The Return!

Helloooo............( in the echo voice). Is anyone out there.........…!! How I have missed you all!

It has been almost 5 years since I have written in this Blog and I must say that I miss it! Life has changed and life has change me and still is. I have been asked by numerous people when will I return to writing in my "Baby D"  blog and most importantly, "why have you stopped writing?" The short answer is life, and as you get older, it becomes more complicated and in some instances there is less time for fun (which is sad) and we forget about the basics and things that brought us joy, like writing in my journal or Blogging. Now days, everything is digital but for me there is something therapeutic about writing and reading the actual words. So...I am back and I have created a new blog, "Becoming Mina Nicole." 

In Becoming Mina Nicole, I hope to share more of my life because for some reason people seem to be interested in it, which means so much to me. As I become Mina Nicole, I hope to share more than just my love of food, but  also my love of life, travel, business, love , peace and anything else that comes along. I know there are millions of similar blogs out there and I am by no means an expert in any field, but I am an expert at being Mina Nicole.

I hope you will join me on this journey through this thing called life, but most of all I hope that I can help someone as I discover myself along the way.

Tune in at  becomingminanicole.blogspot.com


Mina Nicole

Peanut Clusters

On of my favorite travel must haves are chocolate peanut clusters ( or turtles) and magnets :). Lately, when I travel I usually end up in a candy store purchasing a peanut clusters. A few places I frequent are the Candy Kitchen in Savannah, The General Store in Greenville, SC,  and there is a nice little candy store in Charleston, SC, that I loved. Thinking back to my childhood, I realized that my love for these classic treats remind me of "the good old days" when my mom would buy clusters from Winn Dixie and we would go through them like it was nothing or my Great-Grandmother Doris' love for a Mr. Goodbar (do they still even make them....?).

Again, while visiting in Philly, I was excited to inform my followers and fellow travelers of a new find in Reading Terminal Market. In short, this place is like a farmers market and restaurant food court all in one. The food is fresh, diverse, reasonably priced and pretty good. They even have the largest shrimp that I have ever seen. So large that a pound equals 4 to 6 shrimp and cost $25, crazy!

Back to the clusters....so, my preferences are pecan, almond or peanut milk chocolate clusters. Simple and straight to the point, and no caramel ......ewwww! The clusters at Chocolate by Muller were like a party in my mouth, smooth, not too sweet and plenty of nuts....yum!! To me the amount of nuts set them apart because some of the clusters I have sampled have more chocolate than nuts. This time I had nuts in every bite!

You know when you taste something that is good and after you have digested it, you still seem to be tasting and chewing on it, well this is what I experienced when I tried clusters at Chocolate by Muller, in Philadelphia, PA!!

This time, I was a head of the game and got some to go!

Midnight Cookies (Gainesville, Fl)

Merry, Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year! Yes, I am still committed to the cause of helping the world find great food and life experiences. Yes, it has been a while, since August 2013 to be exact, but I have not been inspired at all..... until this past weekend while in Gainesville, Fl visiting my sister at University of Florida (Go Gators!!).

If you are from FL and have been to Gainesville, you know that there is nothing in Gainesville but UF....and now Midnight Cookies! During my visit, my sister excitedly suggested that we go to Midnight Cookies after having her first sushi experience.... and let me just say OMG!! This place really lives up to its name because business hours are from 6pm to 2am (yes!). According to my sister, these cookies are must haves during late night study sessions, and she said they deliver!

Back to the goodness... when I walked in the store I was instantly sold and excited from the smell of fresh baked cookies! It smelled like sugar and chocolate rolled in one. I was even more excited after I realized they are made fresh to order in 8 minutes!

I also loved the variety of cookies that they had. My selections (above) included red velvet ( yessss!!), cookies n cream (my favorite) and chocolate cookie crunch (no words..).  So fellow cookie lovers, if you ever pass through "Gator Alley" in the evening time (lol) be sure to check out Midnight Cookies!!

Yes, I ordered some cookie dough to go!

"Funeral Cake"

Finally...inspiration!! Where have I been, you ask? Well, I have been in a "food desert" of sorts, meaning I have not been inspired. It is good to know that people read my blog. It never fails that when I go silent I get asked "why have you not written anything?".  Well, the truth is....I DO NOT write unless I am inspired, I mean really inspired. As any writer will tell you, writing cannot be forced, rather it should be inspired and when it is, it comes in waves and here it goes...

On Tuesday, July 30th, I attended a funeral in Philadelphia, PA, and of all places, the repast is where I found my inspiration by way of the infamous " funeral cake." Think about it, you have probably been to a funeral where there was a selection of cake (at least in Miami) which is usually coconut cake and/or pound cake (my favorites). Well at this particular repast, I had the pleasure of experiencing both of my favorites and a new favorite,  pistachio cake....mmmmmmm!

The pistachio cake was a first for me and I will admit it caught me by surprise. I am not an icing person, which is why I prefer pound cake, but this particular cake had a funky lime green pistachio icing that initially turned me off (see below picture). Thankfully, I was feeling adventurous and tasted it and I will say the icing complimented the cake very well, shut my mouth!

The pound cake was delicious and moist as well, but I will say I could have done without the icing because it had little beads in it ( which did not do anything for me). However, the cake itself was awesome!

But......the star of the show was the awemazing......... coconut cake!!! OMG....this was by far the best coconut cake/funeral cake that I have eveeeerrrrrr tasted!! When I say I love coconut cake, I loovvveee coconut cake, no seriously! It was so good that I took a few slices to go, which did not make it back to the hotel!! This cake was definitely " life changing" in that it was "heavy", moist and it smelled good. Plus, it had the right amount of icing to make a perfect blend....deelish!

