A Trip Into St. George's with some Great Friends

La Boulangerie Italian Restaurant with Adriana

Grenada Life Through Photos

Grand Etang Hike with the Gals - 5.4.13
Cuthbert the local portraits - 5.12.13
BBC Beach - 2.23.13
39th Anniversary of Grenada's Independence - 2.7.13
Scuba Diving Trip - 12/2012
Saint George's University - 10/19/2012
Favorites of Grenada
Yacht Club - 10/09/12
Soul Stars Soccer Game - 7/26/2012
Shots around Saint George's University - 7/29/2012
Quarantine Point and The Point LAE - 7/11/2012
Ending Social Dodgy Dock - 5/6/2012
The Limes After-School Program Easter Party - 4/8/2012
Mr. and Mrs. Lackey 1 Year Anniversary - 4/8/2012
Natalie Photo Shoot - 12/2/11
Farewell Mr. Lizard - 11/21/11
Eye Love SGU -  11/16/11
SO Midterm Social at Grand Anse Beach- 10/29/11
Grand Anse Boys Soccer Game- 10/28/11
Island Tour with the SOs Ft. Frederick, Ft. Matthew, Leaper's Hill, Belmont Estate, Pearl's Airport- 10/14/11
La Segasse Beach with the SOs- 9/29/11
Soulful Kids of the Limes After School Program- 9/29/11
La Boulangerie Restaurant with Adriana - 9/15/2011
My First Soccer Game Ever!- 9/4/11
Tortoise Racing at the Owl - 8/29/11
Fort George with Angela- 8/29/11
Underwater Fun at the University Club- 8/22/11
White Coat Ceremony - 8/16/11
Grand Etang and Annandale Falls - 8/13/2011
The Never Ending Journey to Grenada - 7/29/11



Hello Everyone!  For those of you interested in what type of camera I use, it's a Canon 40d body with a L-series Canon 24-70mm Lens. The compact point and shoot camera I use is a Canon S95, but a new version just came out (it has improved ten fold). A good high memory, good quality memory card is also essential in capturing in beauty of Grenada (less likely to be corrupted, faster loading speeds, prevents lag while sooting photos).

Peanut Butter, Jam, and Banana Sandwich

How hard can making a PB & J sandwich be?  Even a little kid can make one in his sleep.
I made this entry to let you in on a little big secret: bananas.   I also want to fill you in on a health secret.

Peanut butter is definitely healthy but you could easily be poisoning yourself with the wrong kind of peanut butter.  Many brands at IGA contain a harmful fat: TRANS FAT, which is a chemically altered and is known to cause cardiovascular problems.  Luckily, IGA has a couple of brands that have none at all (one shown in picture below).

Food manufacturers add hydrogen atoms to vegetable oil by a process called "hydrogenation".  They do so to increase the shelf life of their products.  Why?  They want to maximize profit and in order to do that, they need to avoid fast spoiling foods.

Because of shaky FDA rules, food companies are able to label their products with "no trans fat" even if their product does contain trans fat.  How?  FDA decided that if Trans fat is below a certain amount, it's okay for food manufacturers to say there's none at all.  These fats can easily accumulate into harmful amounts.  What would happen to someone that normally eats trans fatty peanut butter everyday?

Click here to read up on the effects of Trans Fats.
Article about banning trans fat.

 FDA Consumer Magazine cites major sources of trans fats are contained in:
1. cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, breads, baked goods
2. animal products prepared in partially hydrogenated oils
3. margarine
4. French fries
5. potato chips, corn chips, popcorn
6. shortening
7. salad dressings
8. breakfast cereals
9. candy

Reading Labels:
If "partially hydrogenated" appears at or near the top of the ingredients list on the nutrition label, you should find a comparable item that uses canola or olive oils. Become familiar with the other names of trans fats when you are watching your labels. These include margarine, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening, and shortening.

*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary. 

banana pancakes

Have bananas that on the verge of going bad?  Well today is your lucky day!  Ripe bananas make the best pancakes!  Just in case you have leftovers (which I highly doubt you will), don't worry because these pancakes freeze well.  If you want, you can cook an extra batch and freeze it to satisfy future cravings.

To freeze them, you can place wax paper or plastic wrap in between each one as you stack them.  Place your stack in a zip lock bag or wrap in plastic wrap.  Toss them in the freezer. When ready to eat, don't bother thawing. Place them straight into the microwave (min or so), oven, or toaster.  They may not be as fluffy as when they're freshly cooked, but almost all flavor is retained.

