Bid to Win a Photo Session from Yours Truly at the Photography Auction Tomorrow at SGU's Caribbean house (7pm).

I've always seen photo auctions in movies and all, but I've never been to one...more or less have my work sold in one.  Instead of the usual wine n cheese to compliment the evening, there will be brownies and ice cream.  That's triple action in one night.  Score!  Looks like I'll soon be crossing some things off my bucket list.

I can't say that I'm a big time photographer, but what I can say is that I'm passionate about photography... and with passion and some fast shutter speed, I think I can get some decent shots hahhaha.  I'm very open minded when it comes to photography and if you end up winning my photo shoot, I'll do my best to help work around your schedule and make your visions come to life.

Some moments I can capture for you:

birthday 

new born baby

you and your pet friend

 student life at SGU (maybe in action in a workshop)

fashion

portraits

sports

couples

beach 

club scene

you as an SGU zombie

Package details

1-2 hour session

copies to 40 fully edited photos

you get to pick the theme

location can be at your home or a different location

can photograph up to a group of 5

date available to shoot: 3/28-4/30/2012 or after summer break

Specializing in (but not limited to): portraits, event, candid, fashion, pets

Event Details

When: 3/29/2012 at 7pm

Where: Saint George's University- The Caribbean House located next to the library

Goal: to raise money for Grensave- Save the Children Foundation

Photo theme: Grenada Life (landscapes, still life, portraits) 

Photo Sessions from several local photographers to be auctioned

brownies and ice cream available

Contact Info:

katherinejoy101@yahoo.com

Other Photographers that will also be donating a photo session.

Turkey Dogs in a Blanket- A Hassle Free Movie Treat

There was a movie fundraiser night (held at SGU) about a month ago that benefited my good little friends at the Limes after-school program.  Being that I'm so fond of them, I decided to help out in any way that I could.  I decided to bake some goodies to be sold.

Hot dogs have always been a definite must for me during movies growing up and so I decided to carry on with my tradition and made hot dogs... the portable kind of hot dogs that do not involve messy ketchup packets, forks, spoons, and shredding.  I decided to pack everything in one nice blanket and out came these adorable fun and easy portable weiners in a blanket.  I tried both chicken dogs and turkey dogs and found that turkey dogs are a lot juicier and tastier for me. 

These dogs freeze well so go ahead and make one whole big batch of them. Just lay them out in one single layer and seal them well in a zip lock bag.  

I had a little left over dough and used it to make an instant pizza using left over ingredients I found in the fridge. 

Ingredients:

Dough (the same dough recipe I used for my Focaccia Bread recipe)

1 cup warm water (100 degrees)
2 tsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt 
3 1/2 cup pre-sifted flour (I used Purity)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 pack of turkey dogs halved

ketchup and cheddar cheese as needed

relish and mustard (optional)

one egg + 1 tbsp water for eggwash

extra oil for greasing baking pan

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix water and sugar.  Add yeast but do not stir. If you try to dissolve the yeast, it will get clumpy and just stick to your spoon.  It will dissolve on its own. Let sit for 10-15min. This process of "proofing" is done to make sure your yeast is "active, alive," and ready for baking. When the mixture is creamy and foamy, move to step 2.
2. mix in salt and olive oil
3. add flour and mix to make a uniformed ball of dough (knead for ~5min). be careful not to overwork dough as it will toughen. coat with olive oil.  Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area (such as a preheated oven turned on for 5 min and then turned off) and let rise for 45min. Dough should double in size. 

4. Cut Dough into quarters.  cut each quarter in half and cut each half  of each quarter into thirds.  you will end up with 24 portions of dough. 

5. flatten each dough piece out into a rectangle (you may flatten all of them out and wait for them to rise for another 15min. for a more fluffy consistency). I didn't wait and went straight to adding in the other ingredients.

6. shred a generous amount of cheese. add a line of ketchup and other any other ingredients you wish to add.

7. roll and place in a greased baking pan. you may place the dogs fairly close to one another as they won't puff up much. brush tops with egg wash. if you don't have a brush, your finger will do just fine.  

8. Bake at 300 (highest temp. of my Grenadian oven) until golden brown. to test, scrape one Weiner out (using a spatula) and taste it.. or you can test by looking at the cheese. cheese on the bottom should be golden brown, not burnt. time varies depending on your oven. ~10-15min.  

