Zesty Orange Cornbread

I've been in a bit of vacation withdrawal now that I'm back in Canada. I loved the warm weather, beautiful beach and fresh produce that Florida had to offer.

This morning I decided that if I couldn't go back to the sunshine state right away, than I was going to have to bring it to me in the form of delicious, warm Orange Cornbread.

I forgot how much I enjoy cornbread, especially when it firsts comes out of the oven. I kept going back for more pieces until I finally was smart enough to wrap it up and put it out of sight. I have no self control around delicious warm baked goods!

What you'll need:
1 cup Cornmeal
1/2 cup White Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 cup Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Egg Whites (or 2 Whole Eggs)
1/4 cup fresh Orange Juice
1 tbsp Orange Zest
2 tbsp Canola Oil

Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a 9-inch baking pan and set aside.

Zest the orange. I love to use my microplane for this. Its the little things in life that keep me going.

Cut the orange in half and juice it. I unfortunately don't have a juicer, so I just squeezed it with all my might until I got 1/4 cup of juice.

In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Travel Journal: Sunset Beach

This is my last post about my trip to Florida and I'm already getting all teary missing it. Oh how lovely it would be to live on a beach all the time, but that just isn't reality for me (yet). I really loved the beach culture and seeing how the community and tourists all came together to use it.

One of the events that we popped by to see was the weekly drum circle that happens on Siesta Key Beach an hour before sunset on every Sunday.

People from far and wide bring their drums and other instruments to jam together.

Everyone was really getting into it. If they weren't watching, then they were participating.

My favorite dancer was this woman and a little girl who came up to her. The little girl just looked so free and happy, like she didn't have a care in the world except for listening to the music.

Travel Journal: Sitting on a Dock on a Bay

It wouldn't be a trip to Florida without a little fishing, so while we were there we headed to a little place on Anna Maria Island called the Rod & Reel Pier.

At the end of that long dock is a little bar and bait shop on the ground floor and a very popular restaurant up above. It was pretty quiet in the afternoon, but once dinner time rolled around the whole pier was packed with people waiting for a table.

Walking down the pier, I noticed all these names carved into the wood.

Shark A Diem

I think that this one was my favorites :)

We grabbed the fishing rods out of the truck and bought a big bucket of shrimpies for bait.

Why do I keep saying "we"? I was not a part of the fishing. Don't get me wrong, I love fishing when I'm in the mood, but I just wasn't up for putting the bait on the hooks. And sitting in the sun and relaxing just seemed more enjoyable at the time.

My dad on the other hand got right into it. He seemed to be having a blast. While he and the siblings fished, my mom and I decided to take advantage of the other things that the pier offered...

...like a nice pitcher of cold beer. She is usually not a beer drinker, but this occasion called for it. We were on a pier, with our shoes kicked off, enjoying the sun - if there was ever a time to want something cold and refreshing, this was it.

Ahhh, sooooo relaxing.

Shadow and I spent most of our time watching the local wildlife and enjoying the sun.

Spring Shapeup Week 4 - Exercising While on Vacation

After a long and cold winter up here in Canada, I knew that I wanted to take full advantage of the warm weather while I was in Siesta Key, Florida. Before I left for the trip, I looked up different fitness events and classes in the area to see if there was anything that sparked my interest.

Right away I saw something that was up my alley...

Yoga classes on the beach!

Several mornings a week, this instructor does a free class (you can donate if you'd like) for anyone to join. It was an interesting experience doing yoga on a towel with your feet in the sand. You could feel the sun warming you up and hear the water hitting the shore. My sister was even lucky enough to spot a pod of wild dolphins feeding near the water's edge. It took me awhile to finally spot them too, but when I did it was amazing. You'd never get that in a yoga studio back home!

Most days we had an activity planned that the whole family would like to do, so it was nice to take a breather some mornings and do a little yoga. I felt much more relaxed and centered after each class. I would definitely go to this often if I lived there.

Another activity that I took advantage of while I was there was running. It had been five months since I last had a chance to run outdoors and I relished the opportunity. Its amazing that I only started running last spring, but I already love the feeling of going for one. I'm not a fast runner by any means, but I keep on going anyways!

I started my run on the beach and then made my way back through the neighbourhoods. I saw so many things that I would never see at home! - sandpipers running along the beach, hula girl dolls along kitchen windows, little lizards running across the sidewalks, boats coming in through the canals. There was no shortage of things to keep me interested! This is one of the great motivators for taking a run while I'm on vacation - you'll always see things you won't see at home. Plus, running shoes are just about one of the easiest things to toss in your bag and you can do it just about anywhere.

