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Food & Garden Festival

Posted in events, food, tagged on April 19, 2010| 3 Comments »

Food and Garden Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden

Saturday, April 24, 2010 – Sunday, April 25, 2010
9:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Several Redland Organics growers will participate at the Fairchild Food and Garden Festival. Look for a cooking presentation by Robert Barnum aka the Cantankerous Chef, and lectures by Margie Pikarsky and Gabriele Marewski.

Here’s a selected schedule of events:

Saturday, April 24

COOKING DEMOS:  Whole Foods Market Culinary tent
11:00 a.m. Robert Barnum, Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery
Betel leaf Tempura with Coconut Crab Sauce
2:00 p.m. Laura La Fata, La Diva Cucina
Sautéed radishes & their tops over bow tie pasta w/ Smoked Chicken Apple Sausage

LECTURES:  Garden House
11:00 a.m. Margie Pikarsky, Bee Heaven Farm
Preserving Your Harvest: Drying, Preserves, Fermentation and Kombucha
12:00 p.m. Gabriele Marewski, Paradise Farms
Local Mushrooms in South Florida

PANELS:  Classroom A, Corbin Building
1:00 p.m. “Time for Lunch”- Slow Food panel on Healthy School Lunches
Panelists: Ken Lyon, Fratelli Lyon restaurant; Adri Garcia; Penny Parham, Department of Food  and Nutrition, Miami-Dade County Public Schools;  Erin Healy; Moderator- Donna Reno, Slow Food.
Chef Adri Garcia is a panelist on Healthy School Lunches panel. She created the completely locavore menu for the Mother’s Day Brunch at Bee Heaven Farm in May 2009, and has given several cooking presentations at the farm.

3:00 p.m. Local Food in Miami: Where we are headed. A discussion with Miami food bloggers
Panelists: Trina Sargalski, Miami Dish; Bill Jacobson, Tinkering with Dinner; Ellen Kanner,  Edgy Veggie; Caroline Hatchett, Occasional Omnivore;  Moderator – Paula Nino, Mango & Lime.
Was invited to the blogger’s panel, but due to a schedule conflict, will not be able to participate. You might catch me at various presentations, or hanging out at the Blogger’s Corner.

For the full schedule of events, and information about admission, go to the Fairchild Garden web site.

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When cabbages fly

Posted in csa, farm, food, people, photo, tagged , on April 14, 2010|

Last week, Farmer Margie told me that she was short-handed and needed volunteers to help pack shares. I offered to help, and rounded up my new buddy Nathan (who wants to be a tractor mechanic when he grows up), and he brought along his mother Tunie. Farm manager Muriel invited Christina, and we four volunteers joined the packing line in the barn at eight last Friday morning.

Kenna and Nathan make cabbages fly.

Before we could start packing the actual shares, the reefer truck had to be unloaded. It was full of vegetables from Worden Farm. The first challenge was a large bin full of cabbages, too heavy to lift fully loaded. Intern Kenna and Muriel climbed aboard and tossed cabbages fast and furious to Nathan and me. We caught and stacked them into wheelbarrows, which went to the head of the packing line.

Muriel determined which veggies went in which order on the line. The heaviest items get packed first and go in the bottom of the share box. The lightest things go on top, where they won’t get crushed. The actual packing went fast and easy. Margie and Christina packed cabbage and beets. Tunie added green beans and spring onions. I was next on the line. With my left hand, I reached for the box coming down the rollers and put in a bunch of kale. If the cabbage was big (and some were monstrously huge), I packed a smaller head of lettuce. If the cabbage was small, I put a bigger head. Then I pushed the box to Jesus on my right, who added mushrooms, closed the boxes and stacked them. Nathan loaded the boxes into the truck. Kenna was the runner, replenishing supplies of veggies and empty boxes.

Packing had a steady rhythm. Pull, pack, push. Pull, pack, push. When the full shares were done, the half shares were next. It seemed to go more slowly, but I think that’s because there are more half shares than full shares. Still, we were done by noon, and the truck was loaded with share boxes. Christina described the process as, “This is the place where the farm connects with the table, putting the vegetables in the box. Goodbye, vegetables! Hope you don’t wilt in the frig!”

Thanks to volunteers Nathan, Tunie and Christina for their hard work!

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Tastes like root beer

Posted in food, photo, tagged , on April 1, 2010| 14 Comments »

Piper auritum (or Piper sanctum), also known as hoja santa leaf

Have you done anything with the leaves of the Root Beer Plant yet? That’s the package of heart-shaped leaves that was in last week’s CSA share box. They are reminiscent of the Piper Betel leaves that we got a couple times, before the freeze hit. These leaves are Piper Auritum (or Piper Sanctum), commonly known as hoja santa, and they taste like anise or root beer, thus the name.

The hoja santa came from Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery, of course. It’s one of several different varieties of Piper that Robert Barnum has been growing for years. I called him up and asked what he does with it. He puts it in baked beans, or uses it to wrap fish and then bake it. He also suggested making a pesto, then spooning a bit over cream soup and using a toothpick to make swirly designs. Yup, that’s what he told me.

