My FontaineBleau Experience

Its always great to break away for a little while every now and then, and this past weekend I did just that. My sister and I went on a 3-day staycation to the historic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I was super excited about the whole experience in general but on top of that we had a private tour of what goes on behind the scenes of their pastry shop and a complimentary cake courtesy of their new bakery shop Chez BonBon. It was pretty much a big deal, to say the least.

We sought out to try a new restaurant for each meal for the duration of our stay and we did just that. Breakfast was not as  accommodating like lunch and dinner was but I was able to work around my picky eating ways. The food was pricey ,but the Kimchi Salmon Burger at Micheal Mina 74 is definitely a must have.

When it came time to go on the tour we were pretty excited ,We met the head Chef Jordi Panisello, the Chocolatier and the bakers. We got to try a few of their handmade chocolates as well as their gelatos. We saw the work stations, the ovens and how they made and prepped all the pastries for the different restaurants and bakery in the hotel. It was truly a pastry lover dream, such as myself.

All in all, we had an great time at the FontaineBleau and the hospitality was out of this world. Its amazing how much fun you can have right in your backyard.  If you’re ever in the area or looking to take a break checkout the FontaineBleau Hotel and their restaurants (their open to the public), you surely wont be disappointed.

P.S. : I’m officially on Instagram, Follow me @Forksandstraws

 

Rustic Spinach Pie

Very often I get into these food obsession, where I practically find any or every way to consume a specific  food into my daily diet.. My last food obsession was coconut, I tried about every coconut flavored  food out there from coconut cake, macaroons, ice cream and gelato. I’m pretty sure I could have carry this obsession through the end of the year, but I eventually had to give it a break. So in come my latest food  obsession : Spinach ! I’ve always liked spinach but lately I catch myself  eating it in every meal from my green smoothies, sandwiches to lasagna. Spinach is high in vitamins and mineral so I always feel like I’m doing something good for my body every time i eat it. Except of course when I eat it drenched in  cheese (like this recipe for instance). Either way, raw, boiled, cooked, baked I love spinach! So why not make a pie out of it?

I really wanted  to make this pie easy as possible , because I hate recipes that have a million and one ingredients. Its just not realistic for me or my fridge. So I decided to cut corners and bought a frozen pie crust to make my life easier along with frozen spinach and shredded cheese. The ingredients I used were really simple and basic,the prep was barely 15 minutes and didn’t require any cooking. I’ve seen recipes where onions and such are cooked prior to baking but my logic is why cook something over the stove if its going to be baking for a long period of time. If you’re like me and really hate dicing up onions and peppers but want it in your pie, buy a frozen seasoning mix that come with diced onions  and bell pepper and throw that in with the spinach. I also seen recipes where egg is added to give you that picture perfect slice of pie ,but I hate eggs and I was afraid that the pie would end up tasting like a spinach omelette. So I scrapped the eggs and prayed for the best.  Nonetheless the pie came out great!  Check out the recipe below:

Rustic Spinach Pie

• 2 bags of frozen spinach
• 1 container of ricotta cheese
• 1 bag of shredded six cheese
• 2  9″ inch pie crusts (frozen or homemade)
• red pepper flakes(optional)
• 1/2 cup of water (can be substituted with milk)
• 1/2 stick of melted butter (optional)

In a large bowl mix the ricotta and shredded cheese with half a cup of water. Stir until  the cheese become liquify enough to mix in the spinach,  add more water to your liking. Gradually mix the spinach in along with some pepper flakes until everything is coated with the cheese mixture. Butter your pan and place the pie crust in your pie pan. Fill the pie crust with your spinach filling and spread it evenly through the pan. Sprinkle additional red pepper flakes and shredded cheese on top to your liking.  Take the second pie crust and slice them thin and decorate the pie. Take the melted butter and brush the top of the pie crust, drizzle the rest over the pie(optional). Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

P.S. : Warm marinara or an herb tomato sauce drizzled on top of the pie when plating  or on the side, takes this pie to a whole other level especially for the non-spinach lovers . Happy Baking!

 

Sweet Coconut Macaroon

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted frequently like I use to , but I really wanted to get this recipe right for you guy. For the past 3 weeks I’ve been trying to master this Coconut Macaroon recipe and I just about got it down pack. With a few simple ingredients, you can have a sweet treat in no time. There is dairy in this  recipe , but you can substitute it for sugar but I love the sweetness and creaminess that the condensed milk bring. You probably can use chia seeds as an egg replacement but, I would suggest grinding the chia seeds preferably the white ones for presentation purposes . Almond flour  can be substituted for the white  flour and give a great taste to these macaroons, but I only had all purpose and it worked out great. I used package sweetened coconut for the recipe , but by all means if you know how to do that naturally go ahead. I like to believe that this is close to healthy but lets be honest it probably isn’t but at least we know that these are homemade and made with love.  All you need is 5 ingredients and you are well on your way to experiencing the best coconut macaroon ever. Check out the recipe below:

Sweet Coconut Macaroon

• 1 package of sweetened coconut (5 cups)
• 2 egg whites
• 2 1/2 tablespoon of flour
• 1 can of condensed milk (use half if you don’t want it to be too sweet)
• dash of vanilla extract (or Almond Extract)
• dash of salt

First mix the milk and egg whites until the egg is thoroughly mixed.

