Holiday Travels: Key West

When the opportunity arose for me to steal a few days in Key West, FL around the holidays, I jumped on it. Nearly 20 years had passed since my last visit to the quirky island and I needed no more coaxing to return than an airplane ticket and the lure of sunshine. Hence I found myself recently in the Conch Republic.

For any of you who haven't been in recent years, it's more or less the same. Just more developed (like everywhere else in the world). The island now boasts more incoming and outgoing flights, a large shopping center, more hotels and inns, more eateries, more, more, more. But the general laid back vibe is still present, and the sun is still shining bright, and the sunsets are still just as amazing. And you can still find at the local watering hole a few kids who moved down to the island in hopes of stepping away from real life and never left.

Not waiting to be bombarded by the annoying hotel crowd, I opted for a quiet stay at a local B&B: the Atlantis House. What a pleasant surprise! A locally owned and family run small B&B located close to the beach and within easy walking/biking distance of the main drag, the Atlantis House was a fantastic stay.

The property had two beautiful suites, both with in-room jacuzzi tubs, free bike rentals, a stellar patio to sit and enjoy a mellow island moment, and I was fed some of the best baklava and key lime pie of my life. If you are heading to Key West, STAY HERE. You can send me a postcard later in thanks.

And being the foodie fanatic I am, I ate my way around the island. One of my first stops: Lupita's. Filling, simple, delicious, Lupita's was a wonderful tucked away spot for some traditional Mexican food and cokes. This was the perfect place to go for an inexpensive feast that was easy on the wallet. Their salsa was muy delicioso.

Another spot I sampled: Banana Cafe. This establishment is on the main tourist drag, had a lot of hype about it's awesome breakfast (especially eggs benedict), and was recommended through a few foodie sites. Honestly, I wasn't blown away. The food was good, but not great and not worth the hype in my book. They managed to get my order wrong, but promptly fixed it, and just didn't seem to have their act together as there was a lot of staff discussions going on (constantly). A few orders at nearby tables also appeared to be wrong and it took a long while to get our dirty plates cleared (pet peeve in my book) as well as our check. Would I go back? Eh, probably not. But you should try it for their crepes - they are also supposed to be amazing. And the view from the upstairs patio is wonderful for people watching.

The shining gem of all the food sampled: Santiago's Bodega. I had sworn I had taken a ton of pictures of the many (many!) tapas plates I sampled, alas I was too busy eating as I don't have a single one. I tried their beef carpaccio, prosciutto wrapped goat cheese stuffed figs, beef short ribs, pork skewers (heavenly), patatas bravas, and more. Everything was outstanding. What I also managed to find was a bottle of some of the best tasting wine of my life. Along with this, I met wonderful patrons at the tables next to me as I devoured some of the best tapas to pass my lips. Santiago's was outrageously good! And well worth every penny spent. I would return in a heartbeat and likely eat a meal there once a day on my next Key West journey.

And last but not least, I made a point to swing into Havana 1 for a little authentic Cuban food. After a delicious meal of roast pork which melted in my mouth and some of the best plantains ever, the owners treated me to some homemade flan (complete with a chocolate sauce rose). Needless to say I was blown away by the food!

And for anyone wondering, they still have flocks of wild chickens running about. Of course being the former chicken lady I am, I chased them about for a few good shots. Enjoy!

Local Eats: The Pump Cafe

The world has a funny look to it when in the midst of a hectic travel schedule, as if wearing hue colored glasses. I certainly felt this way this past week as thousands of miles passed beneath my feet. I went here, there, and every damn crack in between. I can safely say that if anyone told me I could give up driving and flying for a good long while I'd likely thank them for it. Anyhoo, one of the perks of being the road so much is getting to try new foodie establishments.

Near the beginning of my adventures, I had the opportunity to visit the Pump Cafe in Springfield, OR and was pleasantly surprised at the good eats happening here. Nom, nom, nom. The breakfast was filling, hearty, and delicious - that's winning in my book. Needless to say this joint met my standards as a hangover establishment.

The place has a wonderful feel to it, country farm americana, with endless cups of good joe. The place seems to always have a bit of a crowd, but everyone is super sweet and very mellow in their quest for good food. Their counter bar is quite a favorite with locals, from what I hear.

The food was beyond scrumptious and is definitely within the definition of family style. Huge plates for huge appetites, no one goes home hungry from here. Next time you have a hankering for brunch and are near Main Street, Springfield, make sure to give the Pump Cafe a try. Enjoy!

Carrboro & Chapel Hill Charm

Another travel weekend under my belt. This time, to the beautiful Chapel Hill and Carrboro area of North Carolina. A little exploring, a bit of music, more work than I care to admit, and lots of opportunities to try new eateries! Here are a few of my favorites enjoyed over the weekend.

Close to the hotel we stayed at is a mixed live-work complex with the newly opened Elements tucked away on the main pedestrian level. It was open just three weeks by the time we arrived on a lazy Friday night, and I was blown away with how together the place seems to have it for being in its infancy.

I opted for the walnut shrimp, which was to die for! Some of the best I have had in years. We tried a few appetizers including their charcuterie plate, a bottle of vino, and entrees apiece - all winners in my book. Funny side note - I'm fairly sure they thought I was a food critic once I whipped out my camera and started taking notes (easy way to get superior service).

