If you have followed my blog for very long, you know that fall, or more delicately called autumn, is my favorite season. I want to indulge my senses with the textures, aromas, foods and colors that feed my soul during this time of year. One of our favorite fall traditions is going to Green Bluff. Green Bluff is a community of farmers that cooperate and share their efforts to promote sustainable farming. There are approximately 30 member farms that are all owned and operated independently. These are their personal homes, but they open their farms to the public for you-picks and festivities throughout the year. Each has a unique offering of produce, food, gifts and things to do. A couple weeks ago, on a perfect sunny fall day, we jumped in the convertible and drove to Green Bluff to spend a leisurely afternoon.
Below is a map of the farms and produce stands at Green Bluff.
There is an abundance of fresh produce, with apples and pumpkins taking center stage.
First on the list was picking a few apples, just for the experience of it. We have access to my dad’s apple tree too, but you simply have to pick a few apples while you are there. Mr. U was happy because the plums were also ripe, so we got a few of those as well. We don’t typically buy any of their pumpkins, gourds or vegetables because Mr. U grows them in his garden, but it is still delightful to look at them. Of course I HAVE to have the fresh pumpkin doughnuts. I look forward to them all year long. Sorry, I did not get a picture of them because, well… you know. They had to be eaten quickly while they were still warm.
Each farm has its own unique flair.
Towards the end of the afternoon, the sun was getting low, and we were parched. Time for our final destination at Green Bluff… the Big Barn Brewery. It is a delightful little brewery with a low-key, relaxed vibe. They have a large yard where you can pull up a chair and listen to music while you sip their beer that is brewed on site.
Thanks for joining me on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Be sure to take the time to indulge in fall y’all! It is coming to an end all too quickly.
There isn’t anything much better than lounging in the yard in the early evening, sipping a glass of chilled white wine and taking in the aroma of something grilling on the B.B.Q. THAT is summer. It is the perfect option for cooking when you don’t want to heat the house up with the oven or even stove top. It has been exceptionally hot here in our neck of the woods these past couple of weeks – up to 103 degrees yesterday. Even too hot for Mr. U to slave over the B.B.Q. So, I have been trying to come up with some cool meals that don’t require a lot of cooking.
And just for the record, I am not complaining about the heat. I think you can only complain about one extreme weather condition and mine is the cold/gray weather. The main concern with this much heat and no rain are wildfires. Our beautiful tall pine trees get dry and there are a lot of forests full of them in our area. One lightning strike or careless person can cause a lot of damage. Enough said about weather. Back to food.
This week I decided to try making a rice bowl. I know I am waaay behind the eight ball on this one. (Does anyone even use that term, “behind the eight ball” anymore?) But I have never made a rice bowl before. Thank goodness for Google. I looked at a few recipes and then opened my frig. I did not want to make a run to the grocery store, so I decided to use what I had in the frig or garden. I opened a can of black beans, boiled up some brown rice and added some avocado and feta cheese.
I picked some cilantro and green onion chives from the garden. The chives are good on so many different dishes and I use them all of the time.
I added some left-over teriyaki chicken thighs that we had grilled earlier in the week, and it made a delicious, easy, cool meal. The only other thing that would have been a great addition would be some grilled corn, cut off the cob.
I decided to take pictures before I mixed it all together.
I wasn’t sure what to use for a dressing. But my favorite salad dressing that I make with olive oil and peach balsamic vinegar seemed like it would taste good with it. Oh, soooo good. The recipe for this dressing is in one of my previous posts, Living Organically. There are so many uses for this balsamic vinegar. I have not tried drinking it straight from the bottle yet, but… it might be that good. (The heat must be getting to me.)
Do you have any favorite summer dishes that hit the spot in this hot weather? It is time to whip them up and stay cool out there!
What do you give the person who already has everything they need? Pie of course! Both my dad and Mr. U love strawberry rhubarb pie, so I make two every year for Father’s Day. One for each of them. Father’s Day is the perfect time to do this because the rhubarb is ripe. (I really should make two for Mr. U because I eat more than my share of it. Pie is one of my favorite desserts, especially with real whip cream on top.)
I don’t make pie very often for two reasons. One, it is loaded with fat and sugar, so we try not to indulge too frequently. And two, it is a long process to make. From start to finish, it takes me a good three hours. When I make pies, it is an event. Below is my ten-step process for making strawberry rhubarb pie. It just might help explain why it takes me so long.
