Why yes, I do cook! (update)

I realized it's been a while since I mentioned my cooking skills.  So I thought it was about time for me to update you.  Yes, I am still cooking!  No, I don't always hit it out of the ball park...but I've never made a complete disaster out of any meal...that's saying something no?!?  Actually, I think I've grown in this area by leaps and bounds.  I'm learning more about food, and flavors, and what goes well together.  I can't wait till my parents come to visit so I can cook for them!  Right now the roomie is my guinea pig, but she never complains  I look forward to cooking for my folks...and having them give me their honest opinions.  I know sometimes people want to spare others feelings, but not me, I'd rather you tell me something is horrible, that's the only way I'm going to learn!  Luckily I don't think that's happened yet.  Here's some pics of my newest creations...

roasted potatoes, broccoli and chicken breast

rice & corn medley (Jas's fave), shrimp, and lettuce & cabbage salad

fries, broccoli, chicken drumstick

pita pizza!!!!  our new obsession

my first attempt at real Puerto Rican rice (not bad at all!)

steak tacos with corn, black beans lettuce and cheese

pancakes, homefries and bacon

chicken burrito with black beans, corn, cheese, rice and lettuce!

I only keep getting better.  

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

One Month

Waikiki Aquarium

line drying

Today marks one month of officially being here...one month and two weeks since leaving home.  I find it so hard to believe it's been that long, and yet I don't believe it's only been that long.  I can't say we're completely set up here yet, as we're still looking for jobs, and haven't made "friends" if you will, but like we like to joke, that's the easy part!  I have complete faith those things will come.  It's a catch 22 because we're here in paradise with no jobs, so it's like, we should enjoy it right?!  But then there's the flip side of the coin, and since we don't have an income yet, we're money conscious, because while we flew caution to the wind, quit our jobs, and left everything we knew, we're still very responsible and are not about to run through our savings in a month!

park day

I will mention I've had several very rough days, I expected them...but it makes them no easier.  Those days you really just miss your family.  I know I've done this for the right reasons, and I know I'll never regret having done it, though I would have if I didn't...but knowing all of that does not help the longing I feel for my loved ones.  But I've lived with my parents for 27 years with the exception of college, if I didn't have down days I would be shocked.  And yes, I still talk to them everyday, most days I see them through the grace of technology, and I couldn't be more thankful for that.


Things have definitely been coming along.  Our apartment is so awesome, and homie.  The neighborhood is so great, there's so much so close!  We have a local bank account, and new fancy checks.  My car is registered, and has Hawaii tags might I add...if that's not a sign of "holy shit I live here" I don't know what is!  We have monthly bus passes!  We walk or take the bus almost everywhere!  We've gotten several job call backs, and have had interviews, or have upcoming interviews!  Life is definitely happening.

watermelon snow ice

And of course we have made time to enjoy the fact that we live on this beautiful island.  We finally made it to a place I read about in the Hawaiian Air magazine on the plane called Frost City.  It was so important that I did not forget about this place that I ripped the page out of the magazine!  They serve something called snow ice there, they explain it by saying it's ice cream + shaved ice...and may I say it's like a little slice of heaven!  I have no doubt we will be frequenting that place.  We also made a trip to the notorious north shore to enjoy the beach...which will be followed by many more I'm sure.  We went to a small local bar just around the corner from our apartment  named 8 Fat Fat 8 where they sing karaoke and everyone was crazy friendly, including the bartender and servers.  I beat Jas at pool for like the fourth time...but who's counting! We went to a pretty awesome gay bar in Waikiki (did I mention my roommie's gay, not that that matters, but gay bars will definitely be in our social scene so get used to it!) where we met Nick and Keith the bartenders, and I had a completely random conversation with a completely random tall fella named Blake whom I loved, if only because his name was Blake and I love me some Blake Shelton!  I also was pretty much the only one dancing in the bar and got a shout out by our new buddy Nick!  This was also where Jas hit a bull-eye playing darts and got extremely hype.  I should mention that that was on a Monday, and was followed by my first Hawaii hangover Tuesday morning. We went to a local park and enjoyed a beautiful day while reading a magazine sitting on the grass.  We also went to a free day at the Waikiki Aquarium, my second visit and Jas's first.  And we went to our first film festival, which I will be posting about separately because it deserves its own post.  And may I say I'm still cooking, and better all the time!

