Heartsong Cookies

I first read about Heartsong Cookies on my friend Amanda's blog Eating out Without.  When she posted that they were at the Winter Park Farmers' Market on Saturday, my girls and I headed over to buy some. 

Heartsong Cookies is not a dedicated gluten free bakery, but they take precautions to protect against cross contamination, like sanitizing their equipment, and baking gluten free cookies before any gluten-filled cookies are made.  On the day we stopped at Heartsong Cookies' table, they had three gluten free vegan cookies to choose from - dark chocolate with a hint of espresso, chocolate chunk, and lemon blueberry.  

Because Amanda raved about the chocolate chunk, I had to try it, even though I am a less is more kind of person when it comes to chocolate chips/chunks in my cookies.  The first thing that amazed me about this cookie was the texture.  It was soft in the center, and had a little bit of chewiness around the edges, just like a cookie should have.  I didn't even mind the massive chunks of chocolate in the cookie, because it was just so delicious.  My gluten-eating daughters said it was just as good as any gluten-filled chocolate chip cookie they have had.  I usually don't like products made with Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour, but I could not taste any aftertaste from the beans in the flour at all.  

The lemon blueberry cookie had the same wonderful texture as the chocolate chunk, but it was bursting with lemon and blueberry flavor.  I love that the cookies are a little undercooked on the inside, and browned about the edges.  Two days after I purchased it, the lemon blueberry cookie still tasted great this morning.  I passed on the dark chocolate espresso cookie because I try to avoid caffeine, but I highly regretted that decision as soon as I got home and started sampling my cookies.  

June 6, 2015

This morning, we visited Heartsong Cookies and Peak Season Pops at the Winter Park Farmers' Market.  I sampled the dark chocolate espresso cookie, which was very good, but ended up buying the banana walnut chocolate chunk.  When we got home, I decided to try a small bite, but ended up eating the whole cookie.  The banana chocolate walnut is definitely my new favorite at Heartsong Cookies.  It has that same wonderful texture and chew that their other cookies have, and the perfect amount of chocolate and walnut, with a nice subtle banana flavor. 

Besides the Winter Park Farmers' Market, Heartsong Cookies can be found at Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux, Dandelion Communitea Cafe, Kappy's, and the Maitland Farmer's Market on Sundays from 9 am to 2 pm.  They can also be ordered on their website.  You can follow Heartsong Cookies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

What are your favorite flavors of gluten free Heartsong Cookies?  

Peak Season Pops

This morning, I didn't feel like cooking breakfast, so my daughters and I headed to the Winter Park Farmers' Market, which is held every Saturday from 7am to 1pm.  While my girls devoured their gluten-filled cinnamon roll, we strolled over to Peak Season Pops to see what they were offering this morning.  

First up, I tried the Blueberries 'N Cream, which is one of the best popsicles I have ever had.  It was smooth and creamy, and had the most wonderful blueberry flavor in every bite.  I will definitely be trying to recreate the recipe at home this summer.  

I also enjoyed my pineapple basil pop, one of the vegan choices offered this morning.  

My daughter Emma really enjoyed her tropical mango pop, while Katie raved about the straight up local watermelon so much, I bought one to bring home.  

Peak Season Pops are gluten free, handmade, seasonally inspired, preservative free, and use local ingredients.  

Last fall, I enjoyed the pumpkin chocolate chip.  

I also really like their avocado lime.  

If you love chocolate and enjoy a little spice in your life, try the dark chocolate cayenne.  

I have never tried a Peak Season pop that I didn't like, and they always have a large selection of vegan and dairy pops to choose from.  

June 8, 2015 Update

This past weekend, my daughter Emma chose the watermelon lime pop, which she said was even better than the plain watermelon we had last week.  I was really impressed by the Hulk, which is a combination of apple, banana, spinach and kale.  Thankfully, this is one of Peak Season Pop's regular flavors, so I can enjoy it any time we visit the Winter Park Farmers' Market.  I also loved the orange & cream, and the plain vanilla.

Peak Season Pops can also be found at the Maitland Farmer's Market and the Orlando Farmer's Market on Sundays.  You can follow Peak Season Pops on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or visit their website here.  

What is your favorite Peak Season Pops flavor?

Tamale Co. Food Truck

I first read about the Tamale Co. food truck on my friend Amanda's blog, Eating Out...Without.  

Two Sundays ago, we headed down to the Food Truck Bazaar at Fashion Square Mall to check them out.  

