March 22nd, 2011
Delray Beach is becoming a South Florida destination. I think this South Florida coastal town is so unique. Then, wait a minute. Too many people are discovering this gem of a town. I want to keep it a secret; at the same time time I want to shout “Come on Down”.
I am at the Delaware Beaches; my home. But, today I noticed that in the Philadelphia Magazine there was an article on the 5 Getaway Places for a Spring Break. It is the March issue. You can also visit www.phillymag.com and then on the upper right hand side click on Magazine and the article will open up. One more plug for Delray Beach; among other national plugs, as well.
It is a Village by the Sea. It has everything; palm trees, sea grapes, gorgeous beaches, with water so clear, mango trees, restaurants, entertainment, shops and a large colony of artists that make Delray Beach a fantastic place to visit or live.
And to top it off in 1993 and in 2001 it was named “All American City”.
The article is a good one; the Seagate Hotel and Beach Club taking center stage. Located at 1000 East Atlantic Ave. Website? www.theseagatehotel.com. There are many other hotels in Delray that can also make a great get away; either for Spring or for any time of the year.
A few of the establishments to hit on Atlantic Avenue; like Tryst on 4 East Atlantic Ave., www.trystdelray.com.
Or, Cupcake Couture, 328 East Atlantic Ave., www.cupcakecoutureusa.com. I wrote a post on Cupcake Couture. If you would like to see it, then click on the month of June, 2010 and scroll down to the 14th.
Delray Beach is the perfect place for walking, running, biking and tennis. An amazing tennis facility called the Delray Beach Tennis Center, located at 201 West Atlantic Ave., Tel. 561-243-7360. Website? www.delraytennis.com. I also wrote a post on it. If you want to see it just click on the month of February, 2011 and scroll down to the 16th.
I have had real estate in Delray Beach since 2003. The real estate company that I use is Tauriello & Co., located at 900 East Atlantic Ave. My realtor has been Cheran Tauriello, 561-870-8855 direct and office is 561-278-5570. All I can say that this company has been so professional with us; with confidence I can recommend them. They are one of my advertisers on my website and all you have to do is click on their site and it will take you directly to all they have to offer.
Delray Beach….it’s a cute town….you cannot help but fall in love with it…..talk to you later….
March 21st, 2011
There are plenty of new places opening up at this time of the year at the Delware Beaches. There are a few changes, as well.
Remember how Big Fish Grill in Rehoboth had a Tiki Bar? Well that is now their new Raw Bar. What was originally the Tiki Bar has more high top tables that are on a first come, first serve and are located in front of the raw bar. It is colorful and alreay a huge success!!
For lunch and dinner? At least 2 different freshly shucked oysters and middleneck clams. All shellfish is shucked fresh to order. Lots of seafood and lots of Bluen Moon on tap.
Big Fish Grill is located at 20298 Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach. Tel. is 302-227-Fish. Website? www.bigfishgrill.com.
Friday, 3/25 – A Film Event – The Monthly Screenings are presented by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society. They feature films and discussions about the various cultures in the world, including the diversity in our own country. The screenings are held the 4th Friday of each month. Time? 7:00 p.m. in the upstairs screening room at the Movies at Midway. Admission is $2 for card-carrying members and $4 for the rest of us.
On Friday the film will be Lovely, Still. - The approach of Christmas causes Robert Malone (Martin Landau) to feel lonely in life and love. One snowy day he arrives home from his job at the grocery store to find a beautiful stranger named Mary (Ellen Burstyn) standing in his home. What begins as an odd and awkward encounter quickly blossoms into what appears to be a romantic late-life love affair…..Rated P
Sunday, 3/27 – 1st Annual Chef’s Challenge – Paws for the Cause. This is a fundraising event for research for the cure of canine cancer. It will be held at the Cordrey Center in Millsboro, Delaware from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
There will be so many things to enjoy; food, the chef’s challence, auctions, etc. I wrote a post on this event on February 26th. If you would like to check it out please just click on the month of February, 2011 and scroll down to the date. Also the website is www.pawsforthecausefoundation.org.
Thursday, 3/31 – Cinema & Art – Another film event presented by the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, the Rehoboth Art League, and the Inn at Canal Square present this bi-annual film series which brings art and artists to the big screen. The Inn at Canal Square is located at 122 Market Square, Lewes, Delaware; the perfect setting and ambiance to enhance a celebration of art and cinema.
Light reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by a film screening at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, and may be purchased by calling the Rehoboth Art League at 302-227-8408. Reservations are required.
