Oh beautiful blueberry

I just couldn't resist starting off with this picture of my little ones.  Again, the got buddy buddy, but only long enough for me to take this picture.  Then the realized the error of their ways, and well, parted ways.

In keeping with the animal theme, this was my drive to work the other day.  Gotta love it.

I had a craving for stuffed shells, and I am thinking that maybe after seeing all those cows, I had an urge for cheese.  Good thing the commissary sells the Amy's version of stuffed shells.

Good there have been a dairy craving bug going around.  Ryan decided last night that he wanted a smoothie.  I thought he was crazy because it was freezing in the house, so I declined.  But I watched.

First in were strawberries.

Then came the blueberries.  Oh yeah!  Gotta love those blueberries.

And this is why the blueberry is so beautiful.  Yes, this is now a purple milkshake.  A low fat milkshake of course.

Ryan must know me so well because he made a little extra.  He knew after he started making it that I would change my mind and really want to have some.  So, I did take a small amount, and it was so delicious.

Can you believe that we made a Mickey Mouse looking mess?

I think I had blueberries on the brain because when I woke up, I still wanted blueberries.  Heck yes, I wanted more blueberries.  They are so good for you.  Here is the low down on blueberries, if you didn't already know about their magical powers:

Blueberries are an excellent source of vitamin C.
In fact, a serving contains about 14 mg or almost 25% of daily requirement for Vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed for the formation of collagen and to maintain healthy gums and capillaries. It also aids in the absorption of iron and promotes a healthy immune system.

Blueberries are a good source of dietary fiber.
Government surveys tell us that there is not enough fiber in our diet. A diet high in fiber contributes to heart health, helping to keep cholesterol in check. Fiber also aids in digestions and helps maintain regularity.

Blueberries contain substances that have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals which are unstable molecules linked to the development of a number of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and other age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's.

http://www.blueberrycouncil.org/nutrition.php

Now that brings me to breakfast this morning.  We are using frozen blueberries, and I recommend frozen fruit as an alternative to fresh.  Particularly when fruits are out of season. I thaw mine for a few hours before using them in frozen yogurt as a topping, and they are great acting as ice cubes in iced tea or lemonade.  But for breakfast, I added them to oatmeal, with a little of my FAVE PB of all time.  If you have not tried Crazy Richards (and they make Krema PB too) then you are truly missing out.  I have been obsessed with this PB ever since I won it from a giveaway.  Oh, it is so good.  Which means this was a fantastic combo for breakfast.

This was the oatmeal, then I added PB and frozen blueberries, then heated it again.  I did this quick and easy microwave style.

The end result: two thumbs up and full for quite some time.

QUESTION:  What is your favorite way to eat blueberries?  Do you enjoy them by themselves, or use them for something like muffins or smoothies?

Great giveaway:  click here for a chance to win nuts from Sahale Snacks.  They look really good so check it out.

Pets and Classic Italian

Last weekend Ryan and I took Ginger, our dog, to the beach to see how she would like the sand and ocean.  We saw some people with their dogs the week before and assumed it would be OK if we did too.  Since the summer is very busy at the beach, I think they do not really allow dogs there too much, but in the winter we've seen other dogs there and thought we should take her too.  She was more concerned with walking along the way than actually seeing the ocean.  But we had a nice walk along the beach as a family.

Here are some random pics from throughout the week or so, that I have been collecting since Marie went home. 

I usually make cheese quesadillas on the griddle, but Ryan was making some warmed up soft chicken tacos, so I got creative too and made the same thing, but in place of chicken, I added imitation crab with some old bay seasoning.  These were delicious and I will be making these again.

This was my good use of the left overs from last weeks from scratch black bean burgers.  I had them for lunch, served open faced.

I went to the Modelo in Angra this week, which is 3-4 times the size of the one here in Praia.  I decided to give in and try some of the yogurts I have been continuously eyeing every time we stop there.  This is a fat free, no added sugar apple and kiwi yogurt.  It is so good.  I definitely need to get more.

My biggest treat this week as my brand new MacBook coming in the mail.  It was so hard to order one to be shipped to an APO address, but we managed to get it delivered here.  I am actually using my new computer right now.  I love how it checks the spelling anytime I am typing, including school posts and blog posts.  I love this computer, but yes, there is some getting used to.

I would like to thank my sister for this yummy treat I enjoyed after a workout this past week. 

Yesterday I wrote about being a tourist in my town and sometimes the locals look at me a little crazy cause I take pictures of everything.  Well, here is one you don't see everyday.  This was the "car" in front of me as I was driving to work.  That is a horse drawn cart, complete with a man in the back.

