When you go on a Car Trip!

This week’s adventure took me on a long car trip to Boca Raton, Florida for a four day marathon of golfing with some wonderful ladies from our southern home of South Carolina. One of the members of this group lives in Boca Raton and invited all of us to join her for a getaway. Two cars drove down and I was one of the drivers. We left on Sunday morning, very early, and had a pretty easy drive south. Not much traffic on a Sunday thankfully. We listened to “Becoming” by Michele Obama (read by her) on the way down and on the way back. It is a great book and I love that it was read by her as her voice is very distinctive and it adds a lot to the story to hear it in her voice and not the voice that might be in our own heads. I found the drive went quickly and while we made lots of stops we jumped back in the car again to get back into the book.

When you have lots of Golfing Fun

Our tournament chair set up games for us each day and we mixed up the groups each day too. We were treated extremely well by the golf club including lockers, bag tags and even signs on our carts. This course was a tough one but in beautiful condition. However, my favorite course, and perhaps others too, was the Par 3 in Palm Beach. The views were spectacular and the course enough of a challenge that you really had to think about your golf shots because there wasn’t much room for error. Lots of water everywhere.

When You Eat Your Way Around Boca Raton

Of course we ate our way around Boca and Delray. Our local person picked out wonderful restaurants that mostly could accommodate our large group. The first night was Greek food and the place was packed. Almost no space between the tables. We then had Italian, French and Sardinian all were different and the food delicious. My favorite was the French restaurant because they had Floating Island, a dessert made famous in our family due to my falling in love with it many many years ago at The Woodstock Inn in Vermont. I couldn’t get enough of it. No, it is not on my food list but I didn’t care I was having it anyway!

Here is how to serve lobster salad. This was my absolute favorite lunch. Avocado stuffed with lobster topped with melted mozzarella cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I just had to take a picture of it. Oh, and they threw in some roasted red peppers, artichokes, tomatoes and spinach so it was healthy too. Yup, I could go back there again in a heart beat.

When You Remember Your Sneakers

Around here we are very used to seeing alligators next to our ponds sunning themselves on the banks. We did not see a single alligator in Florida which was a surprise. We did, however, run across many of these guys not only on the golf course but also when we went walking.

I didn’t get in as much walking as I am used to but I did get in two four milers. We found a trail not too far from the rental house we were in called the El Rio Trail. It went along the El Rio canal. The nice part about it was you were away from the traffic and in a relatively peaceful area that followed along the canal next to Florida Atlantic University. Walking gives me so many opportunities to see things that I might not otherwise see if I just traveled by car everywhere so it is one of the things I like to do whenever I am in a new place.

Simple Recipe this week

This was not a week for cooking at home but rather of enjoying the company, the golf and the restaurants. However, I did find a simple recipe for a vinaigrette that I thought would be fun to try. It is healthy and good tasting. Now that spring is thinking about arriving this means more fresh vegetables should appear shortly on the shelves up north and down here in the south our farmer’s markets are full of produce.

Versatile Vinaigrette

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup good quality olive oil

Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl or a small jar.

Poor the oil into the bowl in a slow and steady stream whisking constantly until smooth.

*you can use maple syrup instead of honey and it is still delicious

Talking about Olive Oil

Back in August of 2017, I wrote a blog that contained a lot of information about olive oil after having met with a woman who imports it into Canada. You can read the blog by clicking here Olive Oil and More Her website is You Taste the Difference. Oh by the way, that was the same time as I met former President Bill Clinton who just happened to be shopping where I was walking in Canada.

I have not only found a source for Olive Oil in Canada but also down here in the south at a store called Olive The Above. To get the most health benefits from Olive Oil look for ones that tell you what the polyphenol content is of the oil. Here is a great link on How to Buy Great Olive Oil.