Baby Disms: A "heavy" cake is one that has some weight to it when you touch it and hold it in your hand. This is usually an indication that the cake is homemade and good.

After eating a sample of the three cakes ( yes, I had a moment) I had to thank the person that made them, Mr. Ethomas "The Cake Man" Heckstall ! To hear his story and love for cooking and baking made the cake even better. The Cake Man, as I dubbed him, came from a looooong line of cooks. While talking to him, I was informed  the pistachio cake is his grandfather's recipe. The Cake Man also proudly informed me he had been baking since the age of 16 ( now he is in his 60s), so you know he has definitely perfected his skill!

In hindsight, I wish I was not trying to be so cute and watch my sexy because I regret not freezing some and bringing it back to Atlanta....ugh!!! I know my Great-Grandmom Doris and Aunt Bunny (RIP) are shaking their heads in heaven saying  "Ms. Thang, you should always travel with a plastic bag or a piece of foil", lol!!

In memory of.... Mr. William "Fatt Daddy" Evans...RIP.

Gumbeaux's Cajun Cafe (Douglasville, GA)

Just about every Friday for lunch I usually partake in "buy Fridays" where the entire group at work goes out for lunch together. We started this Friday tradition in an effort to increase "team togetherness" so to speak and as a treat to ourselves for bringing lunch all week.

A few Fridays ago,  one of my co-workers recommended that we go to Gumbeaux's, in Douglasville. Just the mention of "Gumbeaux's" brought excitement to his mouth and face , and of course, immediately I was intrigued. So, we invited a few other folks to attend this experience and to my surprise the ones that had been before provided the same response. Needless to say, I was ready to eat!!

(Google)

After agreeing to go,  I Googled the restaurant to look at the menu and to read the reviews. The menu had a little bit of everything and I instantly became overwhelemed with options. Thankfully, the  20 minute drive gave me plenty of time to think but I was still confused! Therefore,  I had to make a split second decision as to the final order.....get samples, lol!!

My final, final order of samples consisted of the most amazing crab cakes and just thinking about them makes my mouth water ( Homer Simpson voice....mmmmm)! No lie, these were the crabbiest ( is that a word) crab cakes that I have every tasted!! The breaded batter was amazing because it gave the tastiest crunch that I have ever heard and tasted. Then to top it off, literally, they placed shaved crab on them (See picture)!!!! OMG! These little babies were so filling that I could only eat one. The other was saved for a Saturday morning breakfast of crab cakes and grits!

Going with my indecisiveness, I had a cup of seafood gumbo as well and boy was it good!! Now, I am not a spicy girl because I prefer to taste my food, but the blend of seafood, rice and Cajun spices gave the gumbo enough of a kick for me to get a true Cajun experience and still enjoy my food.

To top of the experience I also had the opportunity to try the fried alligator and fries and this dish did not disappoint as well.

All together, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Gumbeaux's and I definitely will be returning. The only disappointing part about all of this was that I live 15 minutes from Douglasville, and neverrrrrrrr ventured to give this local gem a try, better late than never!

The Bible (Series)

Happy (much belated) New Year! I realize that I have not written anything since November, and my how time flies! During that time, I have had people ask, why have I not written anything in my blog and my response is simple " I have not been inspired". Those that know me well will tell you I don't write about experiences ( much less food) unless I feel they are worth writing about, and finally...... the series " The Bible" is that one!

When I first saw the preview on the History channel I admit I was not interested in seeing it because I figured if you have seen the Easter special "The 10 Commandments", you have seen it all. To my surprise, I was wrong! My friend kept telling me this series was something that I had to see and just to hear him speak about it reminded me of a reality TV show, because he was so excited to tell me about it. So, I indulged and began recording the series so I can see what all the talk was about. After watching the first episode, properly entitled " The Beginning", I was hooked!

For the first time, I was able to see one of my favorite stories in the bible about Abraham, a faithful servant of God, and by far one of the most blessed characters in the bible. For so long, I always wondered why there were never any pictures in the bible to help people visually grasp the great stories written by God's selected few. Thankfully, all that wondering has finally been put in the most simplest and accessible form, television!

To me watching The Bible is like watching an episode of Scandal ( I loovvvveeee Scandal), in that I can't watch Scandal when it first airs because the show is so intense and dramatic that I can't wait on commercials, this is the same with The Bible. The directors and producers of this series have done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the stories and the many characters. Most of all, I applaud them for staying true to the story and casting diverse actors to play the roles.

In my humble opinion, this is the " life changing" experience of life changing experiences.  Therefore, I challenge you to take a break from your normal reality TV programs and take time to watch (and read) the most amazing story ever told!

Prepare to be inspired !

Nothing Bundt Pumpkin Spice!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Over Thanksgiving I managed to discover something great and of all things....it was a pumpkin spice bundt cake! If you like pumpkin or if you are skeptical about it, I urge you to try this.

My first introduction to pumpkin anything was when I lived in Arizona. However, growing up in Miami, I was used to sweet potato everything, but Arizona taught me something different and I ended up taking my new found fall dessert with me to Georgia. Since I moved from AZ to GA one of my close friends in AZ would FedEx a loaf of her special homemade pumpkin bread and it is awesome! Around this time of year, I check the mailbox daily in hopes that my special delivery of pumpkin bread is in there......I am still checking :).

While visiting "Nothing Bundt Cakes" to order my Thanksgiving dessert, I tried a sample of their pumpkin spice cake and OMG....instant foodgasam! I literally saw stars flashing because it was so good and because it was, I switched my original order to have one of those and it was worth it! The flavors are well blended and as I mentioned in a previous post, the cake is always moist and the icing is perfect.

You can thank me later!!