Toasted Garbanzo Mediterranean Salad

Here is another recipe from my cookout last Sunday.  Justine's amazing Mediterranean salad based off a mix of several salads from this month's Eating Well Magazine.  This was also great with the addition of some feta cheese.

I got my camera back.

Yay! Depth of field again.

Toasted Garbanzo Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients

1 bag mixed field greens

1 bag romaine mix

3 cups green beans, lightly steamed

1/4 red onion, diced

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Handful of golden raisins

Jar of roasted red peppers, diced

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Directions

1. Dry the garbanzo beans and heat a medium skillet over meduim heat.  Toast until just browned.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl toss the greens through the peppers.

Serve with a simple vinaigrette:

Extra virgin olive oil

Minced garlic

Balsamic vinegar

Coarse ground mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Honey (optional)

Mossfire and Ben Harper

Mossfire Grill

We had a dinner and concert last night.  Dinner was at Mossfire Grill, "a blend of New American and Southwestern traditions" is what the description is on the website.  We have eaten here many times and usually get the fish tacos. 

Chris went with "the usual" but when I saw the Yellowfin Tuna -Grilled, topped with cilantro pumpkinseed pesto, I immediately knew that is what I wanted.

The Usual.  Tuna tacos ordered rare.

See that salsa there?  OH MY. I ate three of those little cups.

Fire roasted tomatoes with a blend of seasonings that is pure perfection.

Our friend Lauren got the chicken quesadillas.

Another couple, Melissa and Jason got the beef empanadas.

The best part about this dish is the crispy, flakey exterior.

And here is my tuna with the cilantro pumpkin seed pesto.

Doesn't look too bad huh?....

....I was so bummed, it was a big disappointment!  The best part about this dish was the black beans and rice and the cilantro garnish.  In fact I stole everyone else's cilantro garnish to try and give my tuna and pesto some taste.  It was so bland and boring.  :(  Not usual for this place so next time I'll be going back but next time I'll be trying the hummus on a flatbread.

Ben Harper Concert at the Florida Theater.

If you live in Jacksonville and like concerts I highly suggest going to the Florida Theater.  It only holds 1900 people so wherever you sit you feel close to the artist.

The girls: Jen, Lauren, Melissa (a trooper at 23 months pregnant!) and me.

He played a lot of newer stuff but we stuck around to the end and were pleased to hear just Ben and his guitar.

I have some more photos to add later but I wanted to get our night posted so here it is!

Strawberry Sauce with a Kiss

Last Sunday was such a wonderful day.  We hosted a cookout at hour house (hence the super fancy dinnerware) with the new grill and two couples that are great friends.  We all have young children and they played so well together; a great night was had by all.  For dessert I came up with a super simple recipe of a strawberry sauce to serve over angel food cake.  It was a hit with both the kids and adults!

Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients

1 carton of fresh organic strawberries

Agave, to taste or stevia is a no calorie option

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together. Taste and adjust sweetness if necessary.

2. Serve over angel food cake and top with fresh strawberries.

Ginger Peanut Pasta Salad

Here is another of my delicious and health conscious lunch salads I made on Sunday to eat throughout the week.  The whole wheat noodles gave nice body to the dish and the strands of zucchini added an additional veggie without the carbs.  I like using PB2 for the peanut taste without the fat and calories of peanut butter but regular could be subbed here.

Ginger Peanut Pasta Salad

About 10 (1 Cup) servings

3 Points per serving

Printable Recipe

Dressing:

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp ginger root, freshly grated
2 packets Truvia or sweetener of choice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp PB2 (you could sub a Tbsp of peanut butter here for some additional calories and fat)

Salad:

3/4 cups radishes, thinly sliced then sliced in half
1/4 red onion, minced
1 cup carrots, sliced diagonally 
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
3 Tbsp peanuts, chopped
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 whole zucchini, shredded or use a zester to make long strands
8 oz uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked to directions

Directions


1. Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl.


2. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Pour over salad ingredients and gently toss to coat.

***Add some grilled tempeh marinated in Goddess dressing or some grilled chicken to make a meal.

Product Review: Pamelas Baking and Pancake Mix. Banana Pancakes

Sunday was a splurge day so that meant pancakes!  I wanted to make some for my daughter; however, with her allergies I'm really limited with what I can make her.

