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Roots in the City Farmers Market returns

December 7, 2010 by marian33031

This season’s grand opening of the Roots in the City Farmers Market is on Wednesday Dec. 8, from 1 to 4 pm. The market will be held in the same place it was last year, on the corner of NW 10th St. and 2nd Ave. in Overtown, right by the RITC gardens.

This market is one of several in the area where real growers (not produce re-sellers) are participating. Returning this season are RITC itself, selling collards, papaya and other delicacies from its gardens, Redland Organics, Teena’s Pride and Hani’s Mediterranean Organics.

The RITC Farmers Market was also the first market in the area to accept SNAP/EBT payments, and doubles the value of purchases up to $10, thanks to a generous program sponsored by Wholesome Wave Foundation.

This season the market will be open two days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays. It will stay open through April 2011. For more information, email RITC or call 305-772-3229.

Posted in events, food, market | Tagged , , , , |

Dinner in Paradise opens Sunday

December 6, 2010 by marian33031

The new season of the legendary Dinner in Paradise series opens Sunday, Dec 12th.  Each dinner features hors d’oeuvres, a sunset tour of Paradise Farm, and a five-course menu prepared by an all-star line up of some of the best chefs in town.

The first dinner features the talents of four chefs — Chef Timon Balloo from Sugarcane, Chef David Bracha from The River Seafood and Oyster Bar, Chef Jason Prevatt from the Loews Hotel, and Chef Frederic Delaire from several Michelin rated French restaurants. World class wines will be paired by Sommelier Shari Gherman.

A portion of the proceeds this season will be donated to the non-profit organization Urban Oasis Project. Members and volunteers plant food gardens in underprivileged neighborhoods, and operate the brand new Liberty City Farmers Market.

To purchase Dinner tickets online, go to the Paradise Farms site.

To make donations to the Urban Oasis Project, click here.

Posted in agritourism, chef, events, locavore | Tagged , , |

Persimmons

December 4, 2010 by marian33031

Triumph persimmons. Note the ripe one, it's much darker.

One of the less common fruits that you’ll find at the Redland Organics tent is the Triumph persimmon, the variety that grows well here. It’s a bit smaller than the Fuyu variety you’ll find at the grocery, the kind that’s shaped like a flattened ball.

The unripe persimmon is a light shade of orange, but its color darkens to a deep orange as it ripens. Patience is required with this fruit. Unripe, it has a very astringent taste. And, it takes several days to a week for it to ripen.

A couple weeks ago I got two persimmons to try out. One ripened in four days, the other took over a week. The orange color grew deeper, and the flesh became quite soft. “Just let it sit on the counter until it turns translucent and looks like orange jello,” Farmer Margie advised. Translucent? Lets light through? Never heard of fruit doing such a thing. Split open a super ripe one, then held it up to the light. Sure enough, light shone through its jelly-like flesh. When ripe, the skin slides right off. Little sacs contain a small seed, which is a bit more translucent and chewy. The persimmon was very sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. Wish I had gotten more!

Persimmons are a great snack, and would make a great pudding or mousse, maybe even a pie, along the lines of lemon pie. Bill, over at Tinkering with Dinner, made a persimmon honey ice cream that’s worth trying out.

Persimmon season is very short in this area, and is almost over. If you want to experience this interesting fruit, hurry down to the Pinecrest market this Sunday before they’re all gone.

Posted in fruits, photo | Tagged | 7 Comments »

Squeeze the pleats!

December 3, 2010 by marian33031

Don’t forget to flatten your share box, and leave/return it to your pickup site. The process is very simple: 1) Deplete the box. 2) Squeeze the pleats. There’s one flap on the top of the box, and two on the bottom, that are creased like a pleat. Squeeze the pleat, don’t rip it, to undo the flaps.

For the visually inclined, check out last year’s blog post on how to flatten your box. There’s a step-by-step comic that shows you how it’s done.

You can watch a cool video on the Redland Organics web site that shows you exactly how to flatten the box. [Note: the Flash video starts playing as soon as the web page loads. To re-play the video, reload the browser page.]

Bring a tote or your own personal box with you when you pick up your share, and leave the flattened share box at the pick up site. If you take the share box home with you, don’t forget to bring it back the following week. I don’t want to nag, but… those special waxed boxes can be reused a bunch of times, and cost money to replace. Thanks for doing your part!

Posted in csa | Tagged |

CSA share: week 2

December 3, 2010 by marian33031

CSA share: week 2

Posted in csa, food, photo | Tagged |

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