So Many Dishes

Time just runs differently when you’re on a beach vacation. Everything feels slower and more relaxed. Maybe it’s because of the craziness and stress injected into our summer because of my unexpected second surgery, but the change to island time has been particularly noticeable on this trip to Sanibel Island.

Even though we’re away from home, I’m still cooking. The condo we’ve rented has a lovely, well equipped kitchen. I especially love the lighting in the kitchen—definitely better than at home and much better for taking pictures. (No, this is not going to trigger a kitchen remodel 😀)

We’ve usually had a standard set of recipes that we cook when we’re on this sort of trip, dishes that are easy to make, that can be cooked in a kitchen that’s, shall we say, suboptimal when necessary. If you were following me last summer when Ken and I went to the North Georgia mountains, you may remember my adventures in the mini-kitchen. This time, we’ve changed things up a bit. I switched out the chicken and artichoke dish that I shared a few months ago for another chicken and artichoke recipe that’s a longtime family favorite, and made that Saturday evening when we got here. Another dish that I normally prepare is an Italian beef roast recipe, which has always been great for leftovers and sandwiches. However, given the price of beef, we decided to pick up one of the preseasoned pork tenderloins. We actually ended up with a pork loin that was seasoned with a Korean barbecue marinade. I’m cooked that last night, and it was delicious. I had brought a package of yellow rice mix, thinking that we’d end up with a mojo-marinated tenderloin, so we mixed cultures, but we enjoyed the combo.

We do eat out, though. We had lunch today at a new-to-us, and relatively new to the island, restaurant, Wickie’s Lighthouse Restaurant. The name pays tribute to the iron-frame lighthouse on Sanibel, originally built in 1884, and lighthouse keepers, or “wickies,” who would climb the tower with a 5 gallon container of kerosene to fuel the light, as well as trim the wick. It’s quite an interesting story.

A fire and a hurricane are responsible for the creation of Wickie’s restaurant. Ken and I vacationed on Sanibel during the summer of 2022, posting pictures on Facebook of our activities, until we headed for home on August 6th. The next day, I had a message from one of my former students who lives in Naples, Florida, not too far south of Sanibel: “Mrs. P, are you still on Sanibel? The Island Cow burned down!” That restaurant had been one of our favorites, a popular casual spot with terrific food, especially fish. Everyone was shocked.

A bigger shock was when Hurricane Ian slammed into Sanibel less than two months later. The damage was incredible, and four years later we can still see the effects. Lots of buildings were severely damaged and businesses destroyed. Among those was a restaurant called The Mad Hatter. It sat right on the beach, and was washed away completely. Ken and I only ate there once, when we left the kids with my parents so we could spend a couple nights on Sanibel to celebrate our 25th anniversary. The Mad Hatter was definitely fine dining, and it was the perfect place and the perfect meal for our celebration.

Whew! I am, as my brother says, making a short story long. Anyway, the former owners of the Island Cow and the Mad Hatter joined forces and opened Wickie’s. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and they were doing a brisk lunch business today.

We both opted for salads. Ken chose the Old Florida, mixed greens, tomato, avocado, Gorgonzola, and croutons, dressed with an avocado dressing. He added grilled shrimp, one of several proteins that were available. He said it was delicious, and he loved the fact that there was plenty of Gorgonzola. It was so big that he couldn’t finish it, which may be a first.

There were a lot of tempting choices on the menu, but the strawberry Zinfandel salad called to me. It reminded me of the Island Cow, because there was always a fruit garnish on a salad plate. This has to be one of the best salads I’ve eaten. The greens were baby spinach, surrounded by blueberries and strawberry slices, then topped with crumbled goat cheese and candied pecans. I also added grilled shrimp. What really made this dish was the Zinfandel vinaigrette with which it was dressed. The taste is unique. It balanced the sweetness of the fruit and pecans without overwhelming it. I couldn’t finish my salad, either, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. I’m not generally a big fan of spinach salads, but I could eat this again tomorrow 😊

We’re booked on a boat tour of Tarpon Bay tomorrow morning, and I hope to have pictures to share. In the meantime, enjoy our view!