INSIDE 6th Grade Trip
ISSUE 7
The middle school j our nalists will be documenting our exper iences under quar antine. We will be inter viewing classmates, parents, teacher s and other member s of our community as well as shar ing thoughts on our own exper iences. Please enj oy these slices-of-life dur ing this weir d, challenging time.
Broghan Muhlig Per sonal: With the end of the school year creeping up on me, the more and more I realize how much work I have forgotten about or just didn?t do. With this, I also have realized how important communication is during this time. Contacting teachers has been really difficult, but at the same time, it is important to tell your teachers if you ever find yourself struggling. I have been working on missing assignments when I know I shouldn?t be worrying about them. I waited till the last couple weeks to get the work done and now its come to bite me in the butt. My friends are now saying how they are finished with their assignments due or how they don?t have anything to do at the time and they ask if I can play games with them. I really want to play with them but I can?t because I have to do all the late work I procrastinated on. My advice to you is to just get it done. If you feel like you want to take a break, try and keep your eye on the time. Don?t get distracted and forget to complete the work. Stay focused. I?ve been listening to a lot of classical music lately and it really helps because it is the perfect type of music that you can listen to and enjoy but still won?t distract you. I?ve listened to so much in the background recently that whenever I?m not doing work, I always just have this one song that is stuck Page 12t continue with what I?m in my head that I can?
doing without going through the videos and finding which one it is.
Getting homework done is a real struggle with online school happening and all, but I have been dedicated to getting it done and I do all that I can to focus and get it done. I try and find ways to help me through the hours of homework. I can?t wait for summer to begin because when summer starts, I know that there is no more late work to be turned in and I can have fun with my friends. Teacher : Kathryn Pelletier, music teacher for Miami Country Day, said, ?I?ve been teaching live classes with Orchestra and Middle School Chorus, which is really difficult, because of the internet lag.? One of the problems Mrs. Pelletier has noticed would be the students?ability to focus. ?I think it?s hard for some students to focus when they are just in front of the computer screens by themselves,? She says that it is hard to not have that interaction with her students in person because it is hard to see and hear each other. She has got around this by assigning solo projects or making the students record themselves for others to critique. There have been some positives about online schooling. ?I think one of the positives is a better ability to give individual feedback,? she said. ?For lower school, I post a video, in their own time the watch the video, then they do a music assignment with it, then they post their assignment, and then I get to write back to the individual how they did, what they could do better, what they did well. So, it starts, like, a conversation about their work.? Parent: school, but online school has definitely been more relaxing and calming. ?I have so much more time now to complete all my homework, which leads to me getting better grades and feeling much better about my schoolwork,? she explained. ?I also have started to watch new Netflix shows, such as Outer Banks.?
Chloe Shapiro Per sonal: This week I went on a fun bike ride or so-called ?adventure.?I live about 3 blocks away from an ice cream shop, and so my parents let me bike ride and get ice cream. I haven?t had ice cream in a really long time, so it was definitely amazing to finally enjoy some. I ordered my favorite, ?Chocolate Coco Chip.?I asked for whipped cream, Nutella, and strawberries on top. I know that to some people getting ice cream isn?t a big deal, but since I haven?t had any ice cream other than store-bought in a while, it was definitely very exciting. Student: Mariana Muniz Rodriguez, a middle school student, said she misses seeing all her friends at
Mariana said that when quarantine is over she wants to get her favorite ice cream at an ice cream shop. Teacher : Marisol Ferro, a middle school teacher, said most of her time is spent on different tasks related to teaching. ?With the implementation of online teaching, students require more guidance and support,? she said. ?Also, since more independent work is assigned, I spend more time tracking the
Jason Pelletier is the father of 6th grader, Olivia Pelletier, and 8th grader, Madelyn Pelletier. He has used the time during quarantine to get some work done around his house. One thing he has done during the quarantine is that he finally installed an air conditioning unit into his garage. When he isn?t working, he does some activities with his family. He said that he goes on walks with his family, he plays board games, he plays cornholes, and once they played with fireworks! Though it is tough that he can not really go outside as often, he has found a positive in all of it. Less traffic. He has done many things to preoccupy his time and quarantine and he uses it to do things he has meant to get around to and to do things with his family. Student: Madelyn Pelletier is an 8th grader at Miami Country Day. Being a student, online school has had a big impact on her life. When talking about how it has been for her, she said ?it?s been an endeavor.? She goes on to say that it has been harder for her to focus and easier for her to procrastinate. Even though it has been difficult, she said there is one plus of online school. ?There is less time you have to spend sitting down in a classroom,? she said. ?It is easier to work at your own pace.? Outside of online schooling, Madelyn has been doing other things to enjoy herself. She has been playing a lot of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and she has been texting her friends. She misses being able to talk to her friends after school and she tries to stay in contact with them by calling them sometimes. She also has done things to stay active. She said, ?I go on bike rides every so often.? proper completion of work.? Ms. Ferro said that she prefers to be on-campus interacting with students, she believes that teaching is a profession that requires first-hand contact. Ms. Ferro said that when quarantine is over she would like to spend time at the beach because she misses the ocean. Parent: Kevin King, father of Gaby King, a sixth-grader at Miami Country Day School, said, ?During the quarantine, I have been keeping busy by going for walks, playing with my kids when they are done with school, and we go on our boat sometimes on the weekends.? Mr. King said that he misses going to work because he misses the social interaction of working together. He said that at home, some things can be more complicated for work than it would be at the office, and that can turn difficult.
