Tag Archives: melissadionne

Happy Friday & Small Talk

Posted in {everydayCandy} by

Happy Second Friday in the month of February cookies!

vday

{This photo made me laugh unnecessarily loud}

 

The day is upon us. The day few people look forward to more than Christmas and even Thanksgiving. The day you see heart shaped chocolates, lollypops, jewelry and bouquets. The day the world seems to experience more love than Flavor Flav in his hit reality tv show, “Flavor of Love” *please say last three words in a deep romantic James Earl Jones voice *

While my valentine is away at work and I haven’t seen the fruit of today’s celebrations yet, I’m totin’ with all youse guys out there… until later this evening that is. I’m such a bandwangonist.

Anywho, time to check out this week’s Mr. & Mrs. Behind the Scenes. (Facebook needs to hop on the obvious train and tots get with whatever program they need to support gifs). 

{Must confess, we do enjoy the smooching}

And here’s the photo: Mr. & Mrs. Project: Week 8 | Late Night TV & Popcorn

Let’s recap what my last week & a half looked like:

Weather: Bipolar much. Back in Trinidad there was no need to check one’s smartphones every 10 minutes to be sure of weather conditions. It was either rain or sun. That’s it. In Texas, Monday – Wednesday, best you bundle up all day long, Mr. Sun went on vaca in Mexico. Thursday – Saturday makes you feel like relaxing by the poolside. Then there’s Sunday… steups. We’ll just stay in and miss church. (For the record, if you’re reading this mom, we’ve never done that).  OR you leave home in beautiful 50-degree weather, stay indoors for two hours and when you step outside again, you wonder who left their freezer door open. Dang, this poop just got real.

Exercise: Rob and I started working out with a trainer last week and let meh tell yuh, the thought of it was loads easier than the actual experience. For our first assessment we had a nice talk about goals, expectations and commitment with our trainer and he made everything seem so sweet and doable. After warming up for 5mins on the stair climber machine and 15mins of some strategic exercises, I was… faint. Literally. I couldn’t walk by myself. Rob had to help me as we walked toward our trainer’s desk to recap and the he even had to run and get me some orange juice to help raise my sugar levels. Talk ‘bout shame. Now, I go prepared with my trusty bottle of Gatorade.

Entertainment: Apart from Skyping with the fam back home, this week I found myself in front the tv re-watching one of the cheesiest-teeny-bopperiest movies ♫eveeeeeer♫. Boys and Girls, starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Claire Forlani. Simply put, two friends put their relationship in hot water after sleeping together. Typical. You know those movies that aren’t any good but you start watching and HAVE to finish it and you’re predicting every next scene but you still won’t stop watching? No? Well, that happens to me quite often. I remember liking that movie when I was younger – much, much younger – but the acting and storyline were so pitiable, I could only justify that my adolescent self didn’t know any better. Poor 15 year old me. Oh and I went to the zoo with a friend and her daughter. Instead of more words, here are some pictures from our zoo adventure. {Hover mouse over pics to read commentary}. 

Whaaaaat else?

Food: I had crawfish for the first time. We went to LA Crawfish after church with a friend two Sundays ago. It was surprisingly better than I expected. Reminded me of shrimp a bit but not entirely. Eating it was a chore but worth it. Oh and they have this in-house competition where they challenge brave customers to eat three pounds of their spiciest crawfish. The challenge accepter is not allowed help, can drink in between eating and must finish in 21mins. If you haven’t guessed it yet, Rob is planning to accept said challenge. I promise to record the entire thing for you. I’m quit curious to see how finishes. In an unrelated story, I’m in desperate need of a sushi fix. {Yes, more commentary – hover}. 

So there you have it. Two weeks summarized into one post. Hope you had a lovely week friends and have a Happy Second Friday in the month of February.

xoxoxo <<< {Love be sharing} 

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Mini Pies

Posted in {Newlywed Kitchen} by

Happy Tuesday yal! Today’s February 4th which means two of many things! Some of you are probably eagerly looking at your calendars counting down the days, hours & minutes till Valentine’s Day. While… others are probably wishing the universe would magically do away with February 14th altogether.