Being on vacation with my siblings also meant that I wanted to take the time to do some of my exercising with them too. We ended up renting a few kayaks for $25 each and headed down to Turtle Beach.

It had been years since I'd been in one, but both my brother and sister have been going regularly on trips, so they were quick to help me out. I didn't even fall in once!

Travel Journal: Siesta Key Farmers Market

Every Sunday morning, the village of Siesta Key has a Farmer's Market where you can get great local produce and products. This was such a wonderful treat when we were on vacation.

Just seeing these painted signs had my mouth watering for fresh produce. It had been months since I'd been to a farmer's market back home and it was a very welcome sight.

Walking around with everyone out in their shorts looking at all the booths was great. Despite putting on some sunscreen, I still managed to get a burn that morning. I'm just too fair skinned for my own good. But even a little sunburn couldn't take away from looking at all the fresh produce.

Crisp Apples. Juicy Oranges.

Creamy Avocados.

Zesty Limes and Lemons.

Crunchy Green Beans.

There were also great products made by locals. I loved this woman's display for Barbie-Lu's Sassy Salsa. What a fun name!

Her salsas were fantastic and reminded me that I need to get back into making fresh stuff in the summer. So often I just give in and use the jarred stuff, but its just not the same!

Another booth that I loved was set up by this herb farmer.

The rows and rows of fresh herbs were so tempting. I can't wait to start growing my own herbs again in the kitchen this summer.

He had these great pots set up that let you grow multiple plants at once. I would love to find something like this back at home!

A big fan favorite at the market is Richard's Candy Co Homemade Fudge. Everyone was popping over for a sample.

It looked so chocolaty and tempting! If I didn't have this dang nut allergy, I would have been right with them.

Its always great meeting a proprietor who really loved what they do. Richard chatted with every one of his customers and happily discussed how he made his delectable treats.

Another smell that lured me through the market were these buckets full of wonderful soaps. I must have been in a vacation state of mind because all the tropical flavours were calling to me.

We ended up grabbing some great fruit and veggies to take back to the rental house with us. I can't wait for a couple more months when we'll have our farmer's market back in my neighbourhood. Bring on Spring!

For more about my vacation in Siesta Key, Florida, take a look at my recaps of spending time on the beach and my trip to the Mote Marine Laboratory.

Travel Journal: Mote Marine Laboratory

While we were in Siesta Key, Florida, there is no way that I could miss going to the Mote Marine Laboratory. They are on the forefront of marine research and have one of the best aquariums I've every been to. They let you explore the local and continental marine life through touch pools, high-tech interactive exhibits and even lets you view working labs. I highly recommend going if you're ever in Sarasota County.

We saw plenty of amazing animals:

Sharks

Manatees

Lion Fish

Sea Turtles

When we arrived we made it just in time to see the shark feeding.

I've always had a huge fear of sharks, so I was prepared for the worst.

The second I saw the sharks circling the tanks, I had visions of my childhood fears - that they were in every ocean, lake, public swimming pool that I went to. Yes, it was irrational, but childhood fears are not usually filled with reason.

Travel Journal: At the Beach

Last week I was very fortunate to be able to take some time off and join my family for a trip down to Siesta Key, Florida. One of the big things that enticed me to go was that alluring promise of going to the beach. Despite always filling my purse, shoes and bathing suit with sand, I love going there to enjoy the sun and water.

Shadow is a big fan of it too. She loves rooting around looking for things to get into trouble and always ends up with a nose full of sand. You can't help laughing when a dog starts sneezing sand.

I prefer to spend my time laying back reading a book, people watching and hunting for little shells. The sand on Siesta Key Beach is about 90% quartz, which makes it have the look and texture of icing sugar. It is regularly groomed, but if you get there in the morning, there are usually still some lovely shells along the tide.

The sand is also wonderful for making sandcastles. My mom and brother grabbed some pails and sand shovels from the rental house and started making a large starfish.

Siesta Key 2011

Travel Journal: Siesta Key, Florida

Remember last week when I talked about how much I love road trips? Well that was because I was just setting out on one...

My whole family piled into our SUV and started the 25 hour drive to Siesta Key, Florida.

Whiskey stayed home for the trip, but Shadow was happy to tag along. She spent the whole trip either laying across someone or in the far backseat with her head on my shoulder.

As we drove down we started to see signs of spring!

It made me hopeful that we'll see these again in Canada soon.

After a long two days of driving, we finally made it to Siesta Key off of Sarasota.

The house that we rented had a screened in pool and hot tub, and a huge living room...with FOUR couches. Who needs that many couches?

As soon as we got there, we wanted to do a little exploring around the village. I loved this bar called The Cottage on the Bay.