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Archive for the ‘events’ Category

MMMM Brunch with Les Dames

Posted in agritourism, events, food, locavore, people, photo, tagged , , , on June 9, 2012|

You just had to say MMMM at the annual Tropical Brunch that Les Dames d’Escoffier held recently at the lushly landscaped Schnebley Redland’s Winery. Celebrating local agriculture was the theme this year, and there was quite the assortment of fresh vegetables at the salad table. The highlights were large colorful heirloom tomatoes from Teena’s Pride, and a variety of edible flowers along with small heirloom tomatoes from Paradise Farms.

Colorful heirloom tomatoes and edible flowers from Paradise Farms.

Author Carole Kotkin with a copy of her cookbook MMMMiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere.

Several dishes were taken from MMMMiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes, a cookbook authored by food writer Carole Kotkin. She held court by the gazpacho table, where you could get a cup of the chilled soup that included Florida oranges as one of the main ingredients.

Shrimp citrus ceviche.

Another tasty dish was the Shrimp Citrus Ceviche. In Carole’s book the recipe called for scallops, but it worked well with shrimp. Also featured was Tropical Couscous Salad, flavored with orange juice and studded with bits of ripe papaya.

Winery owner Peter Schnebley and Dame Ariana Kumpis

La Diva and DJ Nevah Late dig in.

Maggie Sibley looks forward to sinking her teeth into fresh salad.

Sink your teeth into Guava Glazed BBQ Ribs served by Lucy Duran. Chef Adri Garcia was everywhere with a helping hand.

Hard working students from MAST Academy made and served pancakes.

Students from Robert Morgan Educational Center made omlets under the watchful eye of Chef Tony Staravaggi.

Chef Cathy Lucas (center) at the dessert table with her students.

At the dessert table, I located another goody from MMMMiami. The Roasted Plantain Cake with Toasted Coconut Topping tasted like super intense banana bread, and who can go wrong with coconut? But biscotti baked by president Ariana Kumpis stole my heart. They were light and crispy, and studded with bits of tart red fruit. She caught me red handed as I wrapped a handful in a napkin to take home.

So many treasures, so little time!

The heart of the brunch was the lavish silent auction. So many amazing things were available. I saw bottles of wine, gourmet baskets, golden serving dishes, Breville small kitchen appliances, and even jewelry to bid on. Money raised by the auction will help fund nutrition and cooking education for local kids, and support school vegetable gardens.

Leticia De Mello Bueno of Gastronomisti, and Annush Fernandez, lifestyle and (occasionally food) blogger.

The large chickee hut was full of contented guests, and I’m guessing at least 200 attended. I had fun meeting old friends and making new ones. And, I got my copy of the cookbook signed by both Carole and Ariana (she has a recipe for ajiaco). Members of Les Dames worked for months to make the event a success. Believe the buzz, the event is that that good.

(MMMMiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes was published in 1998, and is unfortunately out of print. There are a few used copies available online, but you’ll have to search for them. Carole said a paperback edition might be released next year, maybe.)

Sheah Rarback and Lance Tucker danced to the easy tunes of Jukebox Joe Tunon.

Le menu

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Bringing the message home

Posted in events, farmer/grower, food, locavore, people, tagged , on May 23, 2012|

*** Part Two of two ***

McArthur “genius prize” winner Will Allen spoke about his work in urban farming on a recent book tour. Here is part two, about his influence on a local non-profit.

Will Allen spoke at a recent tour of his new book, The Good Food Revolution.

In the audience were a number of people deeply involved in our fledgling local food movement. Among them were Melissa Contreras and Art Friedrich of Urban Oasis Project, a non-profit that plants food gardens and runs farmers markets. Their mission is clear and simple: “We believe that good, clean, healthy food should be accessible and affordable to all.”

Project founder Melissa was thrilled to hear Will Allen speak again. His message “energized me to keep moving forward with Urban Oasis Project after its first nine months” when it was just her and Art trying to get others involved. She attended a community food systems workshop at Growing Power in 2009 to learn more. “The work he was doing was so similar to what we were trying to achieve: teach people to grow some of their own food, and increase access to fresh, local produce to be eaten with a day or so after harvest,” she said.

Her commitment to Growing Power’s training didn’t stop after the workshop was over. Melissa explained, “I signed a pledge that I would come back to my community and teach others what I learned there. We have been doing that, but some of it is on hold until we have a place to call our own.”

Market manager Art said their non-profit drew from Will Allen’s work, especially in terms of food justice. Art explained, “He’s the inspiration why we started planting gardens, to create the future leaders of the local food movement, especially in neighborhoods where it’s hard to have access to fresh food. First grow community, then soil, then plants.”

