Hey, everyone!

I hope your weekend was restful, especially with the extra hour gifted to us for the ending of daylight savings time. I personally didn’t necessarily get any extra sleep because I just end up going to bed one hour later than usual. Even if I did go to bed earlier, I would probably just wake up earlier because my internal clock is basically set on 7.5-8.5 hours. Oh well!

This weekend consisted of quality family time and the usual activities: dance, homework, Sunday school teaching, and church. Some more exciting things happened though, like a “shortcut to Puerto Rico” on Friday night…

Thanks for hosting, Katie!

Marvelous is…

Dinner at Don Coqui, a fabulous Puerto Rican restaurant with amazing food and fun Latin dancing to a live band! But guess the main reason why we went there. Groupon, of course. We should seriously star in a TLC show called “Extreme Grouponers” or something. My mom finds the deals like no one’s business, and the rest of us are definitely not complaining. We decided that we would go out on the occasion of All Saints’ Day 🙂 The amount of food we get for such a great price is outstanding. Don Coqui was no different with their HUGE portions. They know it too, because they charge extra if you want to share! Just order for yourself and take the leftovers. You’ll get a few awesome meals for the next day or two!

The “bread basket” was actually a basket of plantain chips with two dips—black bean and an amazing salsa.

Appetizers: calamari and mussels with chorizo.

I was actually kind of full after the appetizers. Those things were definitely larger than entree portions even! We managed to polish them off because they were so good though.

My entree: yuca-crusted red snapper with yuca mash and grilled vegetables

This was absolutely fantastic. Puerto Rican flavors never fail to make my taste buds dance (cha-cha-cha). The crust of the red snapper had a little bit of coconut—perfection. And the yuca mash was really good! The taste is similar to mashed potatoes, but the texture is a little more glutinous. I took the leftovers home and they were just as good on tope a bed of spinach and kale!

Mom’s entree: Shrimp mofongo!

I’m just going to show my mom’s entree because mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish that I think everyone needs to try. It’s basically a mash of green plantains, pork cracklings (no wonder it’s so good), garlic, and broth, and it just rocks. The first time we tried mofongo was in Puerto Rico, and we’ve ordered at least one whenever we go to a Puerto Rican restaurant. It’s the most hoppin’ party that will ever go down in your mouth. Also, it makes for great leftovers!

Other dishes included braised oxtail (Dad’s), rib and chicken combo (Ben’s—such a bro meal), and tres leches and coconut flan for dessert. For the first time ever I think, we couldn’t finish dessert. Colossal meal, guys. My parents still had the energy to get up and do some salsa dancing though! They used to take ballroom dance lessons, so they’ve got some fancy footwork.

Marvelous is…

Tori Kelly on REPEAT. I think se has real talent unlike many of those hyped-up Hollywood folks. Plus, she seems like a really down-to-earth girl, which is always so nice to see! I highly recommend listening to her new EP here.

Marvelous is…

Oatmeal. Never gets old.

Marvelous is…

The Camera+ app that I used to edit the above picture of oatmeal. I need to use that app a lot more! I got it for $0.99, and I totally think it’s worth it. The filters, borders, and user-friendliness conveniently help to make my food look more appealing. I really wish I could photograph food better, but my impatience and usual lack of good sunlight often results in amateur pictures. Occasionally, I like to pretend I’m a food photographer, and Camera+ aids my daydreams 😉

Well, that’s about it for now. Nothing too exciting. I am really excited for all the things that are happening this month though! November is definitely one of my favorite months, so I’ll be talking more about the upcoming events I’m looking forward to.

Have a lovely Monday!

So tell me: Have you ever tried Puerto Rican food? Mofongo? What kind of music are you loving lately? Do you use photo-editing apps?