Add the vanilla extract and flour until you can no longer see the flour.

Fold in the coconut slowly into the liquid mixture, do not over mix .

Scoop the mixture onto a buttered parchment sheet layered over a cookie sheet pan (This is very important !!!! )

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until you get the desired color you want.

 

This batch makes about 18 reasonable size macaroons, and goes great with a hot cup of unsweetened green tea or coffee. Hope you enjoy them like my family and I have. Happy Baking!

 

Whole Foods Caprese Pizza

You ever had those days where , you are so hungry but you can’t decide what you want to eat. Well that happens to me just about everyday , Ive always been a picky eater but since transitioning I’ve gotten a little bit more pickier.  One place I love to go when I can’t make up my mind on what to eat is Whole Foods. I love their hot bar, salad bar , pizza station , bakery and just about anything in the store that you can eat on the go. One of the best hidden gem in Whole Foods though is their pizza station. I love them for the fact that their pizza is made with whole wheat flour instead of white , and they flavor the pizza with herbs along with a garlic  crust that makes  the cheese pizza such a great treat.  On this particular day I had to pass up on the cheese pizza and try this beauty of a pizza that caught my eye. Not every Whole Foods is the same in how they make their pizza but this particular Whole Foods I frequent warms up your pizza in the pizza oven , so this took this Caprese pizza to a whole another level.  Who can pass up on a pizza that is a essentially a caprese  salad on a pizza slice. Its pricey at $3.50 a slice but it was so worth it! If you’re ever in a Whole Foods , and they have this on display I urge you to try it. You wont regret it.

 

Burger 21

Over the past few months a few restaurants have open around the area that I work in. The usual lunch type restaurants like Panera bread and Chipotle are around but there’s a new  restaurant that opened recently that caught my eye called Burger 21 .  The ambiance is  stylish and trendy and very hip, very similar to these new upscale burger joints that’s been popping up lately  like Burger-Fi and Evolution Burger. Thought they don’t offer grass fed beef burgers , they offer 100% certified Angus beef, Chicken , Turkey, Seafood, hotdogs and Veggie burgers. Which to me makes them pretty awesome since there’s something for everybody even for gluten free dieters. I’ve  visited Burger 21 three times now  and have come to enjoy some of the burgers they offer, making this one of the many places I can go to during lunch when I want to splurge. My favorite burger thus far is the black bean burger, I’ve fallen in love with the black bean burger in general because unlike most commercial veggie burgers its doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t.  It doesn’t try to taste like chicken and it doesn’t try to taste like beef , its simply itself a black bean . I’m not really a fan of veggie burgers but I’ve tried the veggie burger which is a Greek style inspired burger topped with cucumbers, feta and red peppers and also I also had the spicy thai shrimp seafood burger that comes with a Sriracha aïoli and hot chili slaw. I never had a shrimp burger let alone a seafood burger so i didn’t know what to expect, even with all the toppings added to the burger, you really got a overpowering shrimp burger. It was too much for my liking but for some one who love shrimp this would be perfect.  The black bean burger on the other hand is so yummy it comes with fresh avocado, sun-dried tomato aïoli, and a cilantro cream that is finger licking good! Everything on their menu is  a-la carte and they offer shakes, sundaes and other dessert  as well as a ketchup bar with different types of sauces for your fries or burger. If you’re ever in an area that has a Burger 21 I  definitely suggest trying them out, you wont regret it! What’s your favorite burger

 

Half Day Cleanse -Blueberry Oats and Green Pineapple smoothie

The summer is made to have fun, unfortunately this summer my face has been stuck in the books. I’m realizing more and more each day that the life of a grad student is not so fun.  With the added stress of school along with work i really haven’t been eating the way I’ve like to. Fries, Pizzas, Cake, Lasagna  and anything fried has been on the menu for the past few weeks. So i decided i need to change things up and do a half day cleanse, where the first half of the day its smoothies and a light snack if need be with a  late lunch and dinner as usual. With plans in mind of doing this cleanse, i went to whole foods looking to find a new source of protein , and found hemp seeds. I usually buy hemp protein powder but i hate the chalky texture protein powder in general leaves so i was hoping that this would work.

So in replace of ordinary protein powder,I milled handfuls of  Raw Rolled Oats, Flax-seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds in my Nutri-Bullet and use it as protein powder.  I used it in my Blueberries Oats smoothies and Green Pineapple smoothie that’s picture below. I also  tried a new addition to my smoothies for a sweeter taste this time: 2 medjool  dates and one dried fig in each batch. They didn’t blend thoroughly but i didn’t mind the the sweet bits that they brought. Down below are the recipe for both smoothies.

