James' Birthday

On Sunday it was my boyfriend's birthday. This year he did not want me to make a big deal out of it and he did not want a party. So, instead I decided to bake him a cake (just like his mom use to when he was growing up) and make some tapas dinner.

Menu of the night:
1. Cheese and ground beef empanadas
2. Jam croquets
3. BBQ and Pineapple meatballs

Here are some pictures of the occasion:

                                                                White cake baked by me!

                                                     Emy was nice enough to ice it

                                                      BBQ Pineapple meatballs

                                               Emy making meat empanadas!

                                                    Meat empanada that was to be baked later!

                                                 

                                                        Showing the plantillas or tortillas

                                                       Meatballs already made

                                                                          Tapas!

                                                                          Tapas again

                                                               Tapas in a platter!

                                                         James blowing the candles!

Even though this wasn't a big party like we have done before we had a blast. It was just 5 people, but he let us know that it was exactly what he wanted. I am glad that he had a good time. I had a blast getting things done, but then again I always have a blast preparing party food. Future caterer? You never know. Maybe my friend Nydia and I can quit teaching and create a catering company, one cooks and then other one bakes!

Until next time... xoxo
Nats

Slap in the Face chicken (pollo a las gasnatas)

I grew up eating chicken almost every day. My dad was on a strict diet for having diverticulitis and so were we because of him. My mom made chicken everyday because it was good for him. So, after I moved out of my house and had to start cooking for myself I realize that one of the easiest things to make was... chicken. Working long hours and getting home starving did not give me a chance to create labored food. I created the easiest recipe in the world  (for me that is): "Slap in the face chicken" or "pollo a las gasnatas" in Spanish. In other words chicken made fast but that tasted good and could be used for almost anything.

Recipe: 

boneless chicken (any kind that you like, I prefer tenderloins bc they cook faster)

adobo (I use Goya's Adobo Total) 

1 onion (medium or large)

2-3 cloves of garlic

Pam

1. Adobo your chicken (you should always Adobo your meats or poultry). 

2. Coat your skillet with Pam and turn the heat to meadium high (5-6)

3. Cut onions and garlic.

4. Put chicken, onions and garlic in skillet. 

5. Let it cook for 10 minutes and turn it.

6. Lower heat to 2-3 or low medium

7. Let it cook for another 5-10 mins and turn the heat back up to 5 to let the chicken brown on both sides... 

Make sure the chicken is cook thoroughly ( I often cut one piece to make sure it is white inside)

                                                             Slap in the Face chicken

Voila, it is done. I don't put garlic or onions all the time, it depends if I have the time or not to cut them, sometimes I am about to die when I get home and have to cook.

I've made the chicken into burritos, chicken for pasta (most of the time this is my choice), with white rice and red kidney beans, quesadillas, mofongo, etc. You name it, I'll put the chicken on... 

It is a quick and yummy recipe and everyone around here enjoys it... 

If you have similar quick recipes send them to me. I am always looking to update my recipes and create new ones...

See you soon,

Nats

 

Running with Music

I've been running for 8 months now and the things that keep me motivated while I run are two things:

1. The person I am running with (I hate running alone)

2. Music

I've been a music fanatic since I can remember (I remember listening to La Mega and all it's English music, back when they actually played music in English) so when I started working out, listening to music was one of the things that was going to get me through the hard days and harder workouts. 

I am not lying, having a great music playlist will get me throught the hardest of runs. Every so often I change my playlist, adding or taking out music, but most importanly keeping the ones that work on the top of my playlist.

How do I choose the music, you might ask? Well, I first started looking at my iTunes playlist to see what kind of fast music I had. After that, I started to ask my sister and boyfriend for some good music. I created a list and enjoyed it for about a month and a half. After that listening to the same music in the same order started to get old. So I can say that I alter my playlist every few months, adding and taking out songs, moving music that I like further down, so I could make it at the end, or music that pumps me up at the beginning of my run. 

Right now the top ten songs that are on my playlist are: 

I Like it- Enrique Iglesias

On the Floor- Jlo ft Pitbull

Danza Kuduro- Don Omar

Cannibal- Ke$ha

Mas- Ricky Martin

Bon Bon- Pitbull

Vanity- Lady Gaga

Waka Waka- Shakira

Forever- Chris Brown

Blow- Ke$ha

So if you enjoy running or working out with music I reccomend picking your playlist carefully, because it can throw your whole run (believe me, it has happend to me plenty of times, especially on a trail run).

As I continue to run, I keep trying to perfect my playlist, but I know that it will never happen, so I can try to have the songs that I enjoy the most on it. Nowadays everytime I listen to a new song, the first thing that comes to my mind is: Can I run to this song? Music is no longer something I listen to while I'm driving, it is something that drives my run, my mood and my performance.

If you know of really good, fast songs, please let me know. I am always looking for new music to run with... 

Till next time...

