9/11

Today will be the day that the same question will be asked and for many times still to come,

"Where were you and what were you doing on 9/11?"

I know I will never forget that day and it still hurts!

I was in NYC and I was very lucky to get out of the Subway in time before it shut down, went up to

my work office, saw everyone very nervous and talking about a plane that hit the Twin Towers,

rushed to the trading room where we had a TV and then I saw the 1st hit as they were replaying it we

all thought it was an accident but then BOOM, second hit! I remember clearly that I totally freaked

out because then I realized that it was not an accident and yet a terrorist attack. What should I do, will

our bldg. be another target, go outside or not? It was so many question with so much fear, but the

worst was to walk home looking at all the times up to the sky to see if there was nothing else, and all

the cars running like crazy in the wrong way at 5th Ave. with so much debris on it, and then crossing

Queensboro Bridge and seeing all that smoke, it was everywhere! I still remember my dear friend

Sandra telling me that it was unreal to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and actually breath that smoke

over there, and knowing that it was a mix of peoples ashes! So sad!

Leftover

This day I did a nice spring roll but the roll came out kinda different, not perfect but it was good. And also on the same day I bought a medley of organic mushrooms and they were so good!!!
The spring rolls I did with the leftover of my rice Asian style pasta with ground pork of my dinner from the previous night. So all that I did was actually buying wontons wrap, filled them with my Asian pasta leftover and then sauté them in canola oil and voila, they came very tasty and I didn't expect that but was nice!
Then the mushrooms I sauté them very quickly with butter, salt, pepper and parsley and served along with my leftover kinda spring roll, and that was dinner!!!
Enjoy and Happy Meals Everyone!!!
Chef Vanessa

Kids Party Snacks!

This order also was very nice to create as it was just snacks done for the a party for kids so they could eat or take with them along the ride for the park that they were going so we thought about easy snacks and healthy treats too! I hope you enjoy! Happy meals everyone!
Chef Vanessa

This one I bought colorful small ice cones (eatable ones) and filled them with yogurt raisins, some pretzels and other salty little treats, then wrapped them up so they look cute but yummy!

 

These were cucumbers, cheddar cheese and smoked turkey roll-ups and I poked them with a wooden skewer so they look like lollipops!

 

And these were traditional ones like the first one was just ham and cheese roll-up lollipop and this last picture they were organic creamy peanut-butter and peanut-butter and strawberry jam.
They were very good!!!! Yumm!!!! Happy Meals Everyone!!

 

Yummy Mini Shepherd's pie!

This was an order that I got that needed 40 mini shepherd's pie and they came out so good.
The idea was something nice for the kids to enjoy eating something good and fulfilling and catchy for the eyes. They came out very pretty, they actually look like a cupcake!
Enjoy and Happy Meals Everyone!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup chili sauce or ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1-1/4 cups mashed potato flakes
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
Paprika, optional

Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until tender; drain. Stir in the chili sauce, vinegar and salt; set aside. In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Pour into a small bowl. Whisk in potato flakes until blended. Beat in cream cheese until smooth. Press 1 biscuit dough onto the bottom and up the sides of each of 10 greased muffin cups. Fill with beef mixture. Spread potato mixture over beef. Sprinkle with potato chips; press down lightly.

 

 

Very cool garden!!!

I went to see this beautiful vegetable and herb garden before summer and was amazed with such a nice work and such delicious veggies growing! So Cool!!!
Enjoy and happy meals everyone!
Chef Vanessa

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Feliz Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving Day and I have learned how to appreciate so much this day as it is a moment to share love and friendship with your family and friends. This year I have lost a good friend but I am sure that he is in a better place now. Also my life has changed in so many ways this year but I am sure that I have become much wiser than before and I'm learning to choose a better path for my life. I do and still cry everyday for all the animal cruelty and children abuse stories that I receive everyday over the internet but I also have learned to have more faith in life and in us humans hoping that we can change and be better. I have made great new friends this year that has been a bless in my life and that now I will cherish them forever. I also have learned so much with my Little Gourmet Chef's that I have known thru my cooking classes with kids and believe me you can learn so much with them!!! I feel like I am still growing so that for I am still learning to be a better a person everyday and learn also from my mistakes!!! My wish to you and to your family is that tomorrow you enjoy your time with all you loved ones and friends and give Thanks to everything that you think it is really important in your life but also thank you God for my life and my family!!! Happy Gobble Gobble everyone hahahaha...I really wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy meals everyone!! Chef Vanessa

