Nancy's Notes From Florida

Lake Lily Farmer’s Market
March 2, 2021

Visit the farmer’s market held on Sundays from 9am to 2pm in Maitland around Lake Lily. This delightful five-acre park, located at 701 Lake Lily Dr in Maitland, FL, has a trail around the lake, a short boardwalk, abundant wildlife, a playground and gazebo, plus a historical house that you can tour.

             

After our stroll around the lake, we examined the booths with wares on display. I bought an almond croissant at a bakery stand and these vegetables at a great price by the produce booth.

I wrote about the Waterhouse Museum on a previous blog. Built in 1884 for carpenter William H. Waterhouse, the Waterhouse Residence Museum at 820 Lake Lily Drive in Maitland, FL is available to the public for a peek into the late Victorian era. It’s a fascinating place to tour.

Visit Lake Lily Farmer's Market in Maitland FL #florida #parks Share on X

GIVEAWAY

Enter Here to win a free book from Booklover’s Bench in our monthly giveaway! 


• Posted in Blog • Tags: , , , , |  Comments Off on Lake Lily Farmer’s Market


Comfort Food
February 26, 2021

Home cooking can get tiresome under forced isolation, but not with easy-to-make comfort foods. I’ve been rummaging in the kitchen of our new house trying to find where I’ve put things while preparing meals. Maybe you can find inspiration in some of these dishes that have been on our dinner table in the past week.

We had the kids over for brunch last weekend. I made this Zucchini Biscuit Bake with the recipe from my cookbook, although I added fresh mushrooms this time. I’d also served a Costco quiche, plus thin bagels with cream cheese. Dessert was peach cobbler.

Zucchini Biscuit Bake  Peach Cobbler

Because we’d cut up too many zucchini and onions, I put some aside and made this stir-fry dish for dinner. Sliced hot dogs became the go-to protein addition.

Zucchini Stir Fry

Once those leftovers were gone, the next order was to use the multitude of strawberries we picked before they spoiled. So I made my first strawberry bread using a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Strawberry Bread

Next dinner I made these Swedish meatballs with white rice for dinner, accompanied by a premade salad. If there’s any gravy left, I freeze it to use in Shepherd’s Pie. I’ll share this recipe with you.

Swedish Meatballs

 

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, beaten
tsp. garlic powder
1 cup finely chopped onions, divided
cup dry bread crumbs
12 oz. bottle chili sauce
18 oz. jar grape jelly
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup sweet Marsala wine

Directions

Make meatballs: Mix ground beef with beaten egg, garlic powder, ½ cup chopped onions, and bread crumbs. Form into small balls. Set aside. (Or use frozen turkey meatballs instead of making them from scratch).

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, blend together chili sauce, grape jelly, and tomato sauce until jelly is melted. Toss in remaining onions and add wine. When mixture is bubbly, add meatballs to pot. Stir gently to coat with sauce.

Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Periodically lift lid, being careful of steam, and stir. Cook for 1 hour on low heat (or ½ hour if using frozen meatballs). Serve over cooked rice as an entrée or by itself as a party appetizer.

These recipes and more can be found in A Bad Hair Day Cookbook – Order Your Copy Now

What have you made in the kitchen lately? And no, “a mess” isn’t the right answer.

 

 


• Posted in Blog • Tags: , , , , , |  2 Comments


Bekemeyer Family Farm
February 22, 2021

Bekemeyer Family Farm is a hydroponic farm located in Winter Garden, FL off Colonial Drive near 429. In season, you can fill a white bucket with ripe strawberries as you trundle down aisles lined by plants reminiscent of The Land pavilion at EPCOT. You don’t have to bend as low as naturally grown strawberry patches, which is helpful. We could also pick oranges, but I’d given away our juicer so we passed on that opportunity. In a few more months, they’ll offer peaches.

Inside their small store, you can purchase honey and jams and a limited selected of homegrown vegetables. I bought bunches of dill that I needed for upcoming meals. They had small tomatoes, radishes and different kinds of greens including kale.

     

Our grandson had a good time enjoying the fresh air and picking the ripe berries. He had both sets of grandparents present to cheer him on and enjoy his company.

From there we went to the Winter Garden Farmers Market. It gets crowded on Saturday mornings. We strolled around in the sunshine, enjoying the sights like this cat in sunglasses and the multitude of booths.

