The Last Taino Puerto Rican Food Truck

REPOST FROM MY DUPLIN TIMES NEWSPAPER COLUMN, "DUPLIN EATS"

When I was first introduced to The Last Taino, I was under the impression it was a Mexican food truck which is great because I do love Mexican food, but once I checked out their Facebook page and found out they had a Puerto Rican Twist, I was sold! It was going to be the next stop on the “Duplin Eats” train. My mom grew up in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood called Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, NY, so as kids, she introduced us to the tastes of Puerto Rico and my siblings and I have loved it ever since. We found a great spot near my sister’s old apartment in Fayetteville and almost every time we are in the area we go there. We actually went last week. She also cooks it sometimes at home. It’s hard to find Puerto Rican food in this area, so we were excited to go check it out.

National Chocolate Cake Day

Chocolate cake is one of those go to foods that pretty much everybody likes. Even grumpy old Ms. Agatha Trunchbull loved chocolate cake! Do you remember the movie Matilda and how she tortured a little boy for eating some of her chocolate cake? Man, memories. My family and I used to watch that movie all the time. Happy National Chocolate Cake Day! Let's learn a little more about one of America's favorite desserts!

Ann's Thai Kitchen

REPOST FROM MY DUPLIN TIMES NEWSPAPER COLUMN, "DUPLIN EATS"

I moved away from Duplin County for 10 years, and honestly not much has changed since before I left to go to college, but on one of my visits home to see family, I was in the town that my high school, East Duplin, is in and noticed a Thai restaurant. I had to do a double-take because I couldn’t believe there was a Thai restaurant in little ol’ Beulaville. Duplin County definitely isn’t known for our variety of foods.

National Popcorn Day

Lately, on my journey to trying to eat a little better and make better snacking choices, I have been eating a lot of popcorn! I've always liked popcorn and kept some on reserve, but for some reason, lately, I've been going through box after box. Today on National Popcorn Day, the popcorn crave continues.

Nobody Appreciates Strawberry Ice Cream

Anyone who knows me knows that ice cream is one of my addictions. I could literally eat it every day. Especially with some warm baked goods underneath it! My favorite ice creams are cookie dough, cookies and cream, butter pecan, and strawberry. So of course when I was checking out my National Food Day Calendar and saw that today was National Strawberry Ice Cream Day, it was a no brainer that I was choosing it for my weekly National food day post. July 1st is National Ice Cream Day, but on January 15th each year, one of my favs gets it's 15 seconds of fame.

Whipped Cream Day

It's National Whipped Cream Day! Whipped cream enhances the flavor of so many desserts. It is a perfect topping for pies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, drinks, trifles, and so many other desserts. This light but sweet goodness, as simple as it may be, actually has a deep history.