Category Archives: Food

Highlights and lowlights

31 Wednesday Dec 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Food

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

“It’s a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world.
So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we’re faking them. And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it’s joy we’re looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation. So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.” ― Neil Gaiman

2025 was a tough year, most of all because of my dad’s passing.  Still, I know that his passing was timely and was a blessing for the fact that he is no longer in pain, and he passed on his terms.  He transitioned. He is here but in other form.  I was able to be there and hold the family together – for that I am so grateful.

 

Today was a cold day (for Florida) so I am using my dad’s sweater and lounging pants.   There is something comforting about that.

Dad, be in peace!  You are loved!

 

Then there was the long regulatory audit… so much stress, so many sleepless night,  and let’s not forget the costly assessments for our condo structural repairs.

Still, in 2025 there was also a lot of highlights, such as:

  • Taking my mother to a casino resort in Argentina to celebrate her 90th birthday
  • Skiing in El Colorado, Chile in August
  • Skiing trips to Breckenridge
  • Cruise to Caribbean
  • Trips to the Seminole casinos
  • Sunrises at the Indialantic Beach
  • Sunsets at Melbourne Pier
  • No regulatory fines
  • Condo construction finished

For 2026 I am hoping for more adventures and fun trips with Michael.  The future seems so bright and big.  I am blessed, and I know it!

For you I wish so much love and joy.  I wish you strength and wisdom! I wish you peace!  I thank you for being in my corner in 2025.  I thank you for the kind word that showers me in love!

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.
Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.
So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
― Neil Gaiman

 

Sanford and Lake Mary

28 Sunday Dec 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Food

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

“Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?” That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.” ― Hermann Hesse

We had a fun Saturday biking on the riverwalk in Sanford, Florida. We got there very early and it was very foggy, but then turned into a gorgeous day.

After the bike ride, we stopped for coffee at the Caffe Di Riverwalk.  I had a mocha and a bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant. Michael had a potato burrito and a black coffee.  It was good, not outstanding.   I thought my sandwich and my mocha weren’t hot enough. Great service, but I am not running back.

We walked around town afterwards and there was a little fair going on.  I found brigadeiros (Brazilian fudge candy) and I had to buy some.  They were okay.  From the booth next to it, I got a Dubai chocolate cake.  I have started seeing all these “Dubai” items more and more.  I guess any time you put pistachios on something you make it “Dubai”.  The cake tasted like it was from a box, and the chocolate frosting was just okay.  I wouldn’t buy it again.

We then drove to Lake Mary and walked around downtown for a while.  We then went to lunch at Pisco Peruvian.  It was awesome!  Everything about it was perfect.  Beautiful ambiance, amazing service, delicious well-thought-out food.

To drink I had a passion-fruit (of course) drink and Michael had some non-alcoholic (he was driving) frozen coconut lemonade. He had a sushi dish with shrimp ceviche.  I had the lomo salted, and of course I also yucca fries – I have to have that any time I see it on the menu.  I brought dessert home  – it was 3 leches cake with a layer of merengue and crème diplomat.    I would go back to eat those again and to try different items.

After it, we walked next door to Brooklyn Water Bagels to bring some bagels home.  I gave up on trying to find a good NY bagel in Florida, so I only bought a couple thinking that they would be disappointing, These bagels were delicious. We just had them for breakfast and now we are sorry we didn’t buy more.

Too bad those 2 great finds are almost 2 hours away from where we live.   Any time I find a good restaurant it is always far away.  Maybe it is for the best – my wallet and waist are probably better for it.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”  – Virgina Woolf 

 

Lately … beach, river and town

20 Saturday Dec 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Food

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

 

Life continues with sunrises at the beach, sunsets at the river and the occasional night out. Oh yeah, work has been driving me insane with end of the year compliance issues, but I am choosing to focus on my huge list of blessings.

Daily sunrise walk

Amazing sunsets – so grateful

 

A curious little squirrel 🙂

 

Yucca fries and passionfruit mojitos – while I wait for skirt steak with rice and beans – yummy

“If you want to be happy, do not dwell in the past, do not worry about the future, focus on living fully in the present.” ― Roy T. Bennett

 

Lately … in the kitchen

11 Thursday Dec 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Food

≈ 34 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Scones – I adore scones and I have not been able to find any bakeries that sells them anywhere around me.

