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The Story of Seaside, Florida and a Food Lover

Carroll 2 Comments
We just arrived home from a week spent on the Emerald Coast of Florida.  The weather was delightful, lazy days on the beach, friends and family, cocktails at sunset, early morning outings, just plain old R & R!  We had heard about the town of Seaside, I even had been there briefly years ago after the Truman Show had popularized it, but when we arrived we were super surprised about the culinary mind trip we were going to go on!  We spent hours eyeballing restaurants menus, small markets, locally made pickles and jams, tasted butters and yogurt creamed a short trip away; we were in heaven.  Like the way the town of Seaside was established, with the focus on community,  the  food scene certainly practices this as well.  Any foodie visitor to the Emerald Coast should block a few hours for this gastrofantastic town!  Needless to say we came home inspired!!

Small town of Seaside- The Farmer's Market

Fresh NW Florida Local Vegetables- Such a difference in flavor

Organic Tea Leaves- We were able to make our own blends, fun for tea's, marinades, sweets!!

Fresh Jams and Eggs- We took some back to the house and had an amazing breakfast!

Farmers Market Poster- I tried to steal this but thought that might not fly in Seaside!

Great Salads- We found our lunch on the beach #nomnom

Stalks of sweet corn- They were picked the afternoon before!

Fresh Breads- This bakery uses all organic, local ingredients. She baked the breads the day before, they were so good. I went to the local creamery stand and go some of the fresh butter as my bread baking interest was sparked again!

Local Honey- Made an hour down the road, he had Tupelo, Wild Flower and Bay Leaf. Great example of buying direct from the farmer as our purchase came with a quick lesson on the state of honey bees, as well as a taste test of the different types of honey! Awesome!

The Modica Market- A great store, we spent an hour looking at all the specialty local items.

The Modica Market Bakery- Then I spent an hour trying to decide which treat to have- 🙂

Modica Market- Chefs Paradise

Florida Made Cheese- I may not be in the know, but I don't think we have to many cheese artisans in Florida, needless to say I was thrilled to find this tasty cheese!! WOO HOO!!

Local Support- The Community of Seaside is dedicated and built around community. The restaurants, markets and chefs follow suit.

Lady Bird Hot Sauces- The Pink Grapefruit Sauce was awesome- soooo good! Double Win for the ASPCA involvement!

Microgreens! The shoppers in Seaside eat well!!

House Pickled Backyard Goods- I really need to learn to "can", there is so much opportunity! Look for canned goods coming soon 🙂

Ping Tung Heirloom Eggplants! These are awesome, the skin is so tender, the seeds are not bitter - Perfect for Baba Ganoush!

Pickle Stand- A ton of different pickles, amongst other many items 🙂

Seaside CSA Garden- This was awesome, very youth oriented, which instills in the kiddo's that important issues can be fun!

Key Lime Pie on a Stick- Can you ever go wrong with pie on a stick?

Food Trucks of Seaside

Barefoot BBQ Food Truck- Sir Wes could not resist, 2 thumbs up!

The Melt Down, Grilled Cheese Food Truck- I spent my time over here, I am a sucker for fancy schmancy grilled cheeses!

Wild Bills Beach Dogs Food Truck-"If you can think it, We will do it"

Dear Seaside,

We are fat and happy- Thanks for the good times, we will see you soon!!!

The Piggo’s

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When I started cooking I was given a lot of advice, had a lot of people guiding me, looking after me- I was green, in fact I was green enough to look in the china storage area for the china cap, that the chef sent me for.  Yup, green enough to fall for that trick.  The best piece of advice that was delivered to me, that serves in many area’s in my life, not just the kitchen, was – “Just go in and pretend you know what you’re doing”.

So true, so helpful, the number of chefs I have tricked into thinking I know what I am doing thru the years is vast.  Now, I do credit them a bit- they might have suspected, but I made sure not to leave any concrete evidence.  Well, after 12 years of working in a kitchen, sharpening my skills, I have learned a thing or two, had a lot of great leaders to learn from, and a lot of bad ones to also learn from!

I did take that advice with me, and have in fact passed it on to many young culinary warriors!  It rings true in many parts of my life, right here, right now…pretend I know what I am doing…my first blog entry!

Hope you enjoy!!