The day before his arrival to the United States, my cousin Kevin calls and inquired about the dish that I would be preparing for him. The first time he had the opportunity to taste my hand, was during his visit last year. My grandma raised us as brothers and sisters (or so the entire community thought), and my grandma never made me cook when I was younger. Anyway,  migrated to the USA and we have been living separate lives for a few years. He really enjoy the curry shrimp that I had prepared for him last year, so I guess he was anticipating lots more of my awesomeness.

I purchased  mangroves aka black snappers, lane snappers and strawberry groupers which I had been craving for all week. Thank God I had finally made it out of the house. I wasn’t about to leave these fishes. They had to go home with me. I knew exactly what I would do with them. The first fish on the menu would be the strawberry grouper.

I wanted to make his visit special, so I decided to go all out. I enjoy feeding others and usually wow my visitors with my flavorful, mouth watering, aromatic, herbaceous dishes.  Everyone feels loved and appreciated when they my home. And trust me, they never leave with getting that dose of healthy lecture from me: limit your processed foods; cook from scratch; eat foods from the earth; let your food be your medicine. I go in on their asses once they set foot through my doors. They all seem to be engaged in becoming aware…and that’s fantastic.  Within little or no time, they become food conscious and I begin to receive an influx of eating healthy questions. I don’t mind at all. I just love it when they become aware.

When I presented the strawberry grouper on a platter, Kevin said, “I would love for you and my wife to discuss eating healthier. This kind of lifestyle looks like it costs a lot of money.”  Well most people think that eating healthier is expensive. It takes some preparation and effort to eat healthier, but once you commit and invest that extra time into the living a healthier lifestye, it works itself out and won’t seem as intimidating.  Kevin I  got your back, and I will show you how. After all….that’s what family is all about.