Polk County invites residents to two heart-awareness events this month, Winter Haven Hospital’s Heart Smart Days Festival and Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s Matters of the Heart.

Kicking off National Heart Month, Winter Haven Hospital is holding a series of events to promote heart awareness beginning with “An Affair of the Heart Ladies Luncheon” and lecture on Friday, February 3 at 12:00 p.m. Heart Smart Day will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 11. The festival will continue with Heart-to-Heart Cardiac Support Tuesday, February 14 at 3:00 p.m., and will come to a close the following week on Tuesday, February 21 with a community lecture at 5:00 p.m. The Heart Smart Days Festival proceeds will benefit the patients served by Winter Haven Hospital’s Bostick Heart Center.

“Matters of the Heart” is a one-day community health event Friday, February 10 at First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, in Lakeland. The health fair will take place from 1:30-2:00 p.m. and will be followed by presentations from Lakeland Regional Medical Center’s Heart Center Team: Andres Medina, MD, cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon and Rajesh Lall, MD, interventional cardiologist from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Andrea Oliver of Hall Communications will be the emcee for the afternoon. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations must be made in advance.

Be sure to take advantage of these opportunities to ensure you are living a heart-smart lifestyle!

Enter the Spring Training Getaway to Sunny Central Florida for your chance to win:

• Two round trip airline tickets on Delta Airlines flying out of Detroit Metro Airport
• Seven night stay at the Hampton Inn Lakeside Village in Lakeland, FL
• Two tickets to the Tigers BBQ event February 28th
• Two box seat tickets to the Detroit Tigers vs. Florida Southern College game on March 2nd at Joker Merchant Stadium
• Two box seat tickets to the Detroit Tigers vs. Atlanta Braves game on March 4th at Joker Merchant Stadium
• $50 in gift certificates to Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grill in Lakeland, FL
• Two tickets to LEGOLAND® Florida
• Two tickets to Bok Tower Gardens
• Two tickets to Fantasy of Flight

For more information about Central Florida Vacations, check out www.visitcentralflorida.org.

The Southern Smokers BBQ Competition kicks off Polk County’s competitive barbeque festival season on Saturday, January 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Dundee at the Dundee Ridge (Winn Dixie) Plaza. Sanctioned by the Florida BBQ Association, a maximum of 45 teams are expected to compete.

The 16th Annual Lakeland PigFest, on Friday, January 27th and Saturday, January 28th at the Tiger Town Sports Complex in Lakeland, is the area’s largest barbeque competition. Lakeland PigFest is a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event and the KCBS is the largest international organization of barbeque enthusiasts. Each year PigFest welcomes close to 200 teams to compete in the Pro Division, BackYard Division and the Kid’s Q competition and proceeds benefit Lakeland-area charities.

The 8th Annual Budweiser Smoke on the Water BBQ Competition returns to Winter Haven on Saturday, February 4th as the 2012 Florida BBQ Association State Championship. Funds raised benefit the Citrus Center Boys & Girls Clubs of Winter Haven, Lake Wales and Haines City. More than 80 teams from across the country will compete for the Florida State Grand Champion title. Unique entertainment includes a Cypress Water Sports Ski Show on beautiful Lake Cannon.

The 4th Annual Ribs on the Ridge takes place at Lake Eva Park in Haines City on Friday, February 24th and Saturday, February 25th. This growing event has been the Florida BBQ Association’s largest competition for the past two years; with approximately 100 teams competing. Don’t miss performances by The Pork Chop Review featuring “Oink” the singing pig!

In October 2012, the festivals start over again with the Florida BBQ Association sanctioned Fine Swine at the Pit in Mulberry offering up more delicious barbeque to please your palette. Visit www.fineswine.org.

Polk County offers numerous barbeque restaurants so you won’t have to suffer withdrawal in the off-season. Historic eateries include Peebles Bar-B-Q, a Central Florida landmark that has been serving up barbeque for more than 55 years, and Jimbo’s Pit Bar B-Q, a Lakeland tradition since 1964. Brock’s Smoke Hut in Winter Haven was recognized in 2011 by National Barbecue News as one of the “Best of the Best Barbecue Restaurant’s in America.” Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q and Woody’s Bar-B-Q are familiar names with locations all around Polk County. This list hardly scratches the surface. For a comprehensive listing of restaurants in Polk County, go to www.VisitCentralFlorida.org.

