Florida Faves

Whew, back to reality. I’m back in San Diego again after a long weekend in the small town where I grew up in central Florida, to see my brother get married. In typical Florida fashion, the nice weekend was punctuated with pretty severe thunderstorms (complete with tornado warning) exactly at wedding-o’-clock. But it didn’t slow us down from having the best weekend! My little dog Chuy even got to come; I was nervous about hauling him on a airplane, but he loves my parents’ farm so much that I had to bring him along. Not completely stress-free, but he was a pretty good boy!

I was so preoccupied with the whirlwind of family events, that I kind of completely dropped out of social media. Whoops. But I still want to share a few shots of the special local foods and experiences that I like to enjoy when I travel home. It’s a nice opportunity to look back and get inspired by the flavors of the region. So let’s enjoy these glimpses of Florida’s Treasure Coast through the eyes of a visiting native / foodie dietitian!

Super-fresh gulf coast shrimp LIKE WHOA.

My mom’s awesome old-school Osterizer juicer, which she insisted on firing up every morning with local Valencias. Life was good!

The most luxurious mountain of gorgeous Florida stone crab claws. Legit fancy-pants.

Lots of open spaces for doggie-running.

A mind-blowing blackened flounder sandwich from The Old Fish House in Grant, FL. So fresh, so flavorful! Best riverfront food in the area.

Unfortunately the loquats weren’t quite ripe yet. Still, they have some of the prettiest foliage.

And mostly, just taking time to chill out and breathe Spring air on a patio. Chuy’s an expert!

Sooo that’s what we’ve been up to around here! Get ready for more awesome recipes and a return to our regular scheduled programming this week!