HEARTC♡RE

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My addictive personality strikes again - and it's diet coke. I think about a fat, crisp diet coke multiple times a day. If I can't get my hands on one exactly, only the diet drinks can satiate the addiction - not the sugar free. I had two today and I debated the third but it was too late in the day and I am pretty sensitive to the caffeine in it (is this the source of my headache??). I just. . . . a large fat diet coke from McDonalds - fuck me up baby. 

I am always incredulous when I see the damn price of a 12 pack of Coke - WHY IS IT $7.99... that's ridiculous!! But then girl math, it beats the the $6+ for a tall iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso which only = 1 drink. So all in all, this addiction is more economically viable. YAY!

This all started at the end of August when we took a 12 pack of diet coke to PCB for my mom's birthday weekend. I think I had 3 a day, including the absolute crispest chilliest can at the beach on that hot summer day. That was the exact day my taste buds molded to praise diet coke and diet coke only. I know it's been a THAT girl, chronically online, drink but it has transcended that level in my personal life. She is so sexy, so chic, I want ALL the Diet Coke merch. I actually have a small Tervis tumbler with a stitched diet coke patch within the insulation and it's super cute. I need to find it - yesterday.

There is a lot of conflicting information on Diet Coke and it's impacts on health. I found this infographic from @thefitnesschef_ that breaks down some of the usual commentary on diet drinks and the "truths" that I have read on before. You can click this link to read the full post and the science behind it. 

But okay - just because it's not going to kill you I would NOT recommend drinking multiple a day like I have. I think if I actually set some boundaries for my drinks I'd opt for primarily water with a diet drink twice a week max. . . I am def going to slow it down but I may not get over this till late October (hehehe).

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Shut the front door - I have found my favorite run of the mill grocery store pick! Kerrygold Dubliner and strawberries. I was eating my breakfast bowl (Greek yogurt bowl that included chopped strawberries) and I cut a sliver of the Dubliner I grabbed at Publix on Monday and I ate it back to back with the strawberry and it was just breakfast bliss. 

It's been a while since I've had Dubliner and I don't know why since I know it never misses - it's so nutty and sweet and just sharp enough. I wonder if there is a more expensive and aged version because I think I would float to heaven. 

Every grocery store has Kerrygold brands, so this is the winning pair to throw into your cart when you're doing weekly grocery shops. I checked, and my local Publix has their Reserve Irish Cheddar and Aged Cheddar - I will HAVE to buy next time and see what's going on there. 

Anyways, I have a few Cheesemes on the back log I have yet to post - so stay tuned!!

My family is from the Eastern coast of Mexico, and although we look close to the ocean on this map we aren't. We live right on the border of two states so it's hard for me to choose which one I'm from but these days I lean towards Veracruz.

One of the stranger things my family, and those from our area, enjoys to eat are what we call chicalas, also known as chicatanas. They are large flying ants that normally come out during the rainy season. One of my favorite childhood memories was our grandmother waking us up in the early hours of the night, grabbing brooms and buckets and going out to the street. There, we would wait until hundreds of these flying ants would gather around a street light and hit them with our brooms to disorient the ants and put them in our buckets and plastic bags. While you bend down to pick the ones on the floor, the ones buzzing would hit your back. It wouldn't just be our family but our neighbors as well. After we felt we had enough and the amount of flying ants decreased, we went back inside to count our loot. I don't ever remembering questioning whether or not it was something normal.

Except for the one or two I would decide to keep as a temporary pet, their wings were removed, they were washed, and you would pick one of many different ways to eat them! The easiest is to just roast them in a pan until crunchy and eat them like a quick snack- just add salt & pepper and top with your favorite hot sauce. Or, you can put them into a salsa or mix them into the tortilla dough (though the last might have been a fabricated memory of mine). At this time, a lot of people around town are enjoying them or they can be sold and bought for a nice price.


I will be honest and say that I have never been a big Chicala eater. My dad and sister, on the other hand, are something else. They absolutely love them. I remember one summer my dad stayed in the states while we traveled. On our way back to GA, we had a bag of them (already roasted) in our suitcase. I remember dreading the idea of immigration officials questioning us about ants in our luggage. Luckily, we were fine and they were kept in our freezer for our dad to enjoy. I asked Emily to help me remember whether they took the wings off or not and she said she thinks they kept them on because she remembers them sticking in her throat (they are removed). When I asked about their legs, we decided they stayed on since we remember seeing all the tiny legs at the bottom of the bag or bowl (but they might have just been missed). I was thinking of a reason why I wasn't the biggest fan while she was thinking of why she was, and at the same time we said: "they're so smokey."

