Chilled Mango Chipotle Soup
Easy, Delicious and High in Antioxidants.
Puree all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. More spices can be added to taste. Serve Chilled and Enjoy.
Summer weather is upon us. A bit hot, a bit sticky, but still a great time to kick back and enjoy all that Florida has to offer. Florida fresh watermelon is in season. Watermelon is the perfect fruit for cooling off – it makes a delicious smoothie in the morning with yogurt, a refreshing salad with mint, feta, and a few black olives in the afternoon, and a delicious martini at cocktail time. Florida watermelon is a gift to Florida residents. We can grow it, pick it up in the market, or pick a watermelon at the farm-stand. Our watermelon is as good as it gets: sweet, juicy, and flavorful. A very big summer benefit.
Tomatoes are in season in Florida as well and our Solivita Garden is brimming. I came from NJ, and to me there was nothing better than a NJ tomato, but I also subscribe to the “when in Rome” philosophy. Once I overcame my NJ tomato fixation, I found the tomatoes grown in Florida to be delicious, juicy, sweet when ripened, and wonderful. Tomatoes make a great dinner when paired with a few slices of fresh mozzarella, some fresh basil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a loaf of Italian bread.
What I love most about Florida summer weather is the ease of dining as most of our meals in the warm weather are chilled. When we feel the need for meat or fish we just fire up the BBQ. No need to add any heat to the house.
Here are a few ideas to help you enjoy a Solivita Summer:
Looking for a reason to retire to Florida? Look no further! I can give you lots of reasons that make FLORIDA RETIREMENT IRRESISTIBLE.
Here are the top 8 reasons to retire to Florida:
Are you considering selling your Florida home? If so, you are probably asking yourself what is the best time, and can I time the market to my advantage?
In my experience, the best time to sell a property is when most people are buying, and in Florida, historically most of the sales activity is generated during the first six months of the year, but there are a few other things to consider when trying to time the market. Waiting for sales activity to be the highest may not payoff, because during the height of sales activity is when competition is at its peak. Once the high sales season is over, yes there may be fewer buyers, but there are also fewer homes on the market for sale. The fact that inventory is lower gives your home a chance to stand out. I recently did a Closed Price to Original List Price Ratio Study and found that in our area, sellers got the closest to their original asking price in June. They closed the furthest from their original asking price in February. Of course, market conditions change from year to year and right now the market is steady and homes are selling. Interest rates are still low and consumer sentiment is strong. The results of this exercise lead me to believe any time is a good time to sell your property in the current market. If you are considering selling your home, please contact me. I will perform a complete Sales Analysis for you and provide you with any help you will need to get your property listed and sold.
Heading to the beach from Solivita is easy, with a quick hour and half drive to either coast. I love the East 1w beaches because the water is cooler and a bit wilder, and the beach on Cocoa reminds me of the NJ beaches from my youth. Lee loves the beauty, warmth, and calmer waters of the West Coast beaches. Whichever way we go from Central Florida, east or west, the Florida beaches are beautiful with warm water and soft sand. Growing up in New Jersey, the beach season was short and our beaches were so crowded you could hardly find a place to plant your blanket and umbrella. Florida beaches never seem to be that busy, the palm trees gently sway in the breeze, and the Florida State beaches usually provide picnic tables, a place to park your car, and changing facilities, making a “day at the beach” really an actual day at the beach.
We love to go to Cocoa Beach and when time provides, we stay at the Inn at Cocoa Beach for a night. It’s a lovely beachfront inn, spotlessly clean with a nice pool and public rooms. The Inn brews coffee every morning and provides a good breakfast, plus every evening it hosts a cocktail hour for their guests, which is a nice kick off to the day and a great start to the evening. We park our car at the Inn, enjoy the morning at the beach, the afternoon at the pool, and walk to one of the local spots for dinner, resulting in a truly relaxing overnight.
When we go to the West Coast we love to swim at the beach at St. Pete. St. Pete is a bit busier than Cocoa but just as nice with gorgeous sunsets. We usually pack an overnight bag and spend an evening, grab a great fish dinner, and head back the next morning refreshed and ready to get back to business. Seems wherever we go in Florida, natural beauty surrounds us, blue skies fill our vision, and we always meet some very nice Florida folks who are willing to share recipes. We enjoyed this grouper and want to share the easy recipe with you.
1 TBSP Honey
1 TBSP Orange Marmalade
1 TBSP Orange Juice
¾ TSP Dijon Mustard
½ TSP Light Soy Sauce
1/8 Tsp Ground White Pepper
¾ Pound Grouper Fillets
Preheat broiler. Combine all ingredients except grouper, mixing well. Place fillets on an oiled broiler pan and brush with honey glaze to cover. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat for 4 to 5 minutes until browned. Turn fillets, brush with honey glaze and broil additional 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
Bell peppers, squash and snap beans are being harvested and available in our gardens and markets this month. I love to slice the peppers and squash into cubes, toss the beans in and add olive oil, a touch of salt and roast them in the oven. Easy and delicious. Not to mention a great side dish to Honey Glazed Florida Grouper.
On Memorial Day, before we light the BBQ or enjoy a swim in the pool, I would like to ask all my readers to say a prayer of thanks to all the brave men and woman who died in service to America. It is through their sacrifice that we enjoy a free and wonderful America. Happy Memorial Day.
Solivita has so many events going on this month between the Easter Brunch, the Rally for the Cure Village Event, the Annual Queen’s College Golf Outing, the Community Yard Sale, and the events scheduled at Mosaics and the Grille. It’s hard not to be busy! This is also the time of the year that our snowbirds start their flight north, and I would like to wish all of you a safe trip and a safe return to Solivita next season. We will miss you! The longer we reside in Florida the more we find to do, even after living here for over 17 years. In fact, we are SOLIVITA PIONEERS and PROUD OF IT.
Your Invitation to Central Florida Life
Living in Central Florida means we are central to lots of activities. I would like to extend an invitation to you to visit Solivita to experience this wonderful community. Call me at (407) 641-2688 and I will sign you up for Solivita Discovery Days, which is Three Days and Two Nights to discover for yourself the beauty of Solivita.
We recently met with family and celebrated a birthday at Buca di Beppo in Celebration. I must say we had a really good time. This is a fun restaurant – loud, happy, filled with locals and tourists all out for a fun experience. Not a fancy restaurant, but clean and comfortable, and a great place to celebrate. The food was generous, hot, and delicious. The service was good, and the laughter was plentiful – all the ingredients needed for a great night. Celebration is only 30 minutes from Solivita and an evening in Celebration is always a good night out. Lots of restaurants, a wine bar, a tavern, a pizza store, a lake to stroll by, a few shops to poke around in and a nice pastry shop to complete your evening.