I am so thankful to have discovered Pamela's products.  Not only do I use her bread mix almost weekly I now can make my daughter pancakes on a regular basis.  This time I made her banana pancakes with Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix. 

The mix was amazing.  They were fairly thin and soft on the inside with a delicate crispness on the outside.  The smell of caramelizing bananas is to die for.  Here is a photo of the simple pancakes, nothing more.  I made them exactly to package directions using egg replacer and adding bananas.

Gluten, egg, dairy, soy, nut free pancakes.

One Great Saturday

Saturday we decided to stay home again so we could spend some more time with our new grill.  Fish and shrimp tacos were on the menu as Dad caught some more fresh sea bass.

 

I popped open a bottle of my favorite white wine to celebrate us getting to know each other a little better.   Have you ever heard of Steele Chardonnay? 

This wine brings to mind a funny/embarrassing story.  I am not typically a white wine drinker but when I came across this one through our friend John I was hooked. 

This chardonnay is different.  I couldn't really put my finger on it so I asked the owner of a new restaurant by our house called Cellar Grill if he had it and he said he didn't but suggested a similar wine I would like just as much.  He told me that Steele was different because it's fermented in steel rather than oak which is where the difference in taste comes from and hence the name, Steele Chardonnay.  He said the wine he gave me was also fermented in steel and when I tried it, it was almost as tasty.

Happily I spread the good news about this amazing wine and why I love it so much to anyone who would listen.  I considered myself a sort of Steele Chardonnay subject matter expert.

A few months later in yoga my friend Gregg was there.  At the time he wrote the blog for the Wine Warehouse.  Of course I had to tell him about my favorite wine and WHY I love it so much. 

Me:  Oh my gosh, GREGG, I found the most amazing wine called Steele Chardonnay!!   I love it so much because it's fermented in steel barrels rather than oak and I can't STAND the taste of an oaky chardonnay.

Gregg:  Looks at me like I  have three heads. That is one of the oakiest wines there is. 

Me:  No, no, it's fermented in STEEL, that's why it's called Steele Chardonnay.  (duh, you'd think the blogger for the Wine Warehouse would know this)

Gregg:  No Steele Chardonnay is fermented in oak and it's called Steele because the wine maker's name is Jed Steele and I know him personally. 

Me: Oh.  Thinking of the thousands of people I spread misinformation to.  But it's not as dry as other chardonnays.  What IS it that makes it different then?

Gregg:  Steele Chardonnay has a higher percentage of residual sugar than most chardonnays, so it's a little sweeter.

Me: Oh.  That makes sense.

Gregg:  Who told you about the steel barrels?

Me:  The OWNER of Cellar Grille

Gregg:  You need to be careful who you get information from.

Me: Wow this is embarrassing.

**As a follow up note...Cellar Grill went out of business and I'm still drinking Steele Chardonnay. 

Now that that embarrassment is over, down to the tacos.  And fresh asparagus.  And fresh corn.  The kind of corn that has that salty sweet thing going on with the hint of smokiness from the grill.  The kind where you groan at each bite because you can't believe anything can taste that good. 

Here's what went into the mix.

Dijon Seafood Marinade:  A masterpiece if I do say so.

Ingredients

1 lemon, juiced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning

1 heaping tsp Grey Poupon coarse ground mustard

1 packet sweetener, I used Truvia

Directions

1. Whisk all ingredients together. 

2.  Pour marinade over fish and shrimp, toss to coat and let sit for 15-30 minutes.

Grilled Corn

Ingredients

Corn

Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning, to taste

Extra virgin olive oil cooking spray

Directions

1. Spray the corn with cooking spray and lightly sprinkle Cajun seasoning on all sides.

2. Grill corn to desired done-ness. The outside will begin to get char marks.  Those are the tasty bits.

Dawn's Fresh Salsa

Ingredients

3 Campari tomatoes, diced

1 jalapeno, chopped

1/3 yellow onion, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until just combined.

