Sarah kept mentioning & posting to my facebook about this company that delivers organic fruits and vegetables to your door. Once I had made the decision to become vegan… It seemed no better time to try it out.

Their website is AWESOME & from start to finish took ten minutes to sign up. They allow you to make substitutions (don’t like onions? oranges? Get something else!)  or choose vegetables or fruit only.  (: We chose veggies only :)

Yesterday was the day! I was worried about delivery because our place is a bit of a hassle to get into. On their website they suggest to leave a cooler by your front door.

I got home & my cooler was full!

I think because of how our place is, they had to drop the brown box at the front desk & then someone from here walked it up & put it into our cooler.

1 Acorn Squash
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
4 Local Roma Tomatoes
1 Broccoli
1 Local Romaine Lettuce
1 Local Red Kale
1 bunch Sweet Onion
1 Hass Avocado (CA)
1 Baby Carrots (1 LB)

=$30 w/ delivery

The image everyone wants to see! It’s a TON of food, I am excited.  The head of romaine is by far the biggest I’ve ever seen.  I like that the box is a nice mixture of stuff. Gregg loves avocados & tomatoes. I am a big salad & acorn squash fan. :) The only thing I wish was a bit different is that it included some weird new/unusual to us veggies, but I’m sure that happens sometimes.

They included a few produce bags, and instructions on how to wash & properly store your veggies.

I liked their signature :)

I’ve only ordered once, but I would recommend this to anyone. People complain about the prices of organic food.  Yes, it’s more than you’d spend in a conventional grocery store, but when you look into it, you see it’s worth the extra price.

Things I am planning on making:

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Southwestern Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Pistachio Arugula Pesto with Penne and Sauteed Broccolini

Perhaps try Kale chips again, may they be edible this time…

Last Thursday Gregg & I had the opportunity to attend a VIP Tasting Event ­ at GrillSmith in South Tampa.  I thought I’d share my favorites from the things we tasted. (I developed a very precise smiley-face rating system, each of the ones I’m sharing received 4+ smiles)

Stoil Ravioli - Stuffed with grilled chicken, spinach and creamy ricotta cheese tossed in a Stolichnaya Vodka tomato cream sauce.

This was my favorite dish of the entire night. I really wished it photographed better. I hardly ever eat pasta, but this was so delicious, & I definitely went back for seconds. 

Chicken Milanese - Sauteed, herb-crusted chicken finished withe a lemon-butter white wine reductions, sun-dried tomatoes, golden raisins and capers, dressed with arugula and pine nuts in our lemon-feta vinaigrette, served over seasoned rice.

I love anything with citrus, so this was a HUGE winner for me. I’ve never had Chicken Milanese before, the sauce was outstanding. I even asked if they could make this with grilled chicken – they said yes!

Spicy Thai Chicken – Lightly battered, flash-fried chicken cutlets tossed in sriacha aioli, served with hot and sweet honey glaze.

Gregg & I talked about this one a lot.  This chicken reminded me of Bonefish’s “Bang Bang Shrimp”.  I was glad this wasn’t slathered in sauce, it was still crunchy. :) On Gregg’s notes there is “win” written by “sriacha aioli”, this dish still could have been spicier for me, but none-the-less yummy!

Voodoo Cheese Fries – Creole seasoned fries finished with a New Orleans style white barbecue sauce, smoked Gouda, cheddar and Swiss cheeses, Andouille sausage and green onions, served with cilantro sour cream for dipping.

This is pretty much what I wish I could eat everyday all day. It’s dangerously delicious. I want to buy creole seasoning asap.

Smoked Salmon Bruschetta -  Smoked Norwegian salmon with capers, fresh basil, red onions, Parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and GrillSmith’s own lemon-feta vinaigrette on toasted crostini.

Last but not least… I did not try this. (I know, I know, not a big seafood/fish fan) But! This was Gregg’s favorite dish. Actually everyone’s favorite dish – the whole table kept going on & on about it how wonderful it was.

