Florida is forgotten in fall.
This time of year, attention shifts north to places with changing leaves, chilly breezes and roaring bonfires. Our sugar-sand beaches and rivers of grass are ignored in favor of pumpkin patches and hay rides. That is, until the snow falls and folks remember what a good thing we have down here.
I say: They can keep their leaves. Honestly, they can keep their pumpkins, too. Fall in Florida is something different. It’s not cranberries and apple cider. It’s zucchini, early-season tomatoes, eggplants, kale. It’s artisan lettuces from urban grow houses, and un-waxed cucumbers that taste like actual cucumbers.
Fall in Florida is when the summer heat begins to relent.
Fall is when our farms come back to life.
“This is an exciting time of year. This is our growing season,” said Rose O’Dell King, owner of Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm in North Fort Myers. “That’s really what people should take out of fall here: It’s the start. No more veggies from up north and California, now we have all this wonderful produce bounty that’s just ours.”
At Inyoni Organic Farm in Naples, warm-weather greens such as bok choy and red Russian kale still line the fields, alongside loads and loads of zucchini and squash blossoms, according to owner Nick Batty. Transitional produce, including eggplants and cucumbers, are coming into harvest. And he and his team are preparing the 6-acre site for the cooler weather of winter, when the fields will overflow with tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, carrots and more.
“It’s opposite seasons,” Batty said. “A lot of the people who come down from up north don’t quite understand that.”
East Fork Creek, an urban farm in south Fort Myers, skirts some of that seasonality with its shade houses and hydroponics. The 10-acre facility devotes 21/2 acres to its lettuces, which it sells to chefs and restaurants, and to the public through its onsite market. East Fork’s offering dwindle in summer. But as temperatures drop, its harvests rise.
Owner Frans Kox hopes to expand East Fork’s offerings from 13 varieties of lettuce to as many as 21 this growing season. Kox has eight new lettuces he’s testing from East Fork’s seed suppliers in Holland. Many of the new seeds came without pictures or directions. Kox and his staff are winging it, going by feel, and hoping for something delicious.
“We feed them and follow them along,” Kox said. “In another four weeks, we’ll know how they perform and if we’ll continue growing them through the winter.”
In the meantime, the farm has several warm-weather lettuces still sprouting, as well as an abundance of bananas, which grow from August to October. When asked about pumpkins and cranberries, Kox laughed.
“That’s definitely not our thing,” he said.
But these recipes are our thing, our Florida thing, our Florida fall thing. Forget pumpkin spice. Taste fall the Florida way.
Rosy Tomorrows’ bread-and-butter pickles
Here is one of Chef Brian Mullally’s recipes for quick pickles. We do a lot of pickling at the farm, creating items for our charcuterie boards. This easy technique can be applied to many veggies throughout the garden season. Too many radishes or turnips? Quick pickle them. Red onions, shallots, carrots, green beans and beets work, too. This method is sometimes called “refrigerator pickles.” They are fast and easily done in small batches. These bread-and-butter pickles are a big favorite, and go great atop our grass-fed beef burger. — Rose O’Dell King
Ingredients
11/2 pounds Kirby cucumbers, or other small, firm cucumbers
11/2 tablespoons kosher salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
11/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
Directions
Wash and dry cucumbers, trim ends and slice into quarters. Pack cucumber slices into two 16-ounce jars or four 8-ounce jars. Leave a little headroom at the top of the jar.
Combine all other ingredients and bring to a boil.
Scoop some of the pickling spices into each of the jars and top off with the hot pickle liquid before closing the jar.
Let cool for an hour at room temperature, then place in the refrigerator to fully cool. They are ready in 48 hours and will keep in the refrigerator for a month or two.
Rosy’s grilled zucchini with chimichurri, feta and pine nuts
This dish goes great with a grilled rib eye or New York strip steak. Grill the steak, and while the steak is resting, grill the zucchini and serve both at the same time with the chimichurri. — O’Dell King
Ingredients
Marinade for 3 large zucchini
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
For chimichurri
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sherry vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons oregano
For garnish
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup pine nuts or pistachios
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and score with a knife in a crosshatch fashion across the interior side of the zucchini. This will create lots of nooks and crannies for the marinade to seep in.
Blend or whisk marinade ingredients and pour over zucchini. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes.
Add shallot, garlic, sherry vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red-pepper flakes to a blender and blend until homogeneous.
Finely chop all remaining herbs and whisk the blended combination into them.
Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat until just slightly golden.
Lightly pat excess marinade off of the zucchini and grill over high heat until charred and tender, 5 to 10 minutes depending on size.
Plate zucchini and top with a drizzle of chimichurri and a sprinkle of pine nuts and feta.
Sicilian-style eggplant caponata
This dish is a flavor explosion. The first bite can overwhelm with its tangy-salty-sweetness, but as the mouth adjusts, it tends to fall in love. Caponata is great on its own. It’s wonderful over a simple cheese pizza or tossed into pastas or salads. I like to make caponata in big batches, then store extras in the fridge where it can keep for a week or more, all the while intensifying in flavor.
Ingredients
1 large eggplant, 11/4 pound or so, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
2 small celery stalks, thinly sliced
Black pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup pitted green olives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raisins
2 teaspoons honey
1 bay leaf
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine (can substitute chicken stock)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (optional)
Directions
Heat oven to 400. Sprinkle salt over cubed eggplant and set aside to sweat on paper towels as you chop the onions, pepper, celery, etc.
Pat eggplant dry and place cubes on a sheet pan with a generous drizzle (2 to 3 tablespoons or more) of olive oil. Toss to coat. Roast eggplant for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned.
Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper and celery. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing regularly until softened.
Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, honey, bay leaf and crushed pepper flakes. Pour in the vinegar and white wine or stock. Stir to combine. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Stir in the roasted eggplant and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes in the sauce. Finish with fresh parsley and mint.
Recipe adapted from themediterraneandish.com
Classic zucchini bread
The folks at Rosy Tomorrows and Inyoni Organic Farm agree: zucchini abounds this time of year in Florida. Grab all you can, and transform it into this wholesome zucchini bread.
11/2 cups grated zucchini, lightly packed (do not drain liquid)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, add grated zucchini, sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir just until no dry flour remains. Try not to over mix.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out with moist crumbs on it. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Store covered in the refrigerator.
Note: This bread is best served after it has been refrigerated for at least 12 hours.
Recipe courtesy thewholesomedish.com
Annabelle Tometich writes about food and restaurants for The News-Press and Naples Daily News.
If you go
East Fork Creek: The farm features an onsite market selling its produce, as well as local eggs and goodies. Find it at 6901 Hendry Creek Drive, south Fort Myers; call 239-410-6552 or click eastforkcreek.com for more.
Inyoni Organic Farm: Inyoni sells its produce at the Marco Island, Vanderbilt, Third Street South and Bonita Shores farmers markets, and through its Market CSA memberships. Find more at inyoniorganicfarm.store.
Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm: The farm’s onsite restaurant is currently closed for renovations. Sign up for Rosy’s newsletter, memberships and its weekly farm boxes at rosy-tomorrows.com.
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The Link LonkOctober 27, 2020 at 11:14PM
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/dining/2020/10/27/recipes-fall-florida-forget-pumpkin-got-far-tastier-things-afoot/114495138/
Recipes for fall in Florida: Forget pumpkin, we’ve got far tastier things afoot - Florida Today
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