Step I: Pick a bouquet of fragrant, fresh lilacs and put them in a blue pitcher. Light a candle to set out on the counter. Tell Alexa to play some relaxing piano music. This sets the mood.
Step II: Go outside and pick rhubarb stalks. Clean and chop them up. Go back outside to get more stalks because I did not get enough the first time. Repeat. It always takes more than I expect.
Step III: Wash the store-bought strawberries because we can’t seem to grow more than three damn strawberries.
Step IV: Sing and dance to the music as I wash and slice the fruit. Technically, rhubarb is a vegetable, but who wants to say they put vegetables in their pie? Unless, of course, it is a meat pie.
Step V: Mix up the fruit filling and set aside.
Step VI: Pull out my mom’s pie crust recipe that is typed on a recipe card using an old manual ink ribbon typewriter. The very one that I used to type letters for my dad for his business. (Typing was one of the most useful classes I ever took.)
Step VII: Feel sad and shed a tear because I miss my mom. She taught me how to make homemade pies, cookies and bread. She had two small bread pans that she would give me to make miniature loaves of bread while she made bigger family size loaves and cinnamon rolls.
Step VIII: Cut together the ingredients for the crust. Once it is the perfect consistency (whatever that is), roll it, dust with flour, repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Get uneven edges and hopelessly try to repair them.
Step IX: Pull out my Polish Pottery pie plate that my mom gave me. Shed a few more tears. Layer the bottom crust, fruit and top crust. Forget to dab the fruit with butter, so gently pull the top crust back and do that.
Step X: Place the pies in the oven and sit back to smell them cooking. Until you realize that you forgot to put a drip pan under them and that all of the sweet juice is burning onto the bottom of your oven. Remember to clean oven later.
Now can see why making pies takes me a lot longer than the average person. It is an event, but well worth it when you pull them out of the oven and set them on the cooling rack. Better yet when you pour yourself a hot cup of coffee and take that first delicious bite of warm pie with cool fresh whip cream on top. Ahhh. Yes, well worth the effort.
Cardiac disease, type II diabetes, irritable bowel, inflammatory disease, anxiety and some cancers. What do they all have in common? They are often a result of living in our modern world: food choices, stress and the environment we live in. By the time we are retired, we have lived long enough to expose ourselves to numerous toxins in our food and environment. I know that I have eaten way too many slices of greasy pizza and McDonald’s hamburgers in my lifetime. I don’t know about you, but as I get older, these types of foods do not settle as well with me. I feel sluggish when I eat them. So, I am seeking out healthier, fresher, more organic choices in my everyday life. Not just with my diet, but also my home environment and how I manage stress. We can’t change how we lived in the past, but we can make improvements now. Small changes add up.
At the beginning of 2024, I chose “the upcycled life” as my word(s) of the year (WOTY). I chose it, not just for the traditional sense, but also because the very essence of upcycling is creating something that is of higher quality and a better version than the original one. So, this year I am seeking out ways to create a higher quality of life and a better version of myself. Not only am I trying to eat more organically, but I want to live a healthier, more organic lifestyle.
A more organic diet
It is about eating fresh with less processed, sugary foods. I have come a long way from those years of eating salads with iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing. Matter of fact, I have become the queen of salads. They are not necessarily low calorie, but they are fresh and packed with nutrients. I love poppy seed or ranch dressing, but they are loaded with unhealthy fats and calories. Now I use a simple olive oil dressing that I can throw together quickly. I have modified a few recipes to come up with my own version. I thought I would share it with you since I get asked for the recipe a lot.
Salad Dressing Recipe
2 Tbs. good quality olive oil
1 Tbs. white peach balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. honey
cracked black pepper
You can change this recipe in several ways. A lot of times I will use regular balsamic vinegar and add 1 tsp. Dijon mustard. Or use lemon juice instead of vinegar, which makes a great salad with fish. Try using real maple syrup instead of honey. I like to add fresh fruits, nuts and avocados to my salads, but the options are endless. Experiment and enjoy a healthy and delicious salad!
The Blue Zones
I am not a big believer in fad diets. They are not usually sustainable. The one diet that most physicians recommend and that has withstood the test of time is the Mediterranean diet. It focuses on eating mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and healthy fats that come from nuts, seeds, olive oil and fish. The recommended foods in this diet are high in antioxidants and help prevent inflammation and obesity. Bonus that it includes red wine in moderation. Three of the five Blue Zone areas eat similar to the Mediterranean diet.
