Our first trip since Spring Break 2020, we ventured north for Steve’s birthday weekend to Orlando Wetlands and Circle B Ranch, near Merritt Island. Both are excellent hotspots for nature photography and first person interface with random alligators, armadillos, raccoons, etc.
It was great to be out and away, traveling to one of our favorite areas of the state for plant-based restaurants! Of course we had to revisit Toasted for their fantastic vegan grilled cheese and rosemary truffle fries.
Later, we checked out Dharma Vittles and found their food not only as good as before, but I think actually better!
We are so glad to see these restaurants still up and running and of course to support them as well as satisfy our cravings! Steve ordered the fried chicken bowl with rosemary mashed potatoes, buffalo mac n cheese and roasted corn.
I usually order the Caesar salad, but I was really hungry and OMG this burger was hands down the best un-burger I’ve ever tasted in my 10 years of vegan! Blackened and topped with beer cheese, crispy fried onions, bacon and fresh pickles–a veritable flavor bomb! The potato salad deserves a paragraph of its own. Ice cold and creamy with mustard notes, skins on–just delicious! All in all, a decadent meal. We didn’t even check out the desserts, which are in a stratosphere all their own.
If you are in the Orlando area, you absolutely must stop by and try this amazing food!
Traveling is fun, but it’s always welcome to come back home again—especially when there is
VEGAN RUM CAKE waiting in the kitchen. One recipe I never got around to trying, I decided to bake one for Steve’s birthday instead of the usual cake, jam, mousse, ganache, buttercream concoction I’ve been creating for the past 15 years or so.
I was super impressed by the ease of this recipe from crumbsandcaramel.com and the super-moist deliciousness of it. I can see its potential as a pound cake as well and this one definitely goes into my recipe box!! So, so good!
In other news–I’m incubating a new sourdough starter and looking forward to baking some more delicious bread like I did last Spring. I’ll keep you posted on the developments.
I am still Shipt shopping and eBaying. Working the hustle while I figure out what is next… What are you up to??
