Peanut

Let me introduce Peanut

He is a pure Boxer who just celebrated his 20th birthday

About the only thing he is capable of doing  is sleeping, eating and going tinkle

He is going deaf, so when I walk in the door I have to wake him up to let him know I'm home

We are learning sign language, that works as well as speaking 

His eyes are getting cloudy so Im not sure if he can even see me anymore

but he loves the glasses

Novenber 26th

When I got home from my mini vacation
had no food in the fridge whatsoever
run to the local Publix grocery store and lookie here

they have decorated the store
I took these pics with my phone
so they are not the greatest

Latin Bistro

My good friend and her husband just opened the Latin Bistro about a month ago

Is this the custest building?

So art deco Miami

They are located on 116 Alhambra Circle Coral Gables

its just 2 blocks maybe 3 from Miracle Mile

She makes a wicked Cafe con Leche

my favorite drink

 They are open for breakfast and lunch and deliver too!!

So stop in and say Hi

Fun in Mami

I have some friends in Miami who like to plant and grow plants and trees  as much as I do

I put Rocky into the witness protection program. I did not exactly  tell him I was going to blog about him

or did I?

I cant remember, but he belongs there anyway

He is a really fascinating  person

He was a notorious figure  in the 1980's

I wont say what his life style was at the time but just think 

of go fast boats, back in the day they were called cigarette boats

  Key West, Miami Beach,  mansions, millions, water islands.

If you ever get to meet such a person, let them tell you their story 

Its much better than movies, specials, books or documentaries

You get to imagine what it was like from the other end of the stick

Its a road only a few have walked and that all im going to say about that!

Anyway Rocky grew up and changed his lifestyle for the better

These pretty, delectable beauties are called

Balsam Apple, Cundeamor
Momordica balsamina

It is indeed a very noxious, invasive weed.

Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested

Evidently that part I ate was, the red seeds

my fingers got numb

This plant is medicinal if you know what your doing

After reading more about this pant your are not suppose

to swallow the red seed ,just chew them and spit them out

This is a huge guanábana tree . I have a little one

this is a pic of the fruit just starting to grow
the picture above this one shows a bigger fruit

 This is a aloe in bloom , yes they boom in Florida.  The a

actual plant is underneath  this bush

Drying Rose Petals

I sold a Rose Petal Soap on my web site last week

I did not have any rose petals on hand to make the soap with

After panicking for 15 mins I called everyone I knew 

I found red roses

I first tried the microwave 

I nuked them for 1 min and they turned black

 I came up with a way to dry and keep them red

 The trick to doing is

Place you roses in a brown paper bag

put in the oven at 250 for 1 min

fluff them and put back in the oven. Keep checking until they are crisp dried and red

These came out really soft
 not like the dried petals I buy that are hard and crispy 

So i might have to plant some red roses

 Rose petal soap

bottom middle

Fun with alligators

If you come to Florida make sure to check out the everglades

This was off 41 going across the state from Miami to Naples 
If you drive on 41  just before sunset you will see thousands of them laying on the rocks
They like to eat just before the sun goes down 
On this day it was cloudy and not feeding time 

Southern Florida is the only place where both alligators and crocodiles live side by side.
The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that a crocodile has a very long, narrow, V-shaped snout, while the alligator's snout is wider and U-shaped. 

A couple of things to remember about alligators

• They can move faster than you
• If your in alligator infested water in a boat or a canoe don't dangle your toes in the water
• Don't jump over a fence to get a good picture

 Dont worry you will never see one in salt water
they like fresh water
Crocodiles like salt water but I have never seen one
No attacks on humans by the American crocodile have been reported in the United States
I understand there are only 2.000 or so in the USA

Over 350 bird species can be found in Everglades National Park alone. The Everglades is known for its many wading birds, such as white and glossy ibises, roseate spoonbills, egrets, herons and wood storks, but it also hosts huge numbers of smaller migratory birds. Some species, such as the snail kite, wood stork and Cape Sable seaside sparrow have become endangered species.