Right now I’m enjoying Florida Avocados on bologna sandwiches, but Christmas will be here soon and I’ll be able to get some really fantastic Florida oranges to bring back some of my favorite Florida memories.

At Christmas, my grandmother always made Orange Pound Cake with freshly squeezed Florida orange juice from the groves around her house.  I always got to help when I was lucky enough to be here for Christmas.  As an adult, I’ve made it a point to keep the tradition alive by making a few of these delicious cakes for other family members.  And, I’ve taught both of my daughters how to make this wonderful cake.  Below is the recipe.

Orange Pound Cake
1 Cup butter or margarine
1 Cup sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups all purpose flour
5 tbsp freshly squeezed Florida orange juice

Cream butter or margarine.  My grandmother swore by Blue Bonnet for her pound cake and I am afraid to try anything different.  Stir in one egg at a time. Then, add the extracts and the flour.  Mix well and add the freshly squeezed orange juice.  You can use orange juice in the carton or bottle, but make sure it’s from Florida.  Turn into a tube pan and bake at 350 degrees (according to grandma) until done (toothpick comes out clean).  I forget how long that is, but the pound cake will be a beautiful golden brown when it is done. My Aunt Gladys always baked her pound cake at 325 degrees, but I think her oven must have been extra hot.

My dad always said, “Don’t mess it up by putting anything else in there,”  but every once in a while my grandma would put fruit, nuts, raisins or something else in her recipe.  We would all be unhappy and then she’d make her regular recipe for us.  I suppose she ended up eating the other cake by herself.”

Give the recipe a try.  Every bite brings back wonderful memories of my visits to Florida as a young child.  I found out many years later that when she made the cake she always made herself a little separate piece in an “Easy Bake Oven” pan that she would hide from the rest of us.  I do the same thing now, when I make a gift cake and no one but me, and now you, is the wiser.

Next time I make my grandmother’s pound cake I’ll take a photo. I know I’ll be making one soon, since Christmas is just around the corner.  I can tell, because we have a lot of visitors down here for the beautiful weather.  Welcome visitors.  I hope you are having a wonderful visit. And, drop me a line if you try the recipe.  I’d love to hear how your cake turns out and if you like it as much as I do.

The weather may be cooling off but the bite is red hot. The water level is still a little low but better than its been in a long time. On full day shiner trips we have averaged 30-40 fish with most being around 2-3 lbs. Bigger fish up to 9 lbs are starting to show up more frequently as well. Full day artificial bait trips have been producing 15-30 fish on average. Jerkbaits, rattlebaits, spinnerbaits, and deep diving crankbaits have all been productive.
 Submerged eelgrass or hydrilla beds are holding the highest concentrations of fish but some of the bigger bass are still relating to offshore structure such as ledges or shell beds. In green water lakes try slow rolling white or chartreuse spinnerbaits over and through the grassbeds from 4-8 ft. Ripping a rattlebait through the grass can be deadly also. Deeper cattails, reeds, and kissimmee grass are worth a shot as well with a flippin stick.
 In the clear lakes fish a little deeper. Grassbeds growing from 7-12 ft have been holding good numbers of fish. Work these areas with shad colored jerkbaits or deep diving crankbaits. Also keep an eye out and a rod ready for schooling bass. Junebug, redbug, and watermelon colored soft plastics on Texas/Carolina rigs will produce in these areas too.

Kissimmee Chain

The running water bite has, for the most part, came to a end. There’s still a trickle of current in some of the creeks which has a few bass hanging around the mouths and current breaks. Water has dropped a couple of feet but is still above normal pool. Surface temperature is varying from mid 60’s to low 70’s depending on weather conditions. Overall water clarity is better than it’s been in years throughout the chain due to last month’s heavy rainfall and the vast amount of water filtering hydrilla that is growing in all the lakes. The fishing remains phenomenal.
 With the abundance of water and cover available, bass can be found from shoreline areas all the way out to mid lake areas. They aren’t everywhere but once located you can really load the boat in a hurry. The fish seem to be grouped or schooled up according to size. Where ever you catch one big fish it is likely others are there as well. Full day shiner and artificial trips have been producing 20-40 fish on average up to 8 lbs. Average size has been 2-4 lbs.
 Topwaters, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and jerkbaits have all been producing especially early in the morning in boat trails and along cover edges. Shad or shiner resembling baits have been best. During midday hours try Texas/Carolina rigged soft plastics around deeper or thicker cover. Junebug, watermelon, and black/blue colors are always good color choices. For bigger fish flip thick matted cover such as hyacinth, water lettuce, mud tussocks, and topped out hydrilla with 1-1 1/2 oz weighted Texas rigged craws or creature baits.