The finished product

Fish/Shrimp Taco

Ingredients

Marinated shrimp and fish

Dawn's fresh Salsa

Tortillas of choice, I used La Tortilla Factory

2% shredded Mexican blend cheese

Fresh Cilantro

Directions

1. Grill shrimp and fish until cooked through.  Shrimp will be pink and fish will turn opaque and flakey.

2. Layer one tortilla, desired amount of shrimp/fish, fresh salsa, 2 Tbsp shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.  Repeat as necessary.  

Random shot of Elephant Ear off the back porch.

Isn't it gorgeous?

Kid (and Adult) Friendly Red Beans and Rice

At dinner I had run out of rotisserie chicken and was staring into the pantry to try and figure out what to make for my daughter and I as hubby was working late. 

The idea for this recipe started out after glancing at the brown rice and went on from there.  As easy as this recipe was, it was suprisingly good!

As an added bonus I made a round two recipe for today's lunch. I simply wrapped 1/3 cup rice and beans in a 100 calorie wrap and added some 2% shredded cheese and made a healthy and light bean burrito.  

Kid (and Adult) Friendly Red Beans and Rice

About 8 generous 1/2 cup servings

2 WW Pts per serving

(**although as a side note after building the recipe on the WW website it was also 2 points for 6 servings as well....interesting)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown rice cooked to package directions in small pot

1 15 oz can red kidney beans

1 cup corn, fresh or frozen (thawed)

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen (thawed)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. To the rice pot add the kidney beans, corn, peas, salt and pepper and gently mix.  Continue to cook on low until mixture is heated through.

***Please note that when I state “allergy free” this is my attempt at gluten, egg, dairy, soy, peanut and cod fish free which are the allergies my daughter has. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian.

Foodies Unite! (At Lemongrass)

For lunch today I met up with a new friend and fellow foodie blogger, Devon, from Run Sleep Rinse Repeat.  We had lunch at an incredible Thai restaurant called Lemongrass.  Not only did we both graduate from FSU we will soon be living in the same area as she is building a house out my way!  We have a future date to check out a place called Cork and Keg and we'll be sure to do a review of this cute little wine bar.

We chose Lemongrass as it was a great mid point and is well rated; voted Top 25 by Jacksonville Magazine as well as Folio Weekly's Best of Jax! I had been there previously but it had been quite a while.

To start, we got the fresh spring rolls.  They were crunchy, with that hint of mint that pairs well with the peanut dipping sauce.  So refreshing.

Devon chose a Thai favorite called Phad Thai and is shown here as the gorgeous model of this amazing dish.  Good choice Devon!

According to Wikepedia, "Pad Thai or Phat Thai (Thai: ผัดไทย, IPA: [pʰàt tʰāj], "fried Thai style") is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chili pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments. Pad Thai is one of Thailand's national dishes."

She raved about this dish so I know it must have been good.

I like things a little spicy so I branched out (as I would have typically chosen Phad Thai too) and got the "Hot Peppers: Your choice of meat sautéed with garlic, bamboo, straw mushrooms, onions, sweet peppers, wood ear mushrooms, green peas, jalapeno peppers and topped with Thai sweet basil".  I chose the tofu as my protein.  The chewey texture and firm, crisp exterior when it's cooked properly gets me every time.  The sauce had just the right amount of spice (that will wake you up!) and flavor.  The color was just gorgeous.  To soak up the fiery sauce I chose simple rice noodles and they did their job.   

If you are ever in Jacksonville and like Thai food I would definitely check out Lemongrass.

Plus:
Great service (granted we got there just before closing so we were the only patrons)
Excellent Food
Decor/Atmosphere
Not afraid to bring the heat
Large portion size

Minus:
Only open during the week from 11-2 and it's really busy up through 1:00.


Overall:
On a scale of 1-10 I'll give it a 9.5

Provencal Style Fish Stew

What a crazy night it was last night.  My husband Chris was working late and I had to pick my daughter up from school.  I got her and all our stuff home and out of the car. 

I always have so much stuff; lunch boxes, sweaters, workout stuff, my daughter's art work, mail.  

When I walked in something smelled funny....I opened the door to my bedroom where we keep the dogs and found out why. 

Thankfully we have stained concrete floors and no carpet.

