Local Food for Brevard County, FL!

This is only a short list! I am finding new places every day. I live in Central Brevard County (Florida), so many of these places are "close" to me. If you have any other favorite places, let me know and I will include them in a part two:

Local Harvest (search engine for local farms, farmers' markets, grocery stores, etc.)
The Green Marketplace at Adamson Road, Cocoa, FL and NatureWise (they sell produce, goat milk products, Florida native plants, etc.)
The Heart of Christmas Farm in Christmas, FL (they sell RAW goat milk and products, and hydroponically grown produce to organic standards)
Greens and Things Delivered (a deliver-organic-produce-to-your-door service for Brevard and Indian River Counties and my new favorite!)
Brevard County Farmers' Markets (a bit of everything different days of the week)

I highly recommend these places. I have visited them or used them in the past and continue to get high quality, great tasting food from them (when I can get out of the house with my 3 yr old and 8 week old! and have some cash ;o)

I also recommend signing up for their emails or newsletters as they can give you updated info every week or month. These are all great people providing awesome food for reasonable prices.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS!! It is how we, as a people, a culture, a community, are going to survive.

My Plans for Fat Tuesday, 2/24/2009

What are YOU doing on February 24, 2009? If I am not in labor, I may be going to IHOP for FREE PANCAKE DAY!!

Okay, so it is actually called "National Pancake Day" and here is the info from IHOP's site:

"Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products…hence the name Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday.

Since beginning its National Pancake Day celebration in 2006, IHOP has raised nearly two million dollars to support charities in the communities in which it operates. With your help, we hope to raise $1,000,000 for Children’s Miracle Network in 2009!"

But what's the catch?

"IHOP is offering free pancakes on Feb. 24 in celebration of National Pancake Day.

This will be the fourth year that IHOP has celebrated the national event, with nearly 1,400 IHOP restaurants throughout the United States giving guests a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Diners will be asked to donate what they would have paid for the free pancakes, or more, to their local children's hospital or another charity. IHOP is hoping to raise $1 million for Children's Miracle network, a nonprofit helping children's hospitals and other causes."

Second Chance

Nearly 15 years ago, I vowed never to return to any McDonald's ever again. I have held firm...until now...

My husband - who eats out near his workplace nearly everyday - has said that not all McDonald's are that bad, that a few of them are actually sorta pleasurable to dine at and the food isn't that bad. I have been in one establishment in Orlando, FL near Disney and it was pretty cool inside...but the level of service really has not changed....and the movie "Supersize Me" didn't help their case either.

But as for the one I went to tonight, I do have to say it was better than my last experience 20 years ago...but not by much. Yes, it was cleaner inside, and the workers and the service were a tad faster and the food had a slightly higher quality to it, but it is still McDonald's. I had one of the burger meals, soda, fries, and a fruit and walnut snack salad thing. The burger was acceptable, the fries were skinny but not as greasy (as I remember), the soda...well, was soda... and as for the fruit and walnut salad snack thing, it was a vac-u-sucked container with apple slices, candied walnuts and a yogurt dipping sauce that tasted like a melted vanilla milkshake (it had 25g of sugar!!).

I don't know if I will ever set foot in one again, but we had a few laughs, ate a few potatoes worth of fries, and sucked down our quota of high fructose corn syrup for the next few years. Now my feet feel like they are swelling so I am going to take my pregnant self to bed.

We got a live Christmas tree!

Yesterday, the three of us went to Rockledge Gardens and picked out our Christmas tree: it is a live Red Cedar tree, native to Florida and looks beautiful! Last year, we visited a tree farm and picked out a cut tree from there. We did that to support local business as well as our family tradition of having lunch or dinner afterward at a local restaurant. The tree farm is at the North Brevard/South Volusia county line on US-1. A bit out of the way, but totally worth the experience and trip! The place we had lunch after was a BBQ place on Us-1 in Mims - locally owned and really good pulled pork, Brunswick stew, mac'n'cheese.... Okay! gotta stop! Being pregnant and talking about food may require someone to go on a midnight run ;o)

This year, after getting our live tree, we stopped at Ryan's, an Irish Pizzeria in Cocoa Village. You heard me ;o) An Irish Pizza place! Then we went to Taylor Park to play with our 3 yr old on the swings, when Lo and Belhold! Santa was just starting to set up to take pictures on his sleigh!! We got to hang out with him before he had to work, our DD got candy canes and a tiger toy and after the shock wore off, she gave him a big hug!! It was awesome timing!

Mmmm, turkey....

We had a most awesome Thanksgiving today! It was just the three (and a half) of us at home, making turkey and sides, relaxing, not thinking of anything but being one with the moment...
I have a rosemary plant that was just waiting to be trimmed - this went into the turkey, vegetables, and mashed potatoes. We kept everything simple and natural. Some were even organic ;o)
Our 3 yr old DD even helped with some of the dishes, like mashing the potatoes, putting cut veg into the casserole dish, and mixing the punch.

BIG NEWS!

Yesterday, we went to the hospital to get our first ultrasound, and low and behold! IT IS A GIRL!!! We got pics of her profile, her foot, her girl parts...everything is going well! As for the name...we definitely had a boy name picked out...we already used our girl name, and we are working hard for that second girl name....

Possible names are:
GUINEVERE
DACIANA
NATALIA
.......

We'll keep you posted ;o)