Happy 4th!

To celebrate the fourth, I'm making my Blue Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Burgers. Mainly because I'm running everyday now for my current job and I have been CRAVING a good burger bad for days now. And normally, when it comes to my cravings, I have to give in because it just doesn't go away! And I would never deprive myself of eating good comfort food. :)

Once in a while, I'm all about simple and don't feel the need to add odd ingredients to everything I make, according to my friends. The faster it's put together, the quicker I get to eat!  It's only FOUR ingredients. No salt added and no salt needed. Satisfies the craving of a burger, who doesn't love bacon and blue cheese together, and my love of garlic. All put together to make an all around filling and craving-satisfied meal.

All you need is:

1 lb of ground beef (or chicken, lamb, your preference)
Garlic powder/Granulated Garlic
1/2 cup blue cheese
4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine cheese and bacon; set aside. Mix the meat and garlic together. Split meat into four sections and shape into rounds. Hollow out each ball and stuff in the cheese-bacon mixture. Close off and flatten with the palms of your hands. Heat skillet or get the grill going and cook burgers for 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve with avocado and keep it simple or add any of your favorite toppings on a hamburger bun.

My mouth is watering now.

Summer 2014

Now with the official date set for the World Cup 2014 tickets, I have my eyes set on Brazil next summer...

    

Now what to do or where to go until then!

The best thing I ever ate in....

Argentina


Carne Asada from a street parilla. The smell made me get off the bus while the bus driver was making his way back on the bus to get the show on the road. I begged for two more minutes and he just smiled! He knew. That's how good the smell was and how much I had to have it.



Of course I have to have my flan and te con leche



Dulce de leche is another must in Argentina



Mate. Mate. Mate. When someone offers you their mate, you better not say no!


And you can't go to Argentina and not eat their beef.
Brazil


Pumpkin Bean Soup. So hearty.


Pirarucu a Baiana. Years later and I still remember its taste.
Honestly, I preferred Northern Brazil. I felt I could really dig into the Brazilian culture up north. Southern Brazil is lovely of course, but I felt like I was really eating food made from someone's heart.

And of course...


Have açaí any way that you can.

Ecuador


Camarones al ajillo. Yesss.

The Galápagos Islands
Jugo de tomate arbol. No picture sadly, but introduced to the tree tomato on the islands. Surprisingly sweet and quite enjoyable to drink.



Very fond of the fresh albacore tuna steaks.

Chile


Machas a la Parmesana


Patagonian Lamb


Harina Tostada (Toasted Corn) Gelato

Colombia
Not making a decision yet due to not enough exploration. Next time!

Honduras


Spent most of my time near the Caribbean so I really just appreciated the fresh seafood.

Panama
Pretty much all of Central America, I just appreciated the seafood the most.




Costa Rica




Shrimp and Fried Red Snapper.


Agua de coco fresca

Curaçao
(Not pictured)A plate full of seafood. Fish. Shrimp. Scallop. Baby Octopus. Mussels. It went straight to my heart.

Mexico City
Have to dig a little deeper for my Mexico City pictures but pretty much everything I ate there was delicious. Mexican food hasn't tasted the same to me ever since.

Bolivia


Fried fish and Ispi with purple potato and corn


Sopa de mani. Really, all the food was wonderful and homey in Bolivia. Al paca was another treat.

Peru
Everything. Seriously one of the best cuisines in the world. Yes, I said it. Here's just a few dishes to drool over.


Lomo Saltado


Meat and potato on a stick. My choice was llama. Served with salsa.



Peruvian ceviche


Chicha Morada. I'm very fond of this drink and make it quite often now.

Egypt

Falafel. Fluffy and made to perfection.


Zalabiah




Really just loved the street fruit and corn.


You can't go to Egypt and not partake in drinking mint tea.

Turkey
Need more time to explore. Of course the food is amazing there.

Guatemala


It's just as simple as pollo asado, tortillas y cebolla. Made with love.
Food is just better when it is made with the heart.

