During busy weeks, sometimes my breakfast is fast and on the go.  I'll tear open a highly processed carbohydrate in a foil wrapper, and, if I plan well,  it will at least accompany an apple or banana.

But this is a much better way to enjoy fruit in the morning. It's kind of like a smoothie, except this is meant for a leisurely morning savored slowly, seated at a breakfast table and sipped with a spoon instead of a straw.

At the Bloomsbury Inn, this is the first course in a three part breakfast.  Yes, their morning includes an appetizer, entree and dessert.  Isn't that divine?  Though this is the first course, it could certainly be dessert for me.

Kathleen, Innkeeper at the Bloomsbury, said that she finds it to be a challenge to find new, exciting, unique fruit options.  (I need to send her a link to my hot pink fruit breakfast!  That one wasn't just unique, it was funky!) Her cold fruit soup recipe is definitely a fun and different way of adding fruit to your morning meal.

Let's get started with cooking.  Or in this case, I should say mixing.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how simple this is to put together.

Notice that I picked "fat free" yogurt, "light" whipped cream and "lite" peaches and placed them right next to the "heavy" whipping cream.

Ha!

The recipe Kathleen gave me leaves the option open for choosing the fruit.  From berries to mango and even honeydew.  But I decided to have a peachy morning since it's the state fruit for South Carolina.

Unfortunately, peaches are not in season at the moment, so I used canned.  But you better believe I'm going to try this recipe again in the spring with some fresh peaches.

Next the sugar ... or how my Carolina relatives would say ... "shugah."

Next, a couple of dollops of yogurt.  The recipe calls for 6 ounces.  I had a big 'ole tub of it ... but figured that 6 ounces was equivalent to about 6 spoonfuls.  If you use vanilla bean yogurt, the extract is optional and probably not necessary unless you want a stronger vanilla flavor.

A dash of cinnamon.

Blend. Chill.

Serve and enjoy!

Bloomsbury Cold Fruit Soup

from the Bloomsbury Inn, Camden South Carolina

Total preparation time: 15 minutes, plus chilling time
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 cups fruit (peach, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango…any one of these works well…fresh is better, but canned or frozen will work when well drained)

½ cup sugar (sugar to taste depending upon natural sweetness of fruit)

1  (6 oz) vanilla bean yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract if you use plain yogurt (extract flavor based upon fruit:  vanilla, cinnamon, rum)

¼ cup heavy cream (add cream to determine consistency desired)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

If you are using fresh fruit, carefully clean, peal, and place in the blender.  Add all remaining ingredient and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 8 hours.  Garish with whipping cream, candied/sweet-flavored nuts, fresh mint or whole fruit slices.  Serve very cold.

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It is interesting to me to find out what people like to collect when they travel.  All the tourist hot spots are filled with tchotchke shops peddling magnets, spoons, thimbles and snow globes.  Photos are always the best souvenir, and I also like to collect Christmas ornaments so that at the end of the year I can take a nice trip down memory lane reminiscing about all of the places I've been.

But my favorite travel collection has to be my recipes.  From bed and breakfasts to restaurants, I try and get a recipe from everywhere I go ... and sometimes even places that I've never been just so I can savor the flavor!  When ever I make these dishes at home, my senses trick me into thinking I've traveled someplace further than my kitchen.  This recipe is one of those.  Even after I run out of Kermit's Key Lime Marmalade and I just use regular orange flavored, I will still think of Key West each time I make it.

Recently I ran in the Key West Half Marathon, and afterward, no amount of post-race bagels, bananas or beer could satiate the hunger I worked up after trotting along 13 miles around the island.  We stopped by a local healthy eatery, Help Your Self, for some fresh machete cut coconut water.  And while that was an awesome island experience, my friends and I needed some calories.

That's where the Conch Republic comes in.  My Key West Islander friend, Vanessa, recommended them for their excellent sea food, gorgeous view of the water and ultimately their proximity to Kermit's Key Lime Shop for dessert.  We had had our heart set on beer and a burger at Sloppy Joes ... but I'm glad she convinced us otherwise!  The Conch Republic happens to have the best cracked conch on the island, something I've never tried before.

