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Food & Garden Festival

April 19, 2010 by marian33031

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.

Posted in events, food | Tagged | 3 Comments »

CSA share: week 20

April 16, 2010 by marian33031

CSA share: week 20. The final share of the season!

This is it, kids, the final share of the season! I can’t believe that 20 weeks have flown by already. I’m going to miss visiting the farm every Friday and finding out what’s new, and taking this picture. My friends will miss hearing me complain that I can’t close my refrigerator door, and can they please help me out by taking some veggies off my hands. Geez, now I’ll have to go back to Whole Paycheck for organic produce. (But it’s not the same.)

What did you like in the share, and what did you not like? I’m going to go against the flow and say that I loved all the greens this season. It’s hard to find a variety of fresh greens in the stores, and I’ve really enjoyed them. The turnips, meh. The heirloom tomatoes were worth the trip to the farmers market. Wish I had signed up for an egg share, because organic eggs from the grocery are just not the same.

This blog was the first season that I documented the shares and the ebb and flow of events on Bee Heaven Farm and in Redland. I wanted to do a lot more than I managed to find time and energy for. During the off-season lull, I hope to get caught up on some blog posts I’ve been working on. What do you want more news about, and what do you want less of? Do you want farm news, area news, farmer/intern interviews, politics, recipes, information about different foods, what’s available at market, various related events, rants and rambles, or …?

Your responses are very interesting to me, and based on what I hear, may help shape the direction of the blog (as long as it doesn’t stray too far from original mission of writing about Redland Organics growers, CSA members, the issues that affect them, and the farm area). Would love to hear your thoughts! Let’s get a conversation going! I know you’re out there…

Posted in csa, photo | Tagged | 8 Comments »

When cabbages fly

April 14, 2010 by marian33031

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!

Posted in csa, farm, food, people, photo | Tagged , |

Earthfest 2010

April 14, 2010 by marian33031

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, Miami-Dade Parks, Earth Learning, and Expand the Love present the annual Earthfest 2010, an annual festival promoting all things ecologically sustainable, on Sunday, April 18, noon – 6 p.m., at Crandon Park Visitor and Nature Center, located at the north beach entrance of Crandon Park, 6767 Crandon Blvd., in Key Biscayne.

The free, day-long annual event will feature the very best vegetarian and vegan foods, live performances, workshops, “green” vendors offering earth-friendly products, an electronics recycling center, and environmental educational organizations. Redland Organics will be there selling fresh herbs, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, dried fruit, honey and other late-season goodies. The Miami-Dade Parks EcoAdventures™ staff of naturalists will provide Eco Tram tours of the Bear Cut preserve and guided nature walks through the coastal hardwood hammocks of Crandon Park.

Workshops will be going on from noon to 5 p.m. on various topics including:

  • Raised bed organic gardening
  • Raw foods preparation
  • Introduction to permaculture design
  • Retrofitting your home for greater efficiency
  • Growing a food forest in your backyard
  • Qigong and Yoga
  • Every child outside
  • World Café
  • Deep ecology, and more

Earthfest will also feature musical and artistic performances by groups including Heavy Pets, Teri Catlin, Sosos, PHIsonica with Kavayah Amn and Xavier Hawk, Soulflower, Jai (formerly Soul Temple), Jude Papaloko, and Lucho performing an Earth healing ceremony hosted by Val Silidker. Performances are presented by Expand the Love.

There will also be a community drum circle and patrons are encouraged to bring a drum or other percussion instruments to participate.

Admission to Earthfest 2010 is free.  There is a $6 per car parking fee.  (There is a $1.50 toll on the Rickenbacker Causeway.)  Sorry, no pets! For more information on Earthfest 2010, please visit the website at www.earthfest.us, or call the Crandon Park Visitor and Nature Center at 305-361-6767, ext. 112.

Posted in events, market | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Learning Luncheon at Paradise

April 13, 2010 by marian33031

Paradise Farms introduces the first interactive “Learning Luncheon” featuring Private Chef Mary Siragusa.

Saturday, April 17th
11:00 am Arrival with sparkling organic juices, followed by farm tour
11:30 am – 12:30 pm Interactive food prep
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Luncheon

3 courses with dessert @ $45 per person. Sign up at www.paradisefarms.net

Learn how to prepare delicious and healthy meals effortlessly while having a great time. Guests will have the opportunity to partake in the preparation of the meal. Chef Mary will explain the benefits of organic foods and show you how easy it is to incorporate organic juices and food into your lifestyle. You will be inspired by her fresh, wholesome approach!

Gabriele Marewski, owner of Paradise Farms, will lead a farm tour to collect the herbs and edible flowers for lunch with a discussion on how you can grow your own food.

Featured will be Carico International, a manufacturer of healthy lifestyle products including cookware which uses low heat and no oil.

MENU:

First course: Creamy cucumber soup
Second course: Baby Brassica greens with fennel, carrot and orange
Third course: Grilled shrimp on top of orrecciette primavera
Dessert: vanilla coconut cake with a hint of lime accompanied with lime sorbet
Coffee and tea service.

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

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