I looked for scone recipes online, and chose one that looked easy and fast. 

They didn’t come out great, but still we ate them all.  

 

Irish Soda Bread – this is another favorite of mine, that I cannot find to buy anywhere around here.  Perhaps on Saint Patrick’s Day I will find some bakery that makes them.

It came out okay, not great.  I definitely need to tweak the recipe I found online.

Anything toasted with butter is great, and that is how I eventually ate it all.

 

 

Brownies from a Box

Can you believe that I got brownies wrong? Brownies is the one thing I don’t mind making it from a box.  I accidently put the oven too high and the sides and bottom got overbaked.

I cut off the offending parts and the rest was eaten anyway 🙂

 

I will be trying all of the above again.  If you a good recipe for scones or soda bread, please send it my way.

Thank you and have a blessed weekend!

“With enough butter, anything is good.” (Julia Child)

 

 

Birthday weekend – beach, massage, shopping, eating, gambling, and loads of fun

08 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, travels

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

The weekend before last I turned 59. 59!!!! I can’t believe I am 59. I don’t feel 59. But then again, what is 59 supposed to feel like?

The scary part is that 60 is just around the corner… and I have so much to do. Will I have time to do it all?

But, getting back to last weekend, my identical sister flew from NY to Florida so we could spend our birthday together.

I was excited to see her and for her to see my new place.

She arrived on Thursday night. On Friday we walked on the beach, went for a quick bike ride, then I took her to see my new office. Then we went to get massages, but they only had space for only 1 person, so I let her have the massage while I waited.

After that we went to a pizza place for a quick bite.  Then we went to Ross stores I had never been there before because of my growing dislike of shopping.  I don’t like going, but once there it was enjoyable, and my sister bought a bunch of stuff.  It was very similar to Marshalls.

After Ross we were going to Bealls, but my sister had no more room in her carry on so we skipped it.  We went back home and rested for a little bit, before getting ready for dinner.

For dinner we went to Estampa Gaucha, a Brazilian steakhouse. The meats were divine, but the salad bar and the sides were just okay. We had the typical Brazilian drinks, caipirinhas, and they were good.

On the Saturday we decided to take a casino cruise, Victory Casino Cruise. I was curious about it and figure it could be fun, since my sister is a fan of slots machines as well.

It was better than I expected. I won, my sister lost, but we all had fun.  The waters were choppy, so was a bit shaky at times.  I saw a young not feeling well and gave him a Dramamine pill.  I saw him a couple of times after that and he was very grateful.

After arriving at the port, on the way home we stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Tiny Turtle. We enjoyed our meal, and then went to Fat Donkey next door for ice cream, which was delicious.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at the beach, then it was time to help her pack and drive her the one and half hours to Orlando Airport.

Her flight was really delayed, she didn’t get to NY until midnight. But she had a great weekend and was happy to have been here.

We enjoyed all the food and drinks so much that we didn’t remember to take pictures.  I guess that is a good thing.

This was a laid back 59, perhaps I should start planning the 60 now!!

A little break for some snowy fun

25 Tuesday Mar 2025

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, travels

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Life continues to be beautiful and chaotic.

In the midst of dental issues and audit headaches, Michael and I were able to get to our favorite skiing spot: Breckenridge. 

We were there for 5 days.  I only skied four days.  The first day I always struggle with altitude sickness. 

We had an amazing time.  There were some flight issues, but we were expecting those as we chose flights with connections.  We wanted to be able to use a small airport just 15 minutes from home.  

Every time we are in Breckenridge, we talk about buying a condo there.  That would allow us to spend more time there, and I would focus on improving my skiing. Skiing 5 days a year, or even 10 days, is not enough to see improvement.

Besides skiing, we didn’t do much. We spent some late afternoons at the hot tub and/or walking around in town.

We had some great meals. The most memorable was at Hearthstone Restaurant. We had an all-fish night. For appetizers we had pistachio crusted tuna and mahi-mahi tacos. For entrée, Michael had the salmon with a lobster sauce and I had the black cod with black rice.  To drink Michael had a beer and I had a cocktail called cornice fall (St. George citrus vodka, Domaine canton, lemon shrub and cava), absolutely delicious!