The Blue Zones, first identified in 2000, are areas in the world that have a much lower incidence of our modern maladies such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and cancer. Consequently, people live healthier and much longer in these areas. The five Blue Zone communities are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Cost Rica; Icaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California. While diet is a known common denominator among the Blue Zones, there are other characteristics that these areas have in common, such as a strong social network, a sense of purpose, and being physically active throughout their entire lives. There has been a plethora of research into these communities and their secrets to longevity. Their diet and lifestyle are a great example of living a long, heathy, organic life that we can learn from and incorporate into our own lives.
Eating local
Local farmer’s markets are a wonderful way to get fresh off the vine foods and they have the benefit of providing a delightful aesthetic experience. Walking along the rows of colorful vegetables while listening to someone strumming their guitar is a feast for the senses. Of course, the very best option for organic food is to forage from nature or eat from your own garden. It doesn’t get any fresher than that.
Mr. U grows a beautiful garden every year and I get to enjoy going out and picking fresh vegetables and colorful flowers from it. There isn’t anything better than stepping outside in the morning, still in your robe, to pick some bright red raspberries for breakfast. Or stepping out your door to gather a few vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh basil for dinner. I use the abundance of basil in the garden to make homemade pesto.
Mr. U’s greenhouse (he built) and garden. I love the weathered wood and rusty corrugated metal he used to give it a time worn appearance. We have to keep a six-foot fence around the garden to keep the deer out.
I am not a big believer in buying “organic” labeled food for a few reasons. First, Mr. U grew up on a farm, so I understand the significance of pest control. Also, I am not convinced that it isn’t just a marketing tactic for many of the foods that are labeled “organic.” (GMO foods and meat may be an exception.) Lastly, my little brother has a master’s degree in biochemistry, and he runs a lab in California that does research on pesticides and chemicals in our environment and foods. He assures me that the amount of chemicals in our fruits and vegetables is minuscule and that it would take much, much more than that to be harmful to us, even over our lifetime. So, I trust him, (even though he is my little bro that used to wear a colander on his head as a helmet), because he is super smart. I still wash my fruits and vegetables really well.
One of the key factors in healthy eating is portion control. As we all know, here in the good ole USA, we have lost our awareness of what a normal portion is. Oversize portions lead to oversize bodies. Once we get in the habit of eating a larger amount of food, we begin to think that is our normal and do not feel satisfied unless we have that amount. Hum…ask me how I know. So, I am working on portion control and being attune with my body and recognizing when it is full and satisfied.
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Michael, Pollan
Stay tuned next week for ideas on how to create a more organic, healthy, and less stressful environment.
Being a foodie, I always look forward to eating out at new places. But besides being a foodie, I am also an aesthetic person. It is important to me that I have a delicious meal, but it is equally important to me that it be in a fun, interesting or beautiful environment. My sister and I are probably a restaurant hostess’s worst nightmare. We inevitably want a different table than the one the hostess guided us to. We want the one by the window, a booth instead of a table, the one next to the fire, or the table closest to the rail overlooking the water. Our husbands just roll their eyes and mumble under their breath. But we both want to enjoy our meal in a pleasant aesthetic. I call it the “cute factor.” It makes a difference in my enjoyment of the dining out experience. Non-foodies beware, this post contains food pictures.
One of my goals during our month in Sarasota was to try several local restaurants with excellent seafood and fun atmospheres. Mr. U and I are not particularly interested in eating at high end restaurants with tiny morsels of food served over starched white tablecloths that we inevitably spill on and feel bad. These places are a nice treat once in a while, but we prefer finding the tucked away places.
I don’t know about you, but I have found Yelp to be less reliable lately. Instead, we have found the best way to find a good place to eat is to ask the locals. The locals always know the best places. They know the quirky unique places with the best food, and they know the best deal for your money. If a few different people recommend the same restaurant, we know it is a winner. The other option is Mr. U’s favorite – when driving around, notice which places are packed and return to them. That being said, I will still check the Yelp star rating to ensure we aren’t walking into a disaster. Our rule is, “four or forget it.”
Cortez Fishing Village
One afternoon we bought some stone crabs from a fisherman that sells his daily catch at a parking lot near the marina where we are staying. Since he is a fisherman, he seemed like a reliable source to ask where the best seafood restaurants are. He, as well as several other people, recommended going to Cortez Fishing Village, an iconic little village just off of Anna Maria Island. The casual restaurants at the village cook up seafood fresh off of the fishing boats while you sit out on the decks overlooking the bay. No white tablecloths here. Just excellent seafood, eaten while you watch the fishing boats come in with the day’s catch.
