Miami Flavor

Ross and I recently returned from a trip to Miami - what a glorious city by the sea.  This town has flavor. And not the semi-boring fancy steak houses and scandalous night clubs kind of flavor - but the flavor you wish was sprinkled on your usual scrambled eggs each morning or margarita on the rocks at 5:00.

Every piece of food I ate in Miami was out of this world.  The seafood, produce and cocktails had so much flavor that I was giddy before, during and after every meal. The Mojitos - we averaged 3-5 per day, per person - were stout and packed with muddled mint, lime juice and just enough simple syrup to keep your lips from puckering. The seafood was fresh (SO FRESH), well seasoned, and rarely cooked to preserve it's perfection.  Oh sure, breakfast lacked both mojitos and seafood, but the impeccable fruit, strong coffee and crunchy bagels more than made up for the lack authentic Miami flare.

And now, a glimpse at our trip - mixed in with restaurant recommendations and tourist tips.

But fair warning, you will leave this blog post hungry.

BREAKFAST

No matter the menu selection, - a fresh fruit platter or an egg white frittata with a large side of avocado will suffice - breakfast on the patio beneath the warm morning sun is a daily requirement.

LUNCH

Whether by the pool feasting on Tuna Tartare Lettuce Wraps

or walking down Lincoln Road - passing fruit stands and nibbling on handmade empanadas - lunch in South Beach consists of snacking on light foods, washed down with mojitos, at your leisure.

MOJITOS

With a good twelve inches of sugar cane,

or flavored with earthy hibiscus, the mojito in your hand is only authentic if the mint has been properly muddled - any good Cuban will tell you.

DINNER

Spicy and sweet Calamari and Scallop Ceviche at Ceviche 105.

Corvina, Beef, Scallop and Ahi Tuna Tartare served with plantain chips at Edge.

DESSERT

Simply divine Chocolate Mousse Cake at The River Seafood and Oyster Bar.

These Cheesecake Pops and Meyer Lemon Chiboust from Edge made it all the way back to the hotel room before they were devoured.

Although Ross and I teetered on the line of obtaining Mercury poisoning by the time we hopped in the car back to the airport, it's safe to say we experienced some of the best food this country has to offer - or at least some of our favorite food in the country.

Signs of Summer

Aside from averaging 85° weather daily, strawberries are also a key indicator that we're well on our way to Summer.  And really, who doesn't love strawberries? They're the earth's all natural candy that are so juicy and sweet, every bite feels indulgent. 

When strawberries are incorporated into even sweeter desserts, the end product is usually out of this world.

Strawberry, meet my friend, Balsamic Vinegar. You guys are really going to hit it off.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar over two carton of strawberries. Toss in a couple tablespoons of sugar, too.

While strawberries are marinating, whip a carton of whipping cream with a little bit of lime zest, vanilla and powdered sugar.

Layer sliced angel food cake, marinated strawberries and whipped cream. Repeat.

Smooth out the top layer of whipped cream and set in the refrigerator to cool.  Wait until tomorrow to eat it, I promise it will be worth it.

Southern Comfort

If there's one thing I miss about living in the deep south, it's fried chicken.  Don't get me wrong, my mom lives in Austin too and makes damn good fried chicken, but this southern delicacy is hardly appreciated in a city where steaks, bbq and tacos rank supreme.

When I learned that Lucy's Fried Chicken opened a few months ago on South Congress, the cravings immediately kicked in.  They have everything you need to make a girl homesick for Mississippi.

Fried chicken,
collard greens,
black eyed peas,
cornbread stuffing...

Good beer on tap.

An insane pie selection, namely the lime pie.

Did I mention there was live music on the patio? Yep. 

I <3 Lucy's.

Good ole southern comfort, deep in the heart of Texas.

The Simple Things

Back in January Ross and I planted a vegetable garden.  Due to amazing spring-ish weather through February and March, and good bit of rain, our garden is quite happy.

Within the past few weeks our garden has produced leafy greens like you've never seen.  Honestly, growing your own greens will get you extremely excited about cooking veggies.  So, I recently picked some kale and spinach, washed it, then steamed for a few minutes. A quick and easy side dish from my backyard!

Not to get sappy, but it's a wonderful thing to produce your own food.  It is definitely something I never saw myself doing, but I always appreciated self-sustainability.  Through composting, recycling, collecting rain water and growing a vegetable garden, Ross and I are making an effort to take care of this beautiful world that we live in.  If you think about it, we're the ones who attempted to ruin it by drilling deep into the earth and dumping trash into the ocean, so why not put a little something nice back in it?

On an entirely different note, I took this adorable photo of Dexter the same day:

Cajun Time

"New Orleans food is as delicious  

as the less criminal forms of sin." - Mark Twain

A few weeks ago, as Mardi Gras was quickly approaching, all I could think about was visiting New Orleans (and my friend, Jane).  After choosing not to go - mostly due to the price of gas and lack of free time - I could not stop thinking about the food I was missing out on.  Beignets, crawfish étouffée, po boys, fresh oysters, foot long margaritas... (just kidding.)

After weeks of dreaming about cajun food and not being able to enjoy it, I decided to take a stab at cooking it myself.  Growing up, I always thought home cooked cajun food involved some kind of Zatarain's product in conjunction with shellfish and/or andouille sausage.  This is not the route I wanted to take this time around.

I went the vegan route. And I must say, it was very good decision. I'll admit, meatless meals haven't always been my cup of tea. But when my friend Virginia introduced me to my now all time favorite restaurant, Bouldin Creek Café , I fell in love with the idea of replacing meat with vegetarian protein.

Sure I enjoy tofu and soyrizo, but what I really love is beans. Black beans, red beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans... I love 'em all.  So cooking red beans & rice was the answer to my prayers - and it just so happened to turn out vegan.

Vegan Red Beans and Rice

1 can red beans
1 can red kidney beans
1/2 large onion
1 large tomato
2 bell peppers *I used one green and one red
5 stalks of celery
4-5 cloves of garlic
3 chipotle in adobo peppers
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce *this is okay to omit if you don't have it!
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
2 cups of prepared brown rice

First chop up the onion, garlic, peppers, celery, tomato, and chipotle in adobo.

Heat a large pan over medium heat.  Add a few tablespoons of sunflower oil to the pan and add vegetables in the order chopped.  Season the veggies liberally with pepper and lightly with salt. Cook the veggies 5-7 minutes then add both cans of beans (drained and rinsed), cumin, cinnamon, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and vegetable broth.

Simmer with lid tilted for 30 to 45 minutes.  Serve over brown rice.

If you need an extra kick, Cholula, Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce will do the trick.

FYI: The bright greens perched next to the main dish is steamed rainbow chard.  (P.S. For delicious greens, toss with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and salt & pepper after steaming.  Seriously, no oil needed.)

Enjoy your red beans and rice with sweet tea and good company :)