With that being said, note that this post is in favour of the upcoming “pink & red” day. I want to share a sweet and easy dessert for you and your lover punch. It’s perfect for V-day or any other day for that matter, which ever you prefer.

Strawberry Mini Pies

This recipe has been adapted from two sources: A cookbook we got as a wedding present: Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook and a food blog It Bakes Me Happy.

First things first: Let’s make some dough!

 

MDP-3 MDP-7

Your needs:

1 ½ c bleached all-purpose flour {I used unbleached}

1 tbls sugar

1 tsp kosher salt {I used regular}

5 tbls cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼ -inch pieces

4 tbls cold solid vegetable shortening, such as Crisco

3 ½ to 4 ½ tbls ice water

Your Method:

Put the flour, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse briefly to mix. Scatter the butter over the flour mixture and using a spoon, toss lightly to coat. Pulse 5 times at 1-second intervals. Add the shortening in small pieces and pulse about 4 more times at 1-second intervals. The texture should resemble course meal, with the butter and shortening bits no bigger than peas. Sprinkle 3 ½  tbls of water over the mixture and pulse until the dough begins to hold together, about 6 times. Pinch a small amount of dough and if it doesn’t hold together, add ½ tbls of water and pulse 3 times. Pinch the dough again, if necessary adding the remaining ½ tbls water and pulse 3 more times. When the dough holds together when pinched, it is ready. Do not allow it to form a ball in the processor. Transfer dough to a large sheet of plastic wrap, pressing gently, form the dough into a 5-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45mins, preferably overnight. (The dough maybe refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to 3 months.)

Next: Let’s make some strawberry filling!

MDP-4 MDP-6

Your needs:

1 c strawberries, sliced

2 tbls sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp lemon juice

1 egg, beaten

Your Method:

In a medium sized saucepan add the strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice and cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Set aside to cool {or not}.

Lastly: Let’s make a pie.

Let the chilled dough soften at room temperature for 10 – 15 minutes (longer if frozen). Using the rolling pin, tap the dough firmly to flatten it. Divide dough in half, placing each half between two large pieces of plastic wrap and roll out to 1/8-inch thickness. Place a 5 ounce ramekin directly on the pastry. Using a knife cut two 1-inch circles wider than the bottom of the ramekin. Now you should have two circles from each half of dough. Roll out one piece of dough for each half. This is then draped over the ramekin and fitted until snug inside the ramekin, so it serves as your piecrust. You may or may not have dough draped over your ramekin. If you do, please cut off excess and put aside. Repeat with remaining ramekin/s. Scoop your strawberry filling into your crusted ramekins. Once filled, drape the pastry (your second circle), over the ramekins and seal by pressing gently on the sides of the ramekins. Cut pastry scraps into your lover-punch’s initials, into hearts, or other decorate shapes. Place on top of the extra pastry circle and brush with the beaten egg. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown, remove from the oven and cool; serve warm. And if you’re feeling a little daring, add a scoop of vanilla/chocolate ice cream to the side. Bon Appétit.

Yields 4 mini pies.

 

 

One Cold Day & Pancakes

Posted in {Newlywed Kitchen} by

Yesterday afternoon while Rob was at work he messaged to inform me that Houston was expecting some beyond usual cold weather that night (last night) & tomorrow (today). He said that some areas were even going to experience snow. I was like, “Say promise! Who tell yuh dat babes?” He then emailed me a link to an online weather site that predicted our forecast & conditions. Instantly, I became excited. I really wanted to see snow. This little island gal has never seen snow. Ever. I refuse to visit a snowing country or state in the winter. Back home in Trinidad the only time we experience cold is when the a/c is blasted on 18 degrees Celsius. Don’t think I would survive a snowy winter well.