spending a lot of time with her son. She has cooked a lot of new things like turkey, shepards pie, homemade chicken nuggets, chocolate cookies and plain cookies, homemade pizza, homemade pasta, and American dirt. She has also tried skateboarding. She is exercising a lot.
Lucas Bacardi Shriftman Teacher :
models of spaceships.
Mr. Malcolm, a Digital Literacy teacher and middle school STEM teacher, has kept his students very engaged during this tough time period. He asked his students to make cardboard toys for his dog to keep them engaged in his class.
Student:
Mr. Malcolm loves to cook. He cooked a smoked brisket that took ten to twelve hours to make. He used pecan wood and every thirty minutes he would go check on the brisket. In addition to cooking and teaching, Mr. Malcolm is playing video games and watching TV. He finished the entire series of Clone Wars. Though Mr. Malcolm isn't going on as many walks as he desires, he is going on one walk a day and walking his dog once a day. Aside from teaching, cooking, playing video games, and watching tv, Mr. Malcom learned how to knit sweaters for his dog and make cardboard
At the beginning of quarantine, sixth grader Fedor Kravtsov had struggles getting off the couch and doing homework or exercising. He overcame this struggle by telling himself to get off this couch and go do your homework. Fedor hid his TV remote from himself so he wouldn't sit on the couch all day and play video games. Eventually, he forgot where the remote was and overcame his struggle. Fedor is now riding his bike very far and pushing himself everyday to go further. He is also doing pushups, sit ups, squats, weights, and YouTube exercises everyday. Parent: Mijanou Spurdle, mother of sixth grasder Brooks Spurdle, said she is very busy with work, but still which did not turn out too bad. Mr. Malcolm said, "I'm curious to see what the long-term impact of this thing is going to be."
Daniella Arango Student: Quarantine has been going ok for Briana Dunn, but she still really misses her friends, of course. "It has been going ok because now I am getting used to being at home all the time, but in the beginning, it was really hard because I was still adjusting." When virtual school started, Briana had mixed feelings about it. "Personally, I am not the biggest fan of virtual school only because it is not the funnest, and my eyes get really tired of just looking at the screen every day." Briana feels that virtual school is not hard but the workload is definitely challenging. Briana thinks that after quarantine, everyone should be more cautious when they sneeze, cough, and when they wash their hands so that we can prevent spreading all these viruses. Briana also wishes that people would still social distance right now even though more and more people are getting more open to seeing each other because if we socialize too much then it can make this situation worse. Luckily Briana has an older brother that she can spend time with. Since most of Briana's family lives in Puerto Rico, she is pretty used to not seeing them that often. Something new that Briana has been trying out is acting. "I am starting to do acting and modeling,? said Briana. ?When I was younger, I told my parents I have always wanted to be an actor. Now that we have a lot of time to do new things, my mom has been calling agents and all of that." Briana also added, "I also might be modeling for Zara, the clothing store, but it depends on what the people say. But for acting, I am taking online classes to help me get more comfortable." Teacher : Andrew Malcolm, a Digital Literacy teacher at MCDS, said he?s been stuck at home for a while now and because he has other health concerns besides just the virus. ?I'm more susceptible,? he explained. ?I have to be extra careful when I go out in public." Aside from that, Mr. Malcolm is missing things like going to the gym, going out to eat at restaurants, going to get a haircut, and actually, his hair was driving crazy so he gave himself a haircut
Mr. Malcolm said, "My family and I used to have work and sports schedules that were all over the place but now we have a lot of free time to hang out and talk with each other." Also since Mr. Malcolm and his family are all home together, they eat dinner together more often than they used to. Mr. Malcolm thinks he is doing ok at virtual teaching. He said, "I am actually going to be doing another training on virtual teaching very soon and learning a little bit more about the whole thing." Most of Mr. Malcolm's teaching degree was done online. A focal point of his master's degree was digital learning and teaching which has to do with using computers to learn and teach. Mr. Malcolm feels that he got lucky there because he was prepared a little bit in advance for this whole online teaching. "I think that there are other classes that are much harder to teach online than others,? he said. ?I have been really struggling with trying to find things to do with my engineering class but other than that, It has been a pretty good transition." Something new that Mr. Malcolm and his family have been doing is gardening. He said, "We recently ripped out all of the old plants that were at the front of our house and then put in fresh soil, we planted