Restaurant Crawl

While waiting for my camera charger to return so I can post all the goodness I ate in Guatemala, here are some delights to enjoy on the Venice Beach Boardwalk and surrounding area of Venice, California. Forewarning: Pictures were not taken with a camera!

Hawaiian Style (no rice) Ahi Poke at Poke Poke

Fresh tuna right next to the ocean. Poke Poke may not be that fancy shmancy seafood restaurant most people prefer but don't judge a book by its cover. I love this gem on the boardwalk. Grab your cup of ahi poke with any ingredient that you want, sit back, relax, and people watch. I ordered the small ahi tuna poke with the additions of seaweed and masago.

And I give it four hearts: <3<3<3<3. The flavor was explosive, the vibrant colors in my bowl were visually appealing, and the perfect amount. Just not five hearts because I felt the fish could have/should have been a little more fresh. I'm guessing it tastes better the earlier you go but still it was fine. If it had not been fresh, of course that's another story. Since you are going raw, it better be held to high standards.

Next, We wanted shrimp tacos but sadly the boardwalk front kitchen was closed. Can't tell you the name of it but look for a taco place with a counter near muscle beach gym and you'll see what I'm talking about. And you'll love it too.

Which led me to remember my favorite burger place on the boardwalk. It had been an awfully long time since I had been there so decided to go and show that place some love. It's a long walk down the boardwalk but well worth it. It's a little bit after that whole creepy 'freak show' building. You have to look in every small alley until you find it. Eventually you'll come to one that has a few shops but at the end, you'll see a Chinese massage place and a burger place. The cafe you've been looking for -- Sean's Cafe.

Yes, Sean's Cafe. That's where you'll find the best burger on the boardwalk. Hands down. And well worth the wait. Because yes, it does take a while to get your meal but good things come to those with patience. The best part of this burger: Simple and fresh. It tastes the same every time. Haven't felt a downgrade with quality in the burger there ever. It consists of beef, mixed greens, and whatever else you want on it. I keep mine simple, with just ketchup and mustard. And the fries that go with them. Mmmmmm. Enough said. Get yours.

I don't really eat much on the boardwalk but I'd say the best place to get a greasy and huge slice of pizza would be at Big Daddy's. Pizza is great there but wasn't planning on ordering it. I got sucked in to the chocolate covered banana. Oh the chocolate covered banana! Always gets my thoughts going in the brain (I'm not the only one!) AND satisfies my frozen treat cravings. It was just okay for me. I prefer 45-70% (semi to dark) chocolate for anything I eat. And they use milk chocolate here. You'll like it if that's the chocolate you crave.

And lastly, we were going to split a burger on a pretzel bun at Three Square Cafe on Abbot Kinney but we were done, so we went next door to grab a pretzel at the adjoining cafe. Just needed that salt to counteract the sweetness of the milk chocolate banana.

It's a good day when you can relax on the beach for half the day, order different things at different places, split with friends, and be able to walk, not drive, on your restaurant crawl.

There are plenty of options to choose from that I've been to, but not mentioned above, when your at Venice beach. And pretty affordable too.

I take it all back

Remember what I said about sleep and how it's only for home? Forget what I said. Sleep IS for home AND for travel. You need it to function. Your body needs the rest and to be given the chance to rejuvenate for the next days great adventure. Of course when traveling there are plenty of times that this is not possible. It's okay. This is supposed to be part of the travel experience. It's a miracle if you are able to sleep on an overnight bus from one destination to the next. I try but I just can't do it!

With that said, by day 6 of my Guatemala experience, my friend and I were so sleep deprived, we couldn't even function. We spent most of the day exploring Tikal with no food, made time for a quick snack/lunch though I really had a hard time eating while feeling sick to my stomach, and went to freshen up and relax before New Years dinner and festivities. Then it somehow finally caught up to us.

Of course more me than her because she can fall asleep ANYWHERE and wasn't nearly as tired as I was. I really don't know how she does it.

Night time hit and we were planning on eating dinner around 8 and ending the year exploring more of Tikal.

But by 6 pm, she was telling me she no longer had an appetite, didn't want dinner, and was focused on the mosquitos flying in our cabin.

