The Orca Adventure Day 1

By Luzmaria

Ever since I was little I have been obsessed with Marine life, I guess that's what happens when you basically grow up on the beach, and one of my dreams has been to see the Orcas in the wild. That is why when we were thinking of our anniversary and taking a trip this year we decided to take a road trip to the San Juan Islands and spend a few days in a peaceful yet adventurous place.

The San Juan Islands are an archiopelago in the Northwest of the US, part of Washington state and between the main land and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

 December is a low season for the Islands, most people go in the Summer when the weather is warmer, sunnier, and Orcas are seen more frequently; but the idea of a rainy foggy cabin in the woods with the view of the ocean surrounded by pine trees and quiet sounded like heaven to us as a romantic get away (specially to this mama of a toddler, I am sure you mamas get me, right?)

We started our 10+ hour road trip really early 5am and drove non stop to Seattle, we got there right on time for lunch which was amazing. We went straight to Pike Market, a mandatory stop in Seattle, I had to take Stephen to see the fresh sea food and the delicious fruits they sell (we got Honey Crisp Apples, seriously they were the biggest I have ever seen in my life, to the point of making me doubt if they would taste meh but they were heavenly specially paired with white cheddar cheese!) and some of their gorgeous flowers (good thing they were dried flowers I doubt they would have survived the trip otherwise lol) We got to eat fresh sea food by the market with a view of the sign and looking at the olympic mountains in the horizon (best scallops I have ever had, buttery melting in your mouth) a bit over priced but the taste was amazing and Thank God it was a lot of food because we didn't really eat anything else other than snacks that night.

We drove to Anacortes, about 2 hours north, and even though the traffic was tedious the sunset was incredible! once we got there we waited for the ferry and I collected as many fliers and magazines as possible (for my scrapbook journal).

Driving into the ferry was a pretty interesting experience and it was fun to see they have puzzles in many of the tables for the bored passengers lol, we decided to venture out in the freezing cold night and see the city lights as we sailed away (also pretended Titanic on the front of the ferry, because well its too tempting to pass up LOL and we are dorky that way). Had a bit of a picnic in the car (always carry a jar of trailmix in the car for road trips, you will thank me later lol) took about 1 hour before we reached Friday Harbour!

Driving to our hotel was an adventure, it is sooooo dark in that island at night! seriously I was scared by the windy hills and rain, and we were joking that there must be 1 stop sign in the whole island right before a weird intersection in the middle of nowhere (made more sense in the day lol) The main area Friday Harbour was really pretty decorated for Christmas and lots of little shops really cute town look and feel to it, the rest of the island is just nature and houses overlooking the water, until you get to the other corner of the Island where there is an old Lime Kiln with a beautiful marina and old historic houses.

The cabins were stunning! small cute little wooden cabins with giant windows overlooking the bay and the best part is they have a wood stove, making it look super cozy and romantic (it was gas but still counts!) they also have a little kitchen and grill to cook in case interested (we did cook one breakfast and when we go again we plan on bringing a cooler with groceries to cook there). Since it was low season we were the only cabin making it extra quiet and calm!. The sound of the rain on the roof was really relaxing, although I had a night like Bertie Wooster (when he visits his friend in the country outside of NY) from Wooster and Jeeves by PG Woodhouse, if you have never read the books get one, trust me they are hilarious, for the ones who like TV better the DVD series is pretty good too (its with the guy from House).

to be continued...


This post includes a few sponsored items from Amazon, but we did not get paid or sponsored by any of the places we went to or talk about during this trip  :)

Philipino dish - Putos

As many of you know im a travel junkie- currently stuck in the Pacific Northwest but that doesn't mean I don't "travel"

Actually I have done more "culinary traveling" in this little town over the past 3 years than ever before! Stepping out of the norm, trying new food from exotic places I would have never dreamed of trying (and getting hooked on many of the traditional dishes like Vietnams Pho is now a staple in our house- the little one can eat 2 bowls by herself) thanks to the amazing priests that work in my husbands office... more on that later

But today randomly my hubs brought home a dish called "Putos", the new vicker at St Anne's is from Philipines and brought some to the office, so naturally my husband knowing my passion for travel snuck some for me to try

Puto are popular Filipino steamed rice cakes. I thought they would be sweet yet it seemed odd to have melted cheese on top. It had a hint of sweetness, thats why I am guessing makes them so pupular as a midday snack. They are also used as accompaniaments  to savory dishes such as dinuguan, pancit or sopas (have not tried those yet). Eventhough these were made like cakes I found out reading about the culture that "Traditional puto are made from rice grains soaked in water overnight and processed into a smooth batter. The fermented rice batter is then steamed in banana-lined bamboo platters (bilao) or in individual molds".

Its also popular for  home cooks to have spinned these rice cakes into many delicious varieties by adding extracts such as pandan and ube flavorings (intriguing) or by topping them with slices of cheese (yup thats what these had) or salted duck eggs

I liked their fluffy not so sweet flavor bur the little one was not a big fan lol it was hard to take a pic of this energy filled kiddo but i kida got it...