new flowers, and we also did some solar lighting so that when it is night time there is a little bit of white light around the garden so it will look pretty." Mr. Malcolm is also hosting a couple of Dungeons & Dragons games online every week now, and Mr. Malcolm thinks that doing it online is a very different experience from sitting around the table and then doing it with people in person. Per sonal: This weekend was really fun because I was able to go to my cousin's house which I haven't done in a really long time due to quarantine and also because we live far away from each other. When I first arrived at my cousin's house it was a little bit awkward since we hadn't seen each other for a long time, and somehow we didn't know what to say even though we spoke on the phone almost every
Per sonal: This past week I have gotten a lot better at tennis with practicing two hours a day and working at my full potential. Having the tennis courts open has changed my whole quarantine, I have gotten to do one of my favorite things, gotten much better, and being able to communicate with friends more and being able to play with them has really made my quarantine the best it could be. I have also gotten fishing supplies, so now I can walk outside my building and go fishing.
day. When it got later in the day we started to remember how silly we always were when we were together. We both like baking so we baked a lot of foods, like, vegan and gluten free muffins, vegan cookies, and more. As you can tell by what we baked, everything is vegan and gluten free because my cousin is vegan and I, however, am not. I could never become vegan or else I would be miserable with just eating plants and tofu. Since my cousin's parents just finished remodeling their house, she has a new pool that we jumped in a lot which was a lot of fun. We also watched a lot of movies while eating vegan snacks, which was really hard for me. I am a very picky eater so I do not like fruit at all or any food options except pasta, chocolate, and cake. I do eat more than those three foods obviously, but I am still very picky. My cousin eats very healthily so we made a salad for lunch with vegan chicken. I tried my hardest to swallow the leaves and vegetables down my throat but all I really wanted to eat was pasta. My cousin and I love to work out so we did a lot of yoga, core, abs, and cardio. A couple of videos we watched were Chloe Ting and MadFit. We also ended up making a whole dance routine which we were really proud of. On Sunday my parents and my brothers came to the house to pick me up. They stayed a while and we actually ordered some food while being careful with our distance. My brothers and cousins jumped in the pool, played some soccer, ping pong and then we came back home. it ended up being a very fun weekend.
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Recipes! M r. Fallik, 8th gr ade civics teacher : Chicken meatballs 1 lb ground chicken 1 egg 1 cup breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon chopped garlic Italian seasoning Salt Pepper half cup parmigiano reggiano Directions: Mix it all up and form them into balls. Saute them on real high heat on all sides then add them to your favorite tomato sauce (I made a homemade sauce) and simmer on low heat. Pickled Jalapeños 6-8 fresh jalapeños 3-4 garlic cloves 1 cup Apple cider vinegar 1 cup water 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt Directions: Slice the jalapeños into circles. Bring one cup of vinegar and one cup of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of salt. Put the jalapeños in a jar along with a few garlic cloves. Pour the hot vinegar solution over top completely covering the jalapeños Let jar come to room temperature, and then close the lid and put in the fridge. Wait three days, and you have some delicious toppings for nachos! L aur a Rodr iguez, 6th and 7th gr ade teacher : Quick Ar roz con Pollo (Chicken & Rice) 1 box Goya Yellow Rice (you can also use Mahatma Spanish Rice, or any Spanish or yellow rice mix) 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken pieces, cut into cubes 1 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup) ½ medium onion, chopped (3/4 cup) 2 medium chopped tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped ½ cup green peas (canned or frozen is fine) Directions Step 1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. As you wait for the oil to heat, season chicken (you can use salt and pepper, or a chicken seasoning mix). Cook chicken until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add bell peppers and onions to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Step 2. Add contents of yellow rice mix to the same skillet where the chicken is cooked through. Break up any chunks of the seasoning powder from the packet, and make sure you stir over medium heat so that the rice absorbs the flavors of the chicken, peppers, and onion. Once the rice looks translucent, add the water as indicated on the package. Allow water to boil, and reduce heat to low. Cook, covered, until water is absorbed and rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Step 3. Check rice for doneness and serve in a platter with green peas and chopped, cubed tomatoes over the top.
