Fruit pizza?

I was researching new food products on the internet today when I came across this little wonder.

At first, I thought the idea of a "Real Fruit Pizza" Eggo waffle sounded weird, but the more I thought about it, and read about it, the more appealing it became. It is described as a cinnamon and maple flavored crust topped with a combination of fruit and toasted granola. There are currently two varieties: strawberry and mixed berry.

Even though the description sounds tasty, I still have a few reservations and questions about the product. For instance, is it a waffle, or just a waffle-like crust? And how do you cook the darn thing?

I guess these are questions that can only be answered by trying the fruit pizza, which I will be looking for the next time I go to a grocery store. Check back to see how the new Eggo product fared.

Let the baking begin

Rolling out dough for pie crust. Store bought crust just isn't the same, but it is nice when you are feeling lazy.

The two in the back are sweet potato, and the one in the front is pecan pie.

Great American Coffee Roasters

The new coffee place downtown, Great American Coffee Roasters, really is great.

From the outside of the building, located downtown on South Magnolia, right before the S-curve, you would never guess this place would have some of the best coffee in town, but it does.

The coffee shop, which just opened on Monday, is the brainchild of a local couple who have an obvious love for coffee. The coffee they serve is roasted daily in a huge roasting machine that is taller than I am. This is the only place in Ocala, as far as I know, where the coffee is roasted so frequently.

The coffee is really good, and the prices are substantially lower than other coffee places downtown. Cough, Starbucks, cough cough. A large iced coffee is only $2. McDonald's can't even beat that price.

Actually, the coffee tastes better than what they serve at Starbucks. I find that their coffee is often bitter. And, I don't mean strong. I love strong coffee. Something is just off about the brew at Starbucks.

Great American Coffee Roasters also has a large variety of teas, both hot and cold, smoothies, ice cream and Italian soda: all things I love, especially Italian soda.

Just like other coffee places, you can also buy the coffee and tea in bulk to take home. If the coffee was roasted just days earlier, it is sold at a discounted rate. These people are serious about freshness.

Usually I don't care for sweet coffee drinks, but I tried a white mocha cappuccino, and it was delicious. And although the outside looks less than inviting, the inside is really cute and comfortable. I was impressed to learn that the owners completely revamped and constructed the inside on their own.

I am really excited about this place, and considering it is on my way to school, I will probably become a regular pretty quickly. I have to urge you to break from your usual Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts routine and support a local business. Trust me, you won't regret it.

More fuel for my addiction

About a month or two ago, I noticed that a new coffee place was being put in near my house, on my route to school. Ever since, I have been anxiously waiting for it to open.

This morning, on my way to class, I noticed it is finally open for business. While I have to work today, waahh, and won't have time to try it, I will definitely be checking it out tomorrow as soon as I get out of class.

Check back tomorrow to see how it went.

Just a small gathering

Thanksgiving is only three days away, and I can barely wait.

This year, most of my family is MIA, so I will only be cooking for a handful of people. While many people would probably be thankful for this, I am not. Now, I have to choose things to cut from my menu of grand proportions.

Choosing just one type of pie to make is just unacceptable. And even though it will probably end up being extreme, and too much dessert, I am still going to make both sweet potato and pecan pie. Although I make sweet potato pie every year, I rarely make pecan pie, and this year I am craving it.

If I have to end up giving pie away I will, because I want at least one or two pieces of both kinds.

The dessert is not the only thing that will have to be scaled back though. Instead of a whole turkey, I have decided to just roast turkey thighs and possibly breasts. Considering that one of the four guests coming to my petty Thanksgiving dinner is a vegan, a whole turkey for only three people would be ridiculous.

Also, traditionally I try, despite my mom's disapproval, to make as many sides as possible. But this year I will have to narrow it down to just a few, and probably at least one that contains no meat or dairy.

Though it is disappointing, I need to keep in mind that it could be worse, and that some people, for various reasons, aren't even having a Thanksgiving at all. After talking to my brother, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan, I actually felt a little bit guilty about my greedy ways.

Even though this Thanksgiving will be scaled back, I want next year's dinner to steal the show. My brother and I have planned to make the holidays next year, when he gets back, the best ever, and that makes this holiday being small just fine with me.

Mmmm cupcakes

A chain restaurant I can stomach...occasionally

It is not often that I am fond of a chain restaurant. Although I have never worked in one, I have heard stories about what goes on in those kitchens: bagged soups and sauces heated up in steam wells, microwaved entrees and frozen vegetables. Not yummy.

Plus, usually the food tastes, and often looks, like cardboard: a sign that the rumors are true.

Now, I don't know what goes on in the kitchen at Harry's Seafood, Bar, and Grille, but what comes out is actually pretty good. And on a day like today, when I am so hungry I don't even care what I eat anymore, it seemed pretty appetizing.

Granted, there is only really one palette of flavors at the restaurant (creole, spicy, seafood), but if you are in the mood for it, it works.



Today, I had a cup of shrimp bisque and a garden salad with balsamic dressing. My mom, who was nice enough to take me out to lunch (hi mom!), had the crab cakes, which she always has (Love you!).

I learned to make lobster bisque years back at a restaurant I worked at, and I developed a taste for the sharp taste and creamy consistency of the soup.

Harry's did a good job with the shrimp bisque, and it had that sharp, spicy element that I love. The salad was nothing exciting, but still, what you would expect from a garden salad? I would have liked a little bigger of a portion though.



The crab cakes were good, and tasted like the last time I ate them there. Consistency is a huge factor in the success of a restaurant and is probably the key factor in why people gravitate to chain restaurants: familiarity=comfort.

I definitely could not eat at Harry's more than once or twice a year, but it worked today, and for that I am thankful.