I guess one of the dogs decided she just couldn't wait for me to get home so I had a mess to clean up as well as my daughter yelling NACK! NACK! (meaning snack) and NILK! NILK (that would be milk). 

And we were out of paper towels.

__________

__________

Provencal Style Fish Stew

For a while I was making soups each weekend to eat for lunches throughout the week.  Since the weather is getting warmer I have switched to fresh salads, however, a nice light soup still sounded good.  I decided to make up a small (4 serving) batch of this fish soup.  It was SO easy, super light yet filling.  Since I typically make chicken soups this was a nice change.

Provencal Style Fish Stew

Altered from Weight Watcher's Provencal Style Fish Stew

Serves 4

3 pts per serving
1 1/4 cup serving
Printable Recipe

Ingredients


Cooking spray
1 onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
15 oz canned chicken broth  
15 oz canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
6 oz water-packed tuna fish, drained, flaked with a fork
15 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 tsp dried oregano or 1 tsp fresh
1/2 tsp table salt (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups fresh baby spinach

Directions


1. Spray a medium pot with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat.  Sauté onion until soft, about 5 minutes.  Lower heat and add garlic. Sauté an additional minute.


2. Add broth, beans, tuna, tomatoes and oregano and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and taste.  Stir in salt (if needed), pepper and baby spinach.  Stir just until spinach wilts. 

I Caught You a Delicious Bass

Happy Hump Day everyone.   My week has been super busy!  We have some organizational changes going on at work and after not managing for about a year, I've got two new employees.  How has your week been so far?

Anyway...down to the business of blogging.

An avid fisherman, my dad brings home fresh fish almost weekly.  Thanks dad!  I got to sample some black sea bass and it was amazing.  White, flakey and light.  It was just delicious.

Dad is also an artist...his artwork is called Gyotaku and he is featured in galleries and restaurants throughout the south.

Here is some of his latest work. 

It just so happens to be a black sea bass!

--------------------------

--------------------------

Broiled Black Sea Bass

Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

8 small fillets (2 per person) (or you could use 4 larger fillets)
Extra virgin olive oil cooking spray
Tony Chachare's Cajun seasoning, to taste
1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
4 Tbsp seasoned bread crumb
1/2 cup 2% shredded Mexican blend cheese

On the side:

1 spaghetti squash, holes poked on all sides, wrapped in wet kitchen towel
Tastefully simple Onion Onion seasoning, to taste
1-2 bags fresh broccoli and cauliflower mix (my husband and I can eat one whole bag at a sitting)

Directions

1. Step one will cover getting the entire dinner cooking so everything is done at the same time. 

• Preheat broiler. 
• Microwave spaghetti squash wrapped in towel on high for eight to ten minutes (or until soft), turning half way through.
• Place bag of veggies in steamer and turn to 15 minutes or so.
• In a small bowl mix the breadcrumb and cheese.

2.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray add the fillets and sprinkle Cajun seasoning.  Turn to coat.  Squeeze half lemon over fillets.

3. Broil 5 to 6 minutes on one side then flip and broil an additional 5 minutes or so.  (Times will vary with thickness of fish so watch it as it cooks fast!)

4. Remove from oven and top evenly with breadcrumb/cheese mixture.  Place back under broiler for 2 minutes.

5. Split cooked spaghetti squash in half.  Scoop out seeds and with a fork remove strands to a medium size bowl.  Season with Onion Onion to taste.

6.  Plate 1 cup of seasoned spaghetti squash, 2 small fillets and 1 to 2 cups steamed broccoli/cauliflower.

Food Find! Blueberry Bran VitaTop

Happy Tuesday everyone!  This morning I had an egg breakfast mishap so I'll post my recipe from yesterday instead.  You know when you find something new that you really love?  This is it for me.  It's the same thing I've been eating for breakfast for about two weeks.

You may have seen my previous post about light breakfasts.  I tried the same VitaTop recipe but with the BlueBran this time. 

If you like blueberries you have to try this breakfast! 

I love the contrast of the warm muffin and the cool yogurt along with the crunch of the chia seeds.  I use frozen blueberries and throw them right in. As they thaw they burst in your mouth with a flavor that can only be described as a deep sweet purple.

