The At Home part: Fish Fry

I've been focusing on the Palm Beach part of my blog but today I'm sharing some of the "at Home" part~ a yummy meal!

About three or four times a year, we drag out our DeLonghi Deep Fryer to cook up some grub. Since we have easy access to fabulous fish here in South Florida, I thought we needed to have a little fish fry, complete with battered Tilapia, sweet potato fries and beignets.{My stomach hurts thinking about all that I ate.}

After chatting with one of my favorite cooking teachers (my mom), I went with her suggestion of a batter of Bisquick and Beer...yup, that's all! Check out the final product...

If you want to know how I did it, keep reading, otherwise check out some more pics and try not to salivate too much.

After turning on the fryer, according to manufacturer instructions, I put 1-1/2 cups of low-fat Bisquick into a bowl and added approximately the same amount of cold beer. {I used cold so someone could consume the remainder....Thoughtful of me, hugh!} I stirred it with a whisk and it was ready.

I rinsed the fresh Tilapia and cut the filets in half to make simple strips. I dried them with paper towel, tossed them into the batter and nudged them over to make sure they were fully coated. Using tongs, I pulled them out of the batter and slipped them into the fryer (280 degrees for about 6 minutes, flipping them over once). I put in several pieces but made sure there was enough room for them to sizzle! I pulled them out, laid them on some paper towel and completed about 10 pieces.

Next, sweet potato fries (frozen). I followed the directions and a quick 3 minutes later they were ready. I like to salt them as soon as they come out so it will stick to the fries.

I mixed up a little tartar sauce to complete the fishy feast.

HB set the table and dad poured the vino. It was a lovely dinner!

Another day, I'll show you how to make the easiest beignets in the book...dreamy!!

Visitor in Red

This is a quick post today {I have several that I'm working on that are taking some leg-work.}

This little ruby visited me this morning and played peek-a-boo.

Boys get all the great clothes! I'm just sayin'...

Want to learn a bit more about the Northern Cardinal Bird? Just click!

Until next time, Eli

Treeco-system!

I'm not sure why I can'tescape the whole flora/fauna trip that I'm taking on the blog. Maybe because the diversity of it here in Florida and how it all "lives together" is so vastly different than in the mountains. It kind of cramps my brain but also fascinates me.

This beautiful specimen of a tree is in my back yard. The other day, I was thinking how it supported all kinds of living things, like an ecosystem. According to Wikipedia, an ecosystem is  "a biological community and its physical environment." Then it occurred to me that it is a Tree-cosystem!

Every day, I see this grand structure of a tree, playing host to many plants and animals: lizards, spiders, bromeliads, and so much more. So today, I took a few minutes to look a little deeper...

Master of the house?

Wrapping Roots

An orchid grows in the nook of a branch.

Web of Wonder

and Don't forget the rare and wonderful "Ranger"

Now, can someone please tell me how to prevent my camera lens from fogging up when I go outside?

Until next time, Eli

Mini Lake Trail

If you read my post, "You can't miss it" you'll understand when I say, I figured out my problem!

If you haven't read the post, check it out here.

I discovered at Resorts and Lodges that the Palm Beach Lake Trail,

...extends from Royal Palm Way (State Road 704) in the south up to the north end of the island. The trail follows the edge of the Lake Worth Lagoon (part of the intercoastal waterway) except for a section between the Flagler Museum and the Biltmore Condominiums, where the trail follows the streets.

So, that's exactly the part I traveled--the bottom, Royal Palm Way to the Flagler Museum. Although just a small portion of the full path, it holds its own beauty.

So, it was a win, win!

Lake Trail and other things "You Can't Miss"

The question came nearly every day for the first couple of weeks here, "Have you been on the Lake Trail yet?" And the description about how amazing the Lake Trail is, how far it goes, what you'll see as you walk, run or roll down it came right after that.

"Not yet," I'd reply. "How can I get to it?"

Then a quick description of one of a number of ways would flow out, with a final..."You can't miss it!"

When the unpacking settled down, I was ready to give it a try. Not wanting to be unprepared, I first checked online. It took me 20 minutes and a number of different links to find what I thought I needed.

First, I checked out the Palm Beach Trail and Path Guide. It directs folks to park near the Publix on Island. OK, but I'm really not exactly sure where that is because it is currently under construction and I don't think it even has a sign and is under construction...

Then, I found a couple of other sites that directed me to the original site. Clearly that was the best reference.

I finally stumbled upon a site {I say stumbled because now I can't find it again.} that said the trail could be accessed from the back side of the Flagler Museum. Now I was getting somewhere.

Off I went, I found the Lake Trail access. I can't imagine how I ever missed it.

But a close up helps.

 Hooray! Off I went, zooming along {under the 10 mph speed limit, I'm sure}...until I ran out of trail

 ACK!
Time to give up and figure it out another day.

So far, my "you can't miss it" admonishments were "FAIL"...

Until next time, I leave you with this quote, Eli



"Part of the Palm Beach mystique is that there aren't any road signs directing people to the Island"~Palm Beach Trail and Path Guide

A Palm Tree is a Palm Tree, right?

Before arriving in Florida just over a month ago. I thought a palm tree was one kind of tree. It had large leaves in a fan shape that sat atop tall, smooth trunks and were usually deconstructed for Palm Sunday.

Upon arrival, my eyes were confronted with a huge variety of palm trees. Each manifesting different attributes of size, bark design and leaf shape. After considering this fact, my Google search box got very busy. How many "kinds" of palm trees are there, really?

I enjoyed tooling around the net looking at all kinds of info on palm trees but to my utter joy, I found the Virtual Palm Encyclopedia! I know, how cool is that?