I had to ask, what is the difference between plain ole "conch" and "crack conch."  I've had conch fritters, which are a lot like meaty hush puppies.  But when the dish was brought to the table I quickly discovered this was the real deal.  Big chunks of tender meat deep fried to golden perfection.  I loved it.  This is a recipe I wanted.  But fresh conch is something I would be afraid to tackle at home.  Have you ever seen one?  It's like a big slimy snail that takes some major tenderizing to make it chewable.  Do you remember as a kid, those cheap toys that were water filled flexible rubber tubes (kind of like a big fat worm) and when you squeezed it would shoot out of your hands?  I imagine tenderizing conch would be something like that ... chasing a slimy snail-like sea creature around my kitchen counter with a tenderizing gavel and having it slip out of reach each time.  But when it's prepared the way these guys did, it's delish!  So instead of having a frustrating conch experience at home, I got the recipe for the "secret sauce."

At the Conch Republic, they serve their cracked conch with a simple Orange Horseradish Marmalade Sauce.  You can't get any more "Florida" flavor than with orange marmalade.  I asked our server if the chef would give me me recipe, and moments later the manager walked over with a bar coaster and four basic ingredients scribbled on the back.  PRICELESS!  That is exactly the feeling of Key West ... laid back and not fussy.

Don't believe me about the recipe on a coaster?  Well ... here it is! They always say the best ideas are the ones written on a bar or cafe napkin or coaster.

Later we walked across the street to indulge in some famous Kermit's Frozen Key Lime Pie Dipped In Chocolate On A Stick. Yes, you read that right ... dipped ... in chocolate ... on a stick.  It's divine.  While standing in line to pay for our coffee and pie, I noticed a big fat coffee table book on the counter ... National Geographic's Top 500 Food Journey's of a Lifetime, of which Kermit's was listed.  Bonus.  I now had a new bucket list to complete and only 499 more "food journey's" to go.  We took our coffee, afternoon indulgences along with the book and headed out to Kermit's patio to relax and take in some sunshine.

Want to bring some of that Florida sunshine into your kitchen?  Try this quick and easy sauce recipe below  ...

Orange Horseradish Marmalade Sauce

From the Conch Republic Seafood Company, Key West, FL

1/4 Cup Orange Juice

1/4 Cup Lime Juice

1/2 Cup Orange Marmalade

2 Tbsp Horseradish

Mix all ingredients together and use as a marinade or serve as a dipping sauce with fresh seafood or chicken.

It's actually pretty tastey with eggs in the morning too!

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BONUS:  Do you know all the names of Kermit's Koi?

It may just be on a #TravelTuesday Trivia sometime soon!

Wondering what to make for your sweetheart this Valentines Day?  Breakfast in bed is the ultimate in starting the morning being pampered.

Here are 5 great breakfast recipes for Valentines Day.

Heart Shaped Stuffed French Toast

Wikipedia's etymology says the earliest use of the term was in 1660 and was bread fried with wine, orange juice and sugar.  I'll have to give that recipe a try!  After doing a little more digging through Google, I discovered in French it is actually called "pain perdu" which translates into "lost bread."  It was a popular recipe in many countries, not just France, as a way of making stale bread palatable.  The English call it "gyspy bread" and I think I'd like to adopt that term from now on ... sounds like breakfast with an adventurous edge!  (Read More ... )

Cheddar Egg Strudel with Spinach Cream

This savory and filling breakfast is a creation of the Rabbit Hill Inn located in Lower Waterford, Vermont.  It's a simple, quick and elegant recipe that would  make a perfect savory pairing with the heart shaped strawberry stuffed French toast for romantic Valentine's Day breakfast in bed.  And speaking of romance and Rabbit Hill Inn, Peter Greenburg said, "Your room could act as an aphrodisiac,"  and Cooking Light Magazine stated they had, "sensual amenities to set the mood."  Whoa.   (Read More ... )

Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

If you ever wanted dessert for breakfast, and felt a little guilty popping a single Dove's Promise's Dark Chocolate piece to melt on your tongue with your morning coffee ... then I have wicked solution for you.  A muffin.  Because even though it's chocolate, the fact that it's a muffin still makes it breakfast.  And since the stores are filled with pink hearts, chocolates and forget-me-not's, I thought this treat would make the perfect cupid's arrow  ... either for your Valentine's heart or your own.  (Read More ...)