One of the CSA bloggers, Chef Caroline over at Occasional Omnivore, used the leaves to wrap tamales that she cooked on a grill pan. Her recipe sounds delicious and easy to do. Check it out here.

Still haven’t used much of mine, in case you were wondering. I chopped up one leaf and tossed it in with some spring onion in scrambled eggs the other day for breakfast. That was good, but P. betel would have been better. Chopped up another two leaves and used them in a saute of onion, tomato, and chicken, seasoned with a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper. That was good, but it tasted like it was missing something. Any suggestions?

If you want grow your own, contact Robert Barnum at 305-235-1768 to purchase hoja santa plants. Or, you can contact Farmer Margie at office(at)beeheavenfarm.com if you want to buy some leaves.

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Nourishing Overtown

Posted in food, location, market, media, photo, tagged , , , on March 31, 2010| 2 Comments »

Just a reminder that the Grand Opening Celebration of the new Roots in the City Farmers Market will be next Wednesday, on April 7, starting at 1 pm.

Scheduled festivities: Ribbon-cutting, performances by the Booker T. Washington High School Band and Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink will offer complimentary samples of dishes from the school’s cookbook, created with the market’s fresh produce.

There’s a great picture of Farmer Margie in the Miami Herald today! It’s on page 2A, or you can see it online.

Affordable farmers market nourishes Overtown residents

A new farmers market aims to make fresh fruits and vegetables accessible to Overtown residents.

BY ELAINE WALKER
ewalker@MiamiHerald.com

Sarah Wallace can barely remember what it was like to eat fresh spinach, collard greens and carrots. It has been years since she has been able to afford any of her favorite fresh vegetables on $40 a month in food stamps.

Typically, Wallace makes do with canned beans and corn. That’s why she couldn’t help fighting back tears at the recent opening of the Roots in the City Farmers Market across the street from her Overtown apartment.

What makes this market different from others around South Florida is that it offers lower-income consumers the opportunity to eat healthy by using their food stamps to make subsidized purchases. For every $1 in food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars, they get $2 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. The limit: $20 per day of free produce.

Wallace, who has lived in Overtown her whole life, didn’t believe the market was going to happen until she saw the trial run for herself last Wednesday. She walked away with a big bag of fresh produce and the hope that it dispels the notion that African Americans don’t want to eat fresh vegetables.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/30/1555973/affordable-food-nourishes-neighborhood.html

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Weekend farmers markets

Posted in food, location, market, photo, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2010| 3 Comments »

The two best farmers markets on the weekend — and you can feel free to debate this with me — are the Pinecrest Gardens Green Market on Sundays from 9 am to 2 pm, and the Coral Gables Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm.

Coral Gables Farmers Market
405 Biltmore Way
(in front of City Hall, at Biltmore Way and LeJeune Ave.)

Hurry over to the Gables Market because this Saturday March 27 is the last day. Several members of Redland Organics are selling their wares there.

Jad, Jessie, Leah and Mary Lee at Hani's Mediterranean Organics

One recent weekend I stopped by to chat with the crew at Hani’s Mediterranean Organics. Everybody who walked up to the tent asked if cheese was available. “The goat cheese is in limited production and sells out fast. You got to get here early,” Hani’s wife Mary Lee patiently explained. She offered mussels cooked in white wine sauce with garlic, or maybe some lupini beans to snack on. Their son Jad was making falafel, and volunteers Jessie and Leah from Ohio State University helped out. (Hani is also at the Pinecrest Market.)

Paradise Farms, the only certified organic farmer at Gables market.

Across the street you’ll find Paradise Farms selling various fruits, vegetables and herbs. Paradise is certified organic, unlike other growers at the market. You have to get there early for their famous oyster mushrooms. The recent cool, dry weather slowed down mushroom growth, so there have been some weeks where they have been in short supply. (Paradise is not at Pinecrest Market, but you might find the mushrooms at Redland Organics.)

You’ll find Miguel Bode selling honey and pollen at his tent set up at the end of Biltmore Way right by LeJeune. Miguel’s wife was there last Saturday while Miguel was down in Redland checking his hives. He keeps bees at Bee Heaven Farm and at Paradise Farms. His wildflower honey is my favorite, and is a real taste of the local area.

Miguel Bode's local honey and bee pollen

Pinecrest Gardens Green Market
5855 S.W. 111th Street
(in parking lot in front of Pinecrest Gardens)

If you want Miguel’s honey but missed the Gables Market, you can also find it here, sold by Redland Organics. Everything is local, either grown on Bee Heaven Farm or sourced from organic growers within 150 miles of Miami. No telling what interesting things you’ll discover under the sprawling tent. In addition to honey, you can find certified organic fruits, vegetables and herbs, along with bunches of flowers and dried fruits, and Paradise Farms oyster mushrooms (subject to availability).

Word up to CSA members — the produce in your Saturday box is also available at market, so if you want more of something but didn’t find it in the extras box, go to Pinecrest. You can also find things at market which never make it into your CSA box, particularly fruit and herbs. On one recent Sunday, I saw rangpur limes, which look like small oranges but are not quite as tart as the familiar green limes.

The Pinecrest Market will run through April.

An assortment of familiar and unusual fruit at Redland Organics.

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