 

 

 

 

Bom dia a todos! Amanha serah uma data muito importante que eh celebrada aqui nos EUA, eh o Thanksgiving Day! Eh mais ou menos como o dia de acao de gracas ai no Brasil mas no meu ponto de vista eu acho que eh muito mais. Eu aprendi com o p...

assar dos anos vivendo aqui a gostar muito e celebrar esta data porque celebramos o compartilhamento de amizade, familia e de ser grato pelo que temos. Eu escrevi aqui no Face em Ingles agora ha pouco que este ano perdi um amigo mas que sei que ele esta bem melhor aonde estiver, mas que fiz novas amizedes que foram como uma bencao na minha vida e que tambem sofri com muitos momentos dificeis e trsites. Que continuo todos os dias a chorar e sofrer com as noticias que recebo diariamente sobre os animais e criancas que sofrem de abusos e maus tratos mas que eu tento sempre renovar minhas esperancas em nos seres humanos para que possamos ser melhor e fazer a pratica do bem todos os dias para com tudo e com todos! Eu sei que ai no Brasil nao eh celebrado esta data mas vim aqui compartilhar com voces este sentimento e lhes desejar que tambem tenham do seu modo o seu dia de agradecer a tudo que tem e a sua familia e a Deus por sua vida! Como dizem aqui nos EUA tenham um Happy Thanksgiving e aproveitem cada dia sempre fazendo o melhor que podem! Abracos e Boas refeicoes a todos!!!!!

Chef Vanessa

Updating!!! Atualizando!!

Well as usual I have my backs and forths in updating my blog but this time I think it was the longest of all, so I am sorry again for such a long away period.
I truly do love to write about my cooking classes my recipes and my ork but I have been busy lately which is good but I have also been very tired to sit down at night and updating my blog and my facebook. I will continue to try and so I will always let you know!

Happy meals everyone!!

Chef Vanessa

In portuguese:
Bom como sempre eu tenho meus altos e baixos em atualizar o meu blog mas eu acho que desta vez eu demorei demais por isso me desculpem pela longa espera!
Eu realmente adoro escrever sobre mues projetos de culinaria minhas receitas e minha aula e adoro compartilhar com voces mas eu tambem tenho andado meio cansada e quando vou me sentar a noite na frente do computador tenho ficado sem muito animo mas ja me disseram que quanto mais falar que esta cansada mais fica entao eu vou dar um xoh pra lah com a canseira e tentar me comunicar mais com voces!

Um super abraco a todos e boas refeicoes galera!!
Chef Vanessa

Cooking classes for 2012!

Hello everyone!

I am very pleased to announce that our cooking classes, all of them were such a great success and because of that it will continue to be as we will start all over again next year of 2012, starting by January.

So we are already in session at the Plantation Civic Center but we will be coming back only on January 5th 2012 at 4:30 pm.

Pompano Beach Civic Center will start a new session from January 11th to February 29th 2012. Registrations are open already!

The Lighthouse Christian School starting by January starting Tuesday 01/17/12 to 03/06/12.

And also with the Saint Mark Episcopal School also starting in January 2012 but we don't have a closed date yet, I will keep you informed about it.

I am so proud of all of you that have attended to one of my cooking classes and how much fun did we have! And all the food that we did, that was super awesome!!!

Enjoy your holidays as much as you can, spread the love with your cooking, try to do some of our recipes learned in class so you can impress your family and show them how good little gourmet Chef's you are!!!

Happy meals everyone and Merry Christmas!!!!

Chef Vanessa

I hope I will touch your heart this X'mas! Eu espero te tocar neste Natal!

