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Welcome to Old Florida Food

So, Why Old Florida Food? Wouldn’t Vintage Florida Food sound better?

Probably, but whenever I talk about the Florida that I grew up knowing, and the stories that I would hear from my Mother and Grandparents of Florida’s past, I always think of the “Old Florida.” I also refer to the foods of Florida’s past as “Old Florida Food” hence the name.

Come to Florida!

(This is me when I was about 5 on the beach in St. Pete. My Grandfather is filming me with his video camera as I play in the ocean waves. The necklace was given to me by my Grandfather from a souvenir shop in Florida at Weeki Wachee. I treasure it!)

My name is Julie and I have been coming to Florida my entire life, prior to my living here.

(I made these little teenager’s on the beach “Sand Globes” as a memory of Florida.)

I was born in the state of Georgia, Florida was where Georgian’s came to vacation.

My Grandparents, and Great-Grandparents, and Great-Aunts and Uncles, would come to Florida bringing my Mother and Me!

My Grandfather Frank

My Grandparents would load up the car for our Florida Vacation and we would always leave at night, arriving the following morning with my Grandfather looking for the NEON VACANCY sign. I was always asleep in the back seat of the car wearing my pajamas.

(I don’t think there were reservations back then.)

My Mother, Mary Keith in St. Pete on the Historic Park Benches

My Mother, Mary Keith, in Florida in her Teens

Standing on a Palm Tree

Mary Keith Holding a Fish

Could that be dinner?

The Motel, One of Many

(That beach towel was my mother’s when she was young. I have it!)

When my mother was a teenager, she and her friend Ellissha would take the train from Rome, Georgia down to Miami, and stay the summers with Ellissha’s Florida relatives. My mother told me they would carry shoe boxes full of Fried Chicken, and Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches made by my Grandmother and Ellissha’s mother, Florence, to eat on the train.

Shoe box Full of Fried Chicken and Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches

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I remember when we could park cars on the beach

My Great-Grandmother Keith, with my Great-Aunt Ruth and in photo left, her husband my Great-Uncle Walt, and in the photo at right, my Great-Grandfather Lucius Keith. He and Walt were brothers.

My Grammaw Nell with my Mother, Mary Keith, and her First Cousin Joe

Beach Babes!!

My Grammaw and my Mother, Mary Keith at the Beach

My Mother and her Uncle Ray, My Great-Uncle Helping my Mother in the Ocean

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My Grandfather and My Mother Disembarking a Ferry in Florida

(I always wanted to make a vintage beach shadowbox of my Grandparents and Great-Grandparents wearing their old timey bathing suits, where I could add some sand and some shells and lots of photos. Maybe someday I will.)

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(My Florida Summer Kitchen Homage)

The Foods that we will be bringing to you here on this post were the Foods that my Grandparents ate while vacationing in Florida, the Foods that my Mother and her friends ate while vacationing in Florida, the Foods that I ate while vacationing in Florida, AND the Foods that we still eat while Living in Florida and still having fun Playing Tourist.

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When we weren’t driving through the dead of night to Florida and arriving by morning, some of our trips did consist of us driving down from Georgia to Florida during the daylight hours. It was always a treat to arrive at the Florida Welcome Center for a cup of free Orange Juice, browse all the rows of brochures of tourists attractions and restaurants/hotels/motels/boat trips….. That was always my favorite thing to do. I would have gathered my pile of brochures of all the places that I wanted to see in Florida and I would sit in the backseat and read off everything to my Grandparents that we should do while in Florida.

(I have been told that I was probably a tour guide in a past life and I do believe that would be correct as I am the ultimately planner.) 🙂

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Click Here For: Old Picnic Travel Food to Florida

For all of our Picnic Foods to Florida

AND,

Click Here For: “Old” Miami

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Florida Oranges

My Great-Grandmother Keith’s Antique Orange Juicer

(I still use it and this is the only way I want to squeeze anything. I started to call it my Grandmother Keith’s Antique Juicer but then I realized the only thing they juiced in the south at that time was oranges.) 🙂

Cara-Cara Orange (Pink Center)

Great Pulp to Snack on.

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So, to start us off on this Florida Vacation of Fun and Foods, here is a historic Smoked Trout Dip:

But not with that fish, Mary Keith.

Smoked Trout Dip

My Very Retro Presentation

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Ingredients:

3 Smoked Trout Fillets

1 Cup Yogurt

1 Cup Miracle Whip

10 Drops Tabasco Sauce

2-3 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke

3 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

The Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

1 tsp. Wasabi Paste

Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste

Garnish:

Lemon Rings

Chives – chopped, and unchopped

Everything Ready

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Remove the skins from the trout fillets.

They should simply peel away as shown below… nice picture Julie!

TIP: As a garnish, you could slice the skins into strips, and pan fry them in a little oil until crispy. Then, place them on top of the completed dip. We do this also with salmon skin.

In a medium sized bowl, add your yogurt…

then Miracle Whip…

Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire Sauce,…

liquid smoke, and lastly…

your Old Bay Seasoning.

Mix the ingredients well.

Once combined, taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings to suit your pallet.

Remember, the Tabasco’s heat will be subdued by the yogurt, which is the first thing you should eat if your mouth is burning from hot peppers… not water!

Using your fingers, pull the smoked trout meat into large chunks.

BTW: This Smoked Trout is Delicious on it’s own. You could just eat it with crackers if you like.

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Add your lemon juice and fresh ground pepper.

When adding your wasabi paste, squeeze about an inch long into the bowl.

Now, using your rubber spatula, smooth is to the bowl making a thin strip.

Lastly, mix all of your ingredients together pushing them to the side where you smoothed the wasabi.

Doing this will ensure your wasabi paste is evenly mixed in with your other ingredients.

As you mix the fish, the large chunks will become smaller.

Slice the other half of the lemon into rings for garnish.

Place your mixture into a serving bowl…

and garnish with your lemon rings, chopped, and un-chopped chives.

Enjoy!

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Roasted Grapefruit/Oranges

This is something that I actually read about and thought I would try it.

I had several Grapefruit’s, some Himalayan, and some chunky Sea Salt, and thought I would give it a try.

All that is required is to slice a Grapefruit/Orange, etc. in half. Sprinkle with Salt. Place into a baking container on about 400F. And bake for about 15 minutes or so. I actually placed these in a 350F oven and it just wasn’t hot enough. However, these were delicious! None the less.

I loved eating them warm right out of the oven.

What a beautiful and tasty Florida Treat!

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The Florida Hurricane

A.K.A. IRMA!!!! (2017)

We needed something a little bright with sunshine as we waited for Hurricane Irma to arrive. We knew she would be delivering her wrath the following night. And we wanted to just enjoy a nice treat before all hell broke lose!!