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Archive for the ‘locavore’ Category

Great Green Family Festival

Posted in agritourism, events, food, locavore, market, tagged , on November 10, 2009|

If you want to get heirloom tomato plants for your own garden, but didn’t make it to the Edible Garden Festival, you have another chance. Bee Heaven Farm will be at The Great Green Family Festival at the Fruit and Spice Park this coming weekend, Nov. 15-16. Farmer Margie will be selling more tomato starts (baby plants, seedlings) along with eggs, honey, lemongrass and who knows what else.

Late breaking news: here’s a list of the heirloom tomato varieties that will be available — Sun Gold, Jaune Flamme, Green Grape, Black Prince, Lollipop, Matt’s Wild Cherry, Black From Tula, Brown Berry, Brandywine OTV, and Homestead 24. Slow Food Ark of Taste varieties:  Cherokee Purple, Red Fig, Sheboygan, and Sudduth Strain Brandywine.

Also available, vegetable and herb starts:  Fordhook Chard, Genovese Basil, Mrs. Burn’s Lemon Basil, Thai Basil, Russian Red Kale, Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale,  Garlic Chives, and Lemongrass.

According to the Redland Evening Herb Society’s web page, “The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of simple, green-living practices, products and services that local families can put into use in their homes and community.” (For some reason I was thinking of the Jolly Green Giant with his kids in tow… silly me… )

The Great Green Family Festival
November 14 & 15 from 10 am to 5 pm
Admission: $8 (Children under 11 are free)

Fruit and Spice Park
24801 S.W. 187th Avenue
Homestead, Florida 33031
305-247-5727

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Redland Raised produce at Publix

Posted in events, food, locavore, market, politics, tagged , , , , , on October 28, 2009| 2 Comments »

Redland Raised, Fresh From FloridaRedland Raised launch event:
Thursday Oct. 29th, 10- 11 am
Publix at Tropicaire Shopping Center
7805 SW 40th Street, Miami

Starting this week, you won’t have to go too far to find locally grown produce. Redland Raised branded green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, boniato, okra and avocados will be available at all 1000 Publix stores in the state, during the local growing season which runs from November through April.

Miami-Dade County, Publix and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Fresh From Florida program teamed up to promote a “buy local” program throughout the county and state.

Charles LaPradd, Miami-Dade’s agriculture manager, was quoted as saying, “We were looking for a way to just make our local produce down here known a little bit better,” LaPradd said. “When you go local, you go green.”

Needless to say, larger local growers are delighted with this huge new market for their produce. Publix says the Redland Raised will help them keep transportation costs down, which should result in lower prices for customers, and a smaller carbon footprint.

Miami-Dade County’s agriculture industry is number two in the state (after Palm Beach County) and 18th in the country, generating an estimated $2.7 billion for the local economy.

On the Miami-Dade County web site, on the Office of the County Mayor’s page:

Buy Local, Redland Raised available at Publix

For South Floridians who want to buy local… the shopping experience is about to get even better. Thanks to a partnership with Publix Super Markets, more than 1,000 Publix stores will soon feature locally-grown fresh produce. The produce will be dubbed Redland Raised.

Along with ”organic”, ”buy-one-get-one-free”, and ”on sale” – Redland Raised can be the new buzz word in grocery store shopping. While Publix has always supported our local agriculture industry – shoppers who walk the produce aisle can now look for special labeling and displays that show when green beans, zucchini, avocados and more come from our very own backyard.

Redland Raised is a way to educate and encourage our residents to invest in local produce and in turn, stimulate our local economy. Miami-Dade County’s agriculture industry is number 2 in the state and number 18 in the country, generating an estimated $2.7 billion for our local economy.

I would like to thank Publix Super Markets for making it possible to promote our local brand, and for their continued investment in our community.

Enjoy Redland Raised!

Sincerely,
Mayor Carlos Alvarez

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Arazá ice cream

Posted in chef, events, farmer/grower, food, fruits, locavore, market, tagged , , , , on October 26, 2009|

Arazá! What a wonderful name! Too bad the fruit is so tart…. But Farmer Margie told me that Hani Khouri of Redland Mediterranean Organics was going to make ice cream with it. Robert Barnum confirmed he had sold some fruit. Hot on the trail, I spoke with Hani and he promised that arazá ice cream would be available at the Edible Garden Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

Arazá ice cream

Arazá ice cream

So I braved sporadic rain showers on Saturday, sidled up to Hani’s tent and asked, “Got arazá?” Yes, he said, and his son Jad handed me a container from the cooler. The only ingredients are arazá, agave nectar, and fresh goat milk. The ice cream is pale yellow in color, sweet and tart at the same time, with a “yogurt-like flavor in the back as a finish,” as Hani described. From the first spoonful I was in a swoon, lost in the blend of sweet-tart-tangy flavors and the smooth, creamy texture. Almost forgot to photograph it, that’s why there’s some missing in the picture. It’s now my new favorite flavor. Sorry, mango-orchid. Sorry, papaya.