Berry Bread Pudding

When I first met Marie with the Penny Farthing Inn, I have to confess, I thought she was "Penny."  And I kept adding an extra syllable to the end of Farthing, as in, "Farthing-ton," thinking it was her last name.  I've since been enlightened on what a Penny Farthing actually is, but I haven't worked up the courage to ride one!  Marie gave me a fantastic recipe for a Berry French Toast.  Though, it's a lot more like a bread pudding.  I love breakfast made in a ramekin since you end up with nice little individual servings of goodness. (Read More ... )

Beer with Breakfast

This was a little outside of my box as it was not an "inn" that gave me the recipe. I found the recipe on Tom's website, BrooklynBrewery.com . Having beer with breakfast intrigued me. While I have to confess that I'm not normally a beer drinker ... this was an AMAZING flavor pairing. Since I couldn't procure the Brooklyner Weisse, I just had to use a substitute (but still very tasty) beer with my breakfast.  Follow along our fun day of drinking beer and kitchen debauchery.  (Read More ... )

Just had to write a quick couple of honorable mentions of breakfast in the media this week.

First, the commercial that had me spewing wine at the television during the Super Bowl.  I'm not a big football fan.  In fact, I pick my football teams the way I sometimes pick wine ... which ever one has the prettiest packaging.  So I was rooting for the Saints only because I like the fleur de lis, black and gold were my college colors, and thought it would be a great boost for New Orleans.

The Super Bowl commercials are the real entertainment.  What were your favorites this year?  My top picks included the Snickers "You're not you when you're hungry" Betty White Ad.  I couldn't believe it when my favorite Golden Girl got tackled.  After that, the Google ad.  An American Finds Love In Paris.  Made me weepy and misty eyed.

But the ultimate spill-my-wine-and-drop-my-potato-chips ad was the Denny's Grand Slam Screaming Chickens.  There are going to be a lot of eggs needed for their free Grand Slam Breakfast this Tuesday.  If you haven't seen it, be prepared to laugh ...

I'm going to think of this now every time I have some eggs ... which is pretty often for this site!  But what really impressed me the most was right after I tweeted about this commercial, Denny's immediately tweeted me back ...

Now here's a company that really understands marking in this social media age.  After making a huge investment in Super Bowl air time ... they backed it up with watching for instant feedback on Twitter and started a dialogue with their Twitter fans.  Bravo.  Who needs focus groups when you've got Twitter?

My second breakfast media mention this week is a post on World Hum by Eric Weiner, "Don't Mess With My French Toast." Weiner describes my feelings about breakfast perfectly with his thought,

"at that early hour we’re still finding our bearings, still vulnerable. Breakfast is our way of reconnecting with our past before venturing into the world and forging our futures. For the traveler, breakfast grounds us in our home culture so we can work up the gumption to explore a new one."

Isn't that the truth?  For me, the comfort of breakfast in the morning is like a warm cozy blanket that makes getting out from under the covers in the morning tolerable.  The morning is definitely not a time when I'm rip roarin and ready to go dive into something adventurous.  Not until after my coffee anyway.

Did you have any breakfast stories from the weekend to share?  Let us know by commenting below!

--Rachelle

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Last weekend my friend Beth and I went on a road tripin' adventure through a really long peninsula, navigating the treacherous turn pike, past four towering landfills with ominous vultures, wrestling an iPod that kept playing the same damn songs over and over again while speeding through sweaty gator infested swamplands to the tiny island Key West.

I know, I know, so out there and exotic you've never even heard of it!

I must be crazy to get into a car and drive 394 miles ... only to run 13!  And I'll have you know that once you hit the keys ... that last 100 miles ... it's near impossible to find a coffee shop.  Dreadful.  After 6 hours of driving we were in desperate need of a caffeine kick.  And all we could find is seafood and beer.  The road signs went some thing like this ...

bait shop ...

dive shop ...

boat shop ...

seafood ...

beer ...

Repeat.

FINALLY in Marathon (and funny that we were driving to a 1/2 marathon) there was a big giant pink coffee cup in the sky!  Hallelujah! Smack me upside the head, wake me up and call me Sally.

