Month: March 2015

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 3 Comments
This adventure of Excited about Eating takes you through the Southern Caribbean where we visited three different restaurants for lunch during a seven-day cruise that left from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
St. Thomas: Cuzzin’s Caribbean Restaurant was off the beaten path, about a 30-minute walk from the ship. If some kind soul hadn’t taken pity on our sweaty, tomato-red faces and given us directions, we’d have missed it. 

Cuzzin’s Caribbean Restaurant

The calamari appetizer was excellent, crisp and fresh, with just the right amount of chew, and the dipping sauce was sweet with a tiny tang from the combination of pineapple, mango, tamarind and barbeque. We shared the Fried Seafood Combo which included fish filet, shrimp, and conch fritters with sides of mac and cheese and fried plantains. The seafood was cooked to perfection, flaky with a light batter that allowed the true taste of the seafood to come through.

Fried Seafood Combo

The conch fritters were not sweet or doughy like my wife prefers, but savory and very good. The mac and cheese had an unidentifiable spice and when we asked, the server would not give up the secret. Both the mac and cheese and plantains were equally good. I would rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5.

Barbados: Mustor’s Restaurant was a 20-minute walk from the ship dock, and from what I’d read, appeared to be a local favorite. We shared the large portion (read HUGE!) fried Flyin Fish entrée, Field Peas with Rice, and Macaroni Pie, and had no problem sharing this meal. Barbados is known as “the land of the flying fish” and it is the national symbol of the country. 

Flying Fish

The fish was good, not fishy tasting but also not real crispy like I prefer. The field peas and rice were juicy and full of favor, and appeared to have been cooked together. The Mac Pie was really good, a thick piece, made from noodles that resembled elbow mac straightened out. Although they don’t accept charge cards, they do accept US dollars. No atmosphere and no a/c unless you consider the open air balcony. I would rate this restaurant 3 forks out of 5.
St. Maarten: We took the water taxi to Greenhouse Restaurant, which offered true Caribbean spirit with their beachy, open air environment in clear sight of the breaking waves. 

Me, inside on the left

I chose the Fish Taco Platter, consisting of two soft tacos, filled with fried basa vina served with lettuce, fresh cilantro, jack and cheddar cheese, salsa, ranch dressing and onions. The basa vina fish are not native to the Caribbean but are imported. The tacos were huge, with flavor to match their size. The fish was crispy and tender and all of the ingredients melded together. The fresh cilantro set these fish tacos above others I have had. They were served with Fried Plantains and fries, also tasty. 
My wife ordered the Fried Fish Sandwich using the same basa vina white flaky fish, but beer-battered, along with fries and cole slaw. 

Fish sandwich

The fish sandwich was crispy and not fishy tasting. The fries were cooked perfect, and the cole slaw was sweet and creamy, just the way she likes it. I would rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. Dora here. After chowing down on rich foods for a week on the cruise ship but no brewed iced tea, this is what I enjoyed most. 🙂 

Fresh brewed iced tea


lol. Seriously, folks, Greenhouse offered a perfect atmosphere paired with fantastic flavors and a breeze that kissed our cheeks. Who could ask for more from a restaurant?

What Should Daisy Do? by Maria Bostian

/ Dora Hiers
Purchase Link

The Cover Story~

An Interactive Story with a Surprise Ending!
Daisy Dog and Pete the Pig are the best of friends, going everywhere and doing everything together. Oftentimes, Daisy has to get Pete out of tricky situations.

While at Pete’s house one rainy Saturday, Daisy is faced with a tough decision when Pete invites her to play with his special toys: matches and lighters.

Children Have a Voice!

No way, Pete! yells the group of preschool children. Matches and lighters are tools, not toys.

Imagine their voice being heard as they tell others what Daisy should do with dangerous matches and lighters!


My takeaway~
Our grandson’s only 4 1/2 years old, but What Should Daisy Do? has quickly become his go-to book at our house. He tugs that book out of the book tote and curls up on my lap. It’s worth every cent just for the cuddle factor. 🙂 He follows along in the book with his finger and even comments on how the characters might be feeling based on their facial expressions. And I appreciate that the author didn’t tell the kids what to do in the book, rather leaves it up to them to make the right choices. 

With her diverse background in fire service and education, Bostian crafted an entertaining and interactive story, sure to challenge students and satisfy teachers. Wish that all important lessons could be so much fun to learn!

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the author for the purpose of sharing my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

Maria Bostian

Maria Bostian started her fire service career in 1999 and currently serves as the Fire & Life Safety Educator/Public Information Officer for Kannapolis Fire Department. In addition to her fire service experience, she has an M.Ed. in Montessori Integrative Learning with over 10+ years of Montessori classroom experience.

Her writing began out of necessity as she created lesson plans and instructional materials for preschool fire safety lessons. She recognized the need for good-quality teaching aids that provided correct messaging and additional resources for children, as well as, adults and caregivers. Her debut children’s picture book entitled What Should Daisy Do? began as a short story for a matches and lighters lesson.

Bostian is a N.C. certified Inspector I, Instructor II, Fire & Life Safety Educator III, and is an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy. She has taught safety education classes and workshops in N.C., S.C., G.A., I.L., and C.O.

When she isn’t working, Bostian can be found writing under a pecan tree, reading in her favorite lounge chair, or “riding around with the top down” searching for the next great story starter or inspirational character (cause you never know where your best ideas are going to be found). A vegetarian for many years now, Bostian’s favorite foods are mushrooms and cheese (which go together nicely on a great pizza).

Bostian happily resided in Concord, N.C. (not too far away from some of the South’s best mountains and beaches) with her firefighter husband, her precious mother, and several pets.