I do try to eat healthy and exercise on a normal basis, but I would like to try and mix it up this year. Try some new healthy foods (made easier by my subscription to CSA Empower Farms) and try some exercises beyond my walking and tennis. I’ve already done Yoga once this month and went Swimming as well. Maybe I’ll even try Pickleball! Doing exercise that’s fun means it’s more likely you’ll keep doing it. So, maybe my New Year’s Resolution for 2023, is simply More Fun.

Trying New Restaurants is also fun and I’ve already tried two this year. I ran into food blogger Pat Mackin at the Villager’s Home Tour (check out her Instagram at patmakincoconutgrove) and asked her for restaurant recs for the Grove. She recommended Sushi Garage, in the newly redone Coco Walk, for their Happy Hour so I tried it.

Coco Walk is a happening place these days! And Sushi Garage (we sat outside) is in the midst of it all.

Happy Hour goes from 5 to 8- quite a long Happy Hour- and features 1/2 off drinks. I tried the Lychee Mule and then the Fat Cucumber, both delicious. The bites offered for Happy Hour are $4, $6, $8 and $10. For some reason, our server recommended all the $10 bites (hmm), but everything we sampled was good and a great deal. In particular we liked the Hamachi Serriole (Yellowtail Roll), the Tempura Shrimp Bites and the Chili Shrimp Dumplings. We also got Shishito Peppers, Edamame and 1/2 Bagel Roll.

This new year, I also ate at The Bayshore Club, in the former Scotty’s location. It’s a beautiful venue and the night we ate there it was a Full moon and they had live music. Luckily, we sat away from the music (it was a little loud) for dinner. The drink The Slip ($16), with vodka, Elderflower liqueur and dill, was quite refreshing.

The Conch Fritters ($16) were very good, as was the the Coral Reef Ceviche ($18) I ordered for my entree, with Rock Shrimp. My friend’s Mini Ahi Tuna Tacos, in fried won ton wrappers and topped with caviar, looked delicious and she loved them. Others at the table ordered Fried Chicken Sandwiches ($15) and Fried Fish Tacos ($18). I sampled the French Fries. They were a tad underdone and just so-so. Prices were a little high, but not outrageous.

The Bayshore Club is part of The Grove Bay Hospitality Group, which also has Glass & Vine and Root & Bone, among other restaurants. The food was decent, definitely better than Scotty’s. I wouldn’t run back for the food, but I would run back for the location and ambiance. They also have specials, like $2 oysters on Monday nights and 1/2 off bottles of wine Wednesday, as well as Happy Hour Monday through Friday (4-6) and Live Music Wednesday through Sunday.

I got a pizza oven for Christmas! It wasn’t on my list (Zeke went rogue) but, ever since we visited Kuleto Winery in Napa, where they had a homemade Wood-fired pizza oven, I’ve longed to get one. This one is by Ooni; pizza ovens are very hot items (pun intended) these days.

Our first pizza, a Margherita, was a total success. Zeke said it was the best pizza he’s ever eaten. We kept it simple with Publix pizza dough, Rao’s red sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, crushed red pepper, Parmesan and olive oil. It was truly delicious and, at 900 degrees, only took about 3 minutes to cook. It does take 30 minutes for the oven to come to temp.

The second pizza I attempted- a Hawaiian Pizza with Ham, Pineapple and Mozzarella- was a total disaster. The pizza dough had gotten sticky in the fridge and when I tried to slide the dough off the peel (the metal tray with a handle) the toppings slid into the oven, while the dough stayed behind. What a mess! I ended up throwing the sticky dough away and using the toppings to make English Muffin pizzas for dinner. Live and learn.

It’s a learning curve and I’m sure, in no time, we’ll be making all kinds of delicious pizzas. I envision Shrimp Pizza with Pesto, Breakfast Pizza with sausage and egg and Potato Pizza with Truffle Oil. The possibilities are endless and it’s a great way to use up leftovers.

One thing I do want to do (that was on my list of things to do last year) is revamp my Foodie in Miami website in order to put the recipes into an index. This was a suggestion by several Foodie in Miami readers and I’m determined to do it in 2023. I may need professional help, however, as Foodie in Miami is not a Technology Whiz.

So, stay tuned… and Happy New Year! New Year, new you?

And now we welcome the New Year. Full of things that have never been.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Up Next: Food Trends 2023

How hard is it to install a dishwasher?

Zeke asked the Appliance Salesman we bought the new (and old) dishwasher from.

It depends on how handy you are.

Al said.

“He’s not handy!” I screamed in the background, to no avail. Zeke got a truck, picked up the dishwasher with Guillermo’s assistance and brought it home. When he opened the dishwasher box and found the 30-page installment instructions, he realized he was in over his head. He then tried to get someone to come and install it. On Christmas Eve.

