Okay, so how much do I really tell you guys about the best experience in my food world to date? Do I save some for private email questions, or do I wait ’til the show airs sometime this summer?!
Hmmm.
What a long week, friends. Really.
My first cooking class at the Cook’s Warehouse went real well! 20 students, 5 assistants and my good friend Leon video taped the whole thing. I burned my middle finger while removing the flan pan from the stove! What an idiot. Thank God the class didn’t see that.
Though after spending 6 hours in the salon earlier that day, all to leave with 2 shades darker than what I walked in there with and 5 shades darker than I what I requested, teaching a fresh group of people the food I so love, kept my mind off a continued cry of utter disappointment and throwing a temper tantrum. Did my hair dresser not understand how important it was to me to look like ME for the Emeril show taping!? Hello!?! You speak Spanish. I spoke to you in Spanish! You’ll see what I mean soon enough.
Bad breath is not something anyone likes to have. But sometimes (only sometimes), the cause of it, is soooo well worth it. After all, you can chew gum, eat a mint or go wash your mouth afterwards, right?
That was such a bad intro.
I love healing foods and snacks. Take this hummus for instance. Your mouth will reek of garlic when you’re done, but you’ll be so satisfied you won’t even care you’re mouth’s on fire.
When I was still living in the DC area, I used to entertain about 3 times a month. A good friend and her husband were my serious food buddies. After church, we’d get together at someone’s house and tear food apart for hours, until the sun set. I was always eager to bring something, Latin or not. On other occasions, I’d have M & P over for Sex and the City recaps. I kind of wanted Carrie Bradshaw’s extravagant life, sans the wreckless sex. I think she had over 30 partners in the 6 years on air.
That’s disgusting!
Some things in life are free.
A trip to NYC is not.
Take tolls,for instance. Over $30 one way, in addition to the insanely and abusive gas prices we’re forced to pay, is just way too much for a 7 hour visit. And how about $6.00 latte’s?
Gimme a break.
But, anything I spend in getting up there is well worth it.
My sis and I get up to New York last Friday, and instantlyI feel like I’ve stepped into the magical city of unlimited living and spending.
Bentley’s, Jimmy Choo, Tyler Perry’s new show on the jumbo megatron, Diddy on another mega billboard (like he needs more attention), and 18% tax for parking in a garage on 51st & Lexington. Are you freakin’ serious! My sister’s a gorgeous gal…and though I don’t like to depend on a pretty face for freebies, I’m thankful her good looks afforded us a gimme: $15 for 12 hours of parking, including that stupid tax.
We literally had 7 hours to do everything on our agenda, which included escorting our brother’s girlfriend (whom had never been to NY–is that possible??) to SoHo and making sure she got to experience the A train. We walked on 5th Avenue and oohed and aahed at the window displays (yeah right), went into my former p/t employer, Banana Republic and then proceeded to walk up the richest street in the city. Hoping to quickly leave a district I can’t even afford to breath in, we came across an unexpected market, much like you’d see every few hundred feet in Brooklyn or the Bronx.
( I didn’t take this pic. Taken & borrowed from planetgreen.com)
Okay, brace yourselves my friends.
This past week has been full of major surprises! My parents celebrated 40 years of Holy Matrimony on Saturday! My 4 siblings and I played a major Simon Says game on them, where their entire weekend was based on text messages on their phones with directions on what to do next. And I catered the dinner party for about 60.
I’ll post on that this week. Food and all.
And then my sis turns 30 TODAY!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISSY!!! YOU ARE THE BEST! more on that later too!
And then, folks… and then… as if the surprise for my parents were enjoying wasn’t enough, I get my own bit of surprise on Friday, too!!
I’ve been waiting for two weeks to tell you something really BIG!
Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I’m really busy this week and as much as I hate that I can’t concoct something in my mother’s kitchen, and then sit here in my childhood bedroom and share with you all, I don’t have time. It makes me kind of sad. Well, because writing is time that I cherish and need–being able to talk about what was going on in the kitchen, and other musings. It’s almost like my creative time is robbed from me.
But, I promise I’ll be back on Sunday with that oxtail and coconut rice I mentioned last time. It’s a pressure cooker dish, so if you’re interested in learning how to cook and eat the awesomely delectable beef, you have a few days to go snatch one up! I don’t like to use cliche’s, but oxtail is a finger lickin’ good delicacy. Have you had it before?
Okay, well I’m off now. Gotta go grocery shopping, maybe even some shoe shopping (wink, wink)…and find out where the newest farmer’s market has been planted. I miss DC so much. I love Atlanta, but there’s nothing like the Nation’s capitol, really. I’ll have to share some stories and city sights, eventually.
And, I’ll leave you with this shot of an owl at the National Zoo in DC, my sis took about 3 weeks ago. I love owls (thanks Peanut Butter Boy, for correcting me). I have pepper shakers, earrings, 3′ vintage wind chimes, coffee mugs, marble figurines, and a Swarovski mini owl. I just love them! If you ever find any cute owl shochky’s, won’t you let me know!?
Enjoy your weekend and see you Sunday!
Mi nombre es Brenda. My friends call me B. And Bren is my stage and pen-name. I’m a single gal living alone in Atlanta for the time being. I’m a soulful chick. I have a passion for all things food. I’m a singer/musician really, but an incredible cook, I have to say! I was raised in a very traditional Latin home, which meant everything happened(s) in the kitchen, literally! story-telling, crying, partying, fighting…oh yeah and cooking!
Read More About B »
Paella is Cuban slang meaning "for her". It's also a Spanish dish of rice and a lot of seafood! I just threw Pael in there for the hec of it!
Is she gorgeous or what!?!
Post baby Halle Berry in Dolce & Gabbana
I looove hats!!! I wear lots of mens fedora’s like this one, too!Sometimes in the kitchen if it’s a quick meal and I don’t feel like changing!
$68, Hats in The Belfry
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Annatto or bixa is a seed from the annatto tree, indigenous to the Caribbean and Central America. It’s a spice we commonly use to color rice, meat dishes and sometimes even butter and does give a peppery taste. You will also find this spice used in the very popular branded Sazón seasoning packets by Goya. I sometimes use it as a substitute for saffron to make yellow rice. I seldom use it for my meats. In Latin countries the word is bijol or even achiote, though that has different properties I’ll address later. You can buy it in whole seeds and get the desired color by infusing in warm water or buy it in lose powder. Try it!
No rating indicates I did not benefit from a full visit. Therefore the review is based on whatever I did enjoy. If I return, I will modify the rating, accordingly.
