Phantom menu at Sublime

Considering I'm obsessed with food, it really should come as no surprise that one of my hobbies is making phantom menu selections. Last night it was Sublime, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Frankly, I'm a little smitten with Sublime, since it holds the distinction of being one of the only upscale vegan restaurants I haven't been to in the good ole US of A. (I'm spoiled!) I probably have won an award by the webmaster as being the IP address who has hit their website the most. "Who is this 11.234.76459 in Jacksonville, Florida anyway?" they must say to themselves. It is I, the phantom menu peruser.





Often done while laying in bed, I'll go to the website of the restaurant that pops in my mind and plan my menu. I choose one from each category, regardless of the fact that I'd have a big ole tofu belly if I ate that much (actually I do have a tofu belly and I don't eat that much) Appetizer, soup, salad, entree, pre-dinner tasty beverage, wine, dessert and post dinner tasty aperatif beverage. It's almost as good as being there, I swear. It's a whole lot cheaper, that's for sure.


Last night's selections from the Sublime menu?


Tasty Beverage: Berry Bluetini Muddled fresh blueberries, fresh lemon, Stoli Blueberi 10.00

App: Crispy Eggplant Rollatini tofu, “ricotta,” “mozzarella,” garlic “butter” 11.00

Sushi: Florasian tempura avocado, vegenaise, mango, toasted coconut 11.00

Salad: Sublime Chopped Salad romaine lettuce, garbanzo beans, bell peppers, cucumbers, onion, kalamata olives, scallions, red wine vinaigrette 9.00

Entree: Sublime Picatta gardein cutlets, grilled asparagus, olive oil whipped mashed potatoes, lemon caper sauce 19.00

Dessert: Coconut Cake yellow cake, coconut "buttercream," almond tuile 11.00


After dinner tasty beverage just because: Caipirinha Lebion Cachaca sugarcane rum, juice of whole lime, simple syrup, sour mix 9.00


Mmmm.....take me to Sublime right now and tell me which bank to rob along the way! Ft. Lauderdale's only 5 hours away; if I left now I could be there in time for dinner tonight. Then, I'd spend the night at this tres cute vegan-friendly Bed and Breakfast that I've always wanted to go to:

http://www.deerrunfloridabb.com/

Check out their beach cam. It's fun to do at work when you're feeling just a little bit...uninspired.

Back to work for the time being! Trying to figure out where my next wanna be vegan meal will be...

Channeling Barbara Kingsolver

Whenever I go to Farmers Markets I feel like I'm channeling Barbara Kingsolver. Her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle made for some of the most deliciously contemplative reading I've ever done. In the book, she and her family take a one year challenge to eat only locally produced foods. And by foods, I don't just mean your standard veggies and fruit; I mean all the grains, sugar, oils, spices and goodies that you go through in order to eat well. I'll cut to the end of my Reading Rainbow book review; if you haven't read it, you must run to your local library's website and reserve it today! I give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Saturday was Farmers Market day in lazy Fernandina Beach; a beach town about 45 minutes away from Jacksonville. I scored some Zesty sprouts from a cheeky husband and wife team, a basket of the largest tomatoes you'll ever see in your life, 4 humongoid squash, 2 baskets of plump okra at $1 a basket, and a basket of peaches for good measure. Oh! And dare I not forget a basket of zipper creams from a farmer who had pink-eye. My choices from him were Zipper Creams and Pink Eye peas. I swear to God I'm not making this up. I chose the Zipper Creams. It just seemed...wrong to buy the pink eye peas. I also scored some hot boiled peanuts and a Cheerwine, but that's another story.


My bag o' farmers market loot stayed in the fridge (except for the tomatoes, of course) til last night. Fresh from tubing down Itchetuknee Springs, we were blissed out on nature, and hungry from spending a day in the 87 degree heat!

The master plan? Squash and tomato casserole, fried okra, white rice, field greens with vegan ranch dressing and zipper creams boiled up with some onions and a couple splashes of umeboshi vinegar (supposedly a fine substitute for hog jowl.




Verdict? The squash casserole; layers of sliced yellow squash, onion and tomatoes, and topped with bread crumbs with dots of Earth Balance scattered throughout, just really didn't do it for me. It was pretty, but the squash dried out and after I baked the hell out of it for an hour and a half, it still wasn't ready. Next time, I'll cover it with tin foil. That oughta show it.

The fried okra is always a hit, but that's a no-brainer. You can't have the word "fried" in a recipe, without it being good. Duh. That's just an oxymoron. Fried okra to me is just little green speckled nuggets of heaven. I sprinkle it with hot pepper vinegar and oh lawd, serve me up two pounds. I did all the work and sliced up all those buggers, anyway.

The zipper creams were buttery and sweet. Although I didn't do a good job of creating any pot liqueur; that glorious sauce left in the bowl when your peas are gone. Next time I'll have to bust open a traditional southern cookbook and follow the recipe to a t.

I'm off to read Barbara Kingsolver...er to get ready for work.

Happy Monday!

Heather