Hog + Hominy

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Back in June I treated one of my very best friends to brunch at Hog and Hominy. My pooh bear joined us because who wants to bother with a babysitter at 10am.
The food really was fantastic. The shrimp and grits were amazing, perfect flavor and richness. The biscuits were also delicious. You could absolutely taste that they were made from scratch. Next time, I will get the gravy on the side and maybe Pooh will at least try it.
While I enjoyed catching up with old friends & great food. I just knew my little pooh bear would love something familiar, like pizza. I had never been so wrong. I ordered a cheese pizza. That’s it just cheese. How did I fail so miserably, you ask?
I somehow assumed Pooh Bear could appreciate fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce cooked a brick oven.

He did not appreciate it at all! In fact his only words were ” No, MOMMY” and ” More CHEESE”. Then this happened …. he smiled & said “CHEESE”.

D.C. and Around the World in a Weekend: Days the start with ‘S’

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SATURDAY

So here we are on Saturday and after sleeping in we caught the last few hours of the Passport DC.  

The short version is that you can basically travel to different countries without ever leaving the U.S. Countries display and highlight the most unique aspects for their culture including food, music, dance, art, you name it. Some super poplar countries had lines that wrapped around several blocks. You know I do not have that type of patience, so we sought countries where we could just walk right in.

First stop, Indonessia. It will be a very long time before I actually get my passport stamp, so this was certainly a great commercial for what’s to come.

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Our next stop and probably my favorite was Botswana. The people were amazing and they took time to talk with us about their country. I love the pride, smiles, and genuine feeling of love.

But what didn’t go over well was the worm snack … Let’s just say dried worms didn’t go over to well.

Nothing wraps up the day like dinner at Cafe’ Dupont. While ridiculously priced, its a great place to people watch or meet your group in the Dupont Circle area. The salmon tartare really was amazing! Perfectly diced, chilled, and flavorful. Which is a trifecta that is not easily accomplished. The jicama not only served as a garnish but a nice crunch and change of texture. Delightfully light after a long day.

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Sunday

To wrap up an amazing weekend we traveled out to Potomac for the 2017 D.C. Holi Festival. A festival all that celebrates love with colors, music, and food. It was an amazing experience. A month later, I’m still trying to get color out sneakers, but so worth it.

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Never to Early for Dad Day 

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I started thinking about Father’s Day earlier than most because my hubby blew Mother’s Day out of the water this year. I’m talking fancy dinner, time alone without my son on my heels… the whole nine years.

So at this point I’m thinking, I need to get Father’s RIGHT! I’m a quite insulted when people just forget all about Father’s Day. It’s just not right! Good Father’s should be celebrated. Plus, when you celebrate bad Father’s they are certain to feel horribly and hopefully do better. At least your conscious will be clear.

My guy, who coincidentally doesn’t read my blog regularly (a shame right), is an  amazing husband and father.  I make that point so you know I’m not trying to get brownie points.

So many stories lean in to the awesomeness of mommies (and rightfully so), but dad’s are strong, fearless, providers, and comforters. My husbands peaceful demeanor is an amazing balance to my constant state of mental confusion.

He’s working full-time and taking classes at night. My 2yr old knows how to say “daddy at work.” It’s only a season and this sacrifice is hard on all of us. So I wanted to find books that portray ‘dad’ as the hero he really is.

I’ve included an amazing list of books that celebrate all things dad to share with your kids. Great children’s books about dads.

These are a few that I will be adding to his library:

This one is all about parents are cool people to. Think of it as a journey down memory lane before adulting.

As a creative soul, no collection is complete without a book of poetry.

 

Classic board book for toddlers and it makes a great bedtime story. All about Papa Bear and Baby Bear.

definitely for an older child with a better attention span than my 2 year old. You only have so many years to enjoy that active imagination. Why not read a book that taps into playing pretend AND reminds kids that dad is the real hero.

What are favorite books about dads? Any favs? Please share

D.C. & Around the World in a weekend: Friday

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I recently went to D.C. to visit my little sister, Liv, at her first apartment. I have to admit if my first apartment ever looked as cute as this one. My friend for the past 17 years went with me to and we agreed to rough it in the studio space. One thing you have to know about  my family is the we are maticulous planners. We live by the saying “Its easier to change a plan than it is make one.”

So Liv, worked tirelessly at planning this weekend getaway. So cute and comfort was going to be key. Armed with my Sperry Top-Sider Women’s Katama Cape Slip-On Loafer, Gold/Metallic, 8.5 M US It started with a Cinco De Mayo bar crawl. Let me be clear my sister is 12 years younger than me so she was stoked about this very long night ahead. The Bar Crawl provided a map of bars with a various specials, including a laundry list of very cheap margaritas and even cheaper tequila. I completely forgot how quickly you fill hungry when drinking cheap tequila (glad I had plenty of Weight Watcher points). So we enjoyed a really good Tex Mex special of at The Dirty Martini in Dupont Circle, to take the edge off and toasted with a good quality margarita with a Grand Marnier floater.

Next up was the Nightly Spirits Tour. This tour consisted of a guide dressed in colonial attire sharing super entertaining ghost stories of the hidden history of many historical buildings in the D.C. Area. The Occidental, The Willard, Old Ebbitt, and The Hamilton all were included on the list.

Liv had us on a tight time line and despite the tequila adventure prior, we arrived a WHOLE Hour before the tour started, so we sampled a specialty drink called the Pretty Woman. Strawberries and quality Gin, yeah it was amazing!

