We were in Italy last March for 10 days.
We had our small wedding with family and friends.
My husband Jamel loved the Italian food.
For the first time, he had a chance to taste all the goodies that Sicily had to offer.
Besides the yummy pizza and ricotta cheese pastries, he really loved the
arangini.
So once in a while, Jay will ask me to make those for him.
I admit: making them is a lot of work, but it is really worth it!
Here is my recipe.
First, you will need:
white rice
ground beef or ground veal. you could also mix them together.
1 can of peeled plum-shaped tomatoes(I only use 2 tomatoes not the whole can.)
1 can of pure tomatoes
Bread crumbs.
2 eggs
mozzarella cheese
sweet peas
Sazon goya... it will make your rice yellow.
onions or scallions,
1 carrot,
celery,
sweet peas,
olive oil,
salt and pepper
add the meat.
When its almost done,
add the 2 plum-shaped tomatoes.
Wait a few minutes then add the tomato puree.
Make sure you taste it, and
add salt and black paper if you need to.
After 1 and a half hours of cooking,
it should look like this.
Make sure it is not watery.
The tomato sauce needs to be thick,
so cook it on low heat.
If it needs more than 1 hour, it's fine.
The rice
Cook the rice for long time.
When cooking the rice, it will need to be overcooked with no water left in the pot. The rice needs to be sticky.
It will be easy to work with when you form the balls.
The rice looks yellow because after it is cooked, I added Sazon. Also, add the Parmesan cheese to the rice, it will make it tastier!
This will make your rice yellow.
You will need the bread crumbs
to roll your rice ball in.
First, you need to beat the eggs. Next, you will soak the rice ball in the eggs. Then, dip the balls into the bread crumbs. Finally, I fried them in hot vegetable oil.
The yummy result!!!
Here are the links of the preparation.
Note: the tomato sauce is a recipe my aunt gave me, so it wont be in this video.
I am not one of those women. High heels? I can not stand them.
Do I wear them? Rarely.
I remember for my wedding day, I was looking for a comfy pair of high heels shoes. I checked every single store in town. I even got a pair on line that I had to return because were not good for my long, flat feet.
Most of my girlfriends love to wear high heels. Everywhere I go, I see high heels. I used to think that there was something wrong with me. Everybody loves shoes, but I do not. I love comfy flat ones.
I used to stress about it.
Now, I have learned to love who I am.
Women love shoes...that's a statement I hear all the time. I am the exception.
I grew up in a Christian family.
My parents would take me to church every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
I used to go to church just to make my parents happy.
I learned about the bible and the beautiful story that comes with it at Sunday school.
I had a hard time making friends at church, because I was pretty shy. But I did love Sunday
school cause I got to learn about Noah and the Ark, how Moses helped slaves escape from Egypt and the story of Sarah, who got pregnant at 91 years old.
Growing up I hung out with people who did not know God at all.
I would call them 'GOOD PEOPLE'.
The truth was they were not that good. Who is really Good?
I was not Good. I was lost for a couple of years. I was not really following God or looking for him.
I thought I was doing the right things. I thought I was Good.
Now, I know the difference between following him and being without him.
I knew it was time to go back to church.
After I moved to New York, I had the desire to reach to God.
I am glad that my parents raised me inside the church,
even though I understood much later how God was important to me.
I am glad I reached a point in my life where I recognized that I am not good, and that I am wrong
and that I need him.
I decided to give my life to him and I am still working on doing this everyday.
I want to share this video with you. Open your heart and give your life to Jesus today.
Every year, around the holiday season, I feel sick...home sick.
Back when i was a teenager, i would always spend the holidays with my parents.
I love to cook. Since the holidays required us to cook yummy foods, I was always happy to celebrate in the kitchen with my mom.
My last Christmas with my family was in 2006.
Mom left us in august 2007. That year was a sad and devastating year.
I remember my mother feeding us with pizza, lasagna, lamb with potatoes and other delish Italian dishes. I have learned a lot from her cooking, but none of my dishes are as good as hers.
Christmas and New Year's were very special with my parents around. I wish I understood this earlier
than now. Some teenagers do not get it till it's too late. And sometimes I feel like I am one of those who got it too late.
I left for America in 2008 and did not go home for 4 years. The hardest thing I ever did was leave my dad behind.
My dad and I have a beautiful relationship. We call each other everyday.
We almost fight everyday and we love each other everyday.
One thing we have in common is being stubborn.
We are also both slow when it comes to understanding things.
Dad has recently learned to use Skype(well...he is still learning.)
Gosh he is driving me crazy!!! It doesn't matter how many times I explain to him how to start the video call or how to click a few icons on his desktop. (Remember: first you need to explain what a DESKTOP is...) He will ask me the same questions all over again. LOL.
Only after a few hours of explanation, we realized that we didn't even ask each other "Oh, by the way...how are you today?" LOL
I wouldn't trade our conversation for anything. I love them just the way they are.
This past weekend, i did a photo shoot for this beautiful family of four.
I was impressed at how sweet and well mannered these 2 girls were.
When I got home, I looked at the pictures and while organizing them, I came across one that made me emotional. The picture(below) captures a sweet moment between a girl and her dad.
I miss my mom a lot, but I know that she is in a better place and I can not change that.
Dad is home, he is fine and happily married. Being able to talk to him is a blessing, but its surely painful to know that I don't get to spent the holiday with him.Or simply go over a weekend for lunch or dinner time.
Today, I am blessed with my own family . My husband is a great man and we both fear the Lord.
God has been blessing us so much.
The holidays are close and I am very excited to spend it with my husband. But deep inside, I am also sad.
I understand that holidays are made to be with your parents. If your parents are still alive, please make time for them. They won't be here forever.
HERE IS THE PICTURE THAT GOT ME EMOTIONAL
THE 3 YEAR OLD BABY GIRL, WITH HER DAD.