This made me laugh, Gregg was my +1, so they gave him my last name! ;)

GrillSmith did an amazing job with the entire night. I was glad to be able to try their new menu items.  When I have thought of  GrillSmith in the past, I think I really shrugged it off because I figured it was just a chain restaurant,  but GrillSmith is definitely anything BUT mediocre.

There are six Tampa locations and you can view their menus as well as location addresses on their Website. You can also find them on Facebook & follow them on Twitter.

Disclosure: All food was provided by GrillSmith Restaurant free of charge.

Friday evening I stumbled upon an amazing store that is just opening!

Duckweed Urban Market is located downtown on the corner of Franklin Street & E. Polk Street, next to The Hub and below the Sweatshop Urban Gym.

Duckweed carries a ton of local products, just from browsing I found many local brands! Buddy Brew Coffee, TeBella Tea, tons!!! of different types of Sami’s Bakery breads and Intensity Academy’s delicious hot sauces & sauces.

We met Derek who was manning this shop, he is incredibly knowledgeable! (Please make sure to say hi!) Every time I “Ooohed!” or “Awwed” at something usually he’d mention that it was either also made locally or it was special ordered. He made sure to point out a soda named “Hotlips” which has fruit pulp in it!

What was nice was, that among the truffle oil, quinoa “burger” mixes, gluten free awesomeness, numerous of delicious cheeses, freshest produce I’ve seen in Tampa… they also have staples! Out of eggs? Drop in on your way home. Need milk? Just walk over. Yes, they also had cheapie macaroni & cheese too :P

I loved that Duckweed has everything I have been dying to try! I will obviously be a regular here! Derek also mentioned they soon plan to carry beer & wines!

Here is some pictures to share:

Omg how cute is the front of this place?!

They even have animal food! :)

Duckweed Urban Market:

305 E Polk Street, Tampa, FL 33602

Website

Facebook

Twitter

***Big thank you goes to Renee! for taking all these pictures while I was chatting it up w/ Derek!<3 <3

There has been a lot of tweets/mentions of Freshley’s Cafe that has just opened in Seminole Heights last week. Freshley’s offers breakfast & lunch Monday through Saturday, I woke up this morning knowing I wanted to stop by on the way to Gregg’s office to check out all the hype.

Freshley’s is located at the northwest corner of Florida and Hillsborough in Seminole Heights.

Have I mentioned I love airstreams?!

It is surrounded by a ton of newly planted plants, as well as a cute dining area with shade. (I wonder if they have wi-fi? ;)

I sneaked a picture of the inside. :) It’s a Mother, Daughter and Grand Daughter team!

Showing all the cute plants in bright planters. So cheery!  Gregg has coffee :)

This is the specials board, condiments table, and tea! (Sweet & Unsweet)

Gregg got “Good Morning New York”
- Smoked salmon, light cream cheese, red onion, sliced tomato, and capers on fresh Pumpernickel bread. $5.95
It got raving reviews from Gregg.

I got the “Egg White Frittata”
- Baked Arugula, garlic, green onions and turkey sausage (salmon was a choice too), served on wheat toast, with fresh fruit. $4.50

Can I say how EXTREMELY OVERJOYED I am? Freshley’s food was amazing. They have healthy portions. Food is perfectly seasoned. Fresh. Good pricing. -There was BLUEBERRIES in their fruit salad. When have you ever seen that?

I will for sure be a regular at Freshley’s Cafe. :)

Find them online: Website | Twitter | Facebook

I’m putting together a cookie swap on the internets. Basically, you make two dozen cookies & send four cookies to six people. Easy peasy. I’m even okay w/ buying bakery cookies! There isn’t any voting, or prizes, just fun. If you want to sign up please visit the form I made.

Sign up for the cookie swap!

Gregg made a Spicy Southwest Chicken Soup for dinner last night that included, green bell peppers, corn, black beans, cilantro, sour cream, & of course chicken. Paired w/ chips & amazing homemade salsa! :) I’m having leftovers for lunch. Super spicy & cilantro overload. (How I like it!) -The white stuff in the soup is sour cream. Gregg’s a fancy man & piped it into the soup, rather than dollops.