Friday night Ryan and I went to an awards banquet and got to get dressed up and stuff.  I tried to get my iPhone to get a decent picture, but not so much as you can see here.  The man behind me decided to walk, which turned into a blurry mess.  I also misjudged (gotta love humidity) how long my hair would take to dry.  It was only fully dry by the time we were coming home, at which point, it looked really good.  Oh well, what can you do.  

Ryan and I both had the vegetarian option.  No, he is not a veggie like me, but sometimes you never know how the meat will turn out when cooked for a large amount of people, so to be safe, he ordered the vegetarian meal too.  I will say that the last veggie meal they made me for a function was really good and I am sure they helped in Ryan's decision to order the veggie meal.

Everyone started off with a nice salad and rolls.

This was like a lasagna roll up with ricotta, broccoli and spinach.  It was very good, but I couldn't eat it all.  It was served with green beans and brussels sprouts.  This was my first time eating brussels sprouts because I was always scared to try them.  OMG, these were really good.  I was surprised that I actually liked them so much.  Oh, and it was also served with some rice.

Dessert was cake, and I had to go with the chocolate option.  I also could not resist grabbing a whole skewer of fruit from the big fruit platter.  They had kiwis too, so I snagged some of those because kiwis are my favorite fruit.

It was a nice dinner and it was fun to get dressed up since we don't have to many chances for that here.

Last night we went and paid our rent.  I love that when we pay our rent, we often get a goody in return with our receipt.  Our landlords own a local market/grocery store, so we often get bread or something like that.  This time it was these coconut and cherry cakes.  Ryan tried it last night and said it was really good, but I was too full to try one last night, so I will probably dig in tonight.

Last night's dinner was at Buzio's and boy were they jam packed in that place.  Mostly American's of course.  I love this place and was pleased that my favorite special of theirs was on the menu.

Olives to start, and I love them here because they are covered in garlic.

More garlic...with the garlic bread.  Good thing Ryan was eating these too!

This is a caipirnha, which is the national drink of Brazil made with a liquor made from sugar cane.  This is a very popular drink here too.  Holy cow, this was strong.  It tasted like tequila to me, but the server said it is a special liquor from the sugar can plant. 

Here is some additional information I found on this drink online:

Pronounced 'KIE-PUR-REEN-YAH', this fresh, exotic cocktail is becoming as hot among international crowds as it is on Copacabana Beach. Traditional caipirinha is made with cachaça, sugar, and crushed limes, served over ice. It is always muddled (crushed with a masher or the blunt end of a wooden spoon). Make sure to muddle in a shaker or a sturdy, non-breakable glass. You can also try replacing lime with about 1/2 cup of fresh tangerine, star fruit, passion fruit, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, orange, mango, grape, guava, figs, etc.

What is Cachaça?
Pronounced "KA SHA SA", cachaça is a national product of Brazil. It is also the base ingredient of Brazilian national cocktail, caipirinha. The major difference between cachaça and rum is that rum is usually made from molasses, a by-product from refineries that boil the cane juice to extract as much sugar crystals as possible. And cachaça is made from fresh sugarcane juice that's fermented and distilled.

History of cachaça goes back to 400 year ago when plantation owners began serving the liquid to their slaves after noticing that the drive would increase vigor. It is commonly known that the spirit was first invented by Portuguese settlers in Brazil. Over the years better distilled cachaças were developed and soon people started to drink it on dinner tables in colonial Brazil. Shortly after slavery was banned in 1888, the monarchy was ousted and progressive leaders decleared Brazil a modern Republic, national proide began to sugar throughout the country.
http://www.cocktailtimes.com/dictionary/cachacas.shtml

After we had some time to enjoy our drink, and well, get a little tipsy, the food was ready for us to enjoy.  We started with a nice Greek salad to share.

Then we both ordered the baked eggplant parm, which is fantastic here.

I love how it is layered almost like a lasagna.  Oh, and ooey gooey cheesy.

Coffee for the end of the meal.  By now the place was so packed with people, we were ready to head home.

Since I started this post with some pictures of my pets, here are 2 I just took of them.  They have NEVER laid down together, nicey nicey, not ever.  The cat is not feeling so well, so I think she caved and looked to the dog for some warmth and comfort.  I just had to snap some photos of them.

QUESTIONS:  Do you own a Mac or are you considering a Mac?  Do you have 2 pets that don't really get along, but rather just tolerate each other?  Or do they get along?  Have you ever heard of a Caipirinha before?

Girl's Night Out

By my title you might think I had a girl's night out...but no, the island (and all of the Azores I believe) had a girls night out.  Let me back up to the previous Thursday...Guy's night out.  I did not really have an idea, but then over last weekend Ryan asked me about it.  I still had no idea, and I guess the idea was only guy's were allowed out.  This meant no females could dine in restaurants.  So, then he explained that the next Thursday (the one that just passed) would be Girl's night out.  He wouldn't be able to go out that night, and for me it was a Friday night.