Central Florida is where you’ll find beautiful lakes, great bass fishing and Monte Goodman. Monte has made a career of doing what he enjoys and does best as a professional bass guide and successful tournament angler. Guiding and fishing competitively for the past 15 years has given him the experience, skill and knowledge it takes to be a great fisherman. Monte is also a vocal advocate of Florida’s habitat and conservation efforts, supports and practices “catch and release” himself and encourages others to do the same. A member of tournament trails such as FLW, FOMNTT, BFL, and B.A.S.S just to name a few. Credited with well over a hundred local tournament wins, was back to back Angler of the Year in the largest B.A.S.S. affiliated club in the world, and has won numerous Big Bass honors. Monte’s ability to adapt, his versatility and lengthy resume has earned him a reputation anyone would be proud of.

Many of the displays were centred around the small lake in the centre of town, and one of the most fascinating displays had the cowboys showing off their lasso skills and whip cracking. Their horses were patiently waiting in the shade, and there were some beef cattle chewing the cud across the other side of the camp.

I could have spent much more time listening to this traditional story teller entertaining the children with his stories of the wild animals. Many of the stories obviously had American Indian origins.

Cookery is an art too, so I made my way to the Baking competition tables, where cakes had to be baked with a Citrus theme, and the recipes had to be original. Mouthwatering cakes were set out with their recipes alongside them and obviously oneor two had won their blue ribands

Mmmmm, delicious

Moving quickly on, I walked to the Wood carvers room; again greeted by the most amazing wood carvings of animals and insects.

I spoke to one of the carvers, all from the Lake Placid Wood Carvers Guild, and he explained that he used Laurel wood for his subjects – at the time he was carving a large bird, and laurel is a non-splintering type of wood so very useful for carvers to use.

carved deer

Having spent some time with the wood carvings, it was time to take a look at some of the other displays that were edging the lake front. Lots of various art and artists, as well as a Polk County wildlife officer with a small alligator for brave children to touch. Another display with an child friendly area was that of the snake handlers; kids could handle a small python, or a baby king snake, and try their hand at drawing butterflies and other insects.

There were guided tours of the historical part of the town, and demonstrations of quilt making. I also watched a demonstration of clogging, a country dance style similar to Irish dancing.

The Festival ran for two days, and I found it all very interesting ; certainly there was enough to keep me entertained for several hours. Eventually though my stomach reminded me it needed something to eat, so wandering round the food vendors I came across a cupcake stand. Guess what…………. It was delicious!!!

If you can dream it, they can whip it up at the Cookie Jar Bakeshop in Bartow. This is not just any custom cake and cookie bakery; everything is made fresh and baked in-house using the owner’s very own recipes. Unlike other bakeries, the Cookie Jar is also a place where customers can dine while ordering breakfast, lunch and specialty beverages.

For a casual breakfast, lunch or break, guests can visit the Bakeshop’s café and choose from indoor or outdoor seating. The café offers choices of sandwiches, pastries, bagels, muffins or donuts for breakfast. For lunch, select options of chicken, tuna or egg salad sandwiches, along with options of soup, salad or quiche. If in the mood for sweet treats, choose from an array of desserts including: specialty cookies, homemade pies, cakes, cupcakes and platters such as Peanut Butter Balls, Brownie Bites and Ooey Gooey Bars.

There is no shortage of cookies at the Cookie Jar Bakeshop, but while fresh-baked cookies are the staple, custom cakes are the specialty. The bakers guarantee they can create your dream cake no matter the size, shape, flavor or design. They will also create custom-decorated cupcakes in jumbo or standard sizes, just the way you order them.

From corporate, community and sporting events to anniversaries, baby showers and business meetings, Owner Maura Galbraith guarantees the staff will produce exceptional cookies, cakes and more.

Stop in for a bite to eat and a homemade treat or order your custom cakes for your special occasion Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Whichever you choose, you are sure to find something tasty at the Cookie Jar Bakeshop.

For more information visit:
www.visitcentralflorida.org/destinations/cookie-jar-bakeshop
or find the Cookie Jar Bakeshop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CookieJarBakeshop.