Double Blueberry Breakfast

Serves 1

3 WW Points

(plus additional for optional chia seeds)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 BlueBran VitaTop
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup low fat French Vanilla yogurt, I use Stonyfield
1 packet sweetener, I used Truvia
Sprinkle of Cinnamon, I used cinnamon from Penzeys Spices
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Microwave the VitaTop for 18 seconds to thaw then place in toaster to crisp up a bit.

2. In your bowl place the blueberries, yogurt, Truvia, cinnamon and chia seeds.  Turn gently to mix.

3. Crumble the VitaTop and place on top of the yogurt mixture.

Enjoy!

A Clean Porch and a New Grill!

Happy Monday all!  Chris and I just finished up what we called a "house" weekend.  We said no to all invitations and, amongst other tasks, got the yard done and back porch cleaned (that was my job).

Back porch floor clean but still a bit damp....

Notice the celebratory wine.

And we grilled!

Speaking of grills.....we got a new one this weekend!

Old Grill

New Grill....yaaaay! It's sort of a copper color this time.

(Hmm..iPhone picture does not do it justice)

Now, down to grilling.

I'm sure by now if you aren't new in the food blogging world you have heard of a blog called Closet Cooking.  Kevin's blog is the first one I ever started reading and why I started a food blog in the first place.  His Curried Honey Dijon Roasted Chicken is what hooked me and that's the marinade I used for this pork tenderloin. 

Best Veggie Pasta Salad

My new thing on Sunday (starting as of last week) is to make a different big salad for lunches instead of soup as the weather is warming up a bit.  This was my first try and it is perfect for a snack or a light meal with the addition of a protein. 

Best Veggie Pasta Salad
(Altered from Weight Watcher's Pot Luck Pasta Salad)
About 12 servings
Generous one cup serving
3 WW pts per serving
Printable Recipe

Salad

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta (about 4 ounces)
2 small zucchini, diced
2 small yellow squash, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 green bell pepper. seeded and diced
1/4 purple onion, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup of fresh or frozen (thawed) green peas
1 cup broccoli


Dressing


1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 packets Truvia (or sweetener of choice)
1 Tbsp coarse ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix the salad ingredients.

2. In a small bowl whisk the dressing.

3. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and toss to coat. 

***To make this into a meal add some grilled tempeh or grilled chicken

What hubby wants hubby gets!

My husband Chris is a big banana bread fan.  I had quite a few left over really ripe bananas that needed to be used and I came across this recipe for the use of FIVE over ripe bananas on Recipe Girl.  Perfect!  I used her recipe but subbed egg whites for the whole eggs as that's all I had and I added vanilla, cinnamon and walnuts.  Hubby has been happily eating away so it must be good.  Thanks Recipe Girl!

In Your Face Banana Bread
Altered from Recipe Girl

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten or equal amount of egg whites
5 mashed over ripe bananas (2 1/3 cups)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.


2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.


3. In a bowl or mixer cream together butter, vanilla and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.


4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture and add nuts; stir just to moisten.


5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60- 65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.


6. Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

The New Sport, Cube Biking

In the interest of fitness research I'm taking one for the team here at work. For those of you out there who say they don't have time to work out here is something you can do. 

Family members and friends reading this...does this really come as a shock?  I've already gone through the ankle weights under my suit pants and pedometer propmptly attached first thing in the morning so I don't miss any steps (which I still do).  This isn't that far off.

Meet the InStride XL or what I like to call....the cubicle bike. 

Yes, this is me the first day in gold heels and dress pants biking in my cubicle.  Eat your heart out Jamie Oliver.  Watch my fitness revolution take off.

I envision cube biking competitions. Cube Bike Magazine.  A whole line of cube bike workout attire/business suits.  

All right, all joking aside, you aren't going to get any sick cardio in at your desk people. It's just slow, steady, in control. Think toning. The first day I had it no one knew I biked for 40 minutes. I even talked to someone while I was doing it.

Have you heard of those treadmill/workstations? 

                                      

Trust me, I already contacted the facilities manager to see if I could get one and they laughed.  I just stared. 

What are you laughing at?  I'm serious.