Was it a hallucination?  Were our heavy eyelids, stiff shoulders and cranky moods playing a trick on our brain?  It was real!  But just as our luck would have it, locked doors were what we found.  Closed 20 minutes before we got there.  Figures.  We found a  Mickey D's a couple miles later to fuel up our energy with a McLatte and then finished the journey.

The view was gorgeous.  Luckily our friend Vanessa led us to a relaxing local hangout on the beach for us to get into the Key West swing of things.  After watching the sunset and indulging in a plate of stone crab legs, we had completely forgotten about our long drive.

Key West is known for celebrating the sunset, but the next morning we were catching the sunrise to run in the Key West 1/2 Marathon.  My friend Beth got me back into running last year when we went for a jog while on a weekend getaway.  I thought, "heck, why not!  If I run, I'll be able to eat my breakfast scone without guilt." So we shlogged (that's a shuffle/jog) through 2.5 miles. I thought I was going to die.  And now 3 miles seems like an easy warm up.  Heh! Who would have thought?

If you are a runner, I highly recommend the Key West 1/2 Marathon.  It's a scenic run, hugging the coastline most of the way.  And it's a Bucket List worthy goal ... to say that you ran around the entire island of Key West.  Bonus points if you can follow it up with the Duval crawl afterward. I couldn't ... I'm a one-beer kinda girl.

The second highlight of the trip was visiting my Travel Channel Academy bud, Vanessa.  Having been a marathon runner and triathlete herself, Vanessa was quite the cheerleader for my first big race.    She zipped ahead in her SUV with the windows wide open blasting the theme from Rocky, video camera in one hand, her Cannon swinging from her shoulder and her fists pumping up and down in the air in a winning champion style.  She made me laugh.  I looked forward to seeing her every couple of miles.

The first part of the race included a zip through downtown, mile marker zero, and the Southernmost Point.  So, of course, I had to take some photos and upload them to Twitter via @TravelBlggr.  But taking the time out for social media put us dead last.  And I do mean, the final two.  But we caught up after the photo ops and finished in 2 hours and 35 minutes.  WOOT!

Here are my tips & confessions for this road trip:

ROAD TRIP TIPS

Stop at the Racetrack on US 1 right at the end of the turnpike.  It is the cheapest gas you'll find in Florida at an average of . 25 cents less per gallon. Also grab some coffee to go.

Card Sound Road is a great local tip Vanessa shared with us.  Right after the Racetrack Gas Station, look for this toll road on your left.  It's only a dollar and will and will zip you past the construction on US 1 and give you a glimpse of Florida swamp and gators.

On your way down, or your drive back up, stop for breakfast and coffee at Leigh Anns in Marathon.  You can't miss it with the big pink coffee cup in the sky.  Not only do they have great coffee, but their breakfast is to live for.  I ordered a mushroom and brie frittata to make up for the banana and Cliff block breakfast I had the day before.

ROAD TRIP CONFESSIONS

I eat all the round toasts out of a Chex Mix bag.

I'm completely addicted to running.  So much so that I'm going to tackle a Marathon next.  Another fun one I can't wait to try ... the ET.  It is another Bucket List worthy race as it goes around/near Area 51 on Extra Terrestrial Highway and starts at midnight.

We found some little heroes to help us on our road trip back home.  Meet Jaws in the picture to the right.  Rex is his alligator side kick. They were quite the entertainment on our trip back up the state through the rain.  Next time I think we'll just ask Beth's husband to fly us.

--Rachelle

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Want to learn more about where to stay in Key West?  Check out these videos Vanessa (Brock Media) produced for some of the local Inns:

Cypress House Inn

Grand Guest House

Wicker Guest House

Aaaah!  The aroma of baking puffed pastry, scrambled eggs and garlic spinach cream.  It's sweet smell of redemption.   My Egg SNAFU last week was beyond rescue, so I feel relieved to carry out this recipe pretty smoothly.  (Click here to read more about Egg Snafu).  Amazing what you can get done when you don't try and do 5 things all at once and just focus on the task at hand.  Whew!

This savory and filling breakfast is a creation of the Rabbit Hill Inn located in Lower Waterford, Vermont.  It's a simple, quick and elegant recipe that would  make a perfect savory pairing with the heart shaped strawberry stuffed French toast for romantic Valentine's Day breakfast in bed.