On Thursday you will see Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies – It is produced and narrated by Martin Scorsese. It a cinematic tour through the effects of the technological revolution of the early 20th century. Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and other members of the avant-garde in pre World War I Paris were thrilled and challenged by many new inventions, none more than the new artistic medium called “motion pictures”…..Not Rated
It is great to see the towns waking up. Landscaping, and prepping for the upcoming Summer Season….me? I am just waiting patiently for a few things like these ones to be around….
 Freemans Corn
March 19th, 2011
The other day someone asked me on Facebook if I cooked. I guess they see that I am reviewing restaurants; so the cook is off again. Well, I do love to cook; experiment with new recipes. I find it rewarding. Too many times, too rewarding, and then back on the diet I go.
I bought the cookbook that is fairly new called Tastes of the Season. The recipes are favorites from the Delray GreenMarket. You can get the book by on-line at www.delraycra.org. I am always buying cookbooks and I read them like novels.
The Curry Mango Shrimp recipe I made it my own by changing it a bit. It was delicious, though. Hope you try it and like it.
I love a good mango and I was lucky to get a ripe one at the store.
Curry Mango Shrimp With Coconut Basmati Rice
1 cup diced mango
juice of enough limes to make about 6 tablespoons
3/4 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger (More? Go ahead.)
1 teaspoon curry powder (if you think you want more, then you know what to do)
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (you may use any size)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
6 tablespoons green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
In a small bowl, make the marinade by mixing together the mango, lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, ginger and curry powder.
In a medium bowl, add the cleaned shrimp and half the mango marinade, cover and let it stand for about 20 minutes or so.
In the meantime, make the Coconut Basmati Rice by combining chicken broth, coconut milk, salt and rice in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Stir in green onion and cilantro. Keep warm.
Heat large frying pan to a medium to high heat. Then add the tablespoon of butter, melt. Add the shrimp and mango mixture and cook for about 5 minutes or longer until the shrimp are nice and pink.
Then add the rest of the mango marinade. Heat and serve over the rice.
I wanted to add more colore and decided on brussel sprouts. The little ones that you can heat in the bag. A little butter; very sweet.
This recipe serves 4. Easily doubled.
This recipe is gluten free.
Talk to you later…enjoy…
P.S. Remember that AboutMyBeaches is on Facebook.
March 18th, 2011
Just like every Saturday in Delray Beach, you will find a lot of people congregated at SE 4th Avenue in Delray. That is where the Delray GreenMarket holds court from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Last Saturday I was lucky enough to experience the GreenMarket on a gorgeous day. It was also the day to celebrate in Delray St. Patty’s Day.
The music emanating from that street was great. Blues; The Cats were playing. Later on Heidi also played with The Cats. A CD was for sale and I bought it. It is really good.
Lots of people in attendance; some already with full bags in hand.
 
The guacamole looked delicious. It was Anita’s Guacamole. I had not seen them before; I am not sure how long they have been part of the GreenMarket.
I met Lori Nolan and she is the GreenMarket Manager. She showed me around a bit. She is one busy lady. Then she pointed to JC’s Daily Bread. His moto? “A Taste of Heaven Without The Wait”. Jon-Claude Stevens is the Chief Baker. The website is www.jcsdailybread.com.
I bought some of JC’s Jalapeno bread and it definitely had a bite. It was very good and I served it with chicken salad and beer. That’s right!!
I got one of the cookbooks of the favorite recipes of the Delray GreenMarket. It is called Tastes of the Season and it is for sale at the GreenMarket or you can also purchased it on line. Visit www.delraycra.org. In it you will find recipes like Southern Fried Chickpeas, Shrimp Cakes, Sweet Onion Casserole, Caribbean Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa and so much more.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from last Saturday’s GreenMarket. Hope you are there and have the opportunity to check it out this Saturday.
Have a great week-end!! And, talk to you later….
March 17th, 2011
Back on November of 2009 I received an e-mail from a person named Ellen. She suggested I went to check out a small restaurant that had just opened in Delray Beach. She thought the food was great and she wanted other people to experience Jimmy’s great food.
That’s all it took. One taste of his delicious food had my whole family sold. Jimmy’s Bistro is located at 9 South Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33483. Tel. 561-865-5774. You can also find Jimmy’s Bistro on Facebook.
I wrote a post on Jimmy’s Bistro on 11/27/09 and all you have to do to read it is click on the month of November, 2009 and scroll down to the date.