Flash forward to this morning:

We woke up a little after 9am and noticed that little droplets had froze on our somewhat alive plants in the back yard. No snow, bummer. We checked the weather app and it read a whooping 28°F. I did what any excited Trini would do: Put on some extra layers of clothing and headed out to investigate. I spent no more than 20 minutes outside and my fingers were painfully numb when I got back in. Check out our plants. I personally think they looked a little decorated with the frozen droplets. I also got a shot of some mini icicles on our neighbour’s roof.

icy leaves MDP-2 MDP-3 MDP-4 MDP-5

After all that cold weather, I was obviously in the mood for a little warmth and figured pancakes were an appropriate solution. Today I introduce Mom’s Perfect Pancakes! This is a recipe my family has used for years. Everyone loves it and its super quick and easy to make too.

Ingredients: 

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1 tbls sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 tbls oil or melted shortening

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat grill. Put all ingredients into a blender, starting with liquids, cover and mix until almost smooth.

Pour about 1/8 cup of batter into lightly oiled pan and bake until nicely browned. Flip & bake until browned. Repeat as many times as batter allows. Re-oil pan if needed. Serve with syrup, berries, jam, Nutella or whatever you fancy on your cakes of pan.  Bon Appetit 🙂

Hope you are having a great and much warmer day than I. Tata peeps!

Oh, for the curious, it did snow in some parts of Houston. Photos and videos were sent into our local news station. Yes. I am a little bit jealous.

2014 Resolutions

Posted in {everydayCandy} by

Happy New Year! It’s been six plus months since I’ve last blogged but who’s counting? I welcome 2014 with open arms. 2013 wasn’t the most favourable year for me and I’ve made it my obligation to make the best of this year – good or not so good.

Confession time: I never make New Year resolutions. I guess I’ve never gotten the point of making improbable promises to myself. I CHOOSE not to cage my year with pipeline dreams and girlish fancies. I CHOOSE not to be fixated on a world of dos and don’ts for 365 days. I CHOOSE not to lie to myself about working towards that Gisele Bündchen body then beat myself up 3 weeks in because I hadn’t started exercising and can’t seem to put down those Hershey’s bars. Instead, I CHOOSE to live each day as it comes. No worries. No deadlines. No frustrations.

On the contrary… I can think of at least 3 people in my circle of friends who have made resolutions and attempted or completed them. Which got me thinking… maybe, if I make a list of attainable tasks, err… resolutions; I can get them completed by year’s end.

The point of this post is to proclaim my willingness to attempt a list of not so firm decisions, that I promise not to conform to BUT use as a personal road map for the next 52 49 weeks or so.

A friend of mine shared a resolution list from laurenconrad.com on fb so I figured it was a good enough template. In no specific order here they are:

A bad habit I’m going to break: Playing with the back of my hair. How do I explain this? You know those quirky habits you only do when no one’s around? Like picking scabs, taking an unnecessary amount of food pictures, chewing yesterday’s gum and smelling your toes or pits guilty. don_t_judge_me__okay_gif

Well playing with my hair is similar to that. I would simply lightly twirl and tug at the back strands if my hair. It comforts me some how but it irks my husband to degrees beyond my comprehension.

A destination I’d like to visit: Honestly, I’d love to visit San Francisco this year. I keep hearing lovely things about the city, especially the food. On the other hand, Austin is approximately 143 miles away and it would take us roughly, 2hrs 15mins to get there on wheels. That seems more doable to me.

I’m going to work harder at: Blogging often. I would love to blog every week. *Psssht* Three times a week. On ah reals though, dat not happenin’. A more realistic expectation would be once every quarter but that doesn’t represent “I’m going to work harder at…” Unserious debate with myself led to the decision of blogging once a month.

text

 

 

A project I’d like to finish: Becoming fluent in Spanish. Hahahahahha. Ok. I’d like to be able to ask, “Where is the restroom?” or “Where can I find the nearest shopping mall?” or “Is this really chicken I’m eating?” And of course understand the responses. Survival questions and phrases are all I need really.

