photos and descriptions of what makes our world a pleasure
emphasis on Florida and the Tampa Bay area but also far beyond

FOOD

Homegrown lettuce from a neighborhood garden

December 20, 2011

A friend brought me a great gift today: fresh lettuce she picked herself from a plot she maintains in a community garden at the end of her street. Although I, personally, lack the drive for such industry, I’m certainly glad she doesn’t! Isn’t it great to know where your food comes from? The word, “community,” [...]

Variation on a Butternut Squash Soup Zack Shack recipe

December 5, 2011

A fellow blogger (he publishes Zack Shack) and friend has posted several recipes that have made my mouth water. Recently, Zack had a recipe for Brined Turkey Butternut Squash Soup that I simply had to try since I only recently learned how to cook winter squash. To me, it seemed that the heart of Zack’s [...]

Microwaved Acorn Squash with Maple Syrup

December 1, 2011

It’s winter in Florida (60s…!) so it’s time for winter food and the winter squashes are in. I’m simply too lazy and impatient to cook them properly in the oven and I’m very afraid of cutting off my fingers–my main source of income–because cutting them is so difficult when they’re uncooked. (The squash I mean, [...]

Cheese and Brussels Sprouts Casserole

November 12, 2011

No matter how “mature” one becomes, a trip to the dentist demands a post-appointment-self-reward of some sort. It just so happens that Mazzaro’s (inkwatu.com/2008/03/12/mazzaros-italian-market) is between my dentist’s office and my home! Soft food (in this case spinach & sundried tomato lasagna and a cheese & brussels sprouts casserole side dish) was in order following [...]

Brocato’s Sandwich Shop, Tampa, FL

June 29, 2011

A friend emailed me a link to an April 26, 2011 article in the New York Times Dining & Wine section by John T. Edge, In Tampa, the Street Food That Crawled From the Sea, and asked if I’d ever eaten at the Brocato’s reviewed in the article and, if not, did I want to [...]

Dairy Inn to the rescue

May 11, 2011

Sometimes, you just have to reward yourself. Last night was one of those times. That large hot fudge sundae with extra hot fudge over hand-packed chocolate chip mint ice cream (hold the whipped cream, cherry, and nuts) at Dairy Inn on MLK last night after a friend’s concert was exactly what I needed. If that [...]

A new St. Pete breakfast option

May 5, 2011

SADLY, ISLAND SEAFOOD MARKET & BISTRO IS NO MORE–IT WAS A CASUALTY OF THE DIFFICULT ECONOMY. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL IDEA AND CONCEPT THOUGH. IT WILL BE MISSED Island Seafood Market & Bistro (Inkwatu review; Island Seafood website; 2057 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33713, 727-821-8181) has new hours: Tues – Thursday 7AM – 3PM [...]

Restaurant Revisits

March 5, 2011

The owner of one of my favorite St. Pete Thai restaurants, that I described in The King and I, has opened a new restaurant at 2410 Central Avenue (pictured above), named The Queen and I. I ate lunch there yesterday and the food is the same very high quality as the downtown restaurant. The decor [...]

The Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, Tampa, FL

February 12, 2011

Yesterday, a friend took another friend and I to the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant (www.ethiopianrestauranttampa.com) in Tampa to celebrate our birthdays. Neither of us had been to the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, but the friend who took us had; she’d also had prior experiences with good Ethiopian food, so she knew we wouldn’t [...]

Crockpot apples, onions, sauerkraut, and sausage

December 29, 2010

apples, onions, sauerkraut, and sausage One reader left a comment on Crockpot apples that she was going to “add onions and sage and make it into a side dish.” That idea sounded good to me and I’ve been intending to try it. This morning I was wanting to cook up a bunch of [...]

Tagged as: FOOD, German food. recipes

Beautiful outdoor evening at Yummy’s in Gulfport, Florida

November 21, 2010

Last night was almost the full moon (tonight is the actual full moon). The temperature was somewhere in the low seventies, I think–long sleeve weather, but not jacket weather…the kind of weather that makes folks want to move to Florida. A friend and I walked down to the Gulfport, Florida, Art Walk which is held [...]

Crockpot Apples

November 1, 2010

I quartered and cored 9 Fuji apples and cooked them with their skins left on in a smallish crockpot for about 5 hours on low heat. I added rounded teaspoons of ground cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom and a couple dashes each of nutmeg, vanilla extract, and orange extract. I added enough water to almost cover [...]

Jeckll Island, Georgia

October 23, 2010

amusements and pastimes There’s an interesting getaway a leisurely five hour drive from Tampa: Jeckll Island, Georgia (www.jekyllisland.com). View Larger Map The History of Jeckll Island page of the above website gives an encapsulated account of its history: “In 1886, Jekyll Island was purchased to become an exclusive winter retreat for America’s most elite families, [...]

Tagged as: BOOKS, favorite articles, FOOD, Georgia, HISTORIC, NATURE