I was still really hungry but I was so physically exhausted I literally couldn't move and even go to get dinner. I could not get up, keep my eyes open, couldn't focus on her trying to keep our conversation going, my body was frozen, kept falling asleep while she was talking then waking up with migraines, feeling like throwing up nothing because I had nothing in my stomach, and really did not care about the flying mosquitos and the 3 not small spiders next to my bed and normally I DO! They could have attacked me and I would have let them. It was that bad.

All the days leading up to day 6 with barely any sleep finally caught up and it wasn't pretty. And that is how I ended the year 2012.

My plan was to wake up really early and spend New Years Day in the jungle and watching the incredible and 'magical' sunrise as described exactly to me by a few friends. It would be me alone because Vanessa was fine with not having to wake up at 3 am and wanted the sleep time. After hearing about this 'magical' sunrise more than once, there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity because I knew I would have regretted it. That and I love wandering around any jungle/rainforest any chance that I get.

Well then that sleep deprivation experience happened and I realized I really needed that night of sleep....so somehow I finally was able to reach over and turn off my alarm. I sadly 'thought' I made up my mind about not going to see the sunrise and continuing my exploration of Tikal. I didn't know what to do and I knew deep down it was the wrong decision.

And funny how things happen to fall into place. Vanessa got out of her bed to go to the bathroom and with the flick of the light, I woke up. I tried covering my face to make it dark but I was wide awake. I turned over to look at the clock and it was 3:50am. I all of a sudden got really worried and right away Vanessa could see it in my eyes because you can see EVERYTHING I'm feeling through my eyes and said: "Do you want to go see the sunrise?" And I responded with: "Yes, I really want to." I knew then I would have been so disappointed in myself if I made it to Tikal and didn't even go. And somehow I found my energy, quickly got up, changed my clothes, threw on my shoes, no make up, and grabbed my camera, flashlight, and Tikal ticket. I was out of there at 4 am. And just the night before, I couldn't even move a muscle!

The time spent in the jungle at 4 in the morning was absolutely amazing. There are not enough words to describe this experience. The sounds were just indescribable. The howler monkeys were so vocally vibrant and expressive. The bats flying around. I love and appreciate everything the jungle offers. Not just here but through my other experiences in the Amazon as well. Oh and the sunrise above the rainforest really was 'magical'. I'm keeping that experience for myself and won't post any pictures of it just to leave it as a surprise for anybody planning a trip there.

The other bonus for being up that early was that the area was nearly deserted! I got to spend more time within the Mayan pyramids with no distractions and tourists! I was able to really take it all in, take pictures, and see what I missed out on the previous day. Got a few cool pictures taken of me from some people there with promises of emailing them, in which I have received! I also helped out a couple from Mexico and Argentina who didn't have a camera and couldn't capture any Tikal pictures. I paid it forward and took some of them with promises of emailing them. Glad I got to help them out and give them a good memory to have on their journey.:) It was a day that I won't ever forget and am so glad it was meant for me to wake up without my alarm and to explore more. Being happy to wake up at 3:50 in the morning just sounds so silly!

So with all this, I won't change my style of travel and love of adventure. I also really love sleep and will continue to make sure I'm getting it but at the same time not sleeping through an adventure and missing out. All I can say is don't do what I did! Fit sleep in somehow! Time and the amount of days I had affected what I was going to do in Guatemala. I normally don't have this problem. I diagnosed myself with the case of the 'I have to see it all in this time period'.

Can't wait to revisit what I ate in Guatemala. Oh and one more thing I took from Guatemala--I should have been making my own tortillas a long time ago. That starts from now on.

On the road again...

On to another vacay.....oops, I mean ADVENTURE!

Guatemala

Will be doing so many things, I probably won't have time to sit! Sleeping is for home as I always say. ☺ Even with this cold that I've just caught, I can't let it keep me from climbing the volcanoes and playing in the jungle!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

My new years resolution(s): Run more races, bike more races, and try to stop using so many exclamation points!

❤