The Gardner's Farmers Market is every Sunday at Pinecrest Gardens (Formerly the old Parrot Jungle) and is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and runs through April 20. The market is located in Pinecrest Gardens, 5855 SW 111th St. For more market info, please click here.
While many parts of the country are still seeing snow, here's a few photos to cheer you up and give those of you in the cold parts of the country something to look forward to. 
Southern Florida has the perfect climate to grow bromeliads and orchids. My mother in law would faint to know that I only paid $5 each for two orchid plants when she bought ONE for $60 AUD at a Sydney florist. (Of COURSE you can click on all the photos to see larger and in detail, darling!) 
La Diva came home with two of these lovely orchid plants.
La Diva and "my" CSA farmer Margie of Bee Heaven farms who runs one of two organic produce stands at the market every Sunday. Margie is up every day at 4:30 am to work the farm and then on Saturdays, we all get our CSA shares. On Sunday Margie is working the markets and I am wondering when she gets to take a day off?!
Stop by Farmer Margie's booth called Redland Organics which offers produce and herbs from organic farms in the Redland area southwest of Miami. Farmer Margie's booth is chock full of greens like komatsuna, three different types of kale, chard and salad greens. Also on offer were four types of beet including sweet golden beets, which I bought a bunch of! There are tropical fruits, herbs, flowers, organic honey, fennel, green beans and whatever is growing and is in season NOW in Southern Florida! I have links to both the Redland Organics site and Margie's Bee Heaven Farm blog just to the right on the side panel! Clickety-click away, darlings!
Redland Organics grows tropical fruits too. Those little yellow things are loquats an Asian relative to an apple, sopadilla and canistel aka egg fruit. There were also black sapote and carambola (star fruit) for sale too. 
While the rest of America is STILL getting snow, we are eating strawberries! Ah well, come summer, us Floridians will be sticky with the sweat and humidity of tropical hurricane season where we see storms daily!
I get a honey share each month and may I say that it's REALLY HARD to keep DJ Nevah L8's big paws off of it so I get some too! Delicious flavor!
Heirloom green beans. La Diva simply steamed them and served with sea salt and butter, how sweet and tender they were!!! 
Freshness you can see and taste! Check out the vibrant colors of these radishes! Farmer Margie offers FRESHLY PICKED produce whereas the produce you buy in the grocery store, even those ones offering organic produce such as Whole Foods, will sit for weeks after picking. You can REALLY TASTE THE DIFFERENCE eating freshly picked veggies! 
These smart and sassy little bouquets with herbs and flowers from Bee Heaven farm sold out fast! 
I loved this little pink and green conch shack. It's very typical of Key West! 
DJ Nevah L8 restores his strength with some hot, crunchy and light conch fritters!
La Diva likes a well-behaved doggy at the markets! 
These were a good price, cheaper than the grocery store. Florida stone crabs are only in season from October until May and may I just say that La Diva has not eaten NEARLY ENOUGH of them this season!
What I really liked about this market was all the variety and quality of the vendors. There was not a lot of junk or duplicate vendors. Offering their goods on the day were a French bread maker, a French patisserie, a crepe maker and a gourmet pasta maker too!
Those large round pumpkins are called calabaza and are used in Caribbean cooking. 
These Francophile foods were sold by a vendor that also offered Spanish olive oil and chile-infused olive oils. La Diva just loved the quality and variety of gourmet products available at this market. There were also organic coffee vendors, an olive oil vendor that sold infused oils (Meyer lemon!) and vinegars, home made soaps and a few groovy jewelers too.
This guy was just standing around, looking good and flogging the samples of home made limeade.
These were the two young cutie patooties working SO HARD to make fresh limeade! Man, was it good! The perfect refreshment for a parched Diva at the markets!The market season is almost over, kids! Get down there and get it while you can, the markets won't start again until November! Ciao for now, darlings!cooking class, cocktails, parties, cocktail party, Miami, coral gables, events, bartending class, cocktail class, Laura Lafata, Miami Beach, miami cooking classes, bachelorette parties, bachelorette party, personal chef, corporate events, catering, personal chef, party entertainment
Colorful stuff & nice photos !
