Peep wars

Kevin and I had a great time celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day.

We went out with friends to Wall Street in downtown Orlando, drank American beer and ate Mexican food. It was a really fun evening.

I was moving a little slowly on Sunday, but we made it out to Waterford Lakes in East Orlando to meet my parents and sister for lunch at Keke’s—the perfect recovery food. I ordered a grilled buffalo chicken wrap with blue cheese dressing in a whole wheat tortilla with sweet potato fries.

I love Keke’s because its food is a lot lighter than most other places. The sweet potato fries really hit the spot.

Also ordered at the table were two egg white omelets, a cheeseburger and French toast. We had quite the assortment of foods.

After lunch, Kevin and I stopped by Publix and came home with a ton of groceries, including two boxes of Peeps. Peeps kind of gross me out, but these Peeps weren’t for eating…they were purchased solely for dueling.

That’s right…PEEP WARS (apparently, that’s a thing?).

Basically, you take two Peeps, put a toothpick in the side of each and microwave them (causing them to grow) until one toothpick deflates the other Peep. It was a battle royale, and since I’m the most competitive person on the planet, I wasn’t about to let my Peep lose without a fight.

VICTORY! My purple Peep won, and now we have two boxes of Peeps that no one is going to eat.

Do you like Peeps?

Breathing fire

Every single time my sister visits Orlando from college, she wants one thing: Thai Singha in Waterford Lakes. I don’t blame her—it’s pretty delicious. I always order the same thing: curry or pad thai. You really can’t go wrong with either.

We started out with our usual favorite: chicken summer rolls. I haven’t found a place with better peanut sauce. I do wish they offered a shrimp version, though.

Kathryn ordered her favorite: tofu pad thai.

I decided to veer off my usual path and tried something new: chicken and shrimp garlic.

I ordered the dish at medium spiciness, but I swear it came out way hotter. Within seconds of my first bite, my face got flushed, I started sweating and I could feel my tongue trying to escape. I felt like I scorched the entire inside of my mouth.

My stomach and taste buds were having an internal struggle. The food was delicious, but it kind of hurt to keep eating. The chicken was cooked really well and was extremely tender. The pieces of shrimp were a decent size, and I really liked the light sauce. You can really taste the garlic in the dish, which I loved. The flavors were definitely there. However, my burning mouth got to a point where each bite of my dish was followed by a pad thai chaser. I’m not sure how much my sister appreciated that.

My stomach ended up winning the battle, and I cleaned my plate…and drank all my water. I have a tendency to eat this way when I encounter spicy foods. Sometimes they hurt so good (sorry for the Mellencamp reference).

What’s the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Designer Greens

Last night my good friend Erica and I braved the thunderstorms to catch up and celebrate her birthday a little early. We headed out to Designer Greens in Waterford Lakes. I had never been but had heard great things.

Designer Greens was actually opened by a UCF alumnus, and it currently has two locations: one at Waterford right by UCF and one across the street from the University of Florida.

Their concept revolves around offering fresh ingredients to assemble your own custom salad, or you can choose from one of their own suggested concoctions. They also offer soups and flatbread paninis.

Erica ordered the Waldorf salad, which had grapes, granny smith and gala apples, candied pecans and goat cheese. She received raspberry dressing on the side. The fruit looked really fresh. They chop up all the ingredients for your salad as you order.

I should also add that this is a half order. Their portions are pretty big.

I opted for their half and half special, which includes a half order of any salad and a half panini sandwich. To continue the avocado kick I’ve been on, I ordered the avocado sandwich and the spicy buffalo panini.

The avocado salad had chunks of avocado (duh), hard boiled egg, mandarin oranges, red onion, corn, candied pecans and goat cheese with citrus dressing. The panini came with Boar’s Head buffalo chicken, tomatoes, onions, cheddar cheese, gorgonzola cheese and a lot of buffalo sauce.

Everything was really delicious and fresh. I liked that you could see them assemble everything in front of you. Despite all the healthy fats and protein in my salad, it was surprisingly light and refreshing. The spicy buffalo sauce with the warm, melted cheeses in the panini was a great combination.

I left feeling really content with my meal but not overstuffed like is often the case when eating out.

What is your favorite salad ingredient? I’m such a sucker for any candied nut or hard boiled eggs. I pretty much like hard boiled eggs anytime.