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.)