Quick Trip to Monkey Joe’s

This weekend we had the opportunity to visit Monkey Joe’s at Pointe Orlando through a Central Florida blogger meet up.  This wasn’t our first time there.  In fact, some time last year, the girls were asked to be part of their promotional campaign video.  We first visited Monkey Joe’s while on vacation in Orlando a few years back and it has been one of those places the girls always want to go back to.

Monkey Joes

 

The girls had a great time running around and jumping in the bounce houses.  The parents get to relax a bit knowing that the kids are having fun in a safe environment.  Monkey Joe’s has “party rooms” for birthday parties.  However, they accept “walk ins” anytime they are open.  They even have a separate toddler section just for 3 year olds and younger.

MonkeyJoes

 

Orlando has always been a great meetup point for my family because my mom lives in the New Smyrna Beach area.  I was so happy she agreed to meet us and join in on the fun.  After Monkey Joes, we walked around the Pointe Orlando shops and decided to grab dinner at Tommy Bahamas.  It was a bit early, so we shared a salad and ordered appetizers.

food at Tommy Bahamas

 

Mom ordered the Coconut Crusted Crab Cakes with a sweet Thai chile sauce and I ordered the Ahi Tuna Tacos in a wonton shell.  This is probably the only restaurant I always order the same thing at.  The Ahi Tuna is always fresh and light tasting.  We got to sit on their outside patio and enjoy a nice afternoon.

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you!  “All we have of freedom, all we use or know- This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.” Rudyard Kipling, The Old Issue.

For more Orlando fun, check out these fabulous Orlando Mommy Bloggers:

From Tracie

Sea World Mommy

7 Kids and Us

Mom at 40

My Sentiment Exact Lee

My Boys and Their Toys

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It’s Summer Time at Parkesdale

If you are a long time customer, then you know when summer rolls around our hours change.  Starting May 1st, our hours of operation change to Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm.  During the summer we are closed on Mondays.  In addition, we will be closing for Father’s Day on Sunday, June 16th.

While we are well known for our strawberries, one of our summer crops is “pickles” or pickling cucumbers.  These “pickles” are grown right here in Plant City.  They are about half the size of a regular cucumber and twice as crunchy.  Our cashiers love to snack on them with Trenchas Chile Powder and lots of lime juice.  But you better hurry because our pickle season is about to end.  So give them a try before they are gone.

pickles

 

Another great thing about summers at Parkesdale is the Summer Fruit!  A few weeks ago we had Florida peaches and they were phenomenal.  Not as big as Georgia Peaches, but just as sweet, if not juicier.  Georgia peaches are just coming in and they are deliciously sweet.

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Cherries from the west coast are also starting to show up.  This week we’ve had the mixed batch of yellow and red cherries.

cherries

And not to be forgotten, watermelons are here.  Whether you prefer sangrias or seedless watermelons, we have a large variety of sizes.  Personally, I prefer honeydews to cantaloupes, but they’ve both been super juicy and sweet.  At our market, we always have samples of our honeydews and cantaloupes to reassure you of our quality products.

honeydews cantaloupes

I know you are all missing our strawberry shortcake because I miss them too.  But during the summer our “shortcake area” brings out a new menu.  Our Summer Menu includes banana splits, sundaes, ice cream cones, kid treats and fruit-filled milkshakes.

Banana Split

Get ready to try the best banana split you’ve ever had for only $2.59 (plus tax).  We start with a sweet banana and three cups of vanilla ice cream, then we top the ice cream with strawberries, pineapples and chocolate syrup, plus whipped cream and peanuts.  It’s almost a meal all by itself!  We have a variety of sundaes available: strawberry, chocolate, hot fudge and caramel for $1.99 (plus tax).  For the kid in you, we have ice cream cones with either chocolate, vanilla or swirl.  We also have tangerine ice cream cones!  Either flavor combination is 99 cents.

Oreo kid treat

We have a few options for the kids.  Our newest addition is a kid “Dirt Cup” for $1.29 (plus tax).   Your kid can pick their ice cream flavor (chocolate, vanilla, tangerine, swirl), then our staff will load their “Dirt Cup” with crumbled Oreo cookies and top it with gummy worms!  We also have a “Cookies and Cream” ice cream cup with either sugar wafers or chocolate chip cookies.  For only $1.29 (plus tax), it’s a great treat for your “cookie monster”!

milkshakes

My favorite part of the Summer Menu is all of our fruit-filled milkshakes.  You know we are already famous for our Strawberry milkshake, but did you know we make coconut, banana, mango, blueberry, pineapple, orange and peach milkshakes?  If you haven’t tried our blueberry milkshake, I suggest you stop by soon before they are gone!  They are only available for a limited time while local blueberries are available.  And just for fun, what’s summertime without an apple pie.  Yes, we created an apple pie milkshake!  So, while we may not have our strawberry shortcake, there are a lot of new things to try.

 

When was the last time you stopped by for an ice cream treat?

What’s your favorite fruit filled milkshake?

What’s your favorite summer fruit?

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Sea Bass “al mojo”

One of my favorite dishes to order while visiting family in Puerto Rico is “Chillo al mojo” or Red Snapper in a tomato sauce with onions and olives.  If you are wondering what “al mojo” means, it is simply a shortened version of “mojado” which means wet.  There are many versions of this sauce, but the tomato based one is the most common.

This is one dish I’ve been eating ever since I was a little girl.  If you order this dish in the island, expect to get the whole fish.  I mean head and tail.  🙂  To be honest, I love this dish because of the olives.  To me, the olives makes this dish.  Like most sauces, the longer you cook it the better it will taste.  Plan on about 20-30 minutes for the sauce to simmer.  You’ll be glad you did.

Puerto Rican Mojo Sauce

“Al Mojo” Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 medium white onion, sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

lots of olives 🙂

1 tbsp capers

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp vinegar (I prefer apple cider)

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

water (use to thin out sauce if too thick)

Recipe adapted from Puerto Rican Cookery by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli.

Add olive oil to a warm saute pan on medium heat.  Saute onions till clear, then add garlic, olives, chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, capers, vinegar and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  If the sauce gets too thick, or you’d like more liquid, add a little bit of water.  Then saute on low heat for about 20 minutes.  Serve sauce on top of grilled fish or chicken.

Puertorican al mojo sauce

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