This past week I have gone to Jimmy’s twice. And, let me tell you that I was so happy for him. Jimmy himself is nice and friendly and vivacious. And my gosh, the restaurant is packed every night. No lunches anymore, just dinner. Reservations are a definite. The restaurant is small and cozy. It has a bar; it is small too.
I had so much faith in him and people have found him. The restaurant still has its daily blackboard with all of his offerings.
The first night I visited I had the Hog Snapper. I had never had it. It was fresh; caught on that day. It was a mild and white fish. This fish has a hog shaped head. It is found in and around tropical reefs in the Atlantic and Caribeean Sea. The Hog Snapper is not commonly caught by rod and reel. It has a reputation for being somewhat easy to shoot with a Hawaiin sling.
On Tuesday night there were four of us. A few appetizers were ordered.
Dave had the mussels. And, I had the goat cheese and beet salad. We were going to share. Both were very good. The combination of the beets with the fried goat cheese was excellent. The mussels were tender, accompanied by baguettes to dip in a well seasoned sauce.
Anita had the pear and Gorgonzola salad. She thought it was good even though at first we all thought that it was blue cheese. Upon questioning our waitress, she brought us the wedge of Gorgonzola. It did taste like blue cheese, though.
For our entrees, the choices were:
An Asian duck ordered by Marisa. She thought it was very well cooked and delicious.
Dave chose more of a comfort food dish; the braised short rib with mashed potatoes. He really cleaned the plate, so you know he liked it.
Anita chose the mussels for her entree. She really enjoyed them.
And, I chose a tomato soup with a Parmesan crust. This soup is fantastic and filling. It is served steaming hot. Then I pushed the crust into the soup and it was amazing. This soup is always on his menu.
Sharing food with friends on a somewhat warm evening was just priceless. The conversation was effortless and the music and the restaurant were very enjoyable.
P.S. I hope Jimmy reads this post. I want him to try benches instead of the chairs that are at present placed in front of the restaurant. Also the sign is only seen from the side and not very well. From the street on Swinton you cannot tell what it is.
Have a good one…talk to you later…
March 16th, 2011
Ice cream is my downfall. I love it. I don’t care if it is homemade, gourmet, or a Frosty from Wendy’s, if you can call that ice cream. I try to control myself; but I confess, I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To me, a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen is Haven!
Having said that, I am always watching what’s opening up in Rehoboth in the ice cream arena. I find that I do that in Delray, as well. The last time I was in Delray there were several places opening up on Atlantic Avenue; popsicles and yogurt. Self serve yogurt, no less. Can you imagine? I could see myself filling that cup all the way to the top.
I could not wait to try it, because I do prefer ice cream to yogurt. So, there I was, on the Avenue and it was staring at me.
I decided to stop at Orange Leaf, located at 418 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33483. The tel. is 561-894-8230. Website? www.orangeleafyogurt.com. The owner of the store is Lynne Simon and her husband.
This store is bright, so much so that you cannot miss it as you are driving on Atlantic Ave. Plus, the fact that every time I have passed it by it had been crowded.
This company is a franchise with corporate offices in Oklahoma. Florida has several of them. Delaware does not have any.
It seems that they have a wide variety of flavors; the one in Delray had 16 self served frozen yogurt flavors. I am not sure if you pick and choose which ones you want for your store, though. Probably so.
Orange and green are predominatly the colors you will find. Delray Beach is perfect for this kind of business since you can buy the frozen yogurt and then sit outside to enjoy it.
Since it is self serve there are cups in a couple of different sizes for you to choose. No little cups, though. Then, you just help yourself with the yogurt and proceed to the toppings bar.
Want Fat Free Hot Fudge? Or, regular Hot Fudge like I did? Or, Caramel topping? They have that too. All of a sudden this yogurt was not going to be low fat for me.
The toppings bar had fresh fruits like Kiwi and strawberries, nuts, brownie bits, cookie crumbs, and jimmies among others.
My choices of frozen yogurt were, vanilla, peanut butter, white chocolate, chocolate and green mint. I told you, it is my downfall. I really loved the green mint; very refreshing.
Then toppings and as you can see it was a one hefty serving of yogurt.
I proceeded for the weighing in. The standard charge per ounce is 46 cents. My yogurt cost $8.35 cents.
Guess what? I ate it all. All I can think of is I definitely need to get back on my diet. Summer is around the corner, but I was not going to feel guilty for this small indulgence. This frozen yogurt had great taste and texture.
Talk to you later…..enjoy..
