Miami

My name is Amy and I am a travel-aholic.


As you may or may not know I am an Army brat. For those of you who don’t know what this means, I will explain. My dad is a career military man so growing up I moved all over the country/world. We moved about every year to two years for at least 10 years of my life, sometimes more or less. By the time I was 17, I had moved more times then I had been alive; I had a rough start with kindergarden in three different states in one year (Minnesota, Massachusetts and Texas).

Anyway, when I was in Germany, graduating from high school my parents decided the best place for me to go to college was in Minnesota, and since they knew best, I went to college in Minnesota. During the four years of college I would fly “home” to Georgia on my long weekends and breaks from school. When I graduated from college in 2007, I had already grown accustomed to the long distance relationship with my family and weekend get-a-ways to another state via airplane.

I started my big girl job in July of 2007, after flying back to Georgia for a month after graduation. I also started to date a soon to be law student who was moving to Philadelphia; the distance didn’t scare me because I was already planning where I was going to travel next. At the same time my family moved back to Germany, leaving me with two long distance relationships to maintain for the next three years of my life; meaning I was either flying to Philly or Germany when ever I could.

Fast forward to 2010, my dad returns safely from Afghanistan and my family moved back to the great US of A. My law student boyfriend graduates and moves back to Minnesota, so we are now living in the same state…and I have less commitment to travel places and more freedom to visit people and places I had been neglecting for the last three years.

What does this mean, well I went to Arizona to visit my brother while he was stationed there for training. I have so much more vacation since I no longer have to fly to Europe, not that I am complaining about getting to go to Europe for the last three years but I have been able to see my parents much more since they are now in North Carolina. I went to Colorado to visit my bestie Jenna, FINALLY! Oh and I went to Miami!!! So in the last year I have kept up with my habit of leaving the state of Minnesota on an average about once a month consist with my average for the last 3 years, not bad. It’s definitely been nice to keep my travel itch scratched.

Of the places I have traveled in the last year, I have to say Miami was one of my favorites. Most likely because it was the most recent place I have been but also because I tried Cuban food for the first time, at least that I can remember and it was AMAZING!

I am kind of obsessed, not just with the food but also Miami itself. Everyone is beautifully tan, toned and put together; ok maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration but it is so tropical, it was like being in a different country without the long flight. Below is a picture of myself and my bf at the Delano on South Beach.

Traveling is expensive though, and it's not always possible for people to get away. I have come up with some ways for you to bring Miami to Mn.


1. Watch Dexter and/or the Glades. I started watching Dexter (Showtime, I bought the seasons on amazon.com) and the Glades (A&E, you can watch for free on-line weekly and season two just started last Sunday) to feel closer to my new love.
2. Victors 1959 cafe. I checked with my favorite Cuban American, and he said Victors 1959 cafe looks like authentic Cuban (as close to it as we can get in Minneapolis) It's on my list to checkout: http://www.victors1959cafe.com/.
3. Make some Cuban food! I tried an authentic Cuban recipe from my friend Molly’s boyfriend’s Cuban mother (see below) last night for dinner. It was amazing; both my boyfriend and I felt like we were back in Miami.

4. Catch some rays! Of course while wearing the appropriate level of SPF, catch some sun. Everyone was outside while we were there- even though it was about 100 degrees. Get outside and love this beaufitul Minnesota summer weather.

 

Camarones Enchilados



2 lbs. shrimp (peeled): this number is based on the amount of shrimp you eat/the size of shrimp you like. I used tiger shrimp are bigger, so I only got 1 lb.
olive oil to sauté ( i used a small amount of olive oil mixed with spray pam)
1 large Vidalia onion (or yellow onion)
3 cloves garlic

1 large green pepper

1 large red pepper (or other color)

½ c fresh parsley

8oz. can tomato sauce

½ c ketchup

½ c dry, white wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)

1 T white wine vinegar

1 large bay leaf

1 t salt

1 t ground black pepper

Ground cayenne pepper to taste

1. In a skillet, sauté onions, peppers in olive oil, then add garlic and parsley, until mostly cooked. Blend into a sauce in food processor, and transfer to a deep pot. (I used a hand held blender which was much easier  since I doubled the receipe)
2. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, wine, vinegar, bay leaf, and seasonings and bring to a boil, stirring well to blend.
3. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. In a skillet with a little oil, cook shrimp at medium-high to high heat briefly on each side (1-2 min) until pink or even a little browned (I added some garlic to flavor them while they cooked). 
5. Add to sauce, then bring to a boil again. Cover and simmer for a few minutes. 
6. Serve with steamed white rice- Uncle Ben's makes an instant rice, called "Heart Healthy" with added vitamens that I highly recommend using instead of brown rice. This "heart healthy" rice almost has the same stats as brown rice, while keeping the consistancy of white rice and the added benefits of brown.