Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘food’ Category

leave food to nature

Posted in artist, food, photo, tagged , , on September 22, 2009| 3 Comments »

So, we have had a menu made of those magnet words on our book shelf for quite a few years now.

Randomly, as most things happen around here, we decided to change it. So here’s what resulted from the combining of our strange, strange minds.


Read Full Post »

Gardening in South Florida

Posted in agritourism, food, location, locavore, market, tagged , , on September 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

The Edible Garden Festival at Fairchild

The Edible Garden Festival at Fairchild

Some people have been asking me, licking their lips, “So, what’s good from the farm this week?” Their appetites were whetted by all the fabulous fruit we’ve been having this summer. Now they’re ready for veggies. Now? You gotta be kidding! There’s nothing growing right now except for weeds! While the rest of the country in latitudes to the north of us are at the peak of their season, reveling in all kinds of veggie goodness, we’re sweltering in the heat swatting mosquitos and gnawing on the last of the fruit. There just isn’t that much growing right now. Too hot, too much rain, too many bugs, too many weeds. (Wonder how the pioneer settlers got by during the cruel late summer/early fall months.) This time of year is a food desert comparable to the dead of winter in Maine (but without the permafrost).

But October and fall and slightly cooler temperatures are around the corner, and that’s going to be a good time to start planting your own food garden. This Sunday’s Miami Herald had an extremely informative article in the Home and Design section about planting gardens in our area. It’s the second of what I hope is an ongoing series of articles written by the good folks at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens.

By the way, don’t forget to check out the Edible Garden Festival on Oct. 24-25 at Fairchild. Look for the Redland Organics tent!

Read Full Post »

Lychee freezer jam

Posted in food, fruits, photo, recipe, tagged , , on September 13, 2009|

The first batch of lychee freezer jam

The first batch of lychee freezer jam

Do you remember June, when lychees were bursting everywhere? The summer fruit sale offered pesticide-free lychees from Possum Trot Nursery and I loaded up.

My friend Kattia, who grew up in Homestead and now lives in Sanford with her husband and son, was craving lychees since June, when I told her about the crazy season we had. Wasn’t able to drive up then with fresh lychees, so I filled my freezer. (Yes, you can freeze lychees, then peel and eat like mini popsicles. Kids love ’em.) With the start of the CSA season almost around the corner, it was time to unload my freezer and make a run north.

Kattia loves to make jam. She had made me delicious mango jam a few summers ago. But what to do with thawed lychees?

Came across a simple recipe for lychee freezer jam on the Lycheeyum blog. It was our starting point. But 1 1/2 cups of sugar sounded like way too much. This was the first time either one of us had heard of freezer jam. It’s a no-cook process that doesn’t require heating the fruit, or working with hot jars and boiling water. There’s a video on the Ball canning site that shows how to make freezer jam using their freezer pectin. We tweaked and combined both recipes. Here’s our version:

4 cups lychees (fresh or frozen) and their juice, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 cup sugar (or to taste)
1 packet freezer pectin

1. Combine lychees, juice, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add freezer pectin, and stir for 3 minutes.
3. Fill plastic freezer jars. Allow mixture to sit for 30 minutes. It’s ready to use!
4. Keep jam in refrigerator for 3 weeks, or store in freezer for up to 1 year.

Got the freezer pectin and freezer jars at the Sanford Wal-Mart. (That’s where I stumbled across the Redland Best avo’s a few aisles over.) The recipe was very easy. You could even make this with your kids. A grownup would have to pit the fruit, as a sharp knife is required. The chunks of lychee were a bit big in this batch. Next time I’d run the fruit through a food processor to make the pieces smaller and more spreadable. Thawed lychee doesn’t mash very easily. Don’t know enough about canning to suggest an alternate to sugar. Wonder if agave would work as well.

Read Full Post »

End of Summer Brunch

Posted in agritourism, chef, farm, food, locavore, tagged , , , on September 9, 2009| 2 Comments »

Bee Heaven Farm ~ Redland Organics

 End of Summer Brunch 
 

Join us down on the farm for a Locavore’s dream!

End of Summer Brunch at Possum Trot 
Sunday, September 27th, 2009 at 10:30am
 
in an informal Old Florida homestead 40-acre garden setting
featuring 100% locally-grown*
organic produce from Bee Heaven Farm and our Redland Organics farm partners. (Some items are not certified organic, but are pesticide-free.)
*except-oil, flour, salt, baking powder/soda
 
Passionately prepared by
Robert, The Cantankerous Chef
~~~ MENU ~~~
 
Broiled Avocado halves stuffed with Betel-leaf Farm Egg Scramble
and Nubian Goat Cheese Topping
 
Bee Heaven Farm Smoked Eggs
 
Boiled Salted Jakfruit Seeds
 
Roasted Rosemary-scented Roots Medley
 
Sautéed Vegetable Amaranth (Callaloo) with scallions
 
Allspice Muffins with Nubian Goat Honey Labneh
 
Honeyed Seasonal Farm Fruits 
 
Minted Passion Fruit Ice
 
Tropical Juice selection ~ Cas, Passionfruit & Carambola
 
Fresh Lemongrass Iced Tea
~~~ * ~~~

 Cost: Adults $28; Children 6-12 $14; Children 3-5 $5; 2 and under free

Please reserve early – Attendance limited to 60
 
Proceeds help support our farm internship program and local family farms
     

We hope you and your family join us for this amazing locavore feast!
Online reservations and payment required by September 22nd. Click here to RSVP & pay now, or type the following into your browser:  http://www.redlandorganics.com/EOSbrunch.htm
 
 Possum Trot is located next door to Monkey Jungle. Directions to the farm will be provided with your confirmation, so please be sure to print it out!
 
Sincerely,
 Margie's signature

Bee Heaven Farm ~ Redland Organics

Read Full Post »

Possum Trot Nursery

Posted in agritourism, chef, farmer/grower, food, fruits, location, locavore, photo, vegetables, tagged , , , , , on September 9, 2009|

If you bought smoked eggs or fruit this summer, the jakfruit, starfruit and passion fruit (among others) came from Possum Trot Nursery. Later this month owner Robert Barnum will host a brunch outdoors on his property. You’ll get a tour, then eat a sumptuous meal — The Possum Trot Experience — prepared by Robert himself. He calls himself The Cantankerous Chef and invents all kinds of tasty dishes that use his fruits. This month’s brunch should be an easy challenge for Robert — use only local ingredients except for salt, pepper, sugar and the like.

Possum Trot is completely unlike any plant nursery you have ever seen before. It’s a cross between a grove and a primeval jungle, 40 acres of Old Florida wildness that makes Fairchild Tropical Gardens look like a manicured rosebush. Robert has collected all kinds of trees that have useful purposes, whether it be fruits, herbs or wood for smoking food. The property also has a sinkhole — or is it a spring? — and a bomb shelter right in the ground.

Here are pictures of my first visit to the nursery in September 2007.

Entering Possum Trot Nursery

Entering Possum Trot Nursery

Ye olde swimming hole

Ye olde swimming hole

Strolling through 40 acres of tropical trees

Strolling through 40 acres of tropical trees

Star fruit hang like golden lanterns

Star fruit hang like golden lanterns

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »