Eat Like a Rabbit

Peacefood Cafe was recommended to us by Leigh at Marvelous Kiddo. She certainly has good taste! We loved our experience at the restaurant. It was amazing that there was always a line for a table during our entire lunch. Maybe that doesn't mean much in crowded New York City. Still, I've always maintained the belief that people being willing to wait for a table is a good thing. The staff was very friendly, and I think the serving time for our meals was acceptable.

The restaurant has a nice selection of fancy teas, etc., but we were there for the food. Of course, a pregnant woman is always there for the food! And even more of course, everything on the menu sounded amazing. It was very hard to come to a decision. I finally settled on a sandwich with lots of fresh vegetables--including my favorite, sprouts! It came with some marinated vegetable sticks on the side. That just might have actually been my most favorite part on the plate. I was pretty sure it was jicama, but the server said it was yuca. Shrug. It really doesn't matter. It was yummy just the same.

Three of the magazines I subscribe to: Parenting The Early Years, Parents, and Bon Appetit, had falafel recipes in their March 2010 issues. (Sorry, only Bon Appetit seems to have their recipe on line.) Is this some special month or just falafel screams "SPRING!"? Either way, the stories brought back great memories of our research of "The Best Falafel in the World" when we were a couple weeks away from a trip to Paris last year. The difference being, we are in Sunny Florida and no where near the Stravinsky Fountain. I knew I just had to give one of the recipes a shot.

After a little comparison, I chose the Parents recipe, and was quite happy with it. Just for kicks, I may try the others. . .or I may track down someone who has a secret ingredient that will make it out of this world.

Our first night eating local started off pleasantly in at a great little restaurant on Orange Ave. in downtown Orlando. Virgin Olive Market used to be on Clay, and I think the change in location surely must have increased its exposure. There was a nice, steady stream of customers during our entire dining experience. Virgin Olive makes the grade in a couple of areas. First, it is a fast, very friendly, and significantly cheaper restaurant than the two restaurants it's sandwiched in between. Next, it holds down the spot as a source for good coffee and breakfast in the immediate vicinity. Also, it offers healthy (generally), light, budget friendly meals on top of some unusual foodie items for sale to take home.

I haven't blabbed about it yet, but the story would make much more sense if I did. Here goes: I am not planning a dining schedule this week for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Paul is gone to a convention, and since he can be so much of an inspiration to me, I'm happy dining on PB&J and fresh seasonal fruit until his return. Secondly, I had a small trip to the ER (As if any emergency trip is small!) on Friday morning and am currently in a position where I am not allowed to be off my feet long enough to make anything other than PB&J, which means I have to sit to cut my orange, too. I tried to move some furniture in the middle of the night (Why would a pregnant woman be up in the middle of the night?) and the furniture won. I broke my toe at the joint where it connects to the foot and have been tied up in a very unattractive, winter boot to hopefully keep the bones in place until they heal back together. Praise God it was a clean break and--unless I don't take care of it properly--will not need further treatment.

So, after a medium-sized walking day at work, I purchased a salad with the last of my Jason's Deli Giftcard in order to eliminate any additional time on my feet. This was only the second salad that I have purchased from Jason's and like the other girl at the bar said, it really does seem like a good deal.

While out with my mom one Friday, we stopped at a bookstore and ran into our pastor's wife. She asked us if we wanted to join her for lunch and recommended a health-food store like Whole Foods called Chamberlin's. I'd never been there before, but I once heard a patient rave about their yogurt. I was excited to give it a shot, but was saddened to learn that they no longer offered frozen yogurt.

The salad bar looked really good, but some reason (possibly the price) deterred me, and I went for a sandwich. My mom ordered the vegan chicken pot pie, and we split the pie and the sandwich. I think we both preferred the sandwich over the pot pie.

I was really impressed by the freshness of the tomatoes and cucumbers off of the salad bar that went into my sandwich. I also thought the way they sliced the top off of the pita bread was interesting. It was the first hummus I had had since being pregnant, and it was very good. The tabouleh seemed a bit strange because I had never seen a recipe with bell peppers in it. I don't think it was bad at all. In fact, with the veggies and hummus it was very good. I just didn't expect it.

At the corner of Rue Vieille du Temple and Rue des Rosiers is a restaurant with attached street stand painted in red that boasts "Best Falafel in the World." A block down the road at 34, Rue Rosiers, 75004 Paris, is another restaurant with a street stand painted in green and another message saying "Best Falafel in the World." Read a few reviews in English and in French for each restaurant and you'll see.

This is a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a Mediterranean food store attached. It has a Greek menu and has been voted Orlando's Best for a few years, with framed advertisements above the cash register. However, when you look at the plastic table covers with pictures of different kinds of pasta and the "silk" leaves and plastic grape clusters hanging from the ceiling, you might get slightly confused. Paul had a falafel sandwich in a great thick bread wrap. I had the hummus and tabouleh sandwich. Both had lettuce and tomato added with a creamy cucumber dressing coating every bite.

These are the absolute cutest cheeses I've ever seen. They come individually wrapped and in large numbers in Costco's Special Cheese section. Paul can easily take one to work. They look adorable sitting beside a dinner plate. And they make an ordinary salad definitely look unusual. The cheese is very soft and mild. I love to sprinkle a bit of black pepper over the cheese to highlight its true white color.

This is a little something of my own. The idea came from Bosphorous, a restaurant in Winter Park, Florida. I liked the concept of the dip at the restaurant and could not find a recipe on line; so, I made one up. It must have been good because it went for a potluck and none of it came home!