offshore cpa: Holiday Review: Sweet Swap & Christmas at Camana Bay

Warning: For those of you who don't fully appreciate food photos, just skip this whole post. For the rest of you that devour the screen with your eyes, read on!

Sweet Swap

I'm enjoying being able to post about the 2nd cycle of the annual events we've been a part of lately. Having some history in Grand Cayman with friends who arrived at the same time as we did last year means celebrating certain holidays in a traditional manner. And by "traditional manner", I mean the traditions we as a group have set up as the new norm.

EW hosted another sweet swap (similar to a cookie exchange) this year. As I was mentally prepared for excessive chocolate (is that an oxymoron?), I went the non-cocoa route with lemon "brownies". Let me tell ya: This is a recipe you're going to want to try, no matter what time of year.

I was right: Chocolate ruled the roost. But we also took home short bread and raisin/butter pies. I guess that a container like this is what motivates most of us to start exercising more regularly in the new year.

Thanks for the goodies, girls! It was a great way to connect and have girl time one final time in 2011!

Double Date

Our standing double date with R&M took us to Camana Bay to try out a couple restaurants that recently opened. The mini-town was all decked out with Christmas lights and snowmen and snowflakes (all in defiance of the 80 degree weather.)

I love the blue, gold, and silver Christmas tree near the crescent, even if it doesn't exactly smell of pine.

Dinner was held at Karoo, which boasts "small plates" as its menu design. The menus are printed on paper with little boxes to check off desired selections for the group.

Here's a sampling of what we ordered, which included sliders, pizza, guacamole and pita, and onion rings. The variety of food that resulted on our table proved to me that this place is made for the indecisive!

Just my opinion: While I did like the variety and the portion sizes at Karoo, but I didn't enjoy the food quite as much as I always do at Michael's, which is literally across the street and has similar plate sizes. However, sitting outside on a high top while watching kids play in the fountain made for a perfect atmosphere.

We then moved on to (a sensible) dessert at Ginger Lily - another new place in Camana Bay.

As their menu suggests, they offer all kinds of delicious frozen yogurt, including "Natural Tart" Greek yogurt, along with a wide selection of healthy toppings. I love yogurt - so refreshing and guiltless - especially when paired with summery toppings like mango or passion fruit.