A class I’d like to take: Painting! I’ve always enjoyed painting as a child and my mom sent me to classes one summer. I’ve already checked out classes, costs and reviews. All that’s left is picking one and getting started.

I’d like to spend more time doing: Reading, meditating, studying the Word of God. I want to be close to God always. I want to know His desires and thoughts. I want to love Him more than life and seeking is the best way to always being near Him.

A food I want to eat more of: Sushi. OhMyGigaPet. My love for raw seafood may soon turn into an obsession if I don’t put it under manners.

I want to wear more: Smiles. Whenever I pass a stranger on the road, or casually pass someone at a store or even on days when my mood is worst than a two year old whose current frustration is not being able to devour the sticky, linty object he just found under the couch… I want to smile because it’s the universal way of saying hello. Plus its contagious… or so I’ve read.

We cannot become who we want to be by remaining who we are. – Max Depree. 

I went strawberry picking… Now what?

Posted in {Newlywed Kitchen} by

I celebrated my birthday last Saturday and Rob planned a pretty interesting day but one of the highlights for me was strawberry picking.

I was so excited! If I had to eat one fruit for the rest of my life, it would definitely be strawberry.  It’s sweet and tangy. It’s red. It’s cute. It smells delectable. It’s bite sized. It makes the best jams, jellies, fillings, frostings, toppings, ice creams, juices (I can go on and on but there is more to this post than strawberry picking and I don’t want to bore you to death with ramblings)… inhales deeply…AND I read that it helps fight cancer… just saying.

Rewinding to a couple days ago… we got to Froberg’s Farm in Alvin, TX and eagerly bought ourselves a bucket each. At that point, I think we were too giddy to rationally think through how many pounds of berries we would each pick that day.

Glee overwhelmed me. My routine went something like this: spot red juicy berry, pick it, toss it into bucket, admire harvest at hand, smile and scout more berries. When my bucket was half way full I remembered why I carried my camera. Please enjoy the photos below.

As we walked back to weigh and cash our berries… Rob suddenly came to his senses… “Wait! How many pounds of berries do you think we picked?” We looked at each other with brief worry in our faces then laughed it off.

“It can’t be more than two or three pounds man.” Candice replied boldly. I like referring to myself in the third person sometimes. *ehhem*

It so happened that we picked 7.42 pounds; approx. 119 ounces; approx. 30ish cups… of strawberries. That’s probably 50ish of my handfuls.

The challenge: Make use of 7.42 pounds of strawberries in 4 days. Challenge accepted! Let us begin looking at some berry yummy recipes. *snicker*

Uno.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries: These were very easy to make and oh so yummy! Warning: Do not eat more than 6 in one sitting. You are bound to get a tummy ache. Don’t like chocolate? No worries… I gots plenny more recipes to share.

Two.

Strawberry Tart Cake: This cake was the perfect amount of sweet and berry.

Third.

Sharing is caring yo. Give to your family, friends, strangers on the street. Start dispersing dem berries in every which way you can.

4.

Strawberry Jam: This was by far the yummiest jar of strawberry jam I have ever had. Yes, matter of factly, it does have something to do with me actually making it myself. The recipe was simple and result is superb. Try it! Rob and I had some on a couple of Club crackers with cream cheese. Mmmmm mmmm mmmmM.        Note: Be sure to follow proper canning rules to store you jam.

Last but not least.

Strawberry Mini Pies: These were definitely my favourite. As you can see, I could hardly wait to try one… I even used the same jam that I made in no. 4 as my filling. You can use strawberry butter if you prefer.

So there you have it. If ever you are in a similar predicament as I, here is a simple guide to give you a start on using up your berries before they go bad.

Enjoy!

April Photo Challenge 2013: Day Nine

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Day 9

 

Day Nine: Emotions

{“I never met a chocolate I didn’t like.”- Deanna Troi.
It has been said that chocolate can change your ickiest mood. Here’s a photo of some lovelies I made yesterday. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars. Everyone who had a piece seemed to be in heaven… So I’m guessing the chocolate theory is right! Ha}