Berries and a Naked Lemon

I have been waiting to upload these photos since July. I was supposed to post this in July but it has been sitting as a draft since then. Sorry for the delay!

Well I think this is my first official recipe post. So bear with me here.
I have been talking about making a blueberry pie for a few days now and I'm finally actually doing it! What is summer without a good berry pie?

I picked up some blueberries the other day, but I snuck into the package and ate a few so I was under the amount needed to make a full blueberry pie. I had to move to plan B. We have a bunch of blackberries too, so I decided to make a blueberry blackberry pie.



Now just to let you know, I'm not THAT good at creating things, especially when it come to baking. It isn't easy to invent baked goods when you don't understand the basic science to measurements of flour, sugar, water baking powder etc. So I find a recipe and alter a little. I mean most of the recipes you find are going to be the same if not very similar. But like I said, it's very easy to mess up a cake if the measurements are off. Pies are a little easier, luckily. :)
The recipe I am going by (I changed a recipe I found online) Hope it's edible.
This is the semi-homemade berry berry pie.

Crust
9-inch Deep Dish Pie Crust (with top) (I pre-baked the bottom crust according to package directions)
1 beaten egg
Filling
2 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 teaspoon grated lemon peel, I recommend using organic lemons for this. (I got 3 teaspoons from 1 lemon)

3 Tablespoon lemon juice, you will probably need 2 lemons. (I used the leftover lemon juice to make a refreshing lemonade sweetened with Agave. mmmm)
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare crust in deep dish.

I pre-baked mine and it got a little crispy on the edges.

You can try covering the edges with foil or using a pie crust shield like this. My pie crust shield is in storage. :(


Pie weights are helpful too since the crust tends to puff up.

Wash and pat dry berries, don't forget to remove all stems.

Combine berries, sugar, flour, salt, lemon peel, and lemon juice in mixing bowl.
Add berry mixture to pie shell. (after fully cooling if you pre-bake the bottom crust.)
Drop butter bits on top.

Add the top crust and seal. You can use any extra dough to decorate top. Cut a couple of slits in top crust.
Take beaten egg and brush on the top crust to give it a shiny finished look. You can even sprinkle some sugar on the top too.

Bake on cookie sheet for 20 minutes.
Cover pie with foil and bake for an additional 25 minutes. Crust should be lightly browned and juices should bubble.

 It definitely wasn't pretty.

L.C. Roti Shop and Western Indian

Mmmm...delicious. Ordered doubles and veggie roti. Never had this before but I left with a full belly and a smile on my face.

Since I am blogging from my phone I will have to edit later when I get home.

Ok so today is zilla day. And its my first official zilla day in a few weeks. I have been really sacking off on the blows lately. I came up to north Miami beach to pick up a car with the future ma in law. We always go eat something and since this place she has gone to for years is right next to the dealer, we went to eat there. It was good. Doubles are like little pancakes with chickpeas, veggies and sauce in the middle. You eat it with your hands and scoop up the beans with pieces of flatbread. A little spicy but gooood. Everything is made with traditional Indian spices, but L.C. Is from Trinidad. So her food is made in the style of street carts of Trinidad.

The roti comes with different meats, beef, chicken, goat, etc. I got veggie. Similar ingredients as the doubles except, more spices/spicier and with mashed potatoes. This is all then wrapped up into a present with the roti (unleavened bread). Sort of like a flatbread or like a giant tortilla, but way better. Full of flavor, spicy kick and L.C. Herself small talking with you at the counter.

Now this isn't your normal eatery. There is no A/C and there are only 3 tables in the restaurant. The other seating is at the bar/counter where you order. A huge shop fan situated at the entrance blows fairly warm air on you while you eat. I'm not complaining, just preparing you for your visit.

They also have a great assortment of island beverages like champagne kola and ginger beer. I would definitely eat there again. Reasonably priced, good portions, and delicious home cooking taste.

Located in a shopping plaza off N.W 2nd ave near Miami Gardens Dr.

Ok pictures!
I was defeated by the roti. Can't wait to eat my leftovers.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.2

Balans

Today is a zilla day and for breakfast we went to Balans, on Lincoln Rd. It was pretty good. I ordered an omelette with pepper jack cheese and mushrooms. It came with a side of potatoes and two pieces of toast. It was good and a nice portion. The meal came with a side of juice, tiny juice. Here are the photos.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Here Comes the Sun

Every Thursday is a zilla day- bridal/wedding planning day. I venture through the tri-county are in search of wedding stuff. I haven't been consistent with the food postings. Last week I did post Carmela's and that was after picking up my engagement ring. We usually have breakfast and maybe lunch. Sometimes we get snacks too. Today we started the day off late but we got lunch after picking out David's suit and the wedding party suitable. We went to one store and found exactly what we were looking for. Well atleast what I was looking for.
We ate at an old place in North Miami called Here Comes the Sun. It's an old health food store and natural/vegetarian restaurant. They are well known for their Colombo frozen yogurt. I love that there are baskets of saltine crackers in every table, so you can munching while to peruse the menu.