The words "gluten free" appear prominently on their truck, because their whole menu is gluten free.  

A tamale is a Mexican dish made of masa (a dough made of corn flour), that is filled with meat or vegetables, wrapped in a corn husk, and topped with various sauces, pico de gallo, cheese, etc.  

I don't eat sour cream or mayonnaise, so I asked for my tamales without any kind of aioli or crema.  

The ladies at the food truck were so extremely patient and kind as I tried to figure out what I wanted to eat, and how it could be modified.  They suggested I try the chicken verde and the chicken rojo, minus the cream sauces, crema, aioli, and cilantro.  Both of my tamales, which were covered in lots of queso fresco, were delicious.  My husband and I enjoyed their slightly spicy kick.  My kids gave them a thumbs up as well.

I look forward to visiting the Tamale Co. food truck again soon to sample some more tamales.  Here's their full menu:

Verde (chicken or pork) -- meat is seasoned and cooked in our signature Chile Verde sauce, served with tomatillo cream sauce topped with cilantro Aioli, queso fresco, and cilantro leaves

Rojo (chicken or pork) -- meat is seasoned and cooked in our signature Chile Rojo sauce, served with chipotle cream sauce topped with queso fresco, crema and chopped cilantro

Ropa Vieja -- succulent shredded brisket braised with tomatoes and spices, served in it's own tomato sauce, topped with Aji Amarillo Aioli and sweet plantains

Buffalo Chicken -- pulled chicken, marinated in our special cholula buffalo sauce, served with our signature creamy blue cheese sauce and topped with buffalo sauce, carrots and celery

Rajas con Queso -- strips of fresh jalapeno with chihuahua cheese served with our tomatillo cream sauce, topped with crema and cilantro leaves

Choriqueso -- chorizo Mexican sausage and chihuahua cheese served with our Tamale Co. special Huajillo Sauce and topped with queso fresco and crema

Name unknown (this tamale was sold out and a sign was covering the name) -- homemade black beans seasoned with special herbs and spices, served with chipotle cream, topped with crema

Caribbean Pork -- slow-cooked savory pulled pork smothered in our sweet piloncillo glaze, served with pina pastor cream, topped with our tropical pico de gallo

You can pick any two tamales for $8.50.  For $10.50, you get two tamales, rice and beans.  A side of rice and beans can be added to any order for $3.00, and they were also selling homemade horchata.

You can follow the Tamale Co. food truck on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Truck Email: info@tamaleco.com
Truck Phone: (407) 455-1580

January 17, 2015 Update

The Tamale Co Food Truck will now be at the Winter Park Farmers Market every Saturday from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Have you visited the Tamale Co. food truck?  What are your favorite tamales?

Winter Park Honey

Have you heard that eating local honey might help you fight seasonal allergies?  You can read more about it here.  I have been seeing Facebook & blog posts on the subject, then I kept hearing about Winter Park Honey, so I decided we had to go to the Winter Park Farmers' Market and check it out.  

Winter Park Honey is raw, organically produced honey.  I started buying raw organic honey at the beginning of the school year at Publix after reading about its health benefits.  You can read more about the health benefits of raw honey here. 

At the Winter Park Farmers' Market, you can sample all the different varieties of Winter Park Honey.  I loved them all, but the Blackberry Twist and the Orange Blossom were my favorites.  

Winter Park Honey also sells Tupelo, Palmetto, Galberry, Florida Wildflower, Avocado, Ultimate Wildflower, and Local Wildflower honey infused with pollen.  

I wanted to buy at least 4 or 5 jars of honey, but we came home with two to start.  

My husband eats a teaspoon of the local wildflower honey infused with pollen every day to help fight seasonal allergies.  For the last month, I have been using the blackberry twist in all of the recipes I make that contain honey.  It is by far the best honey I have ever tasted!



After I gave up artificial sweeteners, I started using honey to sweeten my smoothies.  You can check out all of my smoothie recipes here. 

Last night, I made honey butter to go with my gluten free cornbread.  We enjoy Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix, but the honey butter I made with softened salted butter and Winter Park blackberry twist honey took this side dish from good to amazing!  Honey butter is also great on scones.

You can check out Winter Park Honey's website here.  I was excited to recently learn that The Fresh Market stores in Orlando will now be selling several varieties of Winter Park Honey.  You can view the list of stores that carry their products, and the farmers' markets in Florida and Colorado that they attend here.