I started by reading the intro {until my unscientific brain started melting} I discovered all kinds of fascinating facts about the Family Palmae of plants, chiefly tropical trees and shrubs and vines usually having a tall columnar trunk bearing a crown of very large leaves; coextensive with the order Palmales. {Isn't that how I just described it? I'm just sayin'!}

And get this! There are ...an estimated 2500-3500 species in 210-236 genera. Variation in species numbers arises from disagreement between botanists...

I guess there are a few species of Palms...lol

If you want to see a collection of palms that will blow your mind, check out the Fairchild Tropical Gardens near Miami.

...the Garden’s palm collection... is one of the largest and most diverse in the world. There are more than 1,500 palm accessions* planted in the Garden, with 128 genera and more than 500 identified species represented.

I need to check it out to really get this palm thing under my belt. If you want to go, here is a link to the map. Click here to get a coupon. Or get an even bigger discount if you go green to get there. I can't wait to check it out but for now, "Pine Tree..."

"Discuss!"

Until next time, Eli

Sunshine, on my shoulder...

Gives me a sunburn, of course!

 Living in Colorado, everyone talks about how strong the sun is. Did you know that for every 1,000 feet in elevation, there are nearly 5% greater ultra violet rays. Imagine living at a mile high, that's more than 25% ouchier sunburn; sunscreen is always a must!

Moving to Florida, I've been admonished by many folks, "Don't forget the sunscreen. The sun is really strong here." I have to admit I may have rolled my eyes because of all the Colorado training I had...but Floridians aren't thinking about that, they care and want us to be safe. After all, we are a lot closer to the Equator...

Being an inquisitive writer, I wanted find out if one was worse than the other: elevation or equator. (I love Google...)


UV Awaremess is a place to go for detailed info. I discovered many factors affect UV strength, including:

1. Latitude and time of year: Basically, the closer you are to the equator, the higher the UV levels and the smaller amount of ozone that can filter out the harmful rays.
2. Time of Day: "Solor noon" is the issue here. It can be summed up by noting the length of your shadow...shorter shadow? Higher UV!
3. Ozone Levels: We've heard about ozone for years and there is good reason, it helps filter the rays.
4. Reflection: Both water and snow intensify the effects of UV rays. So when you're surfing building a snow fort, be sure to screen up and re-apply if you get wet or sweaty.
5. Altitude: Higher altitudes mean thinner atmosphere yielding powerful rays. So, when you put on your ski boots, be sure to slop on plenty of sunscreen, you've got the double whammy of reflection and altitude.
6. Clear or Cloudy Skies: A cloudless sky obviously provides great saturation of rays but what many people don't know is the amount of UV that can scoot right on through cloud cover, up to 80%. So don't be fooled into being unprotected.

The moral is be aware that UV rays are harmful anywhere. Plenty of sunscreen, covering up skins, limiting time in the sun, especially from 10am to 4pm can help reduce the effects of the harmful rays. For more complete information on sun safety, visit this site, Melanoma.

Until next time, Eli

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House. . . Warming

On June 8th,our family drove onto the island, the Island of Palm Beach, (The Best of Everything). We arrived for our new life, anticipating a grand adventure.

The journey that brought us to this idyllic land started six days earlier. The nearly 40-hour car trip transported a  mom, a dad, a girl, a dog, a guinea pig, three suitcases, and a variety of other bags and essentials. Along the way, we stayed in 4 hotels, a family member's house, consumed mass quantities of gas and plenty of snacks. We visited 7 family members and 11 old friends while traveling through 8 states. The trip was a lovely time of rest, after many stressful days of getting the family, house and car ready for moving. Ugh!

This "adventure" is not because we moved to this beautiful place with palm trees, beaches, elegant mansions, historic sites, ultimate shopping and more BUT because less than a week before, we lived nearly 2,000 miles away at 5,280 feet-- Denver, Colorado (The Mile High City) with views of the Rocky Mountains out the window. Hmmm, snow or sand?

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Since I've spent time over the past few years as a "wannabe" photographer, crafter and writer, I pay attention to details wherever I go. My new environment is providing tons of interesting, comical and mesmerizing differences between these two eco-systems. So, I thought a blog was in order...

I hope my observations will draw readers attention to the beauty in their own climate but also open their eyes to the beauty of the other. Hopefully, it will amuse and entertain as well.

About the title: Well, our house is definitely warmer than it was in Denver but more importantly, we have been welcomed to the neighborhood and community very warmly...thanks to all for that!

In closing today, I need to give a big shout out to a friend who has inspired me for a couple of years...Laura, thanks. Please check out her blog Happy Homemaker UK

No more Gasping for Air!

Jumping out of the car in front of our new house brought me tears of joy and an overload of O2. The heat and wet of the air slapped my face and clogged my confused lungs with an over-abundance of the life-giving substance. I soon discovered breathing at sea level to be a multi-step process:

1. Suck in
2. Chew
3. Inhale
4. Exhale

Repeat!


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As I familiarized my face with the process and kept practicing, it came more naturally. Now, I have come to appreciate a plethora of the stuff we call air. So, does that make it healthier to live here?

Hmmm, after a little internet investigation, I found an interesting article that says living at altitude actually has benefits. Research, as seen in an article from GO2Altitude blog, found that living at high altitude can reduce the risk of heart conditions...leading to a longer life.

It goes on to tell how beneficial Colorado is, "The top 20 counties with the highest life expectancy . . .were located in Colorado and Utah." So having thin air can help you live longer.Good for you high altitude friends.

My little "tiddlywink" above doesn't cover the whole story, so go check it out yourself and see what other life-altering info they share.

Until next time, Eli