Today I’m sharing one of my favorite banana bread recipes. Breads are so good, but usually include a high carb count. This is why breads …
bread
Spontaneous Adventures
I’m back to chewing again and it comes complete with an adventure to St. Petersburg. The weather in Florida was really nice today and my …
"just like your [Italian] Mama makes…"
My title is a quote from one of Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria‘s reviews. My husband and I went for a late dinner last night and had such a fun time.
When I first heard Ruben talking about Giovanni’s I just assumed it was a pizzeria where his townie friends hung out. I deeply regret that thought now that I have experienced the atmosphere, which comes with great conversation and the nicest staff I’ve ever dealt with at a local chain.
I had a couple of these (left)- I don’t know what it was, but it was very sweet and my favorite color 🙂
I also had their Chicken Parmesan (Dinner portion), which comes with a house salad and garlic bread. I did not get my garlic bread, but
the rest of my experience (not to mention large portion sizes) was going so great I didn’t even realize it until today. No real complaint there , but I will be craving the bread now. Also, we sat at the bar so I can understand the bartender forgetting if they do not usually serve food and just drinks.
If you ever come here, please please have their house dressing with your salad. It’s also available for purchase to take home and I honestly think it is AMAZING!
Ruben had a stuffed pizza – I took a bite and it was pretty good. The texture was perfect.
When our visit was finally over and we were leaving I noticed something – a very important something. There was a woman coming into the restaurant with what seemed to be her elderly father. The little Italian man could barely walk, but I could still see his enthusiasm about getting inside Giovanni’s. I realized if this little Italian man was coming to eat here, they MUST know what they’re doing!
Related Links:
Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria (Official Website)
——->I was kinda bummed that their online survey
and feedback forms aren’t working right now.
Urbanspoon page (for location I visited)
Now go support this place!
Zulaika H.
Recent Wawa Adventures
Wawa is a well known food mart which also sells fuel. Apparently, they are very common in some states/areas, but it wasn’t until this summer that our town had a couple locations premiere.
I personally love the place. It’s very entertaining to see everything neatly placed in the store. Everything is so organized – I love when stores are so visually appealing. With that, however, comes a consequence –Â overindulgence.
We stopped by tonight for a snack and I came out with something I didn’t plan on consuming – at all.
I wanted a Butterscotch TastyKake Krimpet cake (very delicious with milk), but after staring at all the labels and seeing the crazy calories I opted for a cup of soup instead. It may have still been a high calorie choice, but not as bad or as sweet as a cake.
Another cool thing about this place is the center of the store has this window area – behind the window is where the employees make your food. You can see everything.
My husband always gets a smoothie – strawberry, but usually banana related. Last night it was a banana smoothie. They are good.
The picture I took of my soup came out very blurry so I’m providing the Wawa photo from their site here (it’s the upper left bowl):
The soup reminded me of the Broccoli cheese from Quizno’s – I swear whatever they do (or buy premade) has to be from the same company. It tastes exactly the same – and it’s my favorite. The part that Wawa tops Quizno’s on is the buttered roll option. The bread goes perfect with the soup.
The last time I got hot food from Wawa was on Nov. 10th (Saturday night). It was the first time I tried their chicken strips and I really liked them (though they are deep fried and probably not even real chicken). Either way, they were good.
Related links:
Wawa.com
Urbanspoon page for the Wawa location I frequent
Thanks for reading,
Zulaika H.
YaYa’s Cuban Cafe & Bakery
This is one of those posts where I can’t understand why I haven’t shared. YaYa’s is a place that has been part of my life for a long time.
Their original location, which I am reviewing, is right down the street from my old high school. As long as I had time before class, I’d stop in for toast with butter and coffee – still my favorite breakfast! And I got it all for about 3 bucks!
When it comes to breakfast sandwiches, I just cannot stay away from this – it is my favorite. A fried egg sandwich. The Cuban bread, baked fresh every day here, just makes it unbelievable. This bakery sells out of their freshly baked bread by 9 or 10 every morning. I think that proves it.
I think the only person that makes better coffee than YaYa’s is my husband, Ruben.
Here’s a video with the restaurant’s owner on the tradition of Cuban Sandwiches and a recipe
Note: YaYa’s caters and even make complete Thanksgiving dinners for great prices and options. Also, if you go there for lunch, try their Pan con Lechon (pork sandwich). It’s very good!
Connect with YaYa’s:
YaYa’s Cuban Cafe (Official website)
YaYa’s Facebook PageÂ
YaYa’s Official YouTube Channel
YaYa’s Twitter (aren’t very active since the creation of their account)
Zulaika H.
Wing Stop – Casselberry, Florida
Below is a “critique essay” I wrote for school on my visit to Wing Stop on Saturday the 6th. I also incorporated my pictures from the visit for the post.