I used to frequent the place as a child with my mom (she was a hippie back in the day, and used to work at a health food store). So I grew up eating tofu, sesame honey snacks and tiger's milk. We always used to stop in and get some frozen yogurt. I was excited to pay a visit to this nostalgic place. I ordered a sun burger:

I was relieved to know that it is a homemade veggie patty and its cooked rather than sun-baked. Phew. It was prey delicious and much thicker than I had imagined. It was served on a pita cut in half with salad in the middle. It comes plain but you can always put some sprouts and veggies from the salad in it, that's what I did. Next time I will order if with cheese (for the vegans, soy cheese is on the menu. I also poured some here comes the sun sauce, located on every table in a mustard bottle. It's a musk paste based sauce that was pretty tasty yet very simple. I couldn't finish the burger but I'm actually eating the other half in the car right now. For dessert I had to get some frozen yogurt. One thing about this place is that I have this childhood memory of the frozen yogurt being very tart, the way it SHOULD be. The last time I ordered frozen yogurt from there was when I was in high school. That was prob about 10 years post childhood visits. When I got the yogurt, my memory was tarnished because the yogurt wasnt the same. It wasn't tart the way I remember it. I decided to try the yogurt again and see if I could relive my childhood once again. Failure! It still isn't the same. It was just regular sweet vanilla frozen yogurt. Ugh, what a let down. Another let down in the size and price. You can see in the picture that its like a sample size of yogurt. That's on the menu as a 2oz I believe. I actually paid $2.50 for that thing! Davids mom is telling me that it was free but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
Ok let me add some photos.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Stuffed French Toast Goodness

ok well I finally decided to make stuffed French toast. I've been wanting to make it for a while and today was the day. My inspiration? holla! (as in challah) So here's what I did with half-ass measurements.
1/2 loaf challah bread, cut into slices.
2 eggs
about 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
you can also add a little whipping cream to thicken the egg. I didn't have any.
Some cinnamon ( I used ceylon from Costa Rica)
some nutmeg

for cream cheese filling:
1/2 a block cream cheese. (I Think they come in 8oz packages, so about 4ozs)
some Orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
if you want to make the cream cheese sweeter, you can add some powdered sugar.
Chopped pecans or walnuts optional. (I Didn't use nuts)

Fruity Sauce:
1/2 a 12oz or so jar of seedless raspberry or apricot jam/preserves
juice from 2 oranges.

Powdered sugar for dusting

Whisk the egg, vanilla, (cream), nutmeg and cinnamon together in a large shallow bowl.

Mix the cream cheese, (powdered sugar), Orange zest and vanilla together until well blended. (Stir In nuts).

Spread some cream cheese mixture onto a slice of challah, then cover it with another slice to make a sandwich. Dip the sandwich in the egg mixture and coat both sides evenly. Cook each side on a greased pan/griddle. Cook until just a little brown or however crisp you like. Make the remaining sandwiches and repeat until the cream cheese mixture is gone.

While you make the sauce, you can put the sandwiches on an oven safe dish and keep in a warm oven until sauce is ready. I put my oven to the lowest temp setting of 170.

In a small saucepan, on LOW heat, cook the orange juice and jam until a thick sauce forms. I capitalize LOW so that you don't make the same mistake I made and overflow purple sticky sauce all over the stove. My setting was originally set just above the lowest setting on my stove. Be careful and watch it like a hawk. Stirring with a whisk constantly. It doesn't have to be that thick, just do it to your liking.
Once the sauce is made, take the sandwiches out of the oven and serve warm with warm raspberry sauce on top. Make it as saucy as you want. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and you can even add a dollop of whipped cream, mmmmm.

Enjoy

now the food porn, except that all the pictures are going to be at the top :/

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Carmela's Italian Market

Wonderful! The place is small, very cozy, like you're sitting on your patio. The walls are adorned with photos of Italian dishes and memories of Italy. Above the cold cases were photos of Carmela herself, making fresh mozzarella.
We walk in and there's a little old lady sitting at a table with her walker. She looks like she comes her on a regular basis. Her nurse, whose name I later learned was Vera, sat at a table beside her. The old lady eventually scoots her way with her walker, up to the display case to order a pasta dish to go. She asks us how we like it, "isn't it great? I'd eat all this stuff if I could" as she points to her teeth. Dentures.

Carmela, the matron of the house, with her full on Italian accent, comes from behind the display cases to greet us. She gives us options for sandwiches and asks what we like. She goes down the list of things she can make for us. Very friendly and accommodating. She says "I can makea vegetarian, or the chicken parmagiana, whatever you want."

I enjoyed hearing her tell us about how she went to Subway to finally try a sub and see why everyone eats there. When she opened the sub, she said: "I trow ita away, I could nota eat it. Itsa so gross. Da bread was no good. I tella people, if you wanna a $5 sub, you go to subway" Amazing, EVERYTHING is homemade. Lasagna with homemade bechamel, fresh grilled eggplant with garlic and mint. Homemade FRESH mozzarella. OMG I can go on and on.
The place is located in a shopping plaza called Emporium Shoppes on Okeechobee just east of Haverhill Rd. Maybe a couple miles east of the turnpike. If you're on a road trip and need a bite of good fresh Italian food, stop off at Okeechobee. Right next door to her place is a Jewish bakery and a farmers market.

I had the Sicilian: grilled eggplant, baby spinach, roasted red peppers and fresha mozzarella! It was gigantic and delicious. And it's not on my diet, but I skipped breakfast :/ so...

He place is unexpectedly great for a small plaza deli. I loved it. Thank you Carmela. :)

Again sorry for pictures all being at top. My phone is strange.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Random Food fotos

Risotto cake from Whole Foods

Dulce de Leche cake from Buenos Aires Bakery

Lettuce wrap veggie sandwich from Jimmy Johns.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4