Our firsts of the season, part 2

The growing season is ON here in south Florida and it has just been an abundance of fruits, vegetables, baby greens, and edible flowers! Below is a picture of our farm manager, Landy, with our carrot harvest! These carrots were picture perfect even upon pulling and we can already imagine their crisp sweetness. Yum!

Below is a picture of our cherry tomato harvest. It’s January and we are eating fresh ripe tomatoes. Isn’t Florida great? These little cherry tomatoes are quite robust –during the long, hot, and wet August months, we still found these tomatoes all over the farm. Between the heat and the heavy drenching rains, August is quite a straining month for plants, a feat daring for even warm weather loving tomatoes. But yet there we were, tomatoes in hand and in belly. These guys were able to hold up to August and we are excited to have them now with growing conditions in their favor!

Our firsts of the season, part 1

We recently celebrated many firsts of the season! We celebrated our first Dinner in Paradise on December 11^th, sharing the evening with about 50 guests. The evening was wonderful and exuded positive energy all around. Yet again, we could not find a better word to describe a Dinner in Paradise as anything but whimsical. Here’s why:

Many of our guests arrive fresh from Miami, where the stop and go of traffic is the everyday lull. As our guests arrive at the farm and the roar of their car engines fade out, it seems like absolute silence to many. But as they enter the farm, they are swept into the pace of Mother Nature. One becomes aware of the alluring scent of flowers, and perhaps one notices just how blue the sky looks today.

We always start with a tour of the farm so that guests can see, smell, and feel where much of the food they are about to eat is coming from. After smelling and tasting this and that, our guests’ senses are piqued and they are ready to experience the delicious meal awaiting just ahead: Miami’s most talented chefs have lent their culinary ingenuity and artistry to prepare an outstanding meal at our little paradise. Once the meal is over, guests head to their cars. And somewhere between leaving the farm and the ride home to the city, one feels as if they have just stumbled across a dream.

The Miami New Times wrote up a short story about their experience at our December 11^th Dinner in Paradise. Here is the link: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2011/12/dinner_in_paradise_a_photo_rec.php. The dishes were excellent and the chefs really wowed everyone with their creativity. One of our favorites was risotto in a bowl, garnished with an herb, moss, and hot rocks wreath (pictured below).

We would like to thank our wonderful guests, the stellar chef lineup, and the gracious assistance of Johnson & Wales students for making the dinner such a fun and unique experience! The next dinner is January 8^th and tickets are selling fast! We hope to share our farm with you and see you in the near future!