Redland Rambles

Cooking with fire!

Saturday, Feb 4, 2012
9:30 am – 3:00 pm

Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery
14955 SW 214th St.
Miami, FL 33187-4602
305-235-1768

Convert your gas grill to burn wood. That’s the first of a series of survival workshops that grower/chef Robert Barnum is teaching. “I teach long lost trades, arts, and skills that can be quite useful if the situation becomes less than what it is today,” he said. Robert has teamed up with Jason Long, who started the Re-skill Florida school “where anyone can teach and learn honorable useful skills,” according to their web site.

Bring your gas grill to the workshop and Robert will show you how to safely modify it. Instead of expensive gas, burn wood, and use your own. Being able to cook with wood can save money, and teach you how to be more frugal and self-reliant. Robert has plenty of experience when it comes to being self-reliant. Over the years, he has experimented with which woods are better for cooking, and which are to be avoided. “Don’t use Brazilian pepper, oleander or mango,” he suggested, “as the smoke can be irritating to some people.” He should know — he has 40 acres of trees on his Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery.

There’s room for 35 people, but hurry as the class is selling out. The cost if the workshop is $50. It includes the registration fee, instructor fee, grill modification fee, and lunch. You could try to register online at the Re-skill Florida web site, but when I checked on Wednesday night, the registration button was still not working.

Instead, call Robert at 305-235-1768 to let him know you’re coming, and bring cash to pay at the door. If you haven’t been to Possum Trot before, you will need directions, as the entrance is a bit tricky to find, and the address doesn’t show up on some GPSs.

The gas-to-wood grill workshop is the first of a series of Saturday classes. Coming up:

Feb. 11th — Rope making with Agave
How to make rope from agave plants. Optional: Learn preparation, and camp out the night before.

Feb. 18th — Introduction to economic botany
Learn which trees and plants to grow in your yard for food and other useful purposes.

Feb. 25th — Kitchen frugality
What to do with all the food in your CSA box, and how to shop in bulk and store food.