Have you tried them?
I do recomend If you see them, they are worth the try and let me know what you think

LUCY

Oven risotto

Mushroom Oven Risotto

Hello everyone! I know I have been MIA from my blog because I am still learning how to be a mama to a rambunctious toddler and manage my blogs... most of my time has been spent on posting more personal pictures and adventures on instagram @americanflavorlatinspice follow me to see what we are up to

But as an I am sorry I decided to post my famous oven risotto... yes OVEN... its a long story so get ready ;)

my sister is a Risotto master, she has done risottos all her life and loves it, I always found it annoying and time consuming VERY time consuming, you guys have been following me for a while I like fast, easy, and simple recipes. After learning how to make traditional risottos and slaving away ladle after ladle of broth for a good while (you have to ladle in the broth and stir until absorbed before adding the next ladle- until its all gone) I realized the whole point of the risotto is for the rice to suck up the broth slooooooowly well why not put it in the oven? and voila! my risotto was born... AND to test it out I invited my sister over for some and she thought It was traditionally made she could NOT believe I had made it in the oven 

INGREDIENTS:

3 TBS butter

2 Cups Mushrooms

1/2 Cup chopped onion

1 1/4 Cup Arborio Rice 

(for traditional risotto use Arborio, for normal use in my house I use regular white rice, the consistency is different but its cheaper) 

3 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

1 Cup Parmesan cheese grated

Preheat oven 375F

use an oven proof skillet 

(we use this one)

melt butter on the pan and sauteed mushrooms and onions for 5 mins

add rice and toast for 2 mins

add the both and place it in the oven

bake for 45 mins

after baking take out the pan and add the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted

taste and adapt the salt and pepper

Bon Appétit

*this blog post contains affiliate links from Amazon, Thank you for your support!

Hello Again!

Hi!
Sorry we have left our blog behind, we keep debating if to keep it just food or not, and we have decided to broaden it to include our travels and adventures because, well as you might have guessed it by now, when it comes to foodies traveling eating is a big part of the trip lol

I hope you enjoy this blog even more now that we are opening our family, our adventures and our shenanigans to you!

And with that the upcoming post will be of the little get away we had to the Oregon Coast! where we will show you from blue fishes, to restaurant reviews, and beautiful pictures as well...

So, stay tuned

:)

Lucy

Thinking Out Loud - Age Appropriate Fashion

Thinking out loud #1

Today I am going to talk about my clear upset with the toddler/kid fashion industry, I studied Fashion Merchandising and I know how fashion works but that doesn’t stop the mom inside of me from being INSULTED by the fashion industry need to sexualize our toddlers and kids. I have been keeping an eye on the trends for a couple of years now and it has gotten worse, from mini shorts sexualizing teenagers to the abuse of targeting our little ones. I get it if there is no demand they wouldn’t be in the stores, so this post goes to hopefully concertize moms out there and designers.

We need to protect their childhood; we are their parents, if we don’t who is? We need to protect them from predators and that’s tarts by NOT making them look like child porn stars or sex objects, the world is pretty messed up and we don’t need to put our kids in more danger because of “fashion”. We also need to protect our kid’s spirituality and confidence by teaching them how to properly dress, you can dress pretty without sexualizing yourself. If your kids asks for something like this, you can take advantage of that moment to teach and educate them on confidence, respect to themselves and their bodies, dressing appropriately, and just because it’s for sale at a store or their friend has them doesn’t mean they are good for her or safe.  

I remember my friends and I would joke around when we saw a little kid dressed like that we would call them prostitots, but  now that I am a mom I am actually saddened to see a kid, who doesn’t know better, dressed like that because the parents/guardians DO know better and choose to dress them that way. Wearing clothes that are not appropriate, like high heels  is not healthy mentally or physically for the kid, you are telling your little girl that she needs to be “sexy” in order to be liked, that she’s is not beautiful the way she is, that childhood is not important, that she needs to “grow up” and act like an adult, plus her still developing feet will probably get deformed, and mess up her

Today was honestly shocked when I went to buy my toddler shoes today and I ran into this High heel pair of sandals… high heels for a toddler/kid? I was actually talking about this with my husband a couple of weeks back (and made a mental note to write about it) when a family walked into church with the cutest little baby girl and 4 year old that could barely walk because she was wearing high heels, not 10 inch stilettos but the “Little Girl” heels (which in my opinion where quite tall for a 4 year old, about 3 fingers, it’s a heel I would probably wear).

Mommas, dads , grandparents, guardians: there are plenty of cute looking age appropriate shoes out there, you should talk to your girls if they want to wear heels to only do so when they are playing with yours at home, but will have more than enough time when they grow up to torture their feet with high heels.

These "kids shoes" look like adult women's shoes!

 and can someone explain to me what does little kid and big kid mean? my baby uses size 3 that means baby high heels?!

 (I would totally wear these... then again I am 30 years old!)

