post a lot on "growing up".
It's kind of exciting. I feel like my life is REALLY going to start now. I know that technically I won't be doing anything different, but I feel really a part of the adult world. Before, I was a teen in college. Now, I'm in my early twenties in college. Doesn't that sound completely different? To me it does. I don't know what God has in store for my life, but I can feel myself heading towards it.

My friends did an excellent job with gifts this year. I almost cried at every one. Two of them gave me tea. But not just any tea. my Absolute favorites. And you would think, that's no big deal, well I didn't tell you they ACCIDENTLY chose my favorite teas. I think that's birthday Karma*. My dear sister Leslie (yes, I just called you dear >:) Leslie ) made me a chocolate cake from SCRATCH. With whole wheat, drowned in chocolate. It was fantastic. However, the top food gift that I received, ( can you tell I have a thing for food? People give it to me as presents) was a batch of All Natural, somewhat Organic, made from SCRATCH, Oatmeal Crème pies. Oh man, those took the prize. They were incredible. That girl, Taylor, is Amazing. Thank you Taylor.

              

 

 

Other incredible gifts were

Les Miserable DVD, which I opened after right after seeing it for the first time. Emotional much? Goodness, that movie is emotionally exhausting. I love it.  

A watch, I had no idea how incomplete my life was without one.

AND PETER PAN! well not the actual boy, I still have yet to find him, It was an annotated version  of the book, with a bunch of extra's like J.M. Barrie's life story, original notes and drawings, original screen play(I know right!?), and other cool stuff. Perfect for a nerdy girl who is a tiny bit obsessed about the boy who never grows up.

 

Thanks to everyone who made this entire weekend oh so fun. I'm truly blessed.



 

*p.s. I don't really believe in Karma, it was just really cool .

 

Taste the Rainbow...

...the REAL one.

You don't have to eat organic to be healthy, just eat colorful! One of my favorite things to eat is salad. Not just because it's "healthy" but because there is so much you can do with them. Lettuce is just a canvas for the artwork that is salad. and of course, avocados are one of the BEST things to put in a salad. Also, surprisingly mixing fruits and veggies in the same salad is really good too. And tacos? Well to me they're just like a salad wrapped up in a tortilla. Yum.

alright, skittles taste good too. ;)

Dominicana

I've noticed that I don't put much about being a Dominican on here, but can you blame me? No one blogs about being 1/3 native american or being 1/5 irish. It's a part of who we are, its natural, it's not something we think about on a continual basis. It does come up however, especially when I am holding a strawberry-blonde, blue-eyed baby that is supposedly my nephew.

I found this blog of a girl born in the states but moved to Italy, and reading what she posts on the cross cultural differences is great. I recently read this one, and I love the way she puts it. About women serving men when it comes to cooking and other kitcheny things. I've seen it my whole life in my family and sometimes it makes me want to marry a southerner so that he WILL go get the bread himself occasionally. But when I think about it, she's right. I want to serve. That's the way the women in our culture show their love. And she's right in the post how the men would be lost without them. Ha.  Now I'm not saying my dad is a total pushover or helpless, he does lay down the law, but he would really suffer without her. Aside from losing the love of his life, I don't think he could really survive on Tostitos and salsa regardless of what he says.

Anyways I'm not writing this to talk about how I want to be a kitchen maid my whole life. Just that I really love my family and culture and I hope to keep that regardless of who I do or don't marry, regardless of where I live and who's around me. It's true that most of my spirit is southern. I grew up in the the South, but I cant deny the Dominican part of me. It's in my blood... and I like it that way.

p.s. If you didn't read the post, read it, she explains the whole serving thing waaaaaaay better.

The other day.

Tuesday was a beautiful day. It was one of the first warm days in awhile. (Now we're back to dreary rain :P) I went on a walk, soaked up some vitamin D and even went barefoot for awhile, taking it all in. Then I made a smoothie with just a banana, strawberries, and pineapple. The pineapple and banana were SO ripe, I didn't need any sugar and it was still really sweet. Yum. Hope your sunny day was justas grand. If you have any ripe fruit around on the verge of becoming unpleasant, make a smoothie. Or do as my mom does. Her motto is "when life leaves you with ripe bananas, make banana bread."

decades

Yesterday, one of my close friends turned 20. We've known each other 8ish years and honestly, I can't remember most of it. Not because of her, but because In have a terrible memory. Ask my sister. I do remember having good talks and good times. We've gotten closer as we've gotten older. Our conversations changed from what Disney movie just came out to what we're gonna do with our lives. It really struck me that we've grown up. Or are in the process of it anyways.

 I'm turning 20 in about two weeks. I've been on this earth two decades and yet I feel so young. I feel like I'm not ready to be a big girl. To stop procrastinating, to start taking the initiative, to stop leaving my room a mess, to stop borrowing money from my sister, to stop watching tv all day, to possibly becoming a wife soon, to possibly becoming a mother eventually, to possibly move countries and teach children in poor areas. And the list goes on and on. A list of responsibilities and choices I dont feel ready to make. But I've always hated the phrase "I feel like.." because our feelings are so fickle. So let me use my mind instead. I know I'm not completely ready to live like an adult, but I KNOW that God will guide me. So while my heart and mind may not be ready, my God is and I can CONFIDENTLY shed my teenager skin and become the young woman He wants me to be. I've just got two weeks to let that sink in.

Wish me luck, or better yet, Pray for me.

Happy Birthday Sydney. Hope the next twenty years of your life are blessed beyond your imagination. I'll be praying for you too. Love you. 

Outings...Outside.

Something that I have always known is fun, but almost never done, is go out with friends OUTSIDE.

 

Serenbe is one of those great places where there is a lot to see without necessarily spending money. And if you get tired of window shopping, you can get lost on a four hour hike on an endless trail! (Yes, that actually happened to me) That's always fun. Right..?

Regardless of how LONG you go, the trails at Serenbe are BEAUTIFUL whether you go in the spring, summer, or fall. Though I think fall is my favorite.

 

 

 

 

Ever heard of Geocaching? I hadn't until recently. Even spell checker recognizes it. Apparently it's extremely popular and you can find it all over. It's like an ongoing worldwide scavenger hunt. A couple days ago I went with some friends. We were all broke but really wanted to do something. The lovely Alyssa suggested walking around the lake in PTC. Then I remembered hearing about geo caching, and found the app on my phone. Next thing we know, we are trampling all over a hill among the trees and thorns looking for a "coffee can sized container." We never did find that coffee can. We did find the next one, a little camo covered pill bottle (seriously, a camo pill bottle? some people). We did mange to find that one, after passing it about five times. :D It had a list inside with all the names of the people who had found it. pretty cool. It has become my new addiction. While I don't usually have time to go looking for them, I sometimes stop and see if there are any around. Surprisingly there everywhere! So if you are ever bored, grab your smart phone, gps, or you can even print off the directions at home, and go find a random container with random stuff in it. what could possibly go wrong?  

 

 

 

 

I like a somewhat wise person said "a dead end sign really just means 'awesome forest ahead'" Go check out that forest. you might find something good you weren't expecting.