Needless to say, that didn’t happen, so we hand-washed meals from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the day after, until we were saved by actual plumbers, who took two hours (!) to install our new dishwasher. Since it involved hooking up water and electric, I’m not sure how Zeke thought he was going to be able to accomplish this by himself.

He was convinced, however, he could install our new microwave in the Keys. He bought it as a Christmas present (thanks Honey, but I wanted a trip to New York!) for me when he went to pick up the new dishwasher. Our old microwave is ancient, from the ’90’s and didn’t even have a turntable inside. When I heated up my coffee in it, the mug got very hot, while the coffee inside stayed cold. So while we definitely needed it, appliances are never my idea of the most exciting Christmas gift. Practical, yes. Exciting, no.

We loaded the large microwave box into Zeke’s car and drove to Key Largo for the weekend. As I was upstairs unpacking, I heard a loud CRASH that was the unmistakeable sound of glass breaking. The box was heavier than Zeke realized, so he unpacked the microwave from its box and while he was carrying the glass turntable upstairs, it slipped out of his hands and shattered.

Beyond that, once I helped him lug this monster of a microwave upstairs, he realized it was way too heavy for one person (especially if that person is a lawyer and not a handyman) to install. So, once again, he relied on an expert to install it, as a surprise to me, when we were back in Miami. Now, we have a new microwave and my sailboat coffee mug stays cool, when I heat it, while my coffee inside is hot!

When we went to do a load of laundry in the Keys, lo and behold our washer and dryer weren’t working. Since they are also original appliances from the ’90’s, there seems no reason to try and fix them, but the stackable units are expensive and Home Depot is out of them. Probably because of the supply chain, blah, blah, blah. The one at Bouche Appliance (where we’d gotten the dishwasher and microwave) is $1700, so it’s not a cheap appliance to replace. So, for now, I’m bringing our Key’s laundry home to wash and dry.

Back home, while I was watching T.V. in my bedroom, the usually sunny Ellen Degeneres suddenly faded to black. I changed the channel to see if it was just that station, but no, every channel was black. I could still hear the program, so it was kind of like radio, but not as good, because it was T.V. without a picture. This T.V. is old- about 15 years- and it’s not a smart T.V. In fact, it’s a very dumb T.V., but up until last week, it was a dumb T.V. that worked. T.V.s are relatively cheap these days, so I guess it’s time to replace it. But I really started wondering what bad juju was happening to the appliances at home. Someone suggested a lightening strike, but that wouldn’t explain it happening in Miami AND the Keys. It’s not even Mercury Retrograde yet (it starts January 14th), so can’t blame it on that either.

My Holidays were nice, except for the fact I was washing dishes by hand for DAYS and everyone I know got Covid. Not quite, but it felt like it. The couple we normally do New Year’s Eve with, couldn’t celebrate with us because the husband got Covid and then the couple we pivoted to spend it with in the Keys couldn’t either, because the wife got Covid. Like Oprah on her talk show- “Now you get Covid! And you get Covid! And you get Covid!” Ugh! And, other family members, friends, kids of friends, distant relations etc… have contracted this new, highly-contagious Omnicron variety of Covid. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

So, we spent New Year’s Eve alone, in the Keys, which was peaceful and relaxing. We had caviar, bacon-wrapped scallops and Fresh Stone Crabs with all the Joe’s sides- mustard sauce, tomatoes, cole slaw and sweet potato fries for dinner and champagne to drink. We stayed up to watch the ball drop- a Big Deal to stay up that late at our age!- and went to bed, praying to God that 2022 will be better than 2021.

Zeke made his typical New Year’s Day Southern meal of Black-eyed peas and Collard Greens. These dishes include ridiculous amounts of Pork, so I just close my eyes to the process and enjoy the results. My diet, for this reason, never starts New Year’s Day. The Black-eyed peas, which my Italian grandmother always insisted we eat each New Year’s Day, are supposed to be good luck. The Peas are for Peace, the Rice is for Riches, the Hog Jowl is for Joy and the Collards are for Cash.

So wishing everyone Peace, Joy and Riches in the new year, good health (aka no Covid) and appliances that don’t break when you most need them! I realize, while this whole blog has been a rant of things gone wrong, that I’m very lucky for a lot of things. I’m healthy, my family is healthy, I have a place to sleep at night, clean water and an abundance of food to eat. So this New Year, I only have one resolution and that is to #belikebetty- the beautiful, ever-optimistic Betty White who recently passed away. I want to be the person who always sees the glass half full (even if I have to hand wash that glass myself!).

Up Next: Joe’s Tomatoes