North Shore

North Shore

bulls-eye

lettuce & carrot salad; parmesan & bacon penne pasta

roasted potatoes, pork chop & lettuce and carrot salad

french toast bacon & potatoes

french fries and chicken strips

after run smoothie

And finally, I am back to hitting the pavement!  Running almost everyday for two weeks now.  Getting adjusted to running in the heat and the sun.  And, Jas is jogging too!  I've been eating better, and she's jogging...whudda thunk it!

Life is not perfect, but it sure is beautiful.

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...

Master Eater...turned Master Chef

So, I've always been relatively small, but that says nothing about how I eat.  Those who know me know my slender, athletic build has pretty much nothing to do with my eating habits, and a whole lot to do with my genes (thanks to my folks!).  But, with the move I hoped I would be able to both learn how to eat better, which will be helped along by Jas, who eats about 100 times better than me (I should mention the desire to eat better has zero to do with the way I look, and everything to do with health- I gotta try and be healthier now so I have less issues later), and how to cook!  In other words, become a Master Chef!  Or something like that.  I never really cooked much...well besides breakfast which is my favorite meal of the day, which I've been able to do for quite some time!  But the rest I knew would be a challenge.  I wanted to learn how to cook like my mommy...and my madrina (godmother), and my abuela (grandmother)...because those are the three women who influenced me the most when it comes to food.  So, I've been working at it.  I must say I don't think I've been doing too bad.  I'll be all ready to cook when my parents come to visit!

Before I show you the proof though, I must mention, our first couple food shopping outings left me slightly disappointed.  Everywhere we looked, unfortunately I saw no Goya products!!  Which meant no Adobo amongst other things.  To a Puerto Rican no Adobo is like chopping off a hand!!  Ok, maybe not that serious, but still, I was so sad about it.  The first night I seasoned meat it wasn't that same smell I loved...something was definitely missing.  Then on our first trip to Foodland (local supermarket) I found a few Goya products!!  I about jumped for joy...among them was Adobo.  It was a small bottle and it was not cheap, but still, there it was!  Then our way home the universe showered me with even more kindness!  A gem of a little spot called Mercado de la Raza just a few blocks away from our apartment.  It's a small store, but everywhere I looked there was Goya!  And, rice pots!  And maltas!  And nearly everything!  It was like a little slice of heaven.  We walked out sipping our pineapple sodas as I called my mom as giddy as a schoolgirl!

Here are some pics to prove I have been putting in work in the kitchen...first up, pancakes and bacon.  The first pic is fluffier pancakes, the way Jas likes them...the second is flat and crunchy, like I like em!

Next up, chicken breast, homemade fries and corn:

A quick breakfast for me:

Tacos!  with chicken, corn, black beans and cheese!

French toast, probably my fave, it's sad that I can almost eat a whole loaf by myself...when I used to make this for my brother and I we just about did that.  With it I made potatoes and bacon: 

And, baked potatoes with cheese and bacon (can you tell we love bacon?!), pork chops and corn.  I must say I enjoyed this one.  I'm learning that I'm a bit of a texture eater.  The bacon made this for me, that little hint of crunchy topped everything off.

Of course everything doesn't always go smoothly for me in the kitchen, but I'm definitely learning.  And I'm also learning to eat a little better...Jas has made me eat spinach, which did not go over so well I think because it was cooked,  And broccoli...ok, so I cheated and had a little cheese on the broccoli..baby steps!

And the adventure continues...

Stay tuned...