Quarantine Pop Ups

So we are stuck home.. Reading a book, bing watching Netflix, or maybe talking to that one guy you think is cute but having to wait till you can meet in person.

Every guy you ever spoken to has popped back up. It can be a simple hey text or a slide into the DM. But they are back one after the other.

Barcode the other day messaged me and I was so tempted to finally ask what will happen if I scan that barcode. Will I get a grand prize?? Sadly I chose to stay quite and walk away.

Let me be real if it didn’t work the first time will it work when we are stuck in quarantine I think not.

Then this morning it happened. So I tend to delete dating apps often when I am frustrated with the fools in it. But there was one guy I was into. The guy I was head over heels and we never got a chance to really talk because I was mad and deleted the account he reappeared. It is it worth “talking” in quarantine? Should I bother with this mess?

Comfort Food with a Twist

So most Hispanic homes have that one staple that is fast and every one loves. Can be arroz con huevo frito or maybe your mom made perfect black beans. But in my case I loved arroz con salchicha!!!

If you don’t know these simple dishes try them I’m sure you will be pleasantly suprised by all of them and the simple yummiest things you can find.

Well I was pleasantly suprised to find Finka makes a very good fancy version of my favorite dish with wild boar but they were out this time. I had to try something else and I was even more happy this time.

The Cuban fried rice was even better! The shrimp are inside are amazing and so savory!
I also had a side of Vaca Frita that’s had the perfect sauce. I hate to say this but it was better than my moms!!

I can honestly say that if you want to support a restaurant right now and you want good food that feeds the soul but is new and exciting Finka is the way to go!

A Kitchen Should be the Cooks

I was smart enough to run from my in laws but some moments are too funny to look back on now.

I kept several things but as I moved from an apartment for a larger house I finally had the kitchen I had dreamt of and went out and bought several things. I do miss my beautiful mixer!

Well the day I decided to unpack my kitchen was a Saturday and my father and step mother had come to help. And of course my in-law lived there so guess who was around just watching. Help was not expected from the fools living in my house.

My step mother volunteered me to wash all the dishes as I unpacked and organized. She was so careful to ask where I wanted things and made it a point to tell me it was my kitchen and she wanted me to find things. After I was finally done I placed some decorations on the counter in certain places I wanted them and opened a bottle of wine after all of this work. I went outside for a bit to talk to my “visitors” and have a drink.

When I come inside I find all the decorations moved round and my mother in law laughed saying she liked it better that way. In order to avoid a fight, I moved the things back and laughed it off.

When I would leave, things would move all by themselves. This continued to happen through the next week 2 more times. I was slowly losing my mind. Did this women think this was joke? Did she really think I would not notice? My ex would laugh and brush it off.

At one point, I could not find the flatware or certain things and I lost my mind. I did not cook for the next 2 days with the excuse that I could not find things in my own kitchen. As my ex did not want to lift a finger to defend me he would starve.

While I am still unsure what was said between his mom and him, my kitchen decorations were never moved again and all things were put back as I had chosen.

Juntos Pero No Revueltos…

So my marriage was far from perfect but the real turn to crazy was when his parents moved into our brand new house. It was 4 years into our relationship when we bought a house I was beyond excited to make it a home. Little did I know how weird things would get.

My in laws were nuts. They had always spoken about living near other or even in the same home. As they would love to say “Juntos Pero No Revueltos” but this was never my idea of a happy ever after.

We had lived a few years in Miami Beach and decided it was time to buy a home. We did and I loved the idea of remodeling but soon after we moved in the worst was yet to come. His parents at the time had been living in a Mobile home. They got a “great offer”, sold the mobile home, and told us they would live in the keys at the second Mobile home they owned till they could buy a property.

My idiot ex offered them the extra bedroom and office for his parents and their teenager daughter. They told us they would never impose on us as we set up our new home. But that was clearly a lie.

After a month or so, we finally were settled in to our home. My in laws started to like the idea of staying with us when they became too tired for the daily commute to the florida keys. It started as a weekday sleepovers. And at some points they would stay a weekend and basically we had lost our home to the invaders.

Stay tuned for the details of this mess.

You’re not my boyfriend!

So I just have to vent this story. Has anyone ever had a friend that just gets a little to close! To the point where they feel like a boyfriend. Well I did and it got a little out of hand.

I had a friend let’s call her Nadine who got a little to close for comfort. This girl had convinced me it was a good idea for her to have a key to my house while I was in crutches for a break to start the story of crazy.

The next thing I knew she was showering in my house because it was closer to the gym. And sending me photos in the middle of the day with my dog as she used my home to study. At one point she used my house to make her boyfriend dinner and left with all my Tupperware and pots and pans.

