Lettuce Share

If you’re in the neighborhood of State Road 70 and Caruso Road in Bradenton tomorrow, stop by the Community Farmers Market.  I stopped in last week and was pleasantly surprised.  It’s in sort of a strange location - the Health Park East parking lot, so I wasn’t expecting much - maybe a handful of vendors at best.  But there were a dozen or more with a nice variety of produce, prepared foods, plants, and crafts.  The King Farm stand was my favorite because they offer local, organic fruits and vegetables.  

John’s father had just brought us some pole beans and squash from his garden, so I went straight for the blueberries.

The market runs from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; the address is 6040 53rd Ave E (SR70) Bradenton, FL.   

It’s Wednesday, so Luke and I headed over to Phillippi Estate Park for the farmers market.  I was on a mission to identify this plant:

On our first lap around, I didn’t see the Master Gardener’s Help Desk.  But I did stop at Nature’s Partner to buy some lettuce.  Peter Burkard owns the stand.  He grows and sells local produce, plants and honey - all organic.  Judging from his produce, he’s as good a source as any.  I pulled out my sprig and asked him to identify it.  He grabbed a leaf, snapped it in half, took a big whiff, and quickly said “Surinam Cherry.”  Even though I asked him to repeat it, by the time we were leaving I could only remember s…something…cherry.  These Rainbow carrots distracted me. 

I finally spotted the Master Gardener’s Help Desk on our way out, so I grabbed the sprig.  But neither of the two gardeners knew what it was!  I told them someone told me it was a cherry, and only then with the help of a book did they identify it as a Barbados cherry.  Google to the rescue!  After searching a bunch of images, it looks like Peter’s native nose wins this one.  It’s a Surinam cherry. 

John and I felt like being tourists for a day, so we headed up to Anna Maria Island on Saturday.  I wanted to check out the Bridge Street Market.  It runs November through May from 9 am to 2 pm, but check the events calendar before heading out as it’s not open every Saturday.  

It’s a small outdoor market with about 20 vendors.  Although there’s one produce stand and one plant stand, I wouldn’t consider it a farmers market.  The majority of vendors sell crafts.  There are handmade aprons, bags, headbands, and jewelry.

My favorite was the plant stand; there were boxes full of air plants - Tillandsia varieties. 

Air plants are also known as epiphytes.  They’re not parasites; but they grow on other plants, mostly trees.  I picked up a couple of Tillandsia ionantha minis for only a dollar a piece.  John grabbed a fish taco, and we were off to the beach.  Here’s the view from my beach chair: 

After a few hours on the beach, it was on to the Sun House for wine and appetizers on the roof.  I knew we were at the right place from the moment we stepped on the elevator The Sunshine Express.

Unfortunately, we were about three hours too early but what made us choose The Sun House, besides the view…

…was their sunset ritual - the whole restaurant breaks out in song!  But not just any song, it is the Sun House after all; everybody sings You Are My Sunshine.  And next time, we’ll be singing too!  It’s now on my must-do list.        

Our day didn’t end at the Sun House, but I’ll leave that for tomorrow…

I answered my own question about honey this morning at the Lakewood Ranch farmers market, “Is there a huge flavor difference between varieties?” Yes, there is.  The Honey Cart was offering samples of their seasonal honey. 

Cooper and I tasted four types of honey, each from a different nectar.  Fall comes from Black Mangrove and Wildflower (Ragweed).  Winter comes from Florida Maple, Golden Rod, Tea Tree, Strawberry, and Blueberry.  Spring comes from Citrus, Primrose and Clover.  And Summer comes from Palmetto, Jasmine and Gallberry.  

They all tasted good, but we went with Summer.  It’s a departure from our usual orange blossom honey but is still fruity and sweet.  Fall and Winter had the most bite; you could really taste the maple in the Winter honey.  According to the National Honey Board, there are over 300 varieties of honey in the United States!  