COMPILED BY A LEX POOL
Beatr ice Ar ango, mother of sixth gr ader Daniella Ar ango: L ow car b paleo keto blueber r y muffins Makes 12 muffins 2 ½ almond flour ½ cup erythritol (or any granulated sweetener) 1 ½ tsp gluten free baking powder ¼ tsp sea salt (optional but recommended) ? cup coconut oil (measured solid, then melted;can also use butter) ? cup unsweetened almond milk 3 large eggs ½ tsp vanilla extract ¾ cup blueberries Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then, get out the muffin pan. Get out ingredients and a large bowl. With the large bowl, stir together the almond flour, erythritol/sweetener, baking powder, and sea salt. Mix in melted coconut oil, almond milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then, fold in blueberries. Put batter into muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Muffin should be golden. Test with a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean. Anonymous 8th gr ader : Tofu with r ice Slice up tofu into cubes Place in pot with dash of coconut aminos and ginger powder Dice up cabbage, capricums/bell peppers and place in pot Add some wakame flakes and salt Cook for 20 mins, add some sesame oil and seeds, serve with rice Vegetable noodle soup Dice up vegetables: cabbage, caprivums/bell peppers, carrots, daikon, sweet potato Place vegetables in a pot, add some salt and 2 packers of dashi or vegetable stock Add in boiling water and simmer for 40 mins Throw in some rice noodles and boil then serve Alex Pool, 8th gr ader : Soft sugar Cookies ? cups salted butter(softened) ? cup+1 tbsp granulated sugar 1 large egg yolk ½ ts vanilla extract ¾ cup+1 tbsp all purpose flour ¼ ts baking soda ? ts salt Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, add egg yolk and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Lastly, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until there is no dry flour left on the edges or bottom. The dough should start to clump. Roll dough into balls however large you want the cookies to be. Place the dough on the cookie sheet, spaced out. Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes, until the edges are golden. Let cookies cool off then eat!
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David Bejar Per sonal: This week has been the most dull and boring week of quarantine for me. I really haven?t done much at all. I mainly have been doing school, walking, and playing video games. Over quarantine I started to walk around my neighborhood a lot. I never thought that I would start walking three times a day. I enjoy walking because it gives me a chance to really feel like I am hanging out with my friends through Facetime even though I am by myself. I think that happens because I am outside of my house and I am talking to my friends. Also, I really enjoy walking because it allows me to enjoy the beautiful weather. For video games, I have started to play Call of Duty. I really enjoy Call of Duty because I like the excitement I get when I play it. It is also new to me so it?s not like everything else I am used to.
Since I was about 4 years old I have been playing NBA 2K2020 and Madden 20, but I just can?t play them anymore. In my opinion, this is the worst year of 2k and Madden of all time. That?s why I have started to play games like Call of Duty and Fortnite. Student: Seventh grader Diego Rodriguez has also been exercising over quarantine. He has been going for runs and bike rides. Diego has also started to cook with his Mom. He really enjoys making desserts like chocolate mousse. On Netflix Diego has watched Riverdale, All American, Outer Banks, On My Block, and Peaky Blinders. He said, ?I love how there?s always action and something happening.? Diego is playing lots of video games, including Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, 2k, and Madden. He and it is a good thing to concentrate on when you have a lot going on in your life. Another reason why puzzles are good and fun to do is that it also helps with short term memory loss.