Blueberry Oats

• Blueberries (Frozen)
• Protein Mixture
• Coconut water
• Water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig
• extra cup of oatmeal (for heartiness)

Green Pineapple

• Spinach(Frozen)
• Pineapple (Frozen)
• Protein mixture
• Coconut water
• water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig

I made three for the day, underestimating the power of my protein mixture and only drank one and a half  that morning. If you’re looking to do a full day cleanse, you can do six jars a day with water in between each. I for one prefer smoothies than juicing cleanse for the mere fact that they are more filling  to me. But what’s great about these recipes is that they are so  tasty that they can be made for cleanses or anytime of the day.

Sunday Brunch

I have come to realize that being a grad student is the equivalent to having no social life.  From juggling work and school, my spare time is used to catch up on sleep.So this past weekend i was determine to have a little fun and go to brunch with my sisters. I love breakfast food but being vegetarian and disliking anything eggs, brunch can sometimes be tricky. I’ve been to numerous brunches where a majority of the menu were omelets, or eggs in five different ways. So  headed to brunch i knew my selection was going to be limited. It was, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a great brunch with my sissy’s.  We went to this nice little restaurant called South Street located in the art district in Miami, which I’m sad to say closed down a few days ago. At most restaurants you would find shrimp and grits as one of  the brunch items, but they are usually cooked in bacon or chorizo. So to my surprise when i saw on the menu Fish and Grits, with no bacon used  i had to order it. The grits was buttery and creamy the catfish was fried to a crisp and the restaurant  signature sweet potato bread( similar to cornbread but made with sweet potatoes)  was out of this world. When i  tell you this was the best brunch i had in a while, that would be an understatement. So when i heard of the news that this restaurant closed, i was flabbergasted. But i was glad i was able to check this place out before it did. All in all brunch was quite eventful , and really helpful in de-stressing from a crazy semester. I would love to hear what’s your favorite meal to eat at Brunch, Drop me a line below!

So long Summer!!

I gotta be honest, Summer is my least favorite season. Living in south Florida , summer is practically year round. Don’t get me wrong i love Miami, but sometimes I can  do without the wet and humid summer days. So when i heard R.A. Sushi was having a So Long Summer Party, i just had to go. I never thought in a million years that i would  be going out for sushi, But there i was ordering up a seaside roll. That night  we ordered up a few rounds of drinks and food, and partied the summer away. I honestly have to say R.A. Sushi sure knows how to throw a party… Though we still have a few more weeks till we actually feel a dip in the weather if any, we’ll  always have those fun summer night to remember till next year. I’ll keep the memories, but you can keep the weather.

 

 

Let’s go to a Cantina!!

On our mini vacay during Labor Day weekend , my sisters and i decided to go Mexican.  We originally had plans to go to Mexico but scrapped the plans and enjoyed a fun filled staycation.  So in memory of  going to Mexico, we decided on visiting a Mexican Restaurant for the fun of it. So we decided on a restaurant called Cantina Laredo, we’ve had our eyes on this restaurant for a while but never really went out our way to check it out. This wasn’t your ordinary TacoBell or On the Borders Mexican Food this was Authentic Gourmet Mexican Food. They are reasonably priced but some items in my opinion was a bit on the pricey side. At each table they had a bowl  with an avocado and lemon for their top shelf guacamole that the waiters do right at the table. Just out of curiosity i asked the waiter “how many avocados will be used for this $10 guacamole?” he said “this one avocado and lemon would be used to make it”. Knowing that  the night before i seen hass avocados 10 for $10 at Publix we passed on the “top shelf” guacamole and they brought us out complimentary salsa and chips. I know a steal when i see one, and that my friends was not one… I ordered the tacos de pescado aka fish tacos, which came with Mahi Mahi, marinated vegetables, queso fresco and chipotle aioli. .It came with some yellow rice and beans but one thing that i notice from every Mexican restaurant I’ve been to is that their rice are kinda like plate fillers. It fills up half the plate but no one really eats it , the only exception being Chipotle but that’s another story for another day. None the less Cantina Laredo was great, my sisters and i experienced a  little bit of Mexico and i finally got my fish tacos fix.  Life simple pleasures at its best 🙂

 

 

 

Bittersweet Conclusion

Over the weekend i went to my sister in law baby shower,where i was the photographer of the night.   This has been the first time that i was at a social gathering  where it was surrounded by food since my transition, and boy was it tough. Even though i was the photographer there was still time for me to sit back and relax with my fam and eat. At first i was worried that i would not find much to eat that were meat free, but they had that covered.  For the first time in my life, i headed to that infamous vegetable tray that no one ever goes to, as well as the fruit and cheese tray. But then the host of the party muttered 3 words that changed the night for me: “Homemade Crab Ragoon”. Yep, these 3 words had me go in overdrive, here comes the sweet Cuban pastries, and fried seasoned dough  …. To say the least, i was full before the main courses  was actually ready, which made me  free to take pics of the event all night long. Once the cake was rolled out  i couldn’t take another bite, my body was still  working on the appetizers. Poor thing hadn’t had this much work to do in months . So i came to the conclusion that night, more fruits and veggies and less fried carb goodness. All in all It was a bittersweet conclusion to a fun filled night!