Despite the sweet flavor, honey is actually good for you!  It’ll full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  I’m a huge fan of Burt’s Bees products for all these reasons.  But now that I’ve been on the National Honey Board’s website, maybe I’ll start whipping up some of my own beauty products.  Check out these recipes:

• Cucumber Honey Eye Nourisher
• Chocolate Milk Bath
• Green Honey Glow Mask
• Hair Shine
• Honey-kissed Lip Balm

I made mention of the Venice farmers market on Sunday, but it’s worthy of a full post.  The market runs Saturday mornings from 8-12 in the Centennial Park parking lot on Venice Avenue.  There’s produce, flowers, crafts, coffee, and donuts.  But what impressed me the most were the plants. 

Blooming Groves Nursery brings in racks of vegetables, herbs, perennials, annuals, and succulents.  They are not certified organic but about 90% of their seeds are organic.  And instead of pesticides, they use a soap solution made up of one tablespoon Murphy’s Oil Soap (or dish soap), one tablespoon mouthwash, and one quart water.  I’m of the do the best you can mindset, so I’ll go back and buy from them-organic or not.  The plants look healthier and hardier than what you’ll find at Home Depot or Walmart, and the prices are comparable.  A gallon tomato plant was priced at four dollars.  Here’s a look at their succulent selection.

If you’re looking for 100% organic plants and produce, then shop the Downtown Sarasota farmers market on Saturdays (look for Worden Farm and Nature’s Partner) or the Siesta Key farmers market on Sundays (look for Jessica’s Organic Farm).  If you’re happy with a good local selection, this is a nice market.  Among the local produce were tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, strawberries, and of course; there’s always plenty of citrus…

Local honey is another mainstay at Florida farmers markets.  Walker Farms brings their honey from North Fort Meyers (on Bee Charmer Lane).  I only saw wild flower and saw palmetto varieties at the market, but online they sell orange blossom and black mangrove.  I always use honey in things.  Is there a huge flavor difference between varieties?  If there are any honey lovers out there, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  

Walker was also selling a line of handmade jellies and preserves from Paradise Gardens on Pine Island, where their black mangrove honey originates.  There were basics - strawberry preserves and mango chutney - and there were Florida delicacies - key lime jelly and grapefruit marmalade.  It was a great selection at this stand and throughout the market.  Lettuce Share loves the Venice Farmers Market!

I baked carrot snack cakes last night to celebrate.  To stay on theme, they’re in the likeness of ladybugs, dragonflies, bumblebees, and butterflies.  I found a backyard bug cakelet pan on sale for $20 at Williams-Sonoma after the holidays.  But the real inspiration was this giant carrot from Worden’s Farm.

Ta-da!  Happy Birthday Lettuce Share! 

The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook, making it at least half the calories of your average slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  More importantly, it tastes good.  Sift powdered sugar on top and it tastes even better, but the cake alone is moist and sweet.  Unfortunately, I’m no Minchul.  To see what you can really do with this cakelet pan, go to Ohdeedoh. 

This is the recipe exactly as it appears in the book, although I made a few small changes according to what was in my kitchen.  I chose butter over margarine, substituted raw sugar for regular granulated sugar, and used two-percent organic milk instead of skim.

Carrot Snack Cake

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup finely shredded carrot
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Nonstick spray coating
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sifted powdered sugar

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl beat margarine or butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly combined.  Beat in egg.  Stir in carrot, milk, and vanilla.  In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.  Add to carrot mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.  Spray an 8×8x2-inch baking pan with nonstick coating.  Pour batter evenly into pan.  Bake in a 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack. (Or, remove from pan after cooling 10 minutes.  Then cool completely.)  Place a paper doily on top of the cake.  Lightly sift the powdered sugar evenly over the doily.  Carefully remove the doily.  Makes 9 servings.