Now at this point in my life I had just met George. (You can read about his wonderful introduction to my family below.) At a group event Nadine ends up with George’s number after sending him some photos. She also decided it would be funny to start sending him memes and funny text messages. Well Nadine went to fabricate a story on how George was trying to take her to dinner.

To put the icing on the cake I was going thru a bad time in my life with some family deaths. Nadine tried to make me think I should be dealing with things her way. Well that was things got ugly. She basically thought she owned me and somehow my neighbor got involved. Needless to say have time with your bestie but some people will take over!

You Must try Eating House!

After a few trips to Eating House, I can honestly say this is one of my favorite restaurants in all of miami. The best part is they have seasonal menus and you can always try something new and amazing.

Some of my favorites are the braised pork calentado, the pork melts in your mouth! And anything with an egg on top is amazing!

Now everyone one loves the pasta carbonara but I can say pasta pomodoro is my personal favorite! You have to try it the cheese to tomato sauce ratio is so perfection!

Def get the fried cheese! Trust it’s yummy! But the perfect way to the end the night is the dirt cup! This cup is an ice cream dream!

So def check out eating house for a brunch lunch dinner idk but it’s amazing!

But wait not even dessert?

This a story from a reader…

A few year ago, I went in a date the guy I had met on a dating app and had just moved to Miami from a random place I can’t even remember.

He invited me to go out and at the time I was younger and more naive. So I agreed to go to Cheesecake Factory. When I arrived the guy looked nothing like in his pictures. First of all, he was skinnier than me which was def unacceptable but I was hungry and not wanting to be rude so I stayed for the date.

I’m a pretty talkative person, so I started talking to him about all the places he should go in Miami. (Knowing perfectly well that I would never see him again) I order two small plates, fried Mac and cheese balls and beets and goat cheese.

By the end, I was ready to go home but of course why else would you accept a date to Cheesecake Factory if it isn’t for the cheesecake. So I asked if he wanted to split one. He said no. So we ordered the check… He later told me to split the check which was fine. As we parted ways, he asked me when we would go out again.

I said no thank you and went to buy myself a cheesecake.

Birthday cake at the beach

My niece recently turned 10 and she wanted an over the top birthday cake for her big weekend away at the beach. As I am the aunt who will please her every desire, she got just that. Three tier cake (Delicious!) that honestly would last the whole weekend. During that weekend, my sister decided to rent an apartment on the beach. My new “friend” would be meeting the family for the first time. He would spend the day (just the day) so we thought. My sister, her husband, my niece, and nephew would in one room. My mother and I would be in another at the Diplomat in Hollywood beach.

My niece and nephew made fast friends with lets call him George, and they played in the sand. My mom had a light conversation with him and everyone was getting along. The day went great.

At dinner, there was several jokes and we all had an amazing time. In fact, we honestly laughed through the whole dinner and made plans to sing happy birthday for the millionth time with it being a long day for the kid they were going to go to bed with my mother. George, my sister, brother in law and myself would be going out for drinks. But George sat on my bed in the hotel and closed his eyes in 2 minutes he was out like a light. My mom looked over and started to laugh but I did not know how to wake up George.

My sister, her husband, and the kids had come into the room so the kids could stay with my mom and we could all go have a drink. But there was no waking up George. My sister did leave with my brother in law and the kids stayed with my mom and made several jokes about how George just snores away as I stuck my elbow in to his ribs a couple times trying to wake him. But George was dead to the world and sound asleep.

The next morning George quietly said goodbye to me and my mom clearly very embarrassed. Later that morning, my family got together at a lost for words as we eat birthday cake!

Spices On Spices

After a late night at work, a friend and I randomly decided to have dinner at a restaurant. After going back and forth, we decided on Ghee Indian Kitchen, which is located in Downtown Dadeland. Wow was I impressed with this place and all the wonderful spices used.

They do have a family style tasting menu that looked amazing but we decided to order for ourselves and was not disappointed in the least.

The seared brussels sprouts had walnut and honey and the sweet taste is just mouth watering. A must have was the yellowfin tuna bhel! The tuna could have not been more fresh and mixed with the avocado. It was one of the best dishes I have ever had. If you like naan bread and you can take spicy try the ghost pepper naan and you will never forget me. The charred corn with cilantro is amazing and a great side! But the roasted pork vindaloo is my favorite part! Spicy but so so good!

Coronavirus Cleanse

During this time in quarintined, we can’t really date. But don’t worry I have a couple stories up my sleeve to get us through. There are somethings we can do meanwhile to work on ourselves.

One of the things I’m a going to try is celery juice. Every morning in an empty stomach I’m a drinking fresh celery juice. This may need badly with rationed toilet paper. Let see how we go.

I also giving up Cuban coffee for now. This will be so hard but there is no need to wake up at the crack of dawn and drink coffee that holds so much sugar.

What is something positive you can do for your body during this time in quarantine?