Carrot Cake Pancakes

You guys, I want to apologise for being amongst the missing for the past six weeks. The last time I posted was January 9 and that is just unacceptable. Basically, I've been more focused on healthy eating and have barely been doing any baking aside from orders. Most of this baking is done at night and taking pictures at night is kind of pointless.

Anyways, I'm back and hopefully here to stay for a bit longer. I will blog as often as I can even if it's not about baking.

Local Eats @ Victoria Grill

Ah, Fried Green Tomatoes! If you've never had these, you need to. And if you live in Bermuda, you can have these babies at Victoria Grill. The restaurant recently revamped it's menu to focus on seasonal food, meaning the menu will change every few months.

Right now, they are serving up southern coastal American food with the likes of chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, a barbecue platter with brisket, pulled pork and smoked sausage and so much more.

I ate there on Friday night with my boyfriend and we were completely blown away by the menu. Chef Tom Tabor is amazing and sends out these beautiful plates of food with bold flavours.

Check out my review here.

Spicy 3 Bean + Turkey Chili

I told you I would be sharing healthy recipes in the new year! This is one of them. I love chilli. It's hearty, comforting, delicious and most importantly, healthy. My mom made chili a lot when I was a child but it was always a vegetarian/vegan version. I started making my own recipe about three years ago. I always stick with turkey since it's a lean protein but you can use beef, chicken or omit the meat entirely and make a veggie chili.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I always get excited when the New Year rolls around. It means we can have a fresh, new start and hopefully leave everything else in the past. This year, instead of having resolutions, I've decided to just be better. Be better at being healthy and fit, be better at saving money, be a better reporter, be a better mother/girlfriend/sister/daughter/friend/etc and just be a better person overall.

I find when I make resolutions that don't actually stick so I've decided to keep it simple and just try to be better in all areas of my life. As fas as the health/fitness goes, I will not be dieting but I will be living a healthier lifestyle so expect to see healthy recipes on this blog. Of course I will continue to bake but there will be recipes that are delicious and healthy.  Stay tuned :). Here's to 2013!

5 Christmas Dessert Ideas

With Christmas is less than 48 hours, I figured I would give you a few ides for desserts. I had planned to make a bunch of desserts and blog about it but with the general election, I got sidetracked and busy. I didn't cook at all last week and ate out so much. I did a little bit of baking but it was orders of things that I've already shared with you.

This year, I'm not hosting Christmas dinner at my house. I'm having friends over for Christmas Eve but we're having a Mexican Fiesta with tacos, black beans, guacamole, seven layer dip and sangria. I'm super excited.

Candy Cane Brownies

I feel like the holiday season is just flying by me. We got our tree the last week of November and decorated it last week so we are definitely full of Christmas cheer in the house. I've already bought a couple boxes of candy canes and they are all gone. My son sings Jingle Bells just about everyday and keeps asking when he's gonna see Santa (Not that he hasn't already seen him three times at three different events).

This weekend, I'm taking him to see Santa again and then we are going to go to another Christmas related event. Sadly enough though, I haven't had one glass of egg nog. Maybe I'll buy some tonight. But seriously, it seems the season is passing by so quickly. I adore the holidays so this is a bit sad to me. Maybe it has something to do with that thing we have coming up on Monday. You know, the election.

Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

I must seriously love you guys because I'm about to share my favourite recipe of all time with you. These are the best cookies I have ever eaten in my life. I look foward to the Christmas season all year specifically for these cookies. I don't actually remember where I go the recipe from, but I've definitely made it my own. It's not a difficult recipe at all. If you can melt some butter and chocolate and throw it all in a mixer, you can make these. The hard part is having the patience to chill the dough overnight. But it's so worth it. These cookies are soo gooey, chocolately, minty and delicious :)

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is the oldest I have ever been and the youngest I will ever be. I turned 27 today and it's been a fabulous day so far. I just wanted to chill out and relax with the people I love and so far, that's all I've done. Usually, I am in a big party mode but this year I wanted to keep things more low key. I'm having some friends over on Saturday night for fabulous food, drinks, games and conversations. It should be a ball. But before that, I'm going to La Serena at The Reefs for a much needed spa need with my gf Nadia. Her birthday was in Sunday and we always do something together.

Let's Get to Know Me :)

Since my birthday is tomorrow, I figured we should get to know each other a little bit better. If you are reading this blog, you must be interested in food and you must be interested in me. If you weren't interested in me, you wouldn't be reading this blog. Well, unless you are here solely to steal my recipes!

OK, I know you aren't here to steal my recipes but let's play a game. The get to know Mikaela game. Here we go.

My Christmas Thoughts + Simple Eggnog Cake

Well, it's finally Christmas season. I feel like just yesterday I was on a boat in a bikini, drinking and having a blast. But alas, summer has actually left Bermuda. On Sunday, the boy, Amari and I went to the Santa Claus parade. I still think it was a bit early to have a Christmas parade but oh well. Amari had a blast. He got tons of candy and was beyond excited to see Santa.

This year, I've decided to do things a bit different for Christmas. Since both the boy and I are December babies (my bday is December 5 and his is December 23), it gets to be a bit much. My sister is also a December baby, the 18th. So needless to say, the month is busy. I've decided that I won't do a traditional Christmas. Yes, we have a tree that will be decorated this weekend. And of course we will have a huge meal and lots of wine for Christmas. But, I don't want to go big on the gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving + Apple Pie w/ Crumb Topping

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know we don't technically celebrate it in Bermuda but since I grew up in the US, I cook a dinner every year. Not only is it a time to enjoy some amazing food, it's a time to celebrate with good friends and family.

This year, I am thankful for my amazing boyfriend, my beautiful son, my wonderful friends and family and my kick ass job :). But seriously though, this has been a rough year and I am truly thankful for all the things God has blessed me with.

