Hi all! I wanted to share a few recipes that I have tried lately. My absolute favorite being the Que Jimenez Garden Burger, in which the patty is totally made out of squash and bit of bread crumbs!!!! It is delicious and a big hit with the fam! Even with the little one! I added some chopped onions, worcestershire sauce, and seasoned it quite a bit. Next time I am going to add a little bit of black beans. It does not taste like squash...it tastes super delicious & very firm!!!! Click here for the full recipe.

I had the most scrumptious and wholesome burger yesterday and it just tasted so good that I want to recreate it this weekend: Portabella Burgers! I found a great recipe that you must try. BTW INSTEAD OF MAYO alone I USE A TEASPOON OF MAYO combined with HUMMUS FOR FLAVOR)

Grilled Portabella Burger

Meal Time - 30 minutes / Serves 4
Cooking Sequence
Preheat grill and prepare vegetable through step 4: 20 minutes
Prepare rolls, peppers and mushrooms and place on grill through step 8: 10 minutes
arrange sandwiches and serve

Grilled Portabello Burger
Nutritional Information
Shopping List
Utensils & Cookware
Shortcuts & Tips

Grilled Portabello Burger
Ingredients
1 yellow bell pepper
4 tomato slices
1/3 cup green onions
large resealable food storage bag
2 teaspoons roasted garlic
2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 portabella mushroom caps
4 French hamburger rolls
butter-flavored vegetable cooking spray
2 slices mozzarella cheese
4 bibb lettuce leaves

Steps
1. Preheat grill.

I like to cook, and sometimes, I pause in the midst of flour on the counters, chocolate covered spoons waiting to be licked by the little one, water boiling over, bread in the oven, and soup simmering to its flavor, to take a few photos of my favorite foods that I try to prepare with love and creativity for my little family of 3!

Last Friday was sushi Friday. I finally took the time out to make sushi as it should be...oh...my....it was so good! & the spicy mayo sauce and sesame seeds really topped it off. The hubby was proud! One day I will try the spicy tuna rolls. I'm a little funny because I don't like raw fish in my sushi, I bake/fry my shrimp to go in it, or just eat it with the veggies(cukes, avocado, asparagus, and sometimes cream cheese) but my husband likes the raw tuna and salmon. Anyhow, I hope this inspires somebody to roll out some sushi! :) :) All you need is some Nori wraps, sushi rice, spices, avocado, cukes, shrimp/salmon/fresh tuna, etc) It's the perfect summer meal/snack!

So, the fabulous Nina of Neo Sew Mama has tagged me along with some other ladies to post photos of what's in our fridge and pantry! This was fun, as usual, she comes up with some unique tag ideas! Anyhow here is what is currently awaiting to be eaten in our kitchen!

Hello ladies,

I've noticed that alot of my fellow sisters here are vegetarian or vegan. I must admit that I am a meat eater. I don't eat a lot of meat but nonetheless I do eat it. Now that summer is fast approaching I tend not to eat any meat and tend to consume a lot more fish, fruits, vegetables and grains because they're lighter, faster and easier to cook during the hot weather. I broke out my Bento boxes this past weekend and thought of you ladies.

Bento boxes are small, traditional Japanese lunch boxes. You can get a lot in a bento box such as rice balls, a variety of vegetables (i.e. spicy miso asparagus), fish rolls, fruit, etc. Depending on the type of day that I may have ahead of me I will carry 3 or 4 of these boxes with me. They're small meals that are packed with nutrition, vitamins, flavor and goodness.

Mama Moment: Love Water Last night while I was at my writing desk working, my little Sety comes up behind me and hands me a cool glass of water that he lovingly poured into one of my Great Grandmothers glasses and topped it off with a sweet strawberry on the side and said "Ya Ya you are a hard worker"..oh my..at that moment I could honestly say that was the most refreshing drink of water I have ever had because our little Sety poured it from the heart...I love that little munchkin...He's my little chef! & then it was his bedtime and he wasn't too happy about that. They can turn on you quick. LOL:). I made him this paper chef hat and he wears it when calls himself "making soup" It's so funny because he sits and watches the Food Network adamantly.:)

I went to the library yesterday to find some cook books (I was in need of some inspiration in the kitchen) and came across a copy of The Africa Cookbook Tastes Of A Continent by Jessica B. Harris.I was excited to get home and try some of the new recipes. I found this recipe that my kids enjoyed and was really easy to make.
Aloco or Fried Plantains with sauce:
8 firm ripe plantains
3 cups of palm oil
3 cups of peanut oil
peel plantains and cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
fry plantains in oils until golden brown but still soft inside.
Drain the alco on absorbent paper and serve warm.