Recipe: Chicalas en Salsa Macha

Ingredients:

• chicalas
• chile verde (serrano/jalapeno)
• sal

The blog where I found this recipe specifies that this is a (unsurprisingly) pre-Hispanic recipe. I have never thought about it in that way, but I am happy to be able to share in a delicacy that is not only centuries old, but was practiced by my indigenous ancestors. This is important to me because being American-born distances me from Mexican-ness. Then my European-ness, like some of my features, my religion, my language, takes away from my indigenous-ness. But when I eat handmade tortillas, chiles, use a molcajete (photo above) I really do find some magic and resilience in it. ✌🏾

another video of them being cooked:

Yesterday was my 22nd Birthday!! I really really felt the love!! From private messages to my Facebook wall, I felt so thankful that everyone took the time to wish me happy birthday. So for that, thank you! Especially my boyfriend for making me feel special from halfway across the world for both the little details and the gifts (that I had trouble being patient for) 💝.

I had two celebrations, one with my girl friends and the other with my family.

The girls and I went out on Saturday the 1st. Last month I was like "what should I do for my birthday??" Then a couple weeks passed and honestly it wasn't until the day before that I actually remembered I had to plan something 😅.

I decided that I wanted to try an ice cream shop in the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta, so based my restaurant choice walking distance from the shop. I decided to go for the "Southern food with a Louisiana inspired flair" restaurant down the street called Serpas.

We had a good experience (though the waitress was a little dry) and walking in I immediately loved the style. It had a very cosmopolitan air to it and because it was formerly a warehouse the ceilings were high and it was beautiful. The menu has a lengthy wine list, but I went for a simple cocktail. The menu wasn't as my style as I had imagined, even though I had looked it up before. I tried to go for something involving shrimp and gumbo but they were out  of gumbo (what? I know) so I went for the jumbo scallops. It was supposed to come with soba noodles which I was excited for, but it came with mashed potatoes instead.  Two of the girls got the empanadas which I think were pretty good, another got the cheese plate, and we had beignets as dessert. I do think my dish could have been better, and for my first time having beignets they weren't as to die for as Kim Kardashian made them out to be.
After trading my heels for sandals, we walked towards Queen of Cream. Yesenia and I were walking in front, with Yuri and Virginia behind, and we saw this huge rat cross right in front of us. I have goosebumps right now, but I was like 😱. We had our (made from scratch) ice cream, sat outside and enjoyed a cool night before heading home. Thanks girls! I wasn't expecting gifts and they were all so perfect.

My persona isn't about the aesthetic, but my "eye candy" radar is all about it. For the last couple months I've been following some ladies with a good eye and skills. I love having these cozy, colorful, cute, and clever posts on my feed throughout the day. Here's my top three, along with a sample of their posts. If you're interested in checking out their complete feed or following them, you can do so by clicking the photo of their profile to be re-directed. Enjoy.


I think I followed Hina when I was in Oman the last time. I live vicariously through her feed 😩. Wish I had this talent. Her photos are so simple and elegant, not to mention look so yummy. She also posts photos of her travels, as well as come cute candids of herself.







She popped up on my popular page and I'm so glad she did!! I love all her ideas, puns, and how she brings everything to life. I think she is most popular for her #PantonePosts where she chooses 6 pantone colors and pairs them with either a full recipe or different fruits, vegetables, and foods.

Hello everyone!

As I mentioned previously, I am doing a summer internship for my host parents. If you follow regularly, actually not even, you probably know that my host dad is a chef. Sometime last year in November I wrote a post on my host dad's week at the Shangri La here in Oman as a guest chef at one of their five star restaurants. Before that in September, I was in Milan for my host dad's appearance as a chef for the Etihad Pavillion. They have also had a lot of success as both a home based catering company and as prominent wedding cake creators.

Point is, this is really just the beginning of my host parent's journey into the culinary world. It's been a long, winding road, but things are quickly coming together for the opening of their new restaurant, Al Loomie! 🎉

It's an amazing feeling to have been able to be there last year when the ball really started rolling. Now, being back and actually being physically a part of the process to their dreams is three levels above that.

And I am in the process in two different ways. . . . writing (eh) and tasting (yay). For last few I have been tasting while they have been perfecting the recipes and menu. This week, we had a test run so they could get more familiarized with the pace of things and perfect their timing for prep, cooking, plating, and serving. And guess who was one of the guest guinea pigs. C'est moi. 🐝

Al Loomie is Omani fine dining with set five or seven course menus.  For our tasting we were served a five course meal that was perfect for seafood lovers.


Signature Prawns


Silqah Soup


Goat Cheese Profiteroles


Chef Salim's Baploo Risotto


Symphony of Luqaimat


Overall it was such a wonderful experience. As I mentioned before, it's so surreal being part of these critical steps. Surreal and delicious. They agree that they have some things to improve, as there will always be, but they are already up there and it's so exciting. I'm not a professional food critic (note I said professional 😜) so won't grandstand and waste your time. In the meantime, enjoy the photos as much as I have enjoyed the food. 😊

Thanks Al Loomie 😉