This restaurant also had an awesome view of the mountains.

We can’t wait to go back to snowy mountains!

 

Lunch on St. Johns River

23 Tuesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Food, Reviews

≈ 40 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

“May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

Inspired by the visit to DeBary Hall, and learning about his steamboat trips along St. Johns River, Michael and I decided to take a river cruise.

St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida and it is the only one, of very few in the world, that flows south to north.

We chose a 3-hour lunch cruise on the Barbara Lee. The Barbara Lee was built in 1986 and refurbished in 2012. 

We boarded at 11am.  We were seated by the window on the first level. We were served pecan buns as soon as we sat down.  They were delicious. 

After giving our waitress our lunch orders we went outside to take in the views.  It was a gorgeous day. We sat outside for awhile I enjoyed a mimosa.

We returned inside around 12:30pm for lunch. Michael, and it seemed like everyone else, ordered the salmon.  I was between the chicken parmigiana and the prime rib.  In the end I, regretfully, ordered the prime rib.

The meat looked awful. I took a tiny bite and even though it was not so bad,  I couldn’t get past the look of it.  I ate the mashed potatoes, green beans and the bread rolls with butter. For dessert there was red velvet cake. We enjoyed that very much.

There was also an entertainer singing some oldies, but goodies, such as Frank Sinatra’s songs. I really enjoyed that.

I highly recommend this boat trip for a fun day.  Just don’t order the meat.  They also have dinner cruises and other theme nights.  

Afterwards we walked around downtown Sanford, which is a great little town.

 

“Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?” That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past nor the shadow of the future.” ― Hermann Hesse

Food, glorious food

22 Thursday Feb 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Food, Reviews

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” ― Virginia Woolf

Here are some pictures of the last two restaurants I have been to.  And some pictures of my last bakes.

I often don’t think of pictures until it is too late.  So here are pictures of half eaten food.

Restaurant Bela Lisboa – Portuguese food

Cod fish cakes and hummus 

Picanha – a Brazilian cut of meat, and a glass of vinho verde – green wine

Classic Portuguese dessert: Pastel de nata, custard tart

The Garlic Restaurant – Italian Restaurant

Cosmopolitan at The Garlic Restaurant

 Outside at The Garlic

Outside at The Garlic

Outside at The Garlic

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” ― Julia Child

Corn muffins: tastes better than it looks

 Lemon Pound Cake, made in the bread machine – Delicious!

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” ― George Bernard Shaw

Having my cake and eating it too!

30 Tuesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Food

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

, , ,

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” -― Charles M. Schulz

The baking continues… Yesterday I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  All from scratch.  All delicious. 

But… not perfect.  I search for a taste of the cakes of my childhood.  Maybe the next one.

“If you can’t eat chocolate cake for breakfast, what is the point of being alive?” ― Alice Hoffman, The Book of Magic

“Without pain, how could we know joy?’ This is an old argument in the field of thinking about suffering and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not, in any way, affect the taste of chocolate.” ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

The baking continues

27 Saturday Jan 2024

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Food

≈ 62 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Irish soda bread

Irish soda bread

My love affair with my bread machine and making breads and cakes continues.

I have been making mostly whole wheat breads.  The one with honey and molasses is my favorite.

White bread and Irish soda bread

White bread and Irish soda bread

I made the above white loaf on the bread machine.  The Irish soda bread I made in the oven, as it doesn’t involve any kneading or rising.

They both came out great.  The white bread is simple and great for sandwiches.

The soda bread came out great, but still I think I will add some more sweetness to the it. 

There is a soda bread that I love, from a bakery that is over 1 hour away from my home. So I am not able to buy it as often as I would like.  I search for that taste.  It is probably not the original soda bread, but I want to get as close to that taste as I can.

Pound cake

Pound cake

The above is a pound cake I made in the bread machine.  Even though it doesn’t look all that, it is delicious.  Because I cannot follow any recipe and I always have to add my own twist, I added a couple of drops of vanilla extract and a couple of teaspoons of chocolate.  That is why it came out with that color.

I plan on doing this same recipe again and probably adding a drop of coconut or almond extract, or more chocolate.

Tomorrow I plan on making a chocolate cake and frosting, not in the bread machine.  Stay tuned for the pictures.