Italian in Ft. Lauderdale

We were recommend an Italian restaurant to try while on vacation, Cafe Vico's (http://www.cafevicorestaurant.com/). This place is very unassuming, hidden away in a strip mall, but it is a gem to be discovered!!! The food was fantastic! It is a family owned business who puts all the little details into making your meal outstanding. First they start you with bread and oil, but not just plain old regular oil. They chop fresh garlic, add spices, and let it marinate before serving you this amazing little starter. How anyone doesn't fill up on this alone amazes me?!!?

For dinner I ordered the Angel Hair Marinara, they served it with a rose carved out of a fresh tomato. My husband ordered the Mushroom Risotto, which is fresh and light, but amazingly delicious!


Finally for dessert they had many different flavors of Sorbet, but the presentation is was what really put it over the top. They served the Sorbet in the shell of the fruit flavor you picked, meaning I ordered orange and it showed up in a frozen orange.


If you are going to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area, this place is a MUST on your dining list!!!

Our recent trip to Ft. Lauderdale turned up some great places to eat

BurgerFi, http://www.burgerfi.com is a great new burger chain that opened up just down the street from our condo. With a appealing exterior we decided to give it a try for lunch one day. It was AMAZING! They have a vegetarian burger that without the cheese is vegan, the patty is made from quinoa. It was perfect and of course we had to get an order of the fries and rings!

Eating Vegan.....

"And I'd simply like people not to cringe when I tell them the cupcake I'm offering them happens to be vegan. You don't have to be a vegan to eat like a vegan. You don't have to be a vegan to put together a vegan meal. You don't have to be vegan to like vegan food!"

A quote from the cookbook Vegan Yum Yum by Lauren Ulm

Sausage and Cheese Biscuits

Homemade biscuits, GimmeLean Sausage, Diaya Cheese......Yummy in my tummy, I love breakfast!!

Having the right tools for the job

Sometimes inspiration comes in the strangest forms. We had our Cutco rep out to sharpen our knives and while talking he mentioned that my cheese knife (shown in below picture), which doesn't get much use anymore obviously, is great for cutting tomatoes and potatoes. This made me remember a recipe that I have been wanting to try, Potatoes auGratin. You have to slice the potatoes very thin which can be difficult, unless you have an amazing Cutco Cheese Knife!!
If you are not familiar with Cutco, I suggest giving Mike a call. www.cutcomike.com


Potatoes auGratin



4 medium potatoes (3 lbs), sliced very thing
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
2 1/2-3 1/2 c soy creamer
7 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed

Preheat oven 375 degrees.
In 2 qt casserole dish, evenly layer 1/2 of the potatoes, sprinkle with 1/2 salt, 1/2 pepper, and 1/2 cheese. Add remaining potatoes.
combine creamer with cornstarch, whisking. Pour over potatoes. Use spatula to press potatoes into cream. They should be submerged-if not add more cream.
Sprinkle with remaining salt, pepper, and cheese. Cover and bake 45 mins. Remove-push potatoes into cream again. Sprinkle cornflakes, bake uncovered 30-45 mins.

Pesto Kissed Tomato Sauce

A nice change to basic red sauce pasta, this one mixes in pesto.

1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c tomato paste
One 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1/4 c vegan pesto
Any pasta noodle of your choice, I did Linguine

Heat Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 mins. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 10-15 mins. Shortly before serving, blend the pesto into the sauce.

VegGriddle

McDonald's doesn't have anything on ME!!