Okay, okay, I can see the down sides.  1) Liability, people could fall off, 2) cost, upwards of thousands of dollars, 3) not everyone is at a fitness level that they could actually do this. 

That's what's great about this little thing.

1) You can't fall off it (except for those people who occasionally fall out of their chair for some odd reason or miss it and it rolls away).  

2) Cost.  I got this one for $17 bucks on eBay. 

3) You can do this sitting and there is no work disruption. 

4) Keeps you from freezing your toucas off when they have the air cranked to sub zero temps so people don't fall asleep doing cubicle work.

I know, I'm probably that crazy workout person at work who takes the stairs to the sixth floor when there is a perfectly good elevator that comes complete with Muzak and works out on her lunch break and now even has a bike at her desk but as I said in my last fitness post...humans were not meant to sit on their @sses all day! 

I have been using it going on three weeks and the goal is to do at least an hour a day.  On the scale I'm down almost four pounds. Now mind you this includes really watching what I'm eating as well. 
  

Here are my questions to you.

1) For those of you that don't work out....when are you going to start?  No excuses!  If I can bike in gold heels then you can find a way.

2) For those of you workout queens and kings, what are you going to do to kick it up a notch?

In addition to my usual I'm also adding body pump on Monday and P90X abs or walking at night.

Fort McAllister State Park, Georgia Camping Trip-Day 3 Pelican Point

Day three began the same as day two...fresh, hot coffee, cheerios topped with skim milk, banana and a dollop of peanut butter. 

Fort McAllister


After breakfast we were off to take a look at the Fort.  According to their website Fort McAllister is "located on the bank of the Great Ogeechee River south of Savannah, this park is the home of the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The sand and mud earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads, but did not fall until captured in 1864 by Gen. William T. Sherman during his "March to the Sea.""

It's a bit dark but you can somewhat make out the earth mounds....

There are no walls at this fort only the mounds.

Inside some of the mounds were where the soldiers lived.

There are bunks and stoves in the interior with chimneys to the outside.

Pelican Point

After the Fort we headed over to Pelican Point at the suggestion of a patron in the Olympia Greek restaurant we ate at the day before.  She said she had lived in Savannah for three years and if we liked seafood we need to make the 45 minute drive to check this place out.  She said don't be nervous as you go through quite a bit of back woods area.

The drive was a bit rustic with quite a bit of woods and the occasional mobile home dotting the scenery. 

When we pulled in to the parking lot it was almost empty!

We walked inside and were told they had just opened and the hostess asked if we wanted the buffet.  Not knowing what the buffet consisted of and not being a huge buffet fan I went to take a look at it to see if I might want to go with it this time.


The fishing boats pull right up to a loading dock and the restaurant buys the seafood fresh each day when the shrimp boats pull up. 

Starting from the back and working my way back to the hostess I started taking pictures....

Here is the low country boil including rolls, steamed broccoli, ribs, crawfish, sausage, corn etc.

The next buffet has steamed shrimp, fruit, and salad with home made dressings.  On the back side of that were desserts and an ice cream bar!

Next to the shrimp buffet is a chef with prime rib and crab legs.  You can go back as many times as you want and we definitely took advantage of the steamed crab.

For those that like their fried seafood there was a bar with crispy shrimp, hush puppies, clams etc.

 

On the front side of the fried clam bar was another area I took full advantage of.  Steamed clams and oysters, stuffed flounder, blackened mahi.

Check out this dessert bar.  I tested out the banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.

And this busy pirate guards the whole buffet.  I didn't know that pirates had a lot of access to plastic surgery but we learn something new every day.

 Here was my first go around.  Steamed shrimp with cocktail sauce and extra horseradish, steamed oysters and clams, blackened mahi. veggies and salad, a crab stew and of course, the steamed crab legs.  I must say they were the crowning glory of the meal.  The shell cracked with one try and the meat slid right out with no shredding.  The taste?  Buttery perfection with no butter needed!

Outside was an air boat!  Ever seen one of those?

 Gorgeous view out back

As the day drew to a close we made our way back to the camp site for a final campfire, wine and s'mores.  A perfect end to a wonderful trip!