ReplyDeleteGreat photos - made me drool and feel warmer all at once! Looks like quite a market.
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon LaDiva,
ReplyDeleteHmmm, Conch the meal to have if you've not speared anything all day.
What do you think are the chances of hot housing, an Avocado tree in Maryland. Would it produce? would the avocado taste like golf balls?
I can't get over how clean it is at your market. I go to one in my area and there's trash and containers everywhere. What happened to your CSA share while you were gone? Hope it didn't go to waste.
ReplyDeleteThe conch fritters and french bread really looked good.
Looks amazing! We have Farmer's Market twice a week year round here, but it's nothing like that. Small town ya know...
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to spend a couple hours!
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ReplyDeleteLaDiva, I'm quite sad to hear that you are falling behind in your official duties of Designated Shamu Crab Eater. Now get to IT, May will be here before you know it.
I can pretty much guarantee that our farmer's market does not carry Duck Mousse with Port Wine. The giant smoked turkey legs? Yes, foie gras not even close.
Thanks for trying to uplift my wintry heart.
Your photos are mouth watering! Everything looks so fresh.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize it's been so long since we've been down there but the last time we were the Parrot Jungle still had parrots.
Lovely post! I makes me wish even more heartily that this winter would just end already. We have a couple very large markets in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, but I prefer the smaller ones out in my neck of the woods. More intimate and you can spend more time talking to the vendors. My fave is the dude we call Happy Chicken Man. Ex marine who one day was commuting to work when God's voice boomed in his ear. Apparently, God told him that his mission in life from here on out was to bless the world with the hormone free flesh and eggs of happy, free roaming chickens. So, he sold everything he owned, moved to 20 acres in the middle of nowhere on the short grass plains, and started a chicken farm. Best eggs ever. And I never get tired of hearing his story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, the photos are from hubby, playing with his new camera.
ReplyDeleteNice to see ya Heff!
Eggy, Sham and Moi, I REALLY FEEL YOUR SNOW PAIN, I do. There were times when I lived in Chicago that I would not get dressed for days, order everything in and just be blue. Time to go and buy a big bunch of tulips or cherry blossoms to brighten you up until the snow finally melts away for good!
Karl, Slim and None, not to mention the fact it would take at least 10 years to even begin producing fruit. Just buy a case of them from FL or CA!
Buzz, yeah, it is pretty clean, which is good, you should tell your market organizer to "clean up their act!" I let my friend pick up my CSA, usually the host who take the deliveries will find someone to take the box if there are extra.
Dani, had to beg and plead for hubby to go and when he gets there, he's so caught up in playing photographer, I can't get him to leave! Always the way!
Shamy, I served the stone crab claws with wasabi mayo and cream, OMG!!!
Moi, your chicken man sounds funny! I love fresh eggs and free range chickens sure do taste better.
Anyway, in a month my market will be gone and most of yours will be starting shortly after that!
MS, when is YOUR growing season?
ReplyDelete*presses nose to computer screen*
ReplyDeleteSTRAWBERRIES in March??
*sigh*
For once I made a point of eating BEFORE I visited your blog.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I still want those fritters.
what a great post! i feel i have been there and wish i had. a great farmers market. i love that 6 dollar mixed bouquet - thats what i sell at the farmers market here. i love limeade and wouldve bought some to. fritters, and bromiliads are lovely. i know the orchids are expensive in AU, but i hear calla lillies grow in the ditches. loved this post and your photos were a delight. thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chicory! Yes, it IS true, calla lilies DO grow in ditches in Sydney! I never knew that about them until I lived there and was surprised to see that!
ReplyDeleteFabulous photos...our market season is just starting. Can't wait!
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