Hani started heating organic safflower oil in the big fry pan to make falafel, and I realized that a) I hadn’t had lunch and b) I hadn’t eaten his falafel in ages. Time to remedy that.

First came the flatbread, smeared with a dab of tahini sauce green with mint. Then three golden nuggets of falafel were topped with amba, fermented pickled green mango flavored with fenugreek and mustard seeds. “It’s spicy,” Hani warned, adding a small amount. (He claims that Farmers Margie and Gabriele are addicted to his amba.) I like how it added an exotic bite. Then came pickled turnips (bright pink from beets), thinly sliced cucumber and chopped tomato. Uniquely flavorful, this style of falafel is lighter than what I’ve tried elsewhere, and was told those particular toppings are quite popular in Israel.

Making falafel

Assembling falafel with pickled turnips

Redland Mediterranean Organics has teamed up with Sous Chef 2 Go and is sharing a tent at the Jackson Memorial Hospital farmers market. It happens on Thursdays in front of the Alamo building. Go look for their tent at lunchtime. The arazá ice cream is waiting to meet your taste buds. Also new on the menu is chicken roll — chicken seasoned with sumac (which gives it a cinnamon-like taste), rolled in dough and baked. And don’t forget the goat cheese!

[Note: Hani Khouri called me on Nov. 11 to tell me that he’s no longer selling at this market due to a sharp increase in vendor fees. He and Sous Chef 2 Go are partnering in a new lunch menu at the shop in Kendall. Look for my review coming soon.]

The Jackson Memorial Foundation Green Market @ Alamo Park
1611 NW 12th Ave., Miami
Inside the JMH Campus
Open Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Why people join or leave the CSA

Posted in csa, food, locavore, tagged on October 15, 2009| 2 Comments »

People sign up because:

  • They want to get really fresh food straight from the farms, not food that’s been in warehouses, distribution centers and back storage (like buying clubs and co-ops get).
  • They want organic/pesticide-free food.
  • They want to support local farmers.
  • They eat a lot of veggies.
  • Their doctor told them to.
  • They want a ‘greener’ footprint.
  • They’ve been in CSAs in other parts of the country (this category increasing).
  • They were in a buying club or a co-op and realized all they’re getting there is the same exact stuff they can get at the grocery store.

People leave because:

  • They find out they really DON’T eat as many veggies as they thought.
  • They move away.
  • They are uncomfortable with surprises, because they don’t know in advance what they are going to get.
  • They want more of what they call ‘traditional veggies’ — meaning the basic 10 things they buy at the grocery store, some of which don’t grow here, or only during a limited time (in season), and they can’t understand why they can’t get, for example, onions or tomatoes or potatoes at the start of the season (and all season long!).
  • They’re stuck in the grocery store ‘pretty food’ paradigm (ooh, it has a bad spot, throw it out!) and can’t accept ‘real food’ complete with buggies (extra protein, anyone?), and soil (vegetables grow in dirt? can’t we get rid of it?).

Thanks to Farmer Margie for sending me her rant!

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Thyme for tilapia and lime

Posted in food, locavore, photo, recipe, tagged , on October 12, 2009|

Sleeps wit' da fishes

Sleeps wit' da fishes

The other Saturday I rambled down to Bee Heaven to pick up a tilapia and some callaloo for dinner. If you’ve never done that, you’re missing out on some good eating. The fish are ridiculously fresh. They were swimming early that same morning just before getting put on ice. You won’t eat anything fresher unless you catch it yourself. When you order a tilapia, you get the whole fish. It’s your job to scale, gut and clean it before cooking, but that isn’t too difficult to do. The average weight per fish is about 1.5 pounds, maybe a bit more.

The tilapia is farm raised by Wayne and Carmen of American Viking Aqua Farms, a mom-n-pop operation right around the corner from Bee Heaven. Although the fish is a bit more expensive than what you can get at at the grocery store, it has been raised without chemicals. Technically they are not organic because the fish food isn’t, though Wayne and Carmen want to move in that direction. They also use a biofilter to clean their water, and have a natural filtration system which lets them use the nutrients to grow native mangroves for use in bioremediation projects.

Plans for Mr. Fish were to roast it whole. It was scaled, gutted and cleaned, then its cavity stuffed with slices of lime and branches of fresh thyme, and more lime slices on top. Was baked it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes (more or less), until the flesh flaked when stuck with a knife.

Mr. Fish meets his demise

Mr. Fish meets his demise

Mmmmmm good eating! The flesh was tender, moist and delicate. Limes on top kept it moist, and the flavors of lime and thyme permeated. Well, maybe a bit too much lime… will try with lemon next time, and use a bit less, and add garlic or onion. I don’t pretend to be a chef, or even a halfway good cook, but I have my moments and this was one of them. Your meal is only as good as the ingredients!

If you got a tilapia how did you prepare it? Feel free to share your recipe in the comments section below!

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