And Miss Shirley, a volunteer who helps at Urban Oasis markets, was thrilled to meet Will. “He’s giving back to his people, he’s giving his time. I learned what soil was made of and how to take care of the earth. And to be grateful for what you have.”

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The revolution is here

Posted in events, food, people, photo, tagged , , on May 21, 2012|

The food system is broken and we have to start a new food system. The way to do that is through urban farming. By growing healthy food, we also grow healthy people and communities.

That’s essentially the message Will Allen gives in The Good Food Revolution, his new book that’s largely biography and part food policy. He tells the story of his journey from sharecropper’s son, to University of Miami athlete, to corporate executive, to urban farmer and prize winner, sharing many lessons learned of grit and hope, community and self-sufficiency. His life-changing decision was to go back to his roots and grow food.

“Food is the most important thing in our lives. It’s the one thing that brings people together as one. It puts everyone on an equal level to survive. Why are we eating bad food? We should be eating good food,” Will told an audience of over 150 people who came to heard him speak in Coral Gables, on the first stop of his book tour co-sponsored by Books & Books and Slow Food Miami. (Will was also in town to accept an honorary degree from UM.)

Board members of Slow Food Miami with Will Allen

Will showed a video about Growing Power, his enormous urban farm organization based in Milwaukee, and numerous slides of projects old and new. His mission: “We have to be proactive and rebuild the system so that everybody has safe, affordable, sustainable food.” Growing Power has done just that, planting gardens in underserved neighborhoods, to feed people who have little to no access to fresh vegetables. His urban farm began on a three acre parcel he bought in 1993, which since has evolved into a community food center where people can buy food raised on the farm, and take workshops to learn farming and community building skills. The operation has grown to include multiple urban farm sites and markets, a large composting facility, and livestock consisting of bees, goats, chickens, worms, and tanks full of perch and tilapia.

Nick and Margie Pikarsky of Bee Heaven Farm with Will Allen

According to Will, the local food revolution has begun. People are past the talking stage of a movement and must now start building infrastructure — farms, markets, distribution systems, training programs — and most important, partner with everyone. “Businesses, non-profits, government organizations, politicians, all have to sit at the same table. Can’t kick people from the table.” He emphasized that building relationships is the way to make things happen.

“Engage community youth,” he advised a woman in the audience who builds school gardens. Getting kids involved is an important part of Growing Power — giving them jobs, teaching them farming skills, applying those skills to academic studies, then supporting kids with college scholarships.

*** Part One of two parts ***

Melissa Contreras and Miss Shirley of Urban Oasis Project with Will Allen

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Treasures in the weeds

Posted in csa, events, farm, location, photo, tagged , , on May 17, 2012|

Potluck lunch in the barn.

CSA members gathered at Bee Heaven Farm recently for Gleaning Day. They brought potluck dishes to share, and bags and containers for their loot. Because on Gleaning Day, you’re allowed to forage for your veggies.

Lisa and Alex chat with Farmer Margie.

Digging for treasure among the weeds.

The challenge is to find what’s left. To the uninitiated, frondy carrot tops look like the weeds that surround them. But with a little effort, the orange treasures release their grip on the soil jump into your bag.

Hanging out in the pump house.

Bali the horse loves Gleaning Day, because people want to feel him carrots. Bali looooves carrots!

Making new friends.

Browsing for raspberries.

Gleaners braved scratchy thorns in the raspberry brambles and had a berry berry good day.

Bags of veggie loot (mostly carrots — berries went straight into the mouth).

Napping in the shade of the java plum tree.

Seeking beets.

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The Good Food Revolution

Posted in events, people, tagged , , , on May 1, 2012| 1 Comment »

Thursday, May 10, 2012
7:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Pioneering urban farmer and MacArthur “Genius Award” winner Will Allen had no intention of ever becoming a farmer. But after years in professional basketball and as an executive for Kentucky Fried Chicken and Procter & Gamble, Allen cashed in his retirement fund for a two-acre plot a half mile away from Milwaukee’s largest public housing project. The area was a food desert with only convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to serve the needs of local residents. In the face of financial challenges and daunting odds, Allen built the country’s preeminent urban farm – a food and educational center that now produces enough vegetables and fish year-round to feed thousands of people. Employing young people from the neighboring housing project and community, Growing Power has sought to prove that local food systems can help troubled youths, dismantle racism, create jobs, bring urban and rural communities closer together, and improve public health. Today, Allen’s organization helps develop community food systems across the country. An eco-classic in the making, The Good Food Revolution (Gotham, $26) is the story of Will’s personal journey, the lives he has touched, and a grassroots movement that is changing the way our nation eats. Presented by Books & Books in collaboration with Slow Food Miami. 

Location:

Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Boulevard
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
(located across from the Biltmore Hotel)
phone: 305-448-7421

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