The story of the Café first began with the opening of Lang Sun Country Groves in 1951, a company that has now been handed down through generations. As a result of a great response to their shipments, Lang’s became a Florida Gift Fruit Shipper and eventually opened a gift shop. A few years ago, Lang’s participated in “Strawberry Week Celebration” where a tent was set up outside of the shop. Typical to Florida, bad weather struck, so the strawberry shortcake and the celebration were moved indoors to the space typically used for bagging fruit. After moving inside, employees offered to make homemade biscuits and soup to go along with the shortcake, and essentially, this is what inspired the Taste of Florida Café.

The menu at Taste of Florida Café consists of a variety of scrumptious soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts, including their signature Grapefruit Pie and popular strawberry shortcake. Be sure to try items such as the Grapefruit Slaw Dog, Hawaii Croissant or Cordon Blue at the cafe. 

If you try something you cannot live without, just ask for the recipe! Lang’s wants their guests to feel like family too and will gladly share their recpies, including the famous Grapefruit Pie recipe.

Now is a great time to taste what the cafe has to offer and experience Lang’s southern charm since it is now open for the season. Taste of Florida Café is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday-Saturday during the months of October through May and is located on Highway 17 in Haines City.

To find out more about Lang’s visit http://www.visitcentralflorida.org/destinations/langs-taste-of-florida-caf
or hear more about Taste of Florida Cafe and view an online menu at:
http://www.langsuncountry.com/shop/taste-of-florida-cafe.php

Reaching the entrance from the main road, I followed several cars through the main gate, and immediately saw signs for parking.  Somewhat surprised by this I continued on along the long entrance driveway, past fruiting citrus groves , seeing yet more signs for parking and even stops for a shuttle.   It was becoming obvious, even to me, that Bok Tower was expecting a lot of visitors.

Tentatively, I continued on, not really knowing what to expect, and was greeted by smiling traffic marshalls, indicating that I should park on the grassy bank beyond the normal car parking  area. Happy to follow their instructions I  parked and got out of the car.  Looking around I was amazed at the numbers of people carrying plants, or walking among the display booths.

I walked down to where the booths were distributed and came to a stop at the first one ;  there was a beautiful eye-catching shrub in its full glory right there in front of me.  Chatting to a couple of bystanders, I found out that it would probably need a little more care than I would be able to give it, so I moved on .

I really should have brought a lot more money and some way of carrying plants, I realised, watching people who obviously knew more than me, rolling their little shopping trollies around, filled to the brim with their purchases.   Passing many of the displays, I made a mental note to myself to get back to them later.

One of my gardening ambitions was to have an olive tree, and slowly, stopping every few feet to look at yet more exotic and beautifully displayed plants, I made my way to where the Olive Trees were for sale.     Luckily I happened to get there just at the moment when the owner of the nursery was explaining to other purchasers how to care for their tree, so I shamelessly eavesdropped.

Having learned that if I bought my tree it really didn’t need a huge amount of care, I satisfied my desire  and bought a four year old olive tree.   As I was wondering how to carry it back to the car, a Boy Scout materialised at my side and made an offer I couldn’t refuse.   Handing him my beloved tree, I led him back to the car where we were able to set it in the back safely.   A couple of dollars tip and off he went to help other buyers.

I meandered back to the displays and flitted, like a butterfly , from booth to booth.  I had such a great time, seeing plants I’d only read about, learning  about them from experts., and buying some of them!   Roses to herbs, exotics to orchids, bamboos to bonsai, everything was there for me to admire, and buy!    It was so difficult to restrain myself.

Music started up from the bandstand, and I saw happy smiling faces everywhere.   I met a gentleman with his little Peek-a-poo ( that’s a  pekingnese/poodle mix) who had been trained as a Therapy Dog.  All the children swarmed around that little pooch.   More and more people were arriving.  Boy Scouts were running errands back and forth.  Folk were having fun.

Having completed my purchases, delighted with the items I had bought, I packed them into the car  and made my way to the food and drink vendors for a well earned snack.   Many people were by now sitting in the stands listening to some fabulous music, while for me, my morning was almost over, and it was time to head home.

Carefully, I drove back onto the exit road, while yet more visitors were still coming in to take advantage of the lovely weather and fantastic day out  offered by Bok Tower.   I shall be back later on this year, and again at Christmas , to visit Pinewood House, one of my Holiday traditions.  And next year, there is a Winter Dog Day in the Park, and I’ll definitely be there with my little Jack Russell for that.

Thank you to everyone who made the day such a success for me, and see you soon.