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Archive for the ‘food’ Category

Roadtrip!

Posted in farmer/grower, food, location, locavore, people, photo, tagged on August 1, 2009|

Hani's new ride

Rode up to the Small Farms Conference with Margie and Nick from Bee Heaven, Gabriele from Paradise and Hani of Redland Mediterranean. We gathered in Redland in the late morning and took a leisurely drive up US 27 to Kissimmee.

Traveling with growers is a bit different than traveling with regular city folk. For one, they laugh at things

Queso Balnco at Guines Ranch

Queso Blanco at Guines Ranch

that city folk would find ordinary or ignore. At the first stop, The Southern Belle Truck Stop in South Bay, Hani admired a rider mower at the pump. Looks like the owner just rolled right up to get gas. Didn’t know you could take those things on the road.

Next, farmers know where to get good eats off the beaten track. Further down 27, Margie pulled in at Guines Ranch for homemade queso blanco made from cow’s milk. There were herds of cows and goats in the front fields. (They do sell goats for meat, in case you’re interested.) The queso was mild and squeaked a little when I chewed it. Was a good snack along with organic (not local) cherries and organic (not local) dried goldenberries. Local eats 1, not local 2. Could do better, I guess.

Spotted a sign in Avon Park that said it was in South Florida, which started a discussion of how far north is South Florida, and where the line (or fuzzy boundary) is drawn. What is the criteria that determines where northern South turns into southern Central Florida. Is it climate, geography, distance? (If anybody knows, please let me know.) And, if it’s grown in Avon Park, then is it local to Miami? They’re both in South Florida! The word local — along with the words organic and natural — seems to have its definition stretched and pummeled into meaning something different than your county or immediate neighborhood.

Navigating with an iPhone, GPS and Blackberry

Third, farmers know how to find their way even if it’s off the beaten track. Later in the afternoon came the navigational challenge to cut over from 27 and the Osceola Heritage Park on Route 192 in Kissimmee. It took an iPhone, Garmin and Blackberry (plus an old fashioned paper map) to figure out the route. After much discussion, we arrived at the Park and checked in at the conference. Lots of interesting sessions Saturday and Sunday. More to follow…

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Urban Oasis Project

Posted in agritourism, farmer/grower, food, location, locavore, people, tagged , , on July 31, 2009| 2 Comments »

The Urban Oasis Project is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to building food gardens in the city. Think fruits and vegetables growing in a garden in your backyard. Bananas, okra, melons, herbs, mmmm. Urban Oasis Project is the brainchild of CSA member Melissa Contreras, who together with Art Friedrich, host monthly meetings and potlucks. The next one is right around the corner, this Saturday August 1 at 4 pm in North Dade.

Art emailed details: Yvrose Valdez, has offered to host the next garden potluck at her house!  She is a Master Gardener, and I think she’s growing more than all of the community gardens combined on her modest house-lot! You don’t want to miss it!

We will begin to gather around 4PM on Aug 1st, with garden tours at 4:30 and 5PM.

At 5:30 we’ll have a quick more formal meeting to talk about the future of Urban Oasis Project, formalize some by-laws, vote in officers, and sign papers for incorporation, and officially birth the Urban Oasis Project (in the eyes of the state).

Around 6:15 we’ll kick off the potluck and feast upon the delicious wonders. Please bring a dish of some sort, or a dessert. If it’s homegrown, that’s great, but it doesn’t have to be – we know many of you are beginners and that this is a more sparse time in the harvest season for all of us.

Everyone is welcome to bring seeds and plants to trade or share with each as well!

Yvrose lives near 108th St. and NE 2nd Ave., so this will be more convenient for all of you living north of Miami.  You must RSVP for the actual address!

Send your RSVP to Art theedibleyardmiami(at)gmail.com or Melissa admin(at)urbanoasisproject.org .

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Goat milk ice cream?

Posted in chef, farmer/grower, food, interview, locavore, market, people, photo, tagged , , , on July 30, 2009| 1 Comment »

Hani Khouri says "Cheese!"

Hani Khouri says "Cheese!"

Hani Khouri, owner of Redland Mediterranean Organics (and the latest grower to join Redland Organics), makes cheese and ice cream from goat milk. Wait a minute… what’s that… goat milk ice cream? Um, how does it taste? Like really, really good ice cream. And when was the last time that you experienced a flavor like papaya-wild orchid or mango-wild orchid, fruity and sweet with a perfume-y finish. No goat flavors in the ice cream, no worries. How Hani does it is a secret, he says, and I’ve tried to find out.

The ice cream flavors run towards the tropical. There’s jakfruit, mamey, and plain mango, from fruits sourced locally in Redland and subject to availability. For traditionalists there’s vanilla bean, chocolate (to die for), peach, raspberry and strawberry. All flavors are sweetened with agave.

Hani also makes two kinds of cheeses. One is a firm cheese with texture like feta but less salt and no goat-y flavor. It’s

Labneh with olive oil

Labneh with olive oil

one of my favorites. I’ve put it in sandwiches and salads, goes great with arugula. Last Saturday I sampled Hani’s latest offering — labneh, a soft cheese with the spreadability of cream cheese, and with the familiar tang of goat (but not too much). Labneh, Hani explained to me, begins as goat milk yoghurt that is drained and salted. No fan of typical goat cheese, I hesitated before sampling the it with olive oil on whole wheat pita — and was pleasantly surprised by its flavor — a mild goat presence, but not too overwhelming — nice!

Also on the Redland Mediterranean Organics menu is hummus, tabouli, falafel and baba ganoush. They’re all super fresh. When I dropped by Hani’s tent last on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Coconut Grove Organic Farmers Market, he was finely chopping organic mint to stir into the tabouli. (The mint was picked at Bee Heaven Farm just the day before, and so were the scallions.) The invigorating aroma of mint floated into the air and drew people to the tent. “What’s that you’re making,” they asked, and hung around waiting for him to finish.

Stirring mint into fresh tabouli

Stirring mint into fresh tabouli

“So what is local food?” Hani asked as he chopped and stirred. “How far do you go to get locally produced food?” The boundaries of a local food area could be set at 100 miles. Or it could be 400 miles. Hani quoted the Farm Bureau as saying local for Miami is anywhere from Florida. Or it could be 7 hours by truck or plane — now wait a minute, that’s pushing it! But where does local food come from — a warehouse, or the field or orchard? And how does it get to the market — airplane, truck, goat cart or walking? Hani asked again, “How far can local food travel and stay local?” I replied, “Redland Organics CSA sources food from 150 miles or less.” Hani gets his goat milk even closer than that — about 50 feet from his kitchen door to the Nubian goats that he raises. He laughed and said proudly, “I’m a local producer who’s also a chef.” He also sells what he makes, and eats what he sells.

Hungry yet? Find Hani Khouri and goodies from Redland Mediterranean Organics at the Saturday farmer’s market in Coconut Grove on Grand Ave. and Margaret St. (just west of 32 Ave.), or at the new greenmarket by The Alamo at the Jackson Memorial complex on Thursdays around lunchtime. Enjoy!

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