Tonight, I am having about 15 people over for dinner. I am making my herb roasted turkey which is hands down the best turkey ever. I'm also making a sweet potato gratin and a salted caramel apple cheesecake pie which I will post tomorrow. The rest of the menu is roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, vegetable lasagna, stuffing, dinner roast (a vegetarian meat), pumpkin pie, gingerbread and spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer. It will be epic!

Local Eats @ Tribe Road Kitchen + The Newport

Have you ever had a breakfast that was simply the most amazing thing that you have ever eaten? That happened to my boyfriend and I last weekend. On Saturday morning, we decided we would go to Tribe Road Kitchen for breakfast. I have been a fan of this place for over a year now, especially of their breakfast. I first tried the breakfast earlier this year and had chicken and waffles. They were to die for so I knew I had to go again soon. The boy was game so off to Tribe Road we went.

Rice Krispie Treats Two Ways

I love rice krispie treats. I think they are so underrated and I find that to be very sad. I know some of you are thinking I'm crazy because rice krispie treats can be very boring. If made incorrectly, they can be hard and dry and not at all appetising. But when they are made right, they are perfection. They are gooey, sweet and buttery. All things that are amazing to me.

The problem I've always had with rice krispie treats is that usually, they don't have chocolate. As you know, I am a HUGE chocolate fan and will try to eat everyday. Shh...don't tell my trainer! This recipe is special because I've made "traditional" rice krispies and a chocolate version in the same pan. The "traditional" ones look traditional but actually aren't because instead of just melting the butter, I make brown butter which takes the flavour to another level. The chocolate version is actually chocolate and peanut butter mixed into the rice krispie marshmallow goo. They are soo good! Let's get started.

I'm So Healthy....Not Really

Today, I had a shot of wheat grass. Then, I had half a fruit smoothie. Then, I went to body combat at my gym and totally kicked ass! Then, I got a quinoa, chicken and vegetable salad. I'm soo healthy!

The truth is, I wanted to go to Rock Island and get a chai latte and a date bar. However, I ended up going to Down to Earth with my boyfriend who coerced me into having a shot of wheat grass. He gets them all the time. I had never had one. He said it would make me healthy. I said OK even though I planned to have bread and cheese for lunch. But I got so caught up in the new found healthiness in my life that I caved and had my quinoa.

Best Apple Cake Ever

It's finally getting cool here in Bermuda. Summer seems to be officially over which is such a wonderful thing. I was getting tired of the 80 plus degree weather. I feel that once middle to end of October comes, I should be able to wear a long sleeve shirt and not feel hot. Well today, I have on a cardigan and it feels awesome! There's a chill in the air and it's long overdue.

I know we don't have Fall here, but it feels like Fall so I want to eat Fall related foods. I love apples and anything appley gets me everything (unless there's chocolate, chocolate always wins). Growing up, my nana made pies - apple, pumpkin and lemon meringue. I would happily stuff my face with her apple pie every time she made it. I love my pie warm with ice cream on top. Apple pie/cake/turnovers/tarts always remind me of Fall.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Yes, I have had my caffeine already and am quite chipper today despite not being able to take advantage of the extra hour. My son woke up at 6:22 yesterday morning. Yes, I said 6:22am. Needless to say, that wasn't the best start to my day and by 8am, I was starving. We decided to go to breakfast at Grotto Bay and that was the best decision I made all day. The servers kept refilling my cup of coffee which I have to say was wonderful. The breakfast buffet was amazing and the food was delicious.

Candied Ginger Molasses Cookies + My Halloween Look

Happy Halloween!

I do have an actual recipe to share with you today but first, I want to talk Halloween. I love Halloween because of the candy, the costumes and the makeup. Growing up, we had no parts of Halloween. My family was very Christian and to this day, my mother abhors anything to do with Halloween and calls it the devil's holiday. But like I said, I love it. 

I love to dress up, I love to eat copious amounts of candy corn and I love have scary makeup on. So let's talk costumes/makeup. Last year, I was Nicki Minaj. It was epic.

Local Eats @ Grand Cafe

Yes, that's me stuffing my face. It's not an unusual sight at all. I love to eat and eat all day long with no apologies. Today, I met up with my friend Nadia for lunch at this new spot called Grand Cafe. It's at the old Greg's Steakhouse. The menu looked decent and the prices were even better. As we all know, food is very expensive in Bermuda so when you can find good food for cheap, I'm there!

Vegetable Frittata

I am a big breakfast person especially on the weekends. Everyday, I have the same thing, my homemade granola with vanilla greek yogurt. It's not by any means glamourous but it tastes good and fills my belly :).

On the weekends, I have great breakfast. It's usually pancakes and bacon or codfish and potatoes. This past weekend, I had pancakes and bacon on Saturday and couldn't figure out what to have for Sunday. I wanted codfish and potatoes but had forgot to buy the fish the day before. For those of you who don't know, codfish needs to be soaked overnight to get rid of the excess salt. So, with no codfish, I decided I would make a frittata.

Local Eats @ Blu Bar and Grill

Yes, this is a plate of sushi.  A plate filled with delicious looking sushi. And in case you can't tell, there is a half lobster on this plate filled with sushi. It's lobster season here in Bermuda and lobster is definitely popping up on the sushi menus. We didn't eat this. I just took a picture because it was so pretty.

So, I went to Blu last Friday with the boy, my gf Kelly and her hubby Donte. We went to the Masterworks Gallery first for the Charman Prize, an art show with the top prize of $10,000. Kelly is an artist and paints these amazing florals on canvass. She won honourable mention for her category. We feel 100 percent that she was robbed! Regardless of the non win, we had a great night.