Luscious photographs of plums, peaches, berries and tomatoes emblazon the covers of the national food magazines. Food writers wax poetic about the summer harvest. Of course, they are not talking about anything we find in Florida. What about local fruits and vegetables? The pickings seem slim when it comes to local produce in South Florida’s sultry summer. However, don’t forget that foodies from northern climes daydream about the tropical treats we enjoy.
I am friends with the mango and the avocado, but the longan and the passion fruit are untried novelties. In the next couple of weeks, Miami Dish will feature some of the summer bounty we may have been taking for granted.
I was reminded of our exotic summer offerings when I received an email from Redland Organics. Redland Organics runs the fall CSA which, unfortunately, seems to be maxed out. (They are now enrolling from their wait list; you can try your luck!.) During the summer, you don’t need to be a CSA member to make an order and you can make selections a la carte. However, you can only pick up your order directly at the farm or at Theine teahouse in Coral Gables. Theine is a lovely place to while away the afternoon. However, they will be closed for three weeks while Chef Kyra White goes canning up north.
This past weekend, I went to Theine and collected several gigantic Keitt mangos and Donnie avocados, some handfuls of star fruit, a bunch of garlic chives, a bag full of mint, a larger bag of allspice berries and leaves (link to this later), and eight ounces of raw avocado honey. The avocado honey is dark, with an intense sweetness. I don’t know if it’s just the power of suggestion, but I taste avocado overtones. I recommend it!
Redland Organics will offer their summer a la carte through September, depending on how the hurricane season treats us. If you hurry, you can also order enormous, fresh-picked Donnie avocados directly from Bee Heaven farm. You can also enjoy raw wildflower and avocado honey from the farm, as well as tupelo and orange blossom honey from Florida.
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[...] grows mostly in Jamaica. I didn’t know that allspice grew in Florida before I saw it on the list of summer produce available through Redland Organics. The organic allspice in my batch hails from Bee Heaven [...]