Xavier Mascareñas

Butter not included: Evelyn Miranda (left), 17, of Treasure Coast High School, and teammate Jorge Carrillo, a culinary arts student at Indian River State College, lean in with anticipation as they watch the judges taste their food at the Sunshine Kitchen Culinary Cook-Off on Thursday at the Treasure Coast Research Park in St. Lucie County. When talking about the chicken-based dish earlier, Miranda said, "we're going to marinade it, we're going to sauté it and add carrots and mushrooms." During presentation to the judges, Carrillo said they used a honey-mustard lemon base for the chicken. "We originally were going to make it a little thicker, but we couldn't find the butter," he added, chuckling. The team beat out four other pairs of students to win $1,500 each in scholarship money. (For @tcpalm) • #IRSC #Florida #StLucieSchools #publicSchools #chef #cookingCompetition #cooking #food #culinaryArts #contest #foodContest (at St. Lucie County, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/B27XqOZlcjn/?igshid=kvxcnlwng317

Brothers: A.J. Reckley (right), of West Palm Beach, shares a long embrace with brother Rashad Reckley, who evacuated Marsh Harbour on the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas, outside U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Witham Field on Friday in Martin County. Rashad Reckley's fiancee, T'quylla Thompson, said that during Hurricane Dorian, "the water was all the way to the ceiling, we had to swim out the house — literally hanging on from the tree until the eye of the storm came and water came down about chest deep." Her fiance added, "that's when we had the opportunity to go the hotel ... and wait out the rest of the storm until it was done." (For @tcpalm) • #hurricaneDorian #Bahamas #MarshHarbour #Abaco #naturalDisaster #florida #theBahamas #dorian #environment #BahamasStrong https://www.instagram.com/p/B2F5YPgFxDu/?igshid=6rr0qr8r84q8

Tuesday, waiting (?) for Hurricane Dorian: Susan Debula (l), of Hobe Sound, takes a food order for Karla DeLeon (c), of Stuart, who works in the kitchen at Morning Glory Cafe while customers track Hurricane Dorian. Longtime regulars and friends pitched in to help serve at the longtime Stuart restaurant, which was one of the few open Tuesday morning. (Photos for @tcpalm) • #tcpalm #hurricaneDorian #hurricane #dorian #science #environment #florida #weather #Florida (at Martin County, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1-KAuiFD1Y/?igshid=1e4qzx9jnan14

#MotherNature: Sergio Cisneros walks with his daughter, Esmee Cisneros, 3, on a pier over the Indian River Lagoon at Jensen Beach Causeway Park in Martin County on Monday as Hurricane Dorian approaches the region. “I wanted them to have a little knowledge so that they can see the reason for the warnings, and why you need to have respect for the ocean,” Cisneros said. (For @tcpalm) • #hurricaneDorian #hurricane #dorian #science #nature #environment #florida #weather (at Jensen Beach Causeway Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B17kiwMFLIm/?igshid=c1rkmebg3s0w

From Sunday (now I’m out working on today): Martin County Sheriff's Office Deputy Tyler Ludlow (left) informs Dennis Raczynski about the mandatory evacuation order for his neighborhood in Palm City. • #tcpalm #hurricaneDorian #hurricane #dorian #weather (For @tcpalm) (at Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/B16_3Arld5J/?igshid=8dj54oac4t4c

Yesterday was perfect weather for photographing football, and I’m remembering it: Martin County takes the field before their first high school football game of the regular season, eventually beating Port St. Lucie, on Thursday in Stuart. (For @tcpalm) #football #hsports #hsfootball #bigEntrance (at Martin County High School) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1g3dDQF1o0/?igshid=15uno2lhr82xl

Messiah Marshall, 6, of Jensen Beach, fishes in the Indian River Lagoon Thursday, one of the last days off before the school year begins in Martin County. • • (For @TCPalm) #summer #fishing #backToSchool #Florida #IRL #water (at Jensen Beach Causeway Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B09qywGlS7O/?igshid=92wvw7kzmmkb

Brenda Boyzo, who grew up in Fellsmere, reads "Toy Story 3" to her daughter, 5-year-old Isabella Boyzo, during The Learning Alliance's Moonshot Pop-Up event Thursday outside Fellsmere City Hall. The Moonshot Rocket bus was on hand, along with the Moonshot Bookmobile to help children stock up on free books for the summer. "This is awesome, my children get to grow a little library…if they outgrow books, then we just donate them back as well,” she said. “This is phenomenal." (For @tcpalm ) • • #reading #literacy #summerReading #nationalSummerLearningWeek #education #bookLearnin https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzy62fYFvI1/?igshid=1x9yjc8z9glui