Nats

World War II Memorial

I've visited the World War II Memorial countless times. It is one of my favorite memorials, because of the design, the location and my affinity for all things World War II, specially The Holocaust (that will probably be another blog posting, I am very intrigued about that time period and what happened). The first time I visited the Memorial was in January 2007, months before I met my boyfriend. My then roommate Jennifer and I came to DC for a weekend in the freezing cold. When I saw this memorial for the first time, I was speechless because I saw and understood the thought that was put to build it and make it happen.

I like the entire architecture of the Memorial, but my favorite part of the it are the 56 granite pillars which has the names of all the states and Territories of the USA inscribed in them. My favorite, of course, is the Puerto Rico pillar. There is something about seeing that pillar there that makes my heart melt. Also, everytime I go visit the memorial, I like to sit, look around and reflect on my life and watch people as the go by the Memorial. At times you will see the ocassional veteran and people thanking them for their service. WWII Memorial is one of those places where you will feel at peace (ironic, huh?).

After that first time with Jennifer I've come back several more times, with James, my sister, friends, etc. Last week our friend Mark was visiting from Rochester, NY and asked James and I to take him there, because it was the one place he had yet to visit in DC. I got so excited, because I did not have the chance to take my parents there when they came to visit. It took us a while to get there because Mark has a disability and uses crutches. He is a tropper though, he walked from the Smithsonian Metro all the way to WWII Memorial (which is almost 1 mile away). When we got there, his eyes lit up (he is a History teacher and nut) and immediately started giving us a History lesson. After seeing the Memorial we were going to go meet my sister at Jazz in the Garden. On our way there we saw Marine One  (the President's helicopter) land in the south lawn of The White House, which was another awesome sight... So if we would have not been to the WWII Memorial, we would have not seen Marine One landing, which is on my list of things to see in Washington, DC. I can check off that one of my list now. Thanks Mark...

So if you live in DC and haven't been in a while, go and sit on the steps and relax. Or if you are ever in DC stop by and admire it. It is a sight to see and admire...

Here are some pictures that I've taken of the Memorial since I came in 2007:

                                                 emblem shown on both sides of the Memorial

                                                     Me last year at the Memorial when my sister came to visit

                                                 My sister showing the Puerto Rico pillard

                                           Picture of the stars wall. The stars represent all the people that died during the war.

Photo of the fountain in the middle of the Memorial

Traveling Feet on top of the sign

In memory of my former home

Memorial from the other side.

James and I on the Virginia pillard commemorating where we live.

Until next time,
Nats

Book Club

My friend Kim emailed me and a bunch of other girls at the beginning of the summer and asked us if we wanted to start a summer book club. I immediately agreed since I wanted to meet new people and read a good book. 7 of us agreed to do it. We decided to meet on Tuesday nights at Kim and Libby's apartment. The book to read was Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. I got to say I was a little skeptical because I usually read chick lit. So on the first meeting we decided how everything was going to work. We were going to read 50 pages a week, if we could not attend it was ok, but most importantly, if you did not read the pages assign no need to worry. It was agreed that each week different people were going to bring either a snack or an alcoholic beverage ( can you say, AWESOME!). We also got to meet the people in the group since most of us did not know each other. I got to say that I instantly knew we were all going to get along and have some interesting conversations since not all the people in the group were teachers. 


After the second time we met for book club some things became apparent: 


1. I couldn't eat dinner before going to book club, because of all the yummy things people brought each week. Some of the things were: bruschetta, ice cream, caprese salad, hummus and yummy desserts from various bakeries. ( This was my cheating day since I am suppose to be eating healthy. ;) ) 
2. The variety of wines were awesome... and...
3. We spent most of the time taking about what each of us did, career wise, and how we met our significant others, got engaged, got into running, how did we get along with our siblings, family, etc, than talking about the book.




I did read the book because it is unlikely for me not to finish a book, but each week the one thing I looked forward to doing was spending time with cool women. 


The book was a great read.  A little bit slow at times, I must admit. When we discussed it we were able to make connections to some times in our lives. Also, we saw these character as humans, mostly because of the author, and how relatable they seem. It was powerful book and exactly what I need in this moment in my life. Most of the characters experiences a lost of a family member and it showed how they dealt with it, whether it was by getting together with a support group, remembering and having a better life than their mother, marrying your brothers killer, etc. It showed the way of how these people grieved and how a lot of the events that occurred in the book were tied to on smaller event, The Twin Towers Tight Rope Walker (1974).  


Last Tuesday was our last book club meeting, so it was a bit sad.  But on the up side, we decided to keep on going with the book club, so we will meet again starting in September with a new book. I am really looking forward to reading a new book, keeping up with these friends, eating fantastic food and drinking awesome wine...


So if you have ever been skeptical about hosting or being part of a book club, like I was, think again, because it does not have to be as strict as it seems...




See you soon,
Nadia