More on the Ice Cream Tour ...

My next stop after One Flight Up was at the The Village Coffee Pot -- Serving more than just hot coffee, you can get almost any caffeinated beverage chilled and blended AND their ice cream is "udderly" delicious. Scooping up the Working Cow brand of gourmet ice cream, a local Florida company that has a passion for an old fashioned homemade way of doing things. Because it's fresh and local, it's also guilt-free for the eco-friendliness of being local and fresh. Sticking with my "green" theme, I had a cup of an old and hard to find favorite ... Pistachio. Mmm.

Recently the Village Coffee Pot added Gelato to their menu. So yesterday I had to go back for another taste test. I know, I know, it's a tough job ... but somebody's got to do it! I fell in love with Gelato during a trip to Italy and was just amazed that it's not more popular here in the states. It's a little creamier, a little softer, and the flavor is much more intense.

We tried triple chocolate (which is just as wicked as it sounds) and also banana caramel that tastes a lot like Banana's Foster. The Village Coffee Pot participates in WhatToDoInMountDora.com's VIP Card program ... so download yourself a card and use that 10% in savings to buy more flavors for your own taste testing!

I've got to head to the gym now and work off some of these indulgences ...

Green Tea Ice Cream

I found some delicious ice cream in the most unusual place, with an unusual taste at Mount Dora Sushi. Put away the origami and chop sticks and bring out your adventurous taste buds for this one ... green tea and plum wine flavored ice cream. I had to try them both!

I'm an avid tea drinker, and I have to say the ice cream version tasted like a glass of cold sweet tea. Refreshing, slightly sweet ... and green. The texture is a little bit more like a sorbet which makes you feel like it's healthy. Full of those green tea anti-oxidants, right? Our friend's son that was with us thought I was receiving a giant bowl of wasabi. I should have triple-dog dared him to taste it and then delighted in the surprise look on his face! But I doubt he would have believed me anyway ... I'm known for only liking spice in my life, not in my food.

The plum wine flavored ice cream looked and tasted a lot more like cherry to me. Much sweeter than the green tea version. It was good, but the green tea was my favorite.

If you're feeling a little bit more bold, they have a sundae available with a red bean topping. I haven't tried this one yet. I may need a shot of Saki before being bold enough to legumes to my dessert mix. However, if you've tried it ... tell me about it!

Lemon Window Cleaner Recipe

There are about a 1000 uses for vinegar, and this happens to be one of my favorites when it comes to cleaning. The "blue stuff" just doesn't cut it when it comes to windows, and this is a great non-toxic, environmentally friendly alternative. Plus it's easy and fun to make.

Lemon Window Cleaner Recipe
Large Plastic Spray Bottle
2 Cups Distilled White Vinegar
2 Cups Filtered Water
40 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
(You could use lemon extract, but
the Essential Oil is a much higher concentrate)

Shake. Spray. Swipe.

I also use this same solution for cleaning bathroom fixtures (showerheads, faucets, anything chrome) as it really dissolves soap and that white hard water build up.

Using a microfiber cloth will keep you from leaving bits of lint behind. Voila. No streaks. Vinegar evaporates. Fresh lemon scent lingers. Now that's clean!

--Rachelle

Housekeeping 101

The grit, the grime, the goopedy goo ... Innkeepers probably know best all the tricks that Martha Stewart wont dare tell you about keeping a house clean and in order. We're going to venture to share all of our tips, tricks and unusual uses for regular household items in our Housekeeping 101 Series including recipes to make your own homemade cleaners, how to green things up with eco-friendly tips and timeless solutions you may have forgotten about.

Some examples include ...

... a million different uses for the handiest household ingredient: vinegar

... unusual ways to remove wine from a table cloth (I know one person that in a pinch at a party will use white out. Yes, I said white out.)

... 10 different uses for lint roller, other than lint

And a myriad of other helpful ways to save you time cleaning so that you can spend more time sipping wine with friends.

Backyard Tourist: SeaWorld 08

One of the perks of living in Mount Dora is that we're only 25 miles away from the top tourism destination in the world! Orlando has much to offer ... theme parks, attractions, adventure & fun. And the fairly new road 429 makes it a quick and easy drive. I feel like we've practically got our own private back entrance to Disney from the 429.