Angelina Belin Per sonal: This week has been one of the best weeks of the past two months. I have been less bored now since I have been playing tennis. I have been playing tennis with my friend from the academy where I used to play tennis, and I have been playing with my father, too. Online school has been pretty good. We have been getting more tests and more homework since the end of the school year is almost here. We are also doing more projects for the end of the year now. We only have two more weeks of school left which is great because I am excited for summer. I hope that quarantine will end before June 6 because it is my birthday but it isn't looking so good. I really hope more people stop dying from corona. I can not wait to see my friends and family. Student: Olivia Pelletier, a sixth-grader at Miami Country Day School, said, "My new favorite thing to do now is to do puzzles." Olivia has started doing puzzles since quarantine started. Puzzles are a great way to let time fly by
Alex Pool Student Eight grader Ava Koltun finds online school easier than regular school for her with the adjustment. She said that the teachers give more attention and time to the students because there are a lot more opportunities to meet with them during office hours. Now that school is online, more of her work is online as well. She says that she is using less paper and writing during online school. Ava has been watching Netflix during her quarantine. She has been watching Vampire Diaries, Outerbanks, and more. She has been having a lot of free time to watch those shows. Teacher Ms. Sennett says that as a teacher for her subject, it is really hard to teach online. It is very hard to do PE online now and is extremely different. She says,
Olivia said, "I realized how many things I took for granted before quarantine started." People might have taken for granted not going out with friends that one night where they didn't want to go out. But now people like Olivia realized how valuable that time with other people is. Time with the people who you like is valuable because you never know if this will happen again or something worse. Olivia said, "I miss my friends and my family and I wish this would be over sooner." Teacher : Ms. Melody Rivera, an advisor, French and Spanish teacher at Miami Country Day School, said," I have been keeping my distance everywhere and washing my groceries when I get them delivered to my apartment." She explained that it is essential to keep your distance from everyone and make sure that you are wearing protection, including a mask. You should ?Not being able to help people in person and not make that physical contact is really hard.? She adds, ?There are things we do everyday in class where I would go and adjust your arm, your leg, and be able to see everything that I can't see through a computer.? She says that it can also be really weird to not see her students once every three meeting times for wheel. She feels that she hasn't seen her class as much and it is a big adjustment. She says that life is very different now. Even when going to the grocery store, she has to prepare a lot like wear a mask, disinfect everything, and have to shop for a whole week. She is also trying to cook a lot and exercise. She misses seeing family and friends. She says that she took advantage of the time before and misses it a lot. When the quarantine is over, that is the first thing she wants to do. Per sonal This weekend I baked the muffins with Daniella?s mom?s recipe. It was the blueberry muffins. I
said, ?Grand Theft Auto is by far my favorite because of the amount of things you can do and all the detail. Lastly Diego shared his thoughts about online school, saying, ?I think I can bear it for the rest of the year but I wouldn?t want to do it next year. I don't feel as productive as I did before. In normal school I would have classwork and homework but now we do everything at home, in the same setting and it's overwhelming.? Parent: Mrs. Hydi Webb, mother of Hannah Webb, has been working a lot, cleaning, exercising, and enjoying time with her family. Mrs. Webb has also been exercising over quarantine by running. Lastly, Mrs. Webb shared how her daily life has changed over quarantine saying ?My daily life has changed because I am working at home and my kids have online school. It has all caused new routines.?
also make sure that if you go out and buy groceries, that before you touch anything to wash or wipe down your hands. Ms. Rivera said, "I have been respecting all social distancing rules and really staying home unless I have to walk my dog." Respecting the rules is a very hard thing to do but it is necessary to help stop the spread. People like Ms. Rivera are helping in so many different ways. Ms. Rivera said," Hopefully people will respect the rules and then this will be over." Parent: Ernesto Kunde the parent of Eveylen Kunde at Miami Country Day School. He said, "I have been painting a lot more, because I am a painter and I used to not have that much time to paint until now." Painting is a great way to get all the stress and things out of your mind. Painting is relaxing and very calming. Painting is also a great way to be creative. It is also a great way to express your feelings and thoughts without words. Mr. Kunde said, "Quarantine has made me think about everything differently." Now everything is seen and thought about from a different perspective. You might think I should wear my mask now so I don't infect anyone if I have it. Mr. Kunde said, "When this ends, I hope everyone can see their friends and family."
thought they were very good and healthy. I also caught up on homework this weekend. This week to have two projects due so I have to finish those this week. I watched the outer banks this week and I really like it. I think it is very good and one of my favorites. I have gone on long walks, I really enjoy being able to go outside and get fresh air. I like to do it with family because I enjoy walking and talking. I am excited for summer, but it is not the summer I expected to have.