We took a brief stroll down the main street of the historic district. Then it was back home to attend the Zoom meeting for Florida Chapter of MWA and make my vegetable bean soup.

For more details on Bekemeyer Family Farm, visit https://www.facebook.com/BFFWG

Explore Bekemeyer Family Farm in Winter Garden, FL with author Nancy J. Cohen Share on X

GIVEAWAY

Last Day! Enter Now to win a signed paperback and a promo packet for each of 3 winners from Nancy J. Cohen. Open to U.S. Residents only. https://nancyjcohen.com/contest/


• Posted in Blog • Tags: , , , , |  3 Comments


Getting Back into the Groove
February 18, 2021

The Muse has returned! Now that things are settling on the home front, I am back to writing. I’ve hit page 50 in my WIP that is tentatively titled Styled for Murder. It’s book #17 in the Bad Hair Day mystery series.

PageFifty

What helped was taking my notes and writing a synopsis to put the story into a cohesive whole. Also I wrote out my Cast of Characters, assigning names and finding photos on a royalty-free site to represent my suspects. This was a fun exercise and helped to gel the story in my mind. Here’s one of the suspects. The other shows Marla’s mother Anita and her stepfather Reed.

Construction Worker
Subcontractor

 

Anita Reed
Anita and Reed

Now I go to the computer first thing in the morning. Instead of wrestling with decisions involving the house, I can focus on writing. I get up very early to do this before dawn because once I am distracted, it’s over. If I can get a few pages done, that’s enough to satisfy me. Marketing might not be my priority right now but I need to write the next book.

Then for the rest of the day, I can tackle the other chores on my to-do list, such as dealing with the propane gas company, the gutter people and the tree trimmers. We’re still finding doctors to replace the ones we left behind and that takes time-consuming research. It means tempering our annoyance when the PA shows up for our appointment and says the specialist isn’t there. But the list is getting shorter. Then maybe we can branch out and enjoy our surroundings like described in our farm trip below.

It’s a good feeling to be writing again. Marla is back in my head and the setting is familiar. Now I only have to channel the story and see where it takes me. I’d much rather be visualizing Marla’s antics than making decisions on which vendor to hire.

GIVEAWAYS

Last Day! Enter Here to win 7 free cozy mysteries from Booklover’s Bench in our February anniversary celebration! 

Giveaway Booklover's Bench

 

Enter Feb. 12-22 to win a signed paperback from my collection and a promo packet for each of 3 winners. Go Here to Enter. 

Contest Feb21


• Posted in Blog • Tags: , , , |  4 Comments


Oak Haven Farms
February 4, 2021

We took a break from isolation to visit Oak Haven Farms & Winery to pick our own strawberries and roast hot dogs over a fire. It was a fun excursion, about a forty-minute ride from our new house. We parked in the dirt field then poked our heads inside the gift shop, café and wine tasting room. A staff member told us to go out in the field and someone would give us a crate to fill with fresh picked berries.

Sorrento Florida    Oak Haven Farm

We stooped to pluck the strawberries off the stems. When tired of bending, we gave up and headed into the shop to have our bounty weighed so we could pay.

u-pick strawberries    Nancy in field    fresh-picked strawberries

Then we bought hot dogs that came with rolls and a forked tool. We wove the meats onto the tines and went outdoors to cook the hot dogs in an open fire. I loved the charred taste.

  roasting hot dogs    charred hot dog

Then we went back inside to order a strawberry shortcake with whipped cream for dessert. It was a treat and enough for two to split.

We skipped the wine tasting that cost extra as we are not fond of fruit wines or the Florida grape varietal. But if you’re interested, you can indulge.

   

If you wish to visit, check online to see their schedule first. Strawberry season is limited.
Oak Haven Farms, 32430 Avington Rd, Sorrento, FL 32776 or http://www.berriesandwines.com/

Excursion to Oak Haven Farms #Florida #strawberries Share on X

I’m looking forward to warmer weather so we can get out more and explore the many sights of Central Florida. Suggestions are welcome!

GIVEAWAY

Enter Here to win all 7 free cozy mysteries from Booklover’s Bench in our February Anniversary Celebration! 

 

 

 


• Posted in Blog • Tags: , , , , , , |  46 Comments