So fast forward to this past Thursday night.  We noticed our dog may have a bladder infection, so we thought we should try to locate a vet or at least go to the pet store to see if they sold the Urinary S/O prescription dog food.  So on Thursday night we headed to Praia.  While the pet store did not have this, they gave us directions to the vet.

We did find the vet, but they only had Urinary S/O for cats, but whatever, we bought it anyway and figured we could come back to the vet if we needed to and have Ginger checked out.  Then we figured since we were out, we should get something to eat for dinner.  And that is when Ryan remember it was Girl's night out.  We wondered if we could find any place to serve us, and Ryan didn't know what to do because soon enough it was all girl's everywhere.  We even saw an older woman out wearing devil horns.  I guess with Guy's night out there were special women there to entertain and we heard on girl's night out there would be special men to entertain...not sure if that is true or what since we didn't go out for it.  But I did see a post, in Portuguese of course, on Facebook that I think said this was across all Azorean islands and it was like a day for girl friends, so basically a Girl's night out...but it is an actual holiday here.  Reminds me of when my Hawaiin friend told me about girl's day and boy's day.

So the packs of girl's were swarming around and we ducked into a cafe that looked like it might close soon.  The owner was more than happy to serve us, and we were glad to be off the street.  So here is how Ryan and I spent Girl's night out.

I had to take a picture of the cute looking condiments.  If you get salad it is always served with oil and vinegar.

My salad was around the outside of my actual dinner.  This was sorta like a casserole.  It was cod fish, potato and cheese.  She let me sample this special before I ordered.  Ryan really liked it too.  It was like chunks of potato with cheese and it had shredded cod fish in it, almost like a tuna noodle casserole, well except with cod and potato.  But it was nice, and not too creamy.

Ryan ordered a hamburger..actually I believe this was named Menu #2!

Couldn't resist dessert as this was a cafe, which specializes more in the sweets than meal type foods.  ryan ordered this.  It was like custardy and eggy, and had almonds. 

I ordered this ridiculously large pastry with chocolate inside.  I only ate 1/2 and I was stuffed.  But I wanted a little chocolate and this was all they had in the chocolate family...they were in the process of cleaning up for the day.

As always...the coffee.

So, I am thankful we were able to find something to eat on the island traditional day for only girl's.

On to some other pictures I have taken over the past week, since I was busy writing all about my trip to China.  Sophia of Burp and Slurp asked me a great question and I thought I would answer it here.  She wanted to know how I remembered so much from my trip since it was a few years ago.  Since I received something like 36 credits of continuing education for my RD portfolio, it almost became like a school project.  My boss gave me some of these days off for my trip as Education days which did not use my vacation time, so it was considered like being at work.  As a result I took a lot of notes and then presented when I returned to work.  So that helped a lot of it stay in my mind since I invested a lot of time in learning while I was there.  Also, I scrap booked when I cam home and although it is in storage, I am a visual learner, so that helped a lot of details stuick in my mind too.  I still have my itinerary here and the photos I do have were named really well to help jog my memory.  There is a lot I did forget and leave out from my 3 weeks there, but this was seriously an unforgettable experience.

Moving right along, so you everyone can get on with their busy busy weekends...My new favorite breakfast...oatmeal, almond butter and strawberries, so yummy!

I took this picture last night of some "exotic" beers we picked up here.  This is the real Budweiser from the Czech (did I spell that right?) Republic, or something along those lines, hmmm...
Oh and we also have a Lambic, but this is Timmerman's brand.  Also here is a Super bock, which is not exotic for here at all, but rather one of their main beers.

Last up is this animal cracker action we have going on at our house.  This is our tin of animal crackers, or shall I say, dog treats, and our dog's tin.  Yep, I may enjoy the animal crackers, but not more than the dog.  She actually things they are dog treats and gets angry when I eat them.  She tries to take them away from me.

So I share with her, since they used to be all hers, but I developed an extreme like for these again.

Oh, and if you are curious about her infection, yes I took her to Angra yesterday and I was pleased with the local vet there.  They gave her some antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory, and in 8 days we will ultrsound to make sure there are no blood clots in her bladder.  She has had that before, so we knew this was probably similar.  So we started treatment and she should be better in no time.

QUESTION:  What is your favorite, or the most unique holiday, you celebrate, either religious or cultural, or anything local to where you live? 

P.S. We have a major flavor undertaking for this weeks FROM SCRATCH meal.  Looks like Sunday will be the day for cooking since we have a work thing to go to tonight, which I have already this morning made a 6 layer bean dip for, and one for us at home of course.