Author Archives: Adora Mae

sweet & spicy brussels sprouts

I thought up this gem…well, because I have yet to find a farmers market here in Austin, so I didn’t have any honey on hand. I almost always cook my Brussels sprouts the same way: balsamic, evoo, salt, tiny bit of honey. boom. done.

Well, my Brussels sprouts were getting soft, and I still had no honey on hand – so this little monster of a recipe was born.

First, mix the salt and sugar and heavily dust those onto the faces of the halved Brussels. Get your black pepper, and cayenne and lightly dust the tops with those. Then, pour the Sriracha vinegar mixture over, getting some one each piece. Finally, drizzle your olive oil over the top and pop it in the oven.

Finally, throw some sesame seeds on the top to look pretty, and you’re done.

1-2 tbsp. sugar
1/2-1 tbsp. salt
black pepper to preference
cayenne powder to preference
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (with 2tsp. sriracha mixed in)
e.v.o.o. enough to lightly coat the sprouts
sesame seeds

400 degrees for 30 minutes.

enjoy!
xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Monday, the 2nd of June, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Tilapia Veracruz

I decided to kick things off the weekend with a nice Tilapia Veracruz.

Start with some fresh tilapia filets, and marinate them with some organic italian dressing. These guys are pretty thin, so it doesn’t take long to cook.

The topping is where I varied from traditional veracruz, I decided to go a bit fresher and more summer-y. With fresh grape tomatoes, cilantro, and red onion, this is fresh and delightful. And healthy!

Top, bake, and boom. You have some fresh Tilapia Veracruz.

I paired my Tilapia Veracruz with fresh avocado and some red quinoa. And I gotta say, it was delicious.

Happy eating, loves!

xoxo,
Adora

Tilapia Veracruz

2 Tilapia Filets
Organic Italian Salad Dressing
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green olives with pimentos
1/4 diced red onion
1/4 cup diced cilantro
Feta

Preheat oven to 400. Coat tilapia filets in italian dressing, then place in glass baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly flakey. In a bowl, combine olives, onion, cilantro, and bell pepper. Coat with more salad dressing. Pull tilapia out of the oven and cover with topping. Finally, top with feta, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Serve with red quinoa, avocado and some fresh lime.

| Posted on Friday, the 30th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you got to eat some hotdogs and stay in bed reading all day like I did! It’s cloudy and rainy here in Austin – my absolute favorite weather.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Monday, the 26th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Someone once told me the key to good hummus is patience…I think it’s patience and the ability to tolerate loud noises for an extended amount of time.

The thing with hummus is, you have to blend it longer than you think you should ever have to blend anything. But you blend and blend and eventually you get delicious and in my case totally organic hummus!

I like to take the tahini, lemon, and about half of the olive oil and blend those together first until pretty smooth. Then add the tomatoes and the garlic, blend until smooth again. Finally, add the garbanzo beans. Blend blend, add a little more olive oil, add some of the water the garbanzos came in, add the salt. Blend blend blend. Basically until it’s at a consistency that you can live with. I like my hummus EXTREMELY smooth so this is a long process for me, but it’s so worth it.

Top it with a little extra olive oil, and some paprika and/or cayenne and serve it up with whatever you like, I’m a big fan of falafel chips these days.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 large lemon’s juice
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 can organic garbanzo beans (water put to the side)
3 tbsp. e.v.o.o.
3-4 olive oil packed sun dried tomatoes
Himalayan Salt to taste
Paprika and Cayenne to dust on top

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Sunday, the 25th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

there’s this park behind our house

He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved! -Psalm 18:19 MSG

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Wednesday, the 21st of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

The 5 keys to working remotely successfully

Today I start working my job remotely from Texas. I’m going to miss all my coworker back in Florida so much. Especially Briana and Nell. To prepare for this change though, I’ve spent a lot of time talking with people who work from home to get their advice on how to stay sane and productive. Their advice has already been invaluable so I wanted to share with you the top 5 pieces of advice that they gave to me.

1. Wake up and get ready. – Get ready like you normally would if you were going into the office. Put make up and deodorant on, even if you won’t see anyone all day.

2. Separate the two parts of your life. – Go for a walk, leave and get coffee, have some routine that you keep everyday to tell your body that your day is ending and/or beginning.

3. Don’t eat meals at your computer. – Leave the screen behind and actually use your lunch break to eat lunch. The work will still be there in an hour.

4. Business on top. – Some of my advisors have to video chat into meetings like I will. They say, no need for a full on work outfit, just a business top. Just don’t forget and stand up during the conference call.

5. Stick to your start/quit times. – In the tech field especially, work is never actually finished. Your work computer in your house could lead to you working 10+ hours a day if you don’t try your best to stick to your schedule the way you would in the office.

Well, I hope you all find these tips as helpful as I did. Anyway, wish me luck!

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Monday, the 19th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Authentic Mexican Food Experience

Well, Josh and I went and found a little hole in the wall Mexican joint and stuffed our faces. Josh got some verde chicken enchiladas and they were easily the best I’ve ever tasted.
Anyway, if you’re in Austin check out:
Habanero Mexican Café
501 W. Oltorf
Austin, TX 78704

Olé!
xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Sunday, the 18th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

First morning in my new home!

Obviously it started with coffee.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Saturday, the 17th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Moving on in…

We woke up this morning in a best western hotel, which was shockingly nice. Went to the bank for a new money order and to attempt to sort out some drama that came along with trying to send our last money order through the United States postal service (never use them if you can avoid it). Then, finally, we went to our new home, signed our lease and got the keys!

Now comes the hard part. Unpacking the u-haul beast. Ugh. Pray for us. Here are some pics of the empty apartment.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Friday, the 16th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae

Day Two…

Day two on the road to Austin! We drove through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and finally Texas. We finally stopped about an hour outside of Austin at a pet friendly hotel. Tomorrow we sign the lease and start the horrid process of unloading the u-haul. I’ll do my best to show you all some before shots of the apartment before it gets covered in boxes.

xoxo,
Adora

| Posted on Thursday, the 15th of May, in the year 2014 by Adora Mae