Everglades National Park, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States

There are wild birds, turtles, snakes
beautiful orchids

There are many places to eat and go on air boat rides

If you want to try frog legs
I did once, not here but in New Orleans
(after a few Pat O'Briens hurricanes)
Or gator tail
This place serves both

The sound  produced by an airboat's propeller and engine can be loud; the majority of the sound is produced by the propeller. Modern airboat designs and modern technology have significantly reduced the sound that an airboat produces. Modern airboat engines are equipped with mufflers  and multi-blade carbon-fiber propellers that greatly reduce the sound emitted by the airboat

The last time I was on a air boat it was loud and fast!! 
It was a blast!!
There were 3 people on the boat including the driver 
We stopped, the driver made a clucking noise tossed out some marshmallows and the alligators came in droves 

 This is a 2 year old alligator
Smooth as a snake
They bring them out so you can pet them

Key Lime Pie

This is the first year I have had key limes from my tree.  Its ready to make some key lime pie!!

 

Ingredients

•  Graham cracker crust 
• 2 Cans  14 oz each  sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream--this is a little something extra a conch told me about years ago
• 3/4 cup key lime juice  about 15 Key Limes

Directions

Crust

• 1/3 cup butter , melted   
• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs   
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, and lime rind. Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, . DO NOT BROWN! Chill pie thoroughly before serving.

This took 15 key limes from the tree. I roll them around a bit to get them juicy inside

I did not use any special tools just my hands to squeeze

If you have to buy these and you need every last drop. Use a garlic press to squeeze the juice out

 Do not buy the pre made crust. Is that even food? Those taste like card board

Its easier to make your own, taste better too

  Take your fork and press it to the pie pan

   Bake this for 7 mins

 Ready to bake

 

Let chill before serving

The traditional Key Lime Pie has a meringue topping

Some people like whipped cream

I dont like anything on mine

The Birds

We have these silly little birds that come in groups and eat the bugs

Make your own vanilla extract

I make my own vanilla extra 

its easy

its inexpensive and its real vanilla extract

Today I'm making Christmas gifts

I am going to use 2 glass jars. One is a herb jar and the other had bacon bits in it

I grown my own herbs but friends save me their old glass jars

Buy the cheapest  vodka you can buy

I get the pint size

I buy my vanilla beans in bulk . I have 50 each of the Bourbon vanilla beans and Tahitian vanilla beans
Keep your beans wrapped tight in the refrigerator
You don't want them to dry out 

Next you take your beans and slice them from top to bottom with a sharp kitchen knife

Scrape out the vanilla, place that inside your jars with the vanilla beans
You want to let this sit in a dark place for about 2 months and shake it once in awhile
Now, I already have a huge jar from my own stash already made
I'm going to add that to my bottles
with fresh  beans that I have scraped

As you use it just add more vodka
the beans keep adding the flavor
These just need a label some pretty ribbon and are ready to give as gifts

Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted   I double this
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate  graham cracker crumbs   I double this. It keeps the bottom from getting soggy if your crust is thicker
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 ounce) can  Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted If you don't want chocolate you can use raspberry jam
• Just swirl in the jam by hand to get the double swirl look
• 4 large eggs                                          
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  I make my own vanilla extract. You can to.!!  Its much better than store bought
• make sure all your ingredient's are at room temperature.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar; press on bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 65 minutes or until cake center is set. 
3. Do not over bake 
4. The keep your cake from cracking place a pan of water under the rack with the cake in the oven
5. Let it cool to room temp before putting in the fridge
6. Do not forget to scrape your bowl or you will end up with unattractive dots of cream cheese  in the middle of your cake

Less than 24 hours later this is all I have left

I share with my neighbors and friends

A little tip about plates

Take a piece of cardboard  wrap with foil and you have an instant plate

That way there is no need to worry about getting your plates back

I added melted chocolate chips to the top

Let cool down for about an hour before putting in the fridge

I also do the water pan under the cheesecake as it bakes

to keep it from cracking