“Let’s go to Wing-Stop”
With that said my husband and I were off to have a late lunch. I had never been to Wing Stop, but Ruben had already gone a few times with his brother and friends. I already knew we were in for a good meal because of their tendency to return at least every couple of months to the nearby restaurant. My experience with the multi-flavored chicken at Wing Stop turned out positive and I see myself going back for more in the near future.
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by an employee who’s enthusiasm actually seemed honest. This gentleman, who also took our order, even went as far as frying us a sample wing my husband and I were not sure of buying. After sitting at our table to wait for our food I took notice of the staff-to-customer interaction. What I really liked was each member’s attention to detail as they took many orders; it was Saturday afternoon after all. It was nice to see they served everyone with the same positive attitude we experienced ourselves – both to customers walking in and calls they were taking constantly on two phones. There were at least six employees all working toward the common goal of getting it right for each customer.
The Casselberry restaurant is small and seats about 30 people. As soon as your order is taken you are free to choose your table. Location, location, location. I quickly decided on a table by service counter where the drinks were given because my husband likes his soda refills. The table for two was small, but still able to accommodate comfortably when our pile of chow was set onto it. We were sitting against a wall with a covering I can say was literally “rustic”. The bottom half is a metal sheet with rows of burnt orange rust that seemed to almost coincidentally appear in stripes. The top half was adorned with random posters either relating to aviation or Pepsi Cola. Overall, the feeling for Wing Stop’s atmosphere was different, clean, and welcoming.
I was excited when our food was set on a tray before us. This was the moment I waited about fifteen minutes for. My husband ordered barbecue flavored chicken strips (i.e. think crispy breaded chicken bathed in gooey sauce). I ordered Louisiana style wings which were rubbed with Cajun seasoning and packed quite a kick. I would rate the spiciness an eight out of ten. They were so good dipped in blue cheese sauce! Each entree is served with french fries which tasted fresh. I really enjoyed them because they were cut without peeling and potato skins hold a lot flavor. We also ordered half a dozen of their “Yeast Rolls” – sweet bread baked in the shape of a ball. These were really tasty and also helped balance the heat from the wings.
Our visit to Wing Stop is one that will definitely repeat. I am mostly looking forward to trying a new style and flavor of wing. From the moment you walk in to the restaurant it feels like you made the right decision. The customer service and food quality only makes it better at Wing Stop. I would absolutely suggest Wing Stop to my friends and family and would bet this is one of the reasons for the non-stop phone orders coming in while we ate our lunch that afternoon. What a tasty and filling lunch that was.
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Thanks for reading – soon I’ll post Part 3 of my New York 2012 series.
New clue… it’s powdery.
Zulaika H.
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
Today I really wanted to do something different – we have rice, beans and meat pretty often. The only problem with doing different things is everyone isn’t always a fan of “new” ingredients (like broccoli, spices, etc.).
For this I used:
- Chicken breast (one, skinless)
- broccoli (about a cup)
- Pasta (medium shells)
- Alfredo sauce (a jar from the store)
- Seasoning (as needed)
First, I put the broccoli to boil in some water in a small saucepan.
Then I cut the meat into 1 in. square pieces. Seasoned. And put into another saucepan to cook. This can also be done by stir fry (probably a better option for flavor).
Once the chicken and broccoli were taken care of, I put in the pasta to boil. I usually use 3/4 cup of pasta per person and that is usually enough for (the three of) us.
Once the broccoli, meat and pasta are all cooked (in about 10-15 minutes all should be done), I combine everything in a pan and add the Alfredo sauce. I keep this on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes* and then it’s all done and ready to serve.
*This would be a good time to toast garlic bread or toss a quick salad.
Here’s what my dinner plate looked like.
If you have the same problem (with trying new things), I encourage you to cook the new stuff anyway (unless there are alergies). Offer your family variety often enough, and you may be surprised at what they are willing to try, and eventually like.
Thanks for reading,
Zulaika
Eggs, bacon and toast
In our house, eggs and toast is the regular breakfast item. This is why I will not bore you with daily posts on what I eat in the morning. But just to have the example logged – so here it is.
I prefer my eggs over-easy (fried in butter), but occasionally we have them as an omelette or scrambled to mix it up. My daughter prefers her eggs scrambled so when she’s not having cereal or Farina I’ll make her eggs like this. Â I have no idea what my husband prefers for eggs because if I ever ask he’ll just say he’s happy with whatever I want that morning lol.
I had my breakfast with sweet tea (the Sweet Leaf tea I mentioned in an earlier post). By the time breakfast was done, I had already drank my first cup of coffee.
Thanks for reading,
Zulaika