We often have friends, family and guests at the Inns come for a visit and take a day trip to the parks. My cousin and his wife came down this week from North Carolina and SeaWorld was on there to-do list. I haven't been there in awhile so I was as excited as a little kid about going.

SeaWorld has some thrill rides, but it is mostly about the animals, shows and FREE beer! We rode Kraken, which I've heard rumors that it's the tallest & fastest roller coaster in Orlando. After cranking to the top of the first drop, getting a view of all of Orlando, and then zooming through more hair-pin turns than I can count ... I would fully believe that rumor. A little quick research helped me find that it is indeed 15 stories high and travels up to 65 miles an hour ... with nothing but but your feet dangling beneath you. That's enough trill for me for a day!

My favorite show for the day had to be the Dolphin show which incorporated circus-style acrobatics with the animal stunts. Very entertaining. Of course ... I'm a sucker for animals.

Did you know on average, people walk anywhere from 8 to 12 miles when visiting a theme park? No WONDER I'm so tired and achy. I earned that big dessert at the end of the day. Be sure to check the Top 10 Theme Park Survival Essentials for your next day trip to the parks. And after being all good and tired from trekking through SeaWorld all day I was elated to come home to the peace and quiet of Mount Dora! Some R & R is in store ...

--Rachelle

Inn The Kitchen

Okay, so I'm not one of those weird geeks that spends 8 hours a day on the internet. Eh hum. However, I did get sucked into a blog the other day and after a small back ache and red & white spiraled-bulls-eye-glazed-over eyes, I realized I had been reading on for over an hour! I LOVED it! It's the Pioneer Woman. She cooks, she writes, she rides. She has punks and a marlboro man. Bree also has an interesting way of bringing recipes to life by showing you how through pictures. That is SO much better for me since I'm a visual person and usually skip reading the directions on things anyway. My oven and smoke alarm will thank her.



Anyhow, The Innkeepers of Mount Dora have an event coming up this fall, Inn Good Taste that is a combination murder mystery event and cooking class. I'm going to attempt to bring you "Inn The Kitchen" with the Innkeepers, Pioneer-Woman style, by making it more visual instead of wordy. Don't know if my little point and shoot camera will do it justice ... but, hey, if Ashton Kutcher can get good photos than so can I gosh darnit! Maybe I can talk some of my hobby photographer friends into helping by promising lots of fun and the possibility of a food fight. And, of course, copious amounts of red wine.



--Rachelle

Guest Comments: Mount Dora Historic Inn

Florida has a rainy season, and usually it’s June through August each year. So you just plan on having rain every day at almost the same time for 3 months and get on with your life. If nothing else, it gives you a great looking lawn, and a reason to leave the theme parks.

On this particular day my husband and I were ready to relax. We could care less about the rain, it would only add to the relaxing experience.

We pulled up to the Historic Inn in the early evening, and as we were getting out of the car we noticed something pink coming towards us. It was the inn keeper, Jim, coming to meet us with pink umbrellas and a glass of wine. What a welcome! He helped us with our bags, made sure we didn’t lose our footing on the wet pavement and showed us inside to our rooms.

The Mt Dora Historic Inn looks like a dollhouse, both inside and out. Very quaint and charming and so comfortable and relaxing. Jim and his wife Anna had wine, cheese and vegetables ready for us, so we easily slipped into vacation mode while getting to know them better.

The tour was fantastic… every room was wonderfully decorated with antiques, lace and flowers. The beds were fluffed and welcoming and when I happened to glance out of the window I realized that we were just steps away from all the shops and restaurants that Mt Dora is known for.

After a rejuvenating night of sleep, it was the moment we had been waiting for. The breakfast at the Mt Dora Historic Inn is famous in this town for being THE BEST. And….OH MY GOODNESS…it was! I don’t even recall how many servings we had because I was so deliriously happy with what I was eating. And the descriptions of each serving were just as yummy! Just hearing all the passion and care that went into each item made my mouth water. There was citrus infused with French vanilla, Polynesian soup (similar to a smoothie but SO much better) an egg soufflés with kielbasa, cinnamon potato pancakes and stuffed French toast. I was overwhelmed by the amazing breakfastie-goodness!

This was definitely a wonderful experience from start to finish. Jim and Anna were gracious hosts and wonderful people to get to know. Make sure you are ready for the ultimate in relaxation when you book a stay at this B&B and make sure you go there hungry!

--Beth
Orlando, FL