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Maya Tafur Martinez Per sonal: Many of us have at least thought about going outside and being able to enter a mall or store once. Well, now it has become a reality with the government permitting shops and stores to reopen again. The positive side of this is that more people will be able to continue working and make money to support their families. Another plus is that we have the ability to go to our favorite stores and feel like things are going back to normal. The cons of this are that the virus will continue to spread faster, and people are more likely to get sick like this than any other way. I personally will not be planning on going to any of those businesses opening again. I will just continue ordering food and supplies online and stay at home. My concerns once people start to return back to their jobs and businesses are that more people will get sick and we will be stuck in quarantine for longer. Lastly, I do believe that people will be more tempted to leave their homes and break the quarantine principles which will end up allowing the virus to remain for longer. Student: Eight-grader, Jacqueline Fischer, had her thoughts and concerns about the economy reopening. The government has officially started to reopen the economy state by state by opening up beauty salons, restaurants, local stores, jobs, and more businesses to the public. The latest news from the government says that their plan to start reopening the economy is to follow a three-phased approach advised by health experts. But, will that affect the ideal of social distancing? Jackie said, ?Since stores are opening up again, I would not want to visit any of them because I would be afraid to get the virus even when it is supposed to be dying down.?
Jackie?s worries about this new situation are that when people go back to work, the virus will spread quicker and more people will get sick with the virus. Once stores are back open, Jackie believes that the guidelines of social distancing will be broken since people will start to think that it is now safe outside and will be tempted to just leave their houses. Parent: Svetlana Fischer, mother of Jacqueline, has her own concerns as a parent about the economic situation. Mrs. Fischer states that she would prefer to stay at home and not risk going to any of the stores opening due to respecting the social distancing and wanting to stay healthy. Going outside during these times is a major risk especially when not taking precautions wearing a mask, gloves, and bringing some hand sanitizer or something to disinfect. That?s why Mrs. Fischer would prefer to continue quarantine how it is and not go to any public business, etc. ?People walking and going back to work will only worsen and lengthen the quarantine,? states Mrs. Fischer about the effects of people going back to business. Mrs. Fischer stated that she completely agrees with Jackie. She also stated how opening up the economy will cause a chance for the virus to spread quicker and more people will be less likely to follow the social distancing rules. Special Guest: Elisa M. BermĂşndez Ferris is an influencer, chef, photographer, and creative content developer. She has shared some of her favorite recipes and stories
about what makes those dishes so special to her. To try her recipes at home, go to https://www.lovelygourmet.top. One of the three savory dishes she loves to have is a grilled grouper with homemade mayonnaise. What makes this dish so special to her is because it reminds her of her grandmother and how they used to prepare it together. She also said that she loves it because of the divine flavor this particular dish has. Her second favorite savory dish is Amatriciana Pasta. Amatriciana is a type of Italian sauce traditionally prepared with pasta. Elisa makes a different version of this dish since instead of using bacon she uses chorizo and her family calls it Matriciana because of it. Elisa also stated how she loves preparing this dish for her family in Merida, Mexico. Lastly, she mentioned how the place where she buys chorizos is right in front of the Chama River, one of the main rivers in Venezuela. Finally, her third favorite savory dish is a fish soup. ?I was taught how to make the dish by a great friend of mine and best chef in Venezuela, in my opinion, Francisco Abenante.? She concluded by saying how this dish reminds her of good memories and times. One snack-like dish she adores is fried sardines. ?When we were little we used to go to the Guaira (a city in Venezuela) every weekend and the plan every afternoon was to get sardines to be fried at home. Since then, I have collected wonderful memories in different countries with that simple but rich dish.? Her final recommendation is not a dish, but rather a sweet treat that originates in her home country, Venezuela. One dish that you can find and prepare from her recipes on her website that is similar to this Venezualan candy is her chocolate truffles. Though she doesn?t describe herself as much of a sweet tooth, she says her best memories have been of Torontos. ?After lunch, my grandfather would take us where he had a box of Torontos,? she said. ?Every cousin ??lined up from smallest to largest and my grandfather threw each of us a Toronto at a distance. If you didn't catch it, you had to go back to the end of the line until you caught it. It was the best part of family lunches. I can't see or eat a Toronto without smiling.?