This is what is appropriate for a toddler:

Then I saw bikinis, and I know those have been around for quite some years. I have always thought they are really inappropriate for little girls, seriously have you seen a little 3 or 5 year old wearing a bikini and jumping/swimming in the pool? They always end up with the top around their necks (I saw it with my niece) they don’t even have breasts to hold the tops in place! That should be a clear sign that they are NOT little girl attire. I totally get the practicality though, when you have a wiggly toddler that you need to change into swim diapers and squeezing them into a bathing suit is a total challenging work out (I go through this with mine) so to those mamas (and possibly me) you can find at the store swimsuits that are a rash guard and a bottom, that is more appropriate for your little ones.

*as a momma this subject very close to my heart and so important I am not using any affiliate links- this is not to make money or popularity but to speak to your hearts and protect little girls from the damaging effects that this may cause in their futures*

This bikini is from “The Children’s Place” and only available from size 6 MONTH to 5 T… really REALLY not appropriate

This rash guard is a much better option for your little one if you choose to go 2 pieces (there are many other designs out there)

Wal-Mart                                                                              

And the worst part of this whole issue of fashion sexualizing out girls is that is a challenge to find decent clothes where they don’t look raunchy or sexy, or even comfortable, normal clothes for kids. When we all come together to stop buying those things and ask for the respect that our kids deserve the fashion industry will have to adapt to the demand for clothes who are right for out little ones.

Feel free to express your momma/parent thoughts in the matter ;) I would love to hear your oppinions

"Faith's Triple Chocolate Cake"

Hi Peeps, welcome to June!!! cant believe that we are already here, somehow time seems to go fast when you grow up and even faster once you have kids :o honestly where does time go? sometimes I feel like it was yesterday that I did something and looking back at my planner it was 2 months ago! lol this specially happens with friendships, now that I am a mama and life is fun yet chaotic I have to seriously put some effort into my friendships. In my head we hung out last week when in reality it was waaaaaaay longer lol so I need to stay on top of that, I think I will make that one of my priorities for this month- Friendships- along with simplifying and organizing.

If you follow me in Instagram you know about my cake baking weekend but if not... you should totally follow me! @americanflavorlatinspice... and if you bake/cook something with my ideas/recipes tag it #americanflavorlatinspice I love to see what people cook inspired by us.
Sorry about the sidetrack (sometimes I'm like the doggie in UP- squirrel!) this weekend was insane I have never EVER baked so many chocolate stuff in 2 days, seriously! and the worst part is that I cant eat chocolate for medical reasons >.<  at first it was hard but by the end of Sunday I was over saturated by the smell!!! has that ever happened to you? once you cook and you've smelled it your full and don't want to eat it?

The cakes came out good BUT as always I learned very very valuable lessons...

1- buy the GOOD chocolate chips- I bought the cheaper ones (young family and were donating all this cakes 'com on we need to cut corners sometimes ... bad idea... honestly it wasn't that bad the only thing is they re hardened after and it came out like a chocolate cake with chocolate chips in it... not bad but well not the amazing chocolatey goodness were used to


2- this cake does MUCH better with a round bunt cake pan like my mother in laws:

mine is the swirl one... this pan makes the cakes look beautiful when you sprinkle powder sugar on top (my effortless cake decorating cheat lol)

im not a big fan of how it looks with the chocolate cake ... I think it looks much better with pound cake

and how it looked with my orange Ponke

it makes a cool design but it crunchified the tops... since its narrow it cooks much faster, so I guess since this is one of my most popular cakes (as this weekend showed) I'll be probably buying one like this

3- it makes heavenly muffins!- yep my pan is smaller so there was some mix left so I mini muffined it (yes, I love to make up words) and they were SOOO good (counting still the chocolate chip mayhem- which wasnt so bad but for a perfectionist like me it was catastrophic lol just kidding only a step below that) so I recommend you try it

Now, I cant torture you with all this chocolatey info and not give you the recipe so here it is... I got it from my mother in law that's why I am naming it "Faith's Triple Chocolate Cake" (no idea where she got it from)

"Faith Triple Chocolate Cake"

*1 box chocolate cake mix
*1 small box chocolate pudding
*1 bag chocolate chips (the good kind)- if u use semisweet the cake will be a bitter more like a dark chocolate cake
*1 3/4 C milk
*2 eggs

mix it all for 2 mins by hand

 and bake 350F for 50-55 mins

this is ridiculously easy and good!!! next time I am thinking of trying it with nuts in it

hope you and your family/friends/guests
ENJOY this delicious chocolate goodness and remember to tag me as faiths triple chocolate cake #americanflavorlatinspice!!!
and of course write a comment below if you tried it and liked it ;)

Chocolate Cheese Cake Rose Cake!

I love to bake, specially for the people I care about :) so usually when someones bday comes around I bake them a cake or  I've been known to bake a just because cake too.

This cake was actually my friends request she wanted a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. I honestly though "yuck" at the combination but let me tell you all ... its ridiculously good!... im so glad she gave me that request because now I love that cake and its even B E T T E R if you add some fresh strawberries to the plate :)

Its worth trying ... trust me