Following a night of um, heavy libation, we were starved for a good brunch scene and found ourselves at Venable Rotissarie Bistro in Carrboro. It's located at the end of the Historic Car Mill (lots of history round these parts) and offers a four hour brunch menu on weekends that is surprisingly tasty. I opted for the huevos rancheros and a side of cheesy gritz, both of which immensely satisfied my state of hangover. It appears they are still learning the fine art of bloody marys as the one I had wasn't quite right, but I have faith in them. The wait staff is entertaining and sassy, my kind of server, and I highly recommend swinging by for a visit.

I have a new catchphrase for the Aloft Hotel in Chapel Hill, and actually for all Aloft Hotels - hotels for hipsters. The vibe in this hotel was very much geared towards the under 30 crowd with pop music blaring out of the speakers in any and every common space area near the lobby and the trendy WXYZ bar bringing young patrons in until late in the evening. The room was comfortable and reasonably affordable for the price, the location was damn near perfect, and having the live-work complex right next door made lazy (fine) dining easy to come by.

Acme in Carrboro deserves an honorable mention as does Nana's in Durham, NC. I tried Acme for a lazy Sunday breakfast (stellar) and tried Nana's for a fancy dinner the evening before. Both were wonderful and on my list to return to for the next time I'm in town. And if anyone visiting the Chapel Hill area needs a good laugh, go check out the frat boy college scene on Franklin Street some weekend night - hilarious!

On Vacation

Forgive me for the sparse posts of late. It was August, which meant that it was my pseudo vacation month. I firmly believe in the siesta break over some portion of summer, even adults need a summer holiday. Food and recipes are forthcoming, as well as a few other goodies I have up my sleeve. For now, enjoy a few views of the world from the last month...

Happy tomatoes.

The inside of a drum.

A feline companion. 

The beautiful Playground Sports cake.

Red Velvet Cake & Mini Vacation

February seems to be my month to slack off on posting. I checked last year's February foodie posts and found the same thing. There appears to be a pattern forming, however I promise to get my baking buns back in the saddle soon.

Last weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of celebrating a friend's birthday on the Oregon Coast. If you haven't visited the Oregon Coast yet, put it on your bucket list. Seriously. It is a magical, wonderful, amazingly beautiful place with far fewer visitors than you think and a plethora of activities for everyone.

I call this the bowling team/gaming crew. Don't we look like a motley, crazy bunch? And yes, we had ridiculous amounts of fun. :)

The birthday boy requested a red velvet cake as his present. Have you ever made a red velvet cake? Do a web search for a recipe and start reading, it will likely intimidate you. This is how I felt embarking upon my red velvet quest.

I ended up going with a Smitten Kitchen recipe for the cake and a cream cheese frosting recipe from Joy of Baking. While I did do some minor tweaking to both recipes, I tried to leave them more or less intact. The one big change is that I added a raspberry whipped cream layer inside the cake (also adapted from a Joy of Baking recipe). The cake was delicious, however a little too dense for my taste (am not sure if this was due to letting the baking soda/vinegar bubble too long). As with all red velvet cakes, it tasted so much better after letting it sit for a day in the fridge.

And sorry for the poor photograph, blame the iphone. This is the only shot I managed to capture of the inside of the cake prior to it being demolished. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake
Adapted from: SmittenKitchen

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (sifted)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup strawberry applesauce 
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) red food coloring
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment.

Sift together cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl (this is in addition to the pre-sift for the flour).

Place oil, applesauce, and sugars in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla and almond extracts . Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.

Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes (watch closely as mine tended to overcook). Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.

Raspberry Whipped Cream Frosting Layer 
Adapted from: Joy of Baking 

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream 
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup slightly sweetened raspberry puree or jam 

In a large mixing bowl, place the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill in the bowl with the wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until soft peaks form. Then add the raspberry puree/jam, a little at a time, and beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised. Taste and fold in more jam or sugar as needed.

Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from: Joy of Baking 

• 1 - 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 - 8 oz tub of mascarpone cheese at room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted 
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream 

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to obtain the right consistency.

Assemble the cake: After the cake layers have cooled, place one of the cake layers on the serving plate as the base layer. Thickly spread the raspberry whipped cream layer over the top of the base cake layer. Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to let the cake set up. Take the chilled cake out of the freezer and stack the next cake layer on top of the cooled whipped cream layer. Then add a thick layer of the mascarpone cream cheese frosting on top. Again place it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to set up the frosting. Finally add the top cake layer to the stack, and finish by frosting the top and sides of the cake. I tend to make this fairly heavy and thick. Place the cake back in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, then remove and decorate as desired. Refrigerate the cake until nearly ready to serve. Prior to serving, remove the cake from the fridge and leave it at room temperature for at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

Turkey Day in Seattle

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Last weekend entailed the usual tradition for me...fleeing my family and friends to hide in a big city during the craziness of Thanksgiving. This time, we picked Seattle as our destination.

A lovely stay on Capitol Hill at the most adorable B&B for a few nights. It was bliss!

And what makes for a better vacation than food? Lots of good, delicious food.One night we ate at the Byzantion. The spanakopita was pretty tasty as well as the greek coffee.

I made sure to stop in Cake Spy and check out the local cupcake art scene. Am in love with this store.

Also made sure we paid a visit to a good pizzaria. In our case, we were recommended Palemro. While this picture isn't the greatest, the pizza definitely was!!

And of course, a visit to the Science Fiction Museum. Uber sci-fi dorks unite!

Break Time

A quick trip away. 

 A picnic in the park. 

 Some flowers. 

Fall is in the air. 

Christmas is around the corner. 

Amazing skies.