And speaking of romance and Rabbit Hill Inn, Peter Greenburg said, "Your room could act as an aphrodisiac,"  and Cooking Light Magazine stated they had, "sensual amenities to set the mood."  Whoa.  And I was just considering going up for just a plain ole cooking class.  I'm such a kitchen dork.  But then again ... a cooking class could be hot!

If you haven't yet made Valentine's Day plans, here's a way you can bring one of Travel & Leisure Best 100 Hotels Worldwide into you're own home.

Let's start with the puffed pastry.   Yes, this is what my groggy eyes at 6 am mistook for pie crust when I created an Egg Snafu.  So here it is in all it's glory ... Puffed Pastry.  You can find it in your frozen foods section at your local grocer.  Just don't mistakenly pick up pie crust.

Start with a dozen eggs scrambled with about a 1/2 cup of heavy cream.  If you've never had scrambled eggs made this way ... taste a little bite.  You'll never make them without heavy cream again.  Ever.  It's the secret to making them creamy, fluffy and light.  BUT ... not light on the calories.

And "Cooking Light" wrote about Rabbit Hill?  How do they make these delish recipes without some serious calories!?

Cook them until they're set ... but still a little wet.  You're going to bake them too and don't want them to dry out.

Spoon your scrambled eggs into the center of a puffed pastry sheet.  This pastry sheet seemed a little small for a dozen eggs, so next time I'll either cut the recipe in half or make two strudels.

Cover in shredded cheddar cheese.

Roll the pastry into a cylinder.  I had imagined that this would come out more like a spiral of puffed pastry rather than a burrito shape.  Perhaps I need a longer pastry sheet for that effect.

Take a pastry brush and "glue" the edges together with just a touch of water.

Then brush with melted butter and set in the oven to bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Next ... the spinach.

When we tried this with the Egg Snafu, I wrote down the recipe.  I should have printed it because I missed one vital word ... blanched.  Now, I must admit, I didn't quite know what "blanched" meant.  So I googled it.  I google everything I make in the kitchen.  I found this lovely step-by-step instructions on blanched spinach.

And then I blanched my own ...

Start with boiling water.  Add a whole bag of spinach.  Yes, I said a whole bag.  It dwindles down to nothing when you're done.

After the spinach has turned a bright green, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, remove the spinach with a slotted spoon and add to an ice bath.

Sounds fancy and pampered to give food a bath, doesn't it?  Well, maybe "tortured" spinach is a better description.  This whole process reminded of my last ski strip to Steamboat Springs, CO, where we did some of hot-tubbin and snow-dippin.  That's when we've had one or two beers in the hot tub and think its smart to run out and dip our bathing suit clad bodies in freezing cold snow.  Or similar to sitting in a bath tub full of ice and water after a 22 mile run.  I can only imagine the spinach wants to yell and scream profanities as loudly as I did.

Remove the spinach from the ice bath with clean hands and squeeze all the water out until you are left with a ball of spinach.

Add the blanched spinach to a food processor with 1 cup of heavy cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I also added a pressed garlic clove.

Blend.

Add the puree to a sauce pan on medium heat and reduce by 1/3 of it's volume.

The strudel bakes to golden perfection during the time it takes to whip up the Spinach Cream.

Slice and serve.  Mmm.

Now, about those cooking lessons with Chef Matthew ...

--Rachelle

Cheddar Egg Strudel with Spinach Cream

from the Rabbit Hill Inn, Lower Waterford, VT

Ingredients

1 sheet puffed pastry, room temp

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup heavy cream

12 eggs beaten with 1/2 cup heavy cream

2  tbls melted butter

1 cup blanched spinach

salt & pepper to taste

For the Strudel

1) Preheat oven to 350 (convection oven) or 400 (standard oven.

2) Heat 1/4 cup canola oil in a large non-stick saute pan.

3) Cook eggs over medium high heat scrambling them until barely set.

4) On a small sheet or cookie pan lay out puff pastry.

5) Place eggs straight along center of pastry sheet.

6) Top with cheese and roll pastry into a cylinder.

7) Brush with butter and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

For the Spinach Cream

1) Puree 1 cup of spinach with 1 cup of heavy cream.

2) Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) In a sauce pan, reduce by 1/3 the original volume.

4) Serve over strudel.

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