P.S. My friend Marisa from Colorado, had not had Orange Leaf so off to the Avenue we went and when we had eaten it all we decided that it definitely had hit the spot.
March 14th, 2011
One of the best thing about being in a small coastal town or a small town for that matter, is that as you walk and enter different shops you become familiar with the friendly shopkeeppers. A winning smile and a friendly disposition is all it takes.
I was walking on Atlantic Ave. the other day and right across from the Veterans Park by the Intracoastal and next to the Old School Bakery, a lady was coming out of the store. I stopped and asked her if she owned the shop and she said yes. I praised the beautiful colors and asked if I could come in.
Varietai is located at 812 E. Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach. Tel. 561-455-2767. E-mail address is varietai.delray@gmail.com. The shopkeepper? Michele Ramirez. If you have been in Delray for some time, you might remember a store called Durango’s Attic. Well, she was the owner of that store. About 3 months ago she opened Varietai. I had seen it and thought it looked great from the outside. Therefore, it was time to check it out.
As you come into the store there is a lot to absorb. Just like the name of Varietai, there is plenty of variety. If would be hard not to be able to find something for your home, for a girlfriend, teacher, you name it; she has something for everyone. She has new items but there are also plenty of items on consignment, as well.
As I browsed a unique collection of furniture, art, lamps and jewelry, my eyes were gravitating to the floor. The painted floor was done by Michele. The floor was cement and it was covered from corner to corner with art; the koi taking center stage.
Michele also paints on glass and it is for sale, as well.
There is a collection of very attractive jewelry from Australia; the colors and stones unique.
Michele store is warm; not fussy. Again, I have to mention the colors because they are bright and a definition of what South Florida is all about.
Varietai offers a great collection of pillows. Michele said the pillows are becoming very popular and they are very well priced.
And here are the rest of the pictures so that you can she what can be found in this very well stocked shop.
If you have any questions, please call Michele at the above mentioned telephone number or you can also e-mail at varietai.delray@gmail.com.
Talk to you later……
March 13th, 2011
Comfort food can be defined as the one that brings you some sort of sense of well-being; simple and familiar dishes, some of them bring nostalgic thoughts to my mind. Its definition first appeared in the dictionary in 1977. It’s funny how there has been a resurgence in restaurants serving these types of foods. Homecooking it’s the best, admit it. Really.
But if you ask a kid what would be his comfort food , the answer might be more like fast food, ice cream, potato chips or pizza. Hey, I love pizza too. But, what I mean is the foods that make you take a breath and relax.
One of such recipes, if I may call mine that, is the Shepherd’s Pie. In earlier recipe books the pie dish was lined with mashed potatoes on the bottom, as well as the top. That sounds interesting, but mine is just the top.
My recipe of a Shepherd’s Pie changes all the time. I add to the meat pretty much anything I have at hand in the kitchen. Served with a salad or a vegetable is so easy, and leftovers are delicious, as well. So here is my version of this comfort food.
Shepherd’s Pie
For the mashed potatoes you will need:
3 or 4 baking potatoes
8 ounce container of sour cream
1 or 2 large containers of low salt chicken broth (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
About 1/4 cup of milk
salt and pepper to taste
For the filling:
2 lbs. ground sirloin
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
A sprinkle of garlic powder, optional
1 small can of tomato sauce
2 small boxes of raisins (1.5 ounce boxes)
1 grated carrot (or 2, if you want)
3/4 chopped Spanish Olives (or more, if you want)
1 tsp. Tabasco (Want more kick? Then, you know what to do.)
1/2 cup of peas (they were in the refrigerator that day, so it is optional, but a good addition)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot put the chicken broth to boil for the potatoes. I like broth because it gives them a better flavor. I do not peel my potatoes and I also cut them before placing them in the pot. Faster cooking, you know.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and put them in a large container so that you can mash them. I then add butter, mash, add sour cream, keep mashing, add salt and pepper to taste. Put aside.
In a large frying pan just put a tablespoon or so of olive oil and add the onions. Cook them for a few minutes and then add the ground sirloin breaking it up as it cooks.
Once the meat has a good cooking rhythm then add the rest, except the peas. Adjust your seasonings.
In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish put all the meat filling in, sprinkle the peas on top.
Then, spread the mashed potatoes.
Place in the oven.
Bake in the oven until the mashed potatoes have a nice crust. Just like in the picture.
A salad? That’s what I had. Perfect for cold and rainy nights.
Enjoy it and most of all, make it your own.
P.S. This recipe is gluten free.
Talk to you later….
 
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