I have written about the small local farmer’s market, Tasty Tuesday Market in front of the New Port Richey library, nearly every winter for about 5 years. February, March, April, and May are a great time to buy fresh leafy greens and other veggies grown in yards without chemical sprays. My favorite grower Cyndi retired from farming two summers ago, but I still have Jim offering loads of vegetables during the winter.
A close neighbor allowed me to take photos in their garden. It’s been hot here in central Florida for the last few weeks with a temperature 12 to 15 degrees F hotter than normal for March. Our high temperatures have been in the 80’s nearly the whole month. The golden rain tree in the front yard blooms in October, drops hundreds of seed pods, and then loses its leaves. The leaves started to grow a couple of weeks ago and the tree is still holding onto some seed pods.
Last month I discussed pickling asparagus using the traditional canning method. Today let’s do a fast refrigerator pickled vegetable. If you like crispy pickles in the summer, then you are going to love this new take on an old classic. Pickled carrots are absolutely delicious and lend a burst of color to any plate. Because these pickled carrots are refrigerator pickles, they are much simpler to prepare than when using traditional canning, and allow the carrots to maintain just the right amount of crunch.
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Do you love the taste of fresh, sweet corn? Today we’re talking about revving up corn on the cob with a spicy twist. Mexican Corn on the Cob (also called Mexican Street Corn and Elote Corn) is a favorite street food in Mexico that’s easy to make at home. You can make it the traditional way on a grill or you can put it in the oven next winter when it’s too snowy to grill. For oven Mexican corn, put the corn with husk on directly on the oven rack and roast 40 to 45 minutes until tender. Then add butter and toppings. Still yummy!
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Tuesday morning you can nearly always know where I’ll be. I go to Tasty Tuesday Farmers Market in New Port Richey. It’s a small market set up in front of the library and is for local growers offering fresh from the yard produce which is grown without pesticides.
A wonderful winter side dish that is perfect for your evening meal or a holiday dinner – Squash Cranberry Saute. Cook cubes of butternut squash with fruit-juice sweetened dried cranberries. Yum!
For the last few months I’ve baked infrequently due to the heat, but I am missing my roasted vegetables. Frozen organic cubed butternut squash is available and works well. I’ve been buying it from Aldi at a great price.
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