Steamed Egg on Top of Roasted Veggies Served With A Side of Cheesy Garlic Bow Ties

Today I gave myself a fun challenge: to make breakfast look pretty.  My drive to do so came from watching 2 episodes of top chef, Gordon Ramsey's, "The F Word."  He opened my eyes to how much attention and care I put into making and planning my recipes out... and how little attention I put into presentation: practically none haha.  Though I'm usually concerned with how my food tastes at the end rather than how it looks, today I decided to take on the full challenge of concocting to presenting... just so I could have a taste of Gordon's life as a top chef.  I must admit, playing top chef was so much fun and I ended up with a fun, pretty (in my eyes), cheap, healthy, and definitely delicious dish.  This ones a keeper and I hope you try it out for yourself.
                                 
~20-30 min; 2 servings
Ingredients:
2 handfuls spinach
drizzle olive oil
roasted sesame seeds (optional)
squeeze lemon juice (optional)

2-3 strips bacon
1 large ripe tomato sliced
6 mushroom heads sliced
2 stalks chives (or green onions or 1 small onion)
1 garlic clove sliced

3 eggs

1 cup cooked bow ties
1 tbsp butter
cheddar cheese
garlic powder

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  In a frying pan under medium low, cook bacon to desired consistency. I like mine crispy. Transfer bacon to a plate and save fat. Immediately add chives, garlic, mushrooms, salt, and pepper.  Stir fry until mushrooms have wilted and browned a bit ~5min.  Place to the side.
2. Add a drizzle of oil to pan and add tomatoes in a single layer. Add salt and pepper. grill until they have wilted a bit. shake the pan back and forth to prevent tomatoes from sticking to pan from time to time (~4min). cooking tomatoes will bring out a nice roasted and sweet flavor.
3. While tomatoes are cooking, bring a pot of water up to a boil. Place steaming saucer inside. Turn heat down to medium.  Add spinach and steam to desired texture. I only steamed mine for 3min. Note: the spinach will continue to cook once taken out.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, olive oil, sesame seeds and toss to coat evenly.
4. add a single egg to each buttered steaming cup. you may sprinkle pepper or herbs on top. Stem to desired consistency. To check for consistency, shake the cup back and fort.  For medium, the middle should barely wiggle.  for hard, the center shouldn't move at all. for easy, the center should wiggle a lot.  Caution: be careful to carefully remove cups from steamer with oven gloves or a towel and watch out for hot steam when opening pot.
5.  Reserve 1/4 of your mushroom/tomato mixture.  To this, add 1 cup of cooked bow ties, 1 tbsp butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Cook until heated though and cheese has melted.
6. Plate: stack spinach, tomato, mushroom, and eggs. place bacon on the side. makes 3 stacks + 2 servings of pasta.

You can buy the steamer (inside the pot) from Hubbards located in the Food Fair Complex.  It's only 12EC!

For the Mr.

I just tossed my portion all in one bowl hahaha. That's just how I roll.

My Kryptonite.

Le Papillion French Creole Cafe Restaurant Menu

Bulk Buy Frozen Foods in Grenada, West Indies

-Location:  About halfway down Maurice Bishop Highway towards SGU.  From SGU, take the Grand Anse bus and tell the bus driver you want to get  to Buy Bulk. He will stop at the nearest bus stop (the stop right across the street of Texaco). 

-Hours: M-F 8am-5pm; Sa 8am-2pm; Su closed

-Phone: (473) 440-2956 or (473) 440-2402

I've been in Grenada for seven months and never have been to Bulk Buy until recently.  Maybe I didn't visit the place because I didn't want to burst my rendered version of the place and what it had to offer... Free Costco-like samples?  A wide array of products to choose from...Endless isles that you can race down?  No, no, and definitely no ahhaha.  Despite it being far from heavenly Costco, I still found a good amount of items within that I like to call treasure.  Pad Thai noodles and Seaweed for sushi for a decent price (along with a lot of other usual products used in the kitchen).  I'll be back for more.  

O, and I found frozen pork spare ribs that cooked well and had a decent amount of meat on them (and yummy cartilage fragments as well).  The ribs were close to half the price of ribs found at IGA.  I bought all 7 packs available and tossed them in my freezer because I was so excited to have come across such decently priced, good quality, ribs. 

There's not much "bulk" found at this store (though Grenadian's may have a different definition of bulk hahah).  It's more like a regular mini mart that has all of your bare necessities.  If you're looking for bulk deals, CK's Super Valu is your store.  It's right next to the roundabout going towards Texaco. 

*Click on pictures to enlarge