Aloco Sauce:
1 teaspoon minced habanero chile
2 small onions
3 tablespoons palm oil or peanut oil
salt, to taste

Grind the chile and the onions together in a food processor until you have
a thick paste.(you many need to add a teaspoon of water to get it started).
Heat oil in heavy skillet add paste and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes,stir constantly, until sauce is completely warmed. Salt to taste and serve warm with your aloco.

Okay, so this does not actually involve cooking but the ladies on the job always keep asking, "what is that your drinking? it looks so refreshing," so today I shared my homemade energy water, "coolbreeze" the ladies didn't think it was going to be good but they all loved it. ;)

Cool breeze is nothing more than taking a large water bottle or pitcher and filling it with light ice, fresh sliced ripe oranges and fresh rich green cucumber. All seeds removed. Shake or stir. Set for 30 min. Sometimes I add fresh sliced grapefruit or lemon.

A fun way to dress up water! Enjoy!

Inside Edition has just released a film clip in regards to sick animals, ecoli and the inhumane treatment of animals. These animals were sick and being treated extremely poorly, once slaughtered the meat will be used for used for human consumption. I am sure that there are a lot of sisters out there who are vegans and practice this diet with their families but for those who are not please beware. If you send your children to public school there is a chance that the school maybe serving bad beef...The investigation said that 36 states are serving the meat to school children.

You do the math?

Peace

Today I taught my eldest son how to make syrup. Syrup or stroop as surinamese call it or siroop as the dutch call it is a thick sugarsyrop with essences and citric acid. It is used as a "lemonade" diluted with water and given to children as a drink (okay so it might be a kid drink but I love it and so do all the other grownups I know ) I have searched several American sites for a bottled syrup to show a pic but I could not find any! Is this true don't American's make homemade syrup? There are so many benefits for making your own syrup: it's cheap, it's tasty, you know exactly what flavors go in so you can minimize the artificial flavors, you can make sugar free syrup for diabetics and it's quick too! This is the recipe for syrup made with white sugar and pineapple and cola flavor Ingredients:

• 1 pk of white sugar (1 kilo)
• 2 glasses of water (500 ml half a liter)
• food aroma essence* (2 teaspoons in total so one of each if using different flavors)
• citric acid (1 teaspoon)

Not Sure if this is the Blog I should Post this on but here I go!

While Shopping for groceries last Friday I decided to step out, and try something new Tofu ! I was surprisingly not very hesitant I had a small recipe in mind fried rice to be exact. I went home opened it up just waiting for the horrible stench I have heard about . And *Poof* nothing no smell , no stomach turning stink just nothing. I prepared my meal and tossed in a few cubes of the tofu and was pleasantly surprised that it was great No aftertaste not flavor that kills the mind (LOL).

I'm posting this just to say I'm stepping out and up this year to not only make my dreams of a becoming Fashion Stylist a reality but I'm stepping out and trying new things in all areas of my life ( with caution ). This year I'm going to live better, treat myself better, love better, sleep better, eat better. So thanks for reading if you do !

NEXT STEP SUSHI !!!!! OMG *smile*

WILL KEEP YOU POSTED STAY TUNED

This delicious, thick and creamy soup is richly flavored and makes a great one-pot meal. Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
5 cups vegetable stock
12 ounces potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light tahini (sesame seed paste)
7 ounces spinach, shredded
cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper

*Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the garlic and onion for 5 minutes, or until they are softened and golden brown.

*Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook for another minute.

*Pour in the stock and add the chopped potatoes to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes more, or until the potatoes and chickpeas are just tender.

A great way that is currently inspiring me to cook creatively is to keep a cooking/recipe journal that I fill with pretty pics of soups, teas, entrees, sweet treats, and entertaining & place setting ideas. I just grabbed a 3 ring binder with the clear pocket on the front and back and then did a collage to go in them as well as on the sides. Then I just used dividers to separate my categories(beverages, entrees, desserts, products, etc.) This has really inspired me to get crafty in the kitchen. I use it the same way that I do with a regular sketch book. It's a great and unique way to keep your recipes and flip through them.

If you like mushrooms, then you will definitely love these stuffed portobello mushrooms. They make a great light meal and can be stuffed with so many things. Here I used crab and spinach dip that I bought from the local market, and added in some herbs and spices, mozarella cheese, and some finely chopped & cooked broccolli and tomatoes.

After washing and drying off your mushrooms, drizzle some worcestershire sauce in the centers of each of them and let it soak in. Then Mix all of your ingedients together in a small bowl. Season nicely with some thyme, black pepper,salt, a small pinch of cayenne, oregeno, and a medium pinch of garlic powder. Make sure you put a generous amount of cheese(cheese is totally optional, but it tastes so wonderful..LOL) Drizzle some light olive oil on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven on a non stick pan, or use some foil and some cooking spray to keep your mushrooms from sticking. Enjoy!