Went for the algae, stayed for the storm: (last photo) Heather Kulikauskas and Richard Brouwer photograph an incoming storm over Lake Okeechobee, while algae pools at the gates at Port Mayaca Lock and Dam, on Monday in Martin County. (For @tcpalm) #LakeO #LakeOkeechobee #Algae #sunset #storm #clouds (at Port Mayaca, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byl7aKQFpKX/?igshid=1cycrbr55czw

Photographed 37 contenders for the @tcpalm #highSchoolFootball Super 11 earlier this month. A lot of fun can be had with a flashlight and sample pack of gels! Visually, here’s my Super 7 (rhymes with 11): DE Devare Parks, DE/TE James Johnson, QB Dylan Duchene, LB Ahmanuel Thorpe, RB Savion Baker, QB Blayne Watkins and RB/LB Joey Fleurjuste. . . #football #portrait #sportrait #HSfootball (at The Stuart News) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzheQMFRA0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=geo4iphxd6ev

Superclouds: The last supermoon of 2019, the "super worm equinox moon," is seen over the Jensen Beach Causeway through an overcast night sky on the vernal equinox Wednesday in Jensen Beach. The next supermoon will not occur until March 2020. (For @tcpalm) #supermoon #moon #nightSky #sky #astronomy #equinox (at Jensen Beach, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvSCuFrgHST/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rep8khl0c2xn

County fair fun: Helen Brooks, of Fort Pierce, enjoys music from nearby rides as she works behind the window at a ticket booth at the St. Lucie County Fair on opening night Friday in Fort Pierce. (For @tcpalm) #CountyFair #fair #amusement #rides #StLucieCountyFair #CountyFairs #reflections . . . Ashlynn Mickler, 6, of Live Oak, enjoys the Euro Bungee. “She did it at the Live Oak fair last year, and fell in love with it," said Ashlynn's grandmother, Jo Ross, of St. Lucie County. "She wants to be able to jump out of airplanes like I used to when I was younger," Ross added. . . . Mark Ledbetter II (left), of Port St. Lucie, eats corn with his father, Mark Ledbetter, on opening night. . . . Dysani Hart (left) and Kaileb Riffel, both 17 and from Port St. Lucie, spend their first date at the St. Lucie County Fair on Friday. (at St. Lucie County Fair) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOpi50AijQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=121hwe1fcopwz

Meanwhile, in Florida: Scott Meyer (center), of Jupiter, stops with his dog, Charlie, to admire glass artwork by Kenneth Tipping, of Palm Beach Gardens, at the 18th annual Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts on Saturday. "Any event that we can walk the streets and drink beer, and take the dog, we go do," Meyer said. (For @TCPalm) #ArtFestival #art #festival #HobeSoundFestivaloftheArts (at Hobe Sound Festival of the Arts) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZeHEpgh0s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vdwsnuyvqjy4

Fort Pierce Central senior Maryanne Logsdon (left) is embraced by mother Stacy Logsdon after scoring her 1,000th career point on senior night during the high school girls basketball game against Lake Worth on Thursday in Fort Pierce. "We're very proud of her, she still continues to amaze us...her work ethic is unbelievable," the mother said, adding that Maryanne signed to play with Indian River State College after graduation. (For @TCPalm) #HShoops #HSgirlsBasketball #girlsBasketball #BBALL #FHSAA #hoops #basketball #IRSC #florida (at Fort Pierce Central High School) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtWYDyXArR5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18vdxt17pfy51

Reaching: Cheyenne Donley, 4, is helped in the playground by her mother, Shatauna Donley, both of Vero Beach, at Gifford Park on Monday after the 2019 MLK Parade. “I just think it's important for the kids to be surrounded by our culture, to be able to tap back into the community…that's important for our family,” Shatauna Donley said. (For @tcpalm) (at Gifford Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs9uocqFSc8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i0zki9mv155x

Tastes like chicken-fish: Margarita Oxenrider (right), of Palm Bay, eats frog legs for the first time alongside Juelie Perry (left), of Vero Beach, and Kelly Hammer, of Sebastian, all with TLC Preschool of Sebastian, during the first day of the 28th annual Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival on Thursday in Fellsmere. (For @tcpalm)) (at Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bswn6zald9P/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=173ynlfmn1673

#MerryChristmas from Jerry the snowman🤗: Jordan Faucett, 7, of Monterey, Calif., holds up "Jerry" the snowman as his family packs up after spending Christmas Day at Jensen Beach. (For @tcpalm) #ChristmasDay #Holidays #Christmas #snowman #beach (at Jensen Beach, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/Br05R3rFJWF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17a37c4w3450d