Plus I took a selfie with POTUS Barack Obama

So when the next stop included a classic mint julep we thought we would strike gold twice. NO SUCH LUCK! Trust me, I have had my share of strong libations but this thing is horrible. WHY on earth would people drink this. The Willard was beautiful but if I have another Mint Julep It will be too soon.

Absolutely before she tasted it !!

If your evver in D.C. late night The Hamilton has an amazing late night menu including…. (wait for it)….. Sushi! Great, high end sushi. I’m talking freash salmon, Wagu beef, rice with that actual hint of vinager. Yeah, they have burger and fries too, if that’s your thing.

 

Finally, called a Lyft around 2am and I pretty sure 2 out of 3 of us slept on the way home. Because well I was one of them.

Girls Weekend Day 1.  Done.

What your favorite group weekend adventure?

I want the Wobot

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Last night my son decided that he did not want Winnie the Pooh. His soft cuddly friend he has been sleeping with since the day he was born.

In fact, when we were making sure the crib was set up just right, we would use Pooh as a stand in for my little cub in my belly.

Tonight he looked at me the firmest eyes and said “Mommy, I want wobot.” I pretended like I didn’t understand and handed him Pooh, like had done every night for two years. He looked at me with the same look I give people when they do something ridiculous and said  with even more emphasis ” WO-BOT MOMMY!”

I gave in, handed him his Robot and retreated to my room to lick my wounds. My baby is becoming a super hero loving toddler. I guess I knew this day would come. At least I still have Thomas the Tank Engine. For now….

When did you know your baby was growing up?

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Coincidentally fits: Daily Prompt: Catapult

Don’t Complain, You Brought This On Yourself”

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Every spring since we’ve been married I get so excited about gardening. I love the thought of gardening, I’m just no good at it.

I have tried believe me!  I know what your thinking ….”Just ask someone to sell you the flowers anyone can grow.”  Let’s just say, I’ve tried that and those flowers have died under my care as well. I use to be really hard on myself about this shortcoming since I pride myself on being well rounded.

My Grandma and even my husband’s Grandma would go one and one about how every woman needed and should keep a garden. You know tomatoes, cucumbers, the whole nine yards. I on the other hand never saw this for myself. My mother worked 2 jobs most of my childhood. So while I can shop the deals like nobody’s business, but you will not find me digging in the soil.

None the less, I like the idea of gardening. So without fail when spring comes around I proclaim “this year I will have a garden!”

Last year after my proclamation, I think the whole tray of flowers died before I could plant them. Granted it took me two week to get around to it. So yeah, they died right there in the garage on top of the old speaker box in the corner.

Spring 2017, this was going to be my year. However, before I could make my annual edict to garden more. My husband kindly invites outside to see the work he had done in the yard all weekend. This is usually when he lectures me on not over feeding the plants with miracle grow, or take a conference call outside from time to time to give the plants water, or even moving the potted plants out of the sun so they don’t bake like cookies.

As I  prepared my head to nod in agreement with his laundry list of gardening 101reminders,  I turn around to find POTTED FAKE FLOWERS!!!

Not just any flowers or flowers that would actually grown in pots but absurdities like magnolias that don’t even grow in pots. I was horrified ….

Before I could protest, he looked at me with that adorable cute face and stern eyes and said “don’t complain because you brought this on yourself and when you can show me you can actual grow something, I’ll take them out.”

SMH, my Grandma is rolling over in her grave!

 In fact one day the wind was high and the flowers were in the middle of the yard like memorial.  So what’s the lesson here? I have yet to figure that out.

I still have no motivation to garden but I’m still horrified by these fake flowers. 

I brought this on myself.

Some Like It Hot🔥

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So I put my own spin on a version of a one pot Jerk Chicken from African Bites. I have to admit, I thought it was delicious. But my husband on the other hand thought his mouth, tongue, cheek, lips, were completely on fire. In the summer one of our favorite dishes is Jerk Ribs. It’s always a huge hit with guest and an unsuspecting hit in the throat for people who aren’t ready for the heat.

I’m all about WalkersWood. It has great flavor and comes in a less spicy variety in case you live with someone with a sensitive palate (like I do). If you do like a little spice in your life use cautiously and be creative. You’ll find a 101 ways to use this sauce in your Kitchen.

What are your favorite go to sauces?
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Walkswood Spicy Jamaican Sorrel Chutney -7 oz (pack of 6)

Updated August 9, 2017 of the daily prompt: Spicy

The MAMEY Experience

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I get a chance to go home to Miami at least once a year. Although I was raised in Miami there is no doubt that my family brought ever tradition, habit, & custom from the MS Delta with her to Sunny South Florida. For the most part, we never had a chance to really enjoy Florida cuisine until we much older.

Last summer during my annual visit, I had a chance to have dinner at a friends house. The kids got a chance to play  while we had dinner and chatted. The food was so good, but dessert blew my mind.

D explained that her husband made a special trip to a special market on the other side of town to get Mamey for us to enjoy.

mamey-fruit-stand photo credit

 

What’s amazing about this very rare fruit is not only the odd look but how sweet the delicate fruit is.

When he sliced it open you could smell the sweetness. The fruit itself looked , to me, much like a sweet potato but the creaminess reminded it me of avocado. and the taste like nothing I had ever had before. It was confusing and delicious…. All at the same time. My husband described the taste more like papaya.

It blew my mind that in all my years, a Florida native, that this fruit had never crossed my path. Its experiences like this that make think about all things I’ve overlooked in life. Has greatness been hiding in plain sight all this time? or has my life really been this vanilla?

Ok, ok… I know its just a fruit.

The suggested way to  enjoy Mamey with a group is as a shake.  Milk + Mamey = Heaven.

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Get the recipe here