Slap some peanut and butter and nutmeg jelly on these bad boys to make a pancake sandwich. It's such a treat that It's almost sinful. Hope you go bananas with this recipe (no pun intended) hahaha.

~12 small pancakes; 10-15min
Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1tbsp white sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp melted butter, extra for frying
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ripe small-medium sized banana mashed (~1/3cup)

•  maple syrup, nutmeg jelly, or condensed milk

Directions:
1. mix dry ingredients together. stir well with beater or fork. sift flour for a fluffier pancake.
2. in another mixing bowl, mix all wet ingredients together.
3. stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
4. heat non stick pan on medium low heat. add butter. as soon as it's heated thoroughly, add 1/4cup of batter at a time. I can fit two at a time in my pan. you can choose to shape the pancake according to your liking by picking the pan up by the handle and swirling the batter around.  once batter touched pan, try no to peak under so the pancake can develop a brown crust. once craters start appearing on the top, flip the pancake.
5.  serve with syrup of your liking and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top for garnishing.

*tip- you can place bananas in a ziplock bag for easy mashing or place them in a small bowl and mash with a fork against side of bowl (I prefer this method. Save money, use less plastic, save the world haha)
*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary.

corned beef- a fillipino classic

A staple of the Philippines and in other tropical countries, corned beef is the go to dish to make when your fridge has run dry.  It is usually prepared with garlic, onion, and tomato, but will taste just as good using  other ingredients such as carrot, potato, cabbage, and more.

Many mornings of my childhood days, I woke up to pleasant aroma of corned beef.  As compared to many people who cook it because they're out of food, mom cooked it because she simply loves it.  She too grew up in a similar fashion, with grandma being the cook.  I seldom eat can foods, but I make an exception for corned beef because it takes me back to many fond memories and it's simply delicious!

Coming straight out of the can, it looks questionable and inedible, but don't get me wrong... it smells great! hahaha.  With a little swing of the knife and sizzle of onion, hopefully you will end up with a dish worth making again and again in the future. 

3-4 servings;10-12 min

Ingredients:

• 1 can corned beef  (12 oz)
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 medium sized onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced finely
• 1 medium sized potato peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 medium ripe tomato diced
• dried parsley flakes
• salt and pepper to taste 
• splash of water
• chopped cabbage (optional)

Directions:
1.  heat nonstick pan on medium high heat. add oil. add garlic and onion. cook till onion is halfway cooked. add potato and splash of water (about a handful).  cover for about three min stirring occasionally.
2.  Add corned beef and break into little pieces. add vinegar, salt, pepper, and parsley. stir and cook for 2 min. add tomato and another splash of water.  Cook for 2 min on high heat.
3. serve over white rice.

*Click HERE for a cooking dictionary.

can be found at IGA

egg and ham smothered macaroni

Today I thought about different ways in which I could prepare eggs. Scrambled, boiled, fried are ways that are used frequently in my kitchen.  Wanting to venture out, I decided to travel down a different road.  I thought about a dish I've eaten in the past at an Italian restaurant- Carbonara, a rich and flavorful dish that's simple to make.  This dish is usually comprised of fettuccine or spaghetti, eggs, cheese, and bacon.  Instead  of tossing the eggs into the pan, they're beaten on the side and cooked by the heat of the drained spaghetti. I thought I might use this dish for my inspiration since it uses eggs in fun and interesting way.  

I looked in my fridge and found similar ingredients. I decided to have myself a little fun attempting to make my own version of Carbonara.  Surprisingly, the dish turned to be one of my most favorite macaroni dishes ever.  The richness from the eggs and tangy edge from lime juice complimented each other well and were well absorbed by the macaroni. 

2 servings; 10-20min
Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked cooled macaroni
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 2 thin slices honey ham diced or torn into little pieces
• 1/3 cup frozen peas and carrots
• pinch of dried parsley flakes
• juice of 1 tiny little lime ~1tbsp
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• pinch paprika
• salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind that ham has salt)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tbsp mayo
• big splash hot sauce

Directions:
1.  heat frying pan. medium high heat. add butter. add frozen peas and carrots. wait till they heat through and water has somewhat evaporated.
2. add ham, macaroni, parsley, salt, pepper, and paprika, lime juice, hot sauce, and ketchup. stir and cook for 2-4 min. until macaroni starts to absorb juices.
3. turn heat off and place pan away from heat.  immediately add egg and mayo. stir for about a min to cook egg.
4. you may top this dish with cheese but it taste just fine without it!