Every Christmas we wish for happy moments with our family, the gift that we waited all year long, food, celebration parties and all the holiday trimmings but we do forget that are so many in need everywhere in the world and close to you too! Every day I get bombarded over the internet and the TV with animal cruelty pictures, videos and stories and also about babies, kids and elderly people that have been abused or neglected or need help. I said to myself why I can’t give 1% of myself to help every month a cause. It could be donating, or volunteering, or talking about a cause or just by trying to get people more conscious wise about all the cruelty that we, human still do to other creatures!! I ask myself why people still harm one another. It seems that the answer is quite simple, ignorance! So if we teach our kids to be kind, if we try to make human be to be a little bit better and to be more humane, look the word already speaks by itself, HUMANE, the world could so much better!!!
So have a wonderful Christmas this year and a blessed New Year. I hope I have reached some of you and if yes please donate this Christmas to your local pet adoption center or to an organization that helps people around the world or close to you!
Share information about anything that you think it's important and that it need help! Share also information about cruelty, abuse and negligence so everyone can understand how sad that is!
Merry Christmas!
Chef Vanessa

In Portuguese:

Entra ano sai ano e quando estamos chegando proximo ao Natal soh no que pensamos eh naquele presente que estamos esperando o ano todo, nas festa, na comemoracao com a familia, na comida e todo o resto que se inclui nessa epoca. Mas o que nos esquecemos tao facilmente todos os anos eh de quantos sao os necessitados no mundo ou mesmo a sua volta. E quando digo necessitados nao eh exatamente so nos humanos mas sim dos animais tambem!
Todos os dias eu sou bombardeada com noticias via internet ou na TV sobre crueldade, abuso e negligencia com animais, criancas e idosos. E oque eu me pergunto eh aonde isso vai parar, sera que tudo esta caminhando para cada vez pior? Sera que eh que pode existir pior?
O que eu penso eh que se nos doacemos 1% de nosso tempo uma vez no mes em ajudar numa causa local ou um orfanato, um asilo, um refugio de doacoes de animais, nas organizacoes que ajudam aos moradores de rua e se ajudassemos com doacoes monetaria ou servico voluntariado, ou ate mesmo de espalhar a noticia para ajuda, isso ja faria uma diferenca tao grande!
Veja como exemplo eu estou hoje tomando meu 1% de tempo para escrever para todos sobre o que eu penso, tentando tocar alguns com esta mensagem e assim quem sabe esta mensagem nao se espalha e outros leram e se sentiram tocados e vao pensar diferente. Outro exmplo, quando lemos sobre crueldade, por mais que doa assitir, assita sim, para entender um pouco da dor do outro e repasse, para que outros possam sentir o mesmo que voce!
Se todos nos fizessemos o nosso 1% ao mes de contribuicao ao proximo isso ja faria uma diferenca absurda para muitos que tao pouco tem ou que tanto sofrem. Entao quando puderem pensem no seu 1% e use-o, nao deixe passar em branco. Ano novo eh sempre motivo de novas metas e se todos nos mudarmos um pouco sera muito bom! Acreditem nisso!
Boas festas e boas refeicoes para todos!
Chef Vanessa

I am so happy about this... ! Muito feliz com essa noticia...!

Hello everyone!
I am very happy to announce that stating by August 3rd I will have my own cooking classes for kids at the Pompano Beach Civic Center and it will be every Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm.
It will be a lot of fun and each kids will have a folder to keep all the recipes with the history about the recipe of the day and they will also decorate on the 1st day of class their own apron.
But the best part will be to have their hands on each recipe and eat everything that was done!
I hope to see you all there and happy meals everyone!
Chef Vanessa

Registration should be done directly at the the

Pompano Beach Civic Center
Emma Lou Olson Civic Center
1801 Northeast Sixth Street
Pompano Beach, FL 33060

Phone: 9547864111




Ola pessoal!

Eu estou muito feliz de pode contar a todas de que minha classe de culinaria para
criancas vai iniciar no dia 3 de Agosto, Quarta-feira, e sera das 4 as 5 da tarde.

As criancas poderao decorar o seu proprio avental na primeira classe e vao receber uma pasta para poder guardar as receitas e tambem sobre a historia da receita do dia.

Sera muito divertido e a melhor parte com certeza sera a de que elas poderao realmente colocar a mao na massa e comoer tudo que for feito em classe e isso eu sei que eles vao adorar.

Bom eu espero ve-los entao e ate la boas refeicoes a todos!
Chef Vanessa