Nutritional facts per serving: 152 calories, 6 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 154 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 fat

No more waiting until the weekend for fresh local produce - the Phillippi Farmhouse market is now open Wednesdays from noon until dusk.  It was supposed to open in November, but the county-sponsored market violated a county law - oops!  The county changed the law, and the market opened last Wednesday.  Oops again, I forgot!  I remembered today as did half the city.  It was packed - there had to be seventy-five cars in the parking lot with a constant stream of traffic coming and going.  Here are a few of the reasons why locals were slowing traffic on US 41 today:

My Sarasota strawberries are soaking in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar as we speak…mmm…vinegar and berries…weird and delicious!  I bought them from Bayside Farm - a family owned and operated Sarasota farm.  They were also selling sweet corn, bell peppers, green onions, and cabbage.  The tomatoes and avocados are from Brown’s Grove.  Although these aren’t them, Brown’s grows and sells heirloom tomatoes.  Look for those around May.  I went a different route with my tomato and lettuce buying today and bought some seedlings from Vision Horticulture.

The recent cold snap lightened their inventory, but they were able to save the Roma and grape tomatoes, romaine lettuce and collard greens.  Here are my two picks - romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes.

The seedlings were probably the deal of the day - 3 for $1.  But maybe not…my bag was pretty full for having only spent $10.

If you can get over there, definitely check this market out.  If you can’t, there’s always Saturday’s market downtown and Sunday’s market in Siesta Key Village.  For more information on the downtown farmers market, check out my latest article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

We visited Hunsader Farms yesterday for the 8th annual Manasota BUDS Buddy Walk.  Go Team Ella Bella Buddies; we raised $1, 056!  The last I checked, the Buddy Walk total was at $60,365!  That’s a whole year’s worth of music therapy, scholarships, new parent kits, the list goes on!  BUDS is the best non-profit I’ve ever worked with - not a dime goes to salaries.  People are involved because it means something to them; it’s grass roots at its finest and Ubermommy’s best deed by far.  She’ll probably roll her eyes at this in all of her modesty, but she’s leaving a legacy with BUDS.  She started the support group in 2002 after her daughter, Ella, was born with Down syndrome.  At the time, there were no local resources, no place and no one for her to reach out to.  She changed that by creating BUDS.  What started with two families now serves over a hundred families.   I’m proud to be a part of it every year.

The bonus of the Buddy Walk is that you get to do a good deed and then enjoy the Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival.  After eating snow cones, we get lost in the corn maze and checked out their produce.

We decided on some purple peppers and a carrot the size of Cooper’s arm!

Great class on Saturday!  It was the first in a series of free classes on organic gardening offered through the Sarasota County Extension.   They’re held on the third Saturday of the month at Laurel Park and the first Saturday of the month at Orange Blossom Park.  This is the series line-up for October through February:

• Soil Management
• Crop Management
• Pest Management
• Water Management
• Cover Crop & Compost Management

After the organic gardening overview, I walked around the Laurel Park Community Garden.  It’s smaller and sunnier than the Orange Blossom garden, but it has everything you need.  The hoses are conveniently located in a line down the center aisle. 

Here’s a peek inside the shed…

and at the compost pile.

Preparing for the fall garden has me searching for inspiration.  Don’t look at the weather widget, it’s back in the nineties again.  I started to sweat a little carrying my groceries in from the car this morning.  Instead of doing any planting of my own, I headed over to the Orange Blossom Community Garden to see what other people were doing.  I’m already feeling better about my late-September start.  I didn’t find any seedlings, but there were a few leftover crops from summer. 

Watermelon

Peppers

Pineapples

There aren’t any pineapples left, but I love the way this person designed their plot.  Someone else has a miniature white picket fence around theirs.  It’s fun to walk around and see the different garden personalities.  No one was out today, no doubtedly because of the heat, but it seems like a nice place to gather.  There are benches in the shade and a couple of tables and chairs.  Compost and mulch are ready and waiting.

There are four community gardens in Sarasota County - two are in the city and two are in South County.  The plot sizes vary, but an average size is about 12′ x 12′.  They’re priced right.  It only costs $20 a year plus a fully-refundable deposit of $30 up front.  All four gardens are full right now, but there’s a waiting list that apparently moves pretty quickly.  People make other arrangements in the meantime and it’s right on down the list.

http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/Hort/commgarden.shtml