 We had a little beach therapy in Grand Cayman this month and let me say that it was exactly what I needed to pull me out of my cold weather funk. 🏖️
 We were only on the island for a few days but it was amazing. We managed to pack in a whole lot of quality time in a short amount of time and thanks to the kids - we actually took time to rest and relax on the beach too. 😂 🌊  It was no surprise that the beaches on Cayman were as amazing and spectacular as I thought they would be but what I didn't expect were all the incredible restaurants on the island. We had some absolutely scrumptious meals. We dined on conch, scallops, snapper, tuna, calamari, crab, lobster, shrimp and mahi. We tried it all and it I can honestly say that we didn't have a bad meal the entire time we were on the island. I've only recently discovered how much I enjoy scallops and the scallops on the island were so tasty that it made me want to come home and make them for myself. While I don't have the ambiance of the Caribbean sea to gaze upon while I eat them ... my homemade scallops were still mighty tasty. 😅 If you've never made scallops at home before - this is the recipe for you. It's simple, quick and totally delicious.  Baked Scallops 16 large sea scallops (1 - 1 ½ pounds) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese , grated 2 Tablespoons parsley, chopped 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 Tablespoons olive oil
 Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the topping is browned.  Ciao!
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 Brace yourselves Georgians ... it's looks like we're about to take a dive into a deep freeze this weekend. 🥶 And per usual, as soon as the temperatures were predicted to dip into the low teens, the grocery stores were emptied of emergency provisions. ie. bread, milk and beer. 🤣🥖🥛🍺 If you live in the South - you know exactly what I'm talking about. 😉❄️
Fear not Southerners - if the shelves in your store have been cleared of bread - I got you.😆 Is there any better way to spend this cold weekend than hunkered down in a warm kitchen with a giant loaf of fresh bread baking in the oven? 🍞 Comfort food on a cold day is absolutely essential. And in my world, there's nothing more comforting than a freshly baked loaf of hearty white bread with a crispy crust and a chewy center. Homemade white bread is pure perfection.  White Loaf Bread 500 grams bread flour 400 grams water 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon yeast
  When bread is this good - you really don't have to do anything fancy to it. Enjoy it with butter or break it apart and dip it in some high quality olive oil. Toast it and slather it with your favorite nut butter. It's hearty enough to make amazing avocado toast or tuna melts too. I'm pretty sure you don't need me to tell you how to eat your bread but for anyone interested - that is exactly how I'll be enjoying mine this weekend. 😅 Ciao!
 Well, we're 10 days into 2024 and my plan to eat more vegetables and incorporate more plant based foods into our diet has already been derailed by an inscrutable desire for comfort food.🤦🏻♀️ Please tell me that I'm not the only person who's healthy eating plan for 2024 has already been derailed - less than 2 weeks into the new year. If you happen to find yourself in a similar predicament, not to worry. We may have veered slightly off track but I have a plan to get us back on the plant based eating bandwagon.😜 Be honest. How many of you just made a face when you read that?🤣 I get it. For me, the phrase plant based eating evokes images of someone wandering though a greenhouse nibbling the leaves of hanging house plants and chewing on the petals of colorful flowers.🪴🌻 Not exactly the picture of culinary decadence. 😅 Maybe I should try and eat like a flexitarian instead and just focus on buying (and eating) more vegetables. 🥒🍆🌽🥦🫑 Full disclosure: I had no idea that a flexitarian diet was even a real thing until I started to google alternative names for plant based diets.😆  Comfort food for me, means all things Italian. Pasta, bread, pizza - give me all the carbs.🍝 🍕🥖 😂 The draw to these cheesy delights is real so I'm trying to mesh my love of comfort food and my desire to fill my stomach with more vegetables.😜 Hello vegetable lasagna. Everything I love about a warm, comforting Italian dish with some healthy produce to boot. And the only person who knows just how many healthy veggies are in this meal is the person who prepares it. #sneakyveggies 😉  Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Marinara 3 Tablespoons olive oil 2 onions, diced 2 carrots, sliced thin 2 celery stalks, sliced thin 8 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoons fennel 1 bay leaf 4 cans crushed tomatoes 2/3 fresh basil, chopped 1 teaspoon oregano 2 teaspoons sugar salt and pepper Vegetables 1 red bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper 1 zucchini, cut into 1/4" rounds 4 ounces sliced mushrooms 1 eggplant, peeled and sliced thin 1 red onion, sliced into 1/4" rounds 6 cloves garlic, smashed 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon salt Lasagna 15 ounces ricotta 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 5 cups marinara 1 box no boil lasagna noodles 3 cups shredded mozarella
Heat oil in skillet. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes - 1 hour. Use an immersion blender to puree if you want a smoother sauce. Discard bay leaf.
 Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes at 400. Uncover and bake 10 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.  Is there anything better on a chilly January day than a steaming hot square of lasagna - that's actually good for you? 🤗
Ciao!  Blog friends .... I've missed you!!!🤗 It's been nearly 4 months since I've jumped on here to share a recipe or a cafeteria update and I feel like a lot has happened since then that I need to catch you up on. I don't really know where to start so I'll just share my 1 second everyday video from 2023. 😅🤳🏻 2023 was a year of changes and I'll be the first to admit that I'm still learning to roll with life's unexpected twists and turns. It's a process. 😬 Last year I was challenged and stretched to get out of my comfort zone in ways that I never expected. At one point, I started to feel overwhelmed with the cafeteria project and my growing business so I made the decision to take a break from blogging. Switching my focus from the blog allowed me to focus on the other areas of my life that were demanding my attention. Taking a break has made it clear to me just how much this blog means to me. I really missed being able to share my recipes (and my crazy life stories) with you.😆 But most of all - I missed the connection that I have with all of you - my faithful followers - through your comments and emails.
During my food blogging hiatus, even though I wasn't posting recipes, I continued to document the things that I was making at home and adding them to my que - in hopes that one day, I could get back to blogging on a regular basis. If I learned anything from 2023, it was to take things as they come and not try to plan too far in advance. (The most challenging of tasks for a type A personality like myself.) So for now, I'm going to try and share once a week on the blog. I'll update the progress on the Grace Community Kitchen so you can follow along with the transformation on that space. And when there is no news to report on the Community Kitchen - I'll share a recipe. I took a deep dive into my recipe que to find one fitting to kick off 2024 in the best way. Maybe it's because I'm dreaming of warm summer days but I felt like S'mores Pie was exactly what I needed on a chilly January day. I made mini S'mores Pies but you could easily make this into one big celebration pie.  S'mores Pie Crust 12 whole graham crackers 2 Tablespoons sugar pinch of salt 6 Tablespoons melted butter Brownie 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine 5 Tablespoons canola oil 4 Tablespoons butter 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 1 Tablespoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup flour Fudge 4 ounces milk chocolate 1/3 cup heavy cream 2 Tablespoons corn syrup Meringue 3/4 cup sugar 3 egg whites 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar pinch of salt
 Pipe meringue over filling.  Brown with a butane torch.  Full disclosure: I don't love campfire s'mores. I usually deconstruct my s'mores and eat all the ingredients separately - heavy on the chocolate. 🍫🤣 If you share my opinion about s'mores, don't be discouraged. These s'mores pies are far tastier than a campfire s'more - in my opinion.😅 I don't know if it's the chocolate to meringue ratio or the buttery graham cracker crust but these mini pies are almost impossible to resist. They're just that good and ... no campfire needed. 🔥
Ciao! |