It doesn’t get much fresher than this.The blackened sea scallops were so, so good.Grouper is the white fish they catch here. It was excellent.
Probably the most eclectic place we went to at Cortez Village (recommended by a couple different locals) was Annie’s Bait and Tackle. It is mostly a bait shop with a little bit restaurant. It is located in a crusty building with a few tables scattered inside and picnic tables on the dock. The owner is a grumpy old salt that appears mad that you came in. It did not even rank on the “cute factor” scale. It also failed the “four or forget it rule.” However, sometimes the best atmospheres are quirky dives. As long as I know this going in, I can enjoy the uniqueness of it, but I would not have picked it out as a place to go if it had not been so recommended. Mr. U had a huge bowl of peel and eat shrimp that were so fresh, flavorful and meaty.
Mr. U at one of the outdoor tables at Annie’s, overlooking the bay (left). The inside of Annie’s (right).
The outside of Annie’s Bait and Tackle is, well…very quirky.
Downtown Sarasota
On this trip, we typically eat breakfast at our place and then go out to dinner. But one sunny morning we ventured downtown early to stroll through the Saturday Farmer’s Market and have breakfast. Using Mr. U’s technique, we stopped at C’est la Vie, just because it was busy the previous day, and it met the “cute factor” for me. Like the name sounds, C’est la Vie is an authentic French bakery and cafe in the heart of downtown Sarasota that specializes in authentic French food and pastries. The croissants were so fresh and flaky. You can sip stout coffee and enjoy the sunshine at one of their sidewalk tables and feel like you are in Paris or New Orleans.
I had to buy some of the bright yellow sunflowers at the outdoor market (left). Enjoying my morning coffee at C’est la Vie (right).
St. Armands Circle is a charming, historic destination located on Lido Key. I would recommend that you work up an appetite poking in all of the shops at the circle and then stop in to eat at the Columbia. It is the oldest operating restaurant in Sarasota and is known for its Spanish/Cuban cuisine. It was recommended to us by several people and lived up the hype. Either make reservations or plan to get there early to get a table for lunch or dinner. We both had Columbia’s Original “1905” salad which is tossed at your table. Get the Cuban bread to go with it. Fortunately, an older gentleman that we met on the trolley told us to get a pitcher of their sangria. They mix it up at your table with fresh squeezed citrus. It was the perfect way to end a hot day.
A pitcher of Sangria being mixed at the table (left). The “1905” salad and Cuban bread (right).
I enjoyed all the al fresco dining while there, especially since it is hovering around 30 degrees at home.
By far and away, the most frequently recommended place to eat was Owen’s Fish Camp. It has delicious food in a fish camp atmosphere. It is very popular so you may have to wait a good hour or two during peak times. You will never be happier that a place does not take reservations because waiting for your table is the best part! They have an outdoor patio with picnic tables and music. You can order drinks and an appetizer to hold you over. It is a festive, fun experience and you will feel like you just went to fish camp, without all of the work.
Owen’s Fish Camp has a casual, yet classy vibe.The outside area at Owen’s is such a fun atmosphere that you don’t mind waiting for a table.
During our month stay, we stopped by a few different tiki hut restaurants/bars. While the food is usually not anything special, you can’t beat sitting at a table in the sand, watching the waves roll in. A cold drink at a tiki hut tastes the best after a day playing at the beach. One evening we stopped by O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill. which is located at the bayfront in Sarasota. We enjoyed some live music and the view of the bay as they city lights came on.
O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill at dusk.
Weighing In
Despite the fact that we have been very physically active this trip, I suspect I have gained weight. I don’t have a scale (thank goodness) to confirm this, but the pants are definitely getting tighter. It is pretty difficult to eat out almost every day and not consume too many calories, even with seafood. Because…where there is southern seafood, there are cheesy grits and hush puppies and ice-cold margaritas. Enough said. It is time to go home, for no other reason than I can’t continue to eat out and not gain weight. Thanks for joining me on our travels through Florida. Now it is time to go back to the snow.
Lover of flip flops, waking up without an alarm, fireside chats, street tacos, waves lapping up on shore, creativity, family, the cork and all things garlic.
