All photos by Laine Doss

Welcome to Paradise Farms.

The sun was setting and there was a chill in the air as we walked through the gates of Paradise Farms in Homestead. A sign reading "Welcome. Please No Meat or Cigarettes" greeted us as we meandered through a fragrant path filled with the sounds of birds, bees, and crickets.

Paradise Farms is well named. The small organic farm was purchased by Gabriele Marewski in 1999. Since then, Miami's finest restaurateurs purchase Marewski's edible flowers, greens, fruits, and vegetables and the farm hosts the popular Dinner in Paradise series.

See also:
- Interview With the Forge's Dewey LoSasso, Part One
- Interview With the Forge's Dewey LoSasso, Part Two

Last evening, the farm hosted Milagro Tequila's brand ambassador Jaime Salas and The Forge's executive chef Dewey LoSasso for an evening of farm-to-table dining and drinking.

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Emily Codik

A source for local produce, now in Wynwood

Wynwood Farmers' Market will debut today, Saturday, at The LAB Miami, the entrepreneurial community campus for technological and social innovation. The campus has partnered with member Erin Healy, the founder of Youth L.E.A.D, an organization centered on creating healthy, environmentally sustainable, and equitable schools and communities throughout Miami-Dade County.

The market is funded by the Knight Foundation and will be held outside of LAB Miami's building, in the alleyway off of NW 26th street.

"There was a lot of interest from LAB, our partner and site of the market, and the Knight Foundation, to do the market. A lot of people seemed excited about the idea, so we decided to jump in and provide this much-needed service," Healy says.

There will be vendors selling empanadas, organic raw foods, local goat cheese, locally sourced fruits and vegetables, and herbs and spices by Spice Galore. There will be food trucks present too -- including Purple People Eatery. Youth L.E.A.D apprentices, who will be employed from the surrounding community, will run a juice and smoothie stand.

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Wikipedia

When it comes to cuisine, aesthetic appeal is half (or 1/4 of) the battle, just ask the Iron Chefs. And what's more aesthetically appealing than a delicate flower? Luckily, there are plenty of beautiful blossoms you can actually eat.

Gabriele Marewski of Paradise Farms is the local expert on edible flowers - her Homestead outpost grows a whopping 52 varieties. And according to her, it's easier than you might think to harvest some in your home garden. Details after the jump.

Read also:
Paradise Farms Welcomes Vegan Chef Cherie Soria: Try Chipotle Soup With Cashew Yogurt
Paradise Farms: Eat Your Flowers!

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Emily Codik

Small bulbs of watermelon radish are mild enough to slice and serve in a salad

Yesterday, nestled among boxes bursting with green lettuce, potted rosemary, and fresh dill at Bee Heaven Farm's stand at the Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market, there was a root vegetable that resembled a stunted parsnip or a pale rutabaga. It was round and thick, about two inches in diameter, and it seemed like nothing more than an unassuming root, scattered among a lush bounty of greenery.

But, once sliced, it was clear that this was no humble turnip. The interior had a starburst pattern, bursting in bright hues of fuchsia, which contrasted with a white-green exterior. It's this disparity of colors that inspires the root's moniker: the watermelon radish, or red heart radish.

To put things rather simply, it's one of the most stunning root vegetables in season now.

See also:
- Miami Farmers' Markets: the Fresh, the Local, The Bargains

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Peterson Farm Brothers via Facebook

Workin' Farmer Style...try to get it out of your skull.

"Gangnam Style" has embedded so deeply into our brains, we're saving up for a partial lobotomy to remove that completely annoying yet oh-so-catchy song/video by (we're praying) one-hit-wonder PSY.

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Courtesy of Miami Smokehouse

Two men are on a mission to bring the likes of candied bacon and high-quality charcuterie to the citizens of Miami. Their new venture, Miami Smokers, is launching during Basel - and bacon ambassadors will be taking to the streets of Wynwood to distribute the sweet and salty pork product.

Read also:
- Art Basel Miami: Pop-Up Biergarten to Serve Florida Craft Beers
- Art Basel Eats: From a Phuc Yea! Pop-Up to a Basel Biergarten

James Bowers and Andres Barrientos of Aaron's Catering are launching this "urban smokehouse," designed to bring carefully cured meats to the masses. The duo first served up the tantalizing treat during a pop-up brunch at Egg & Dart this past summer, and the response was so overwhelming that they decided to launch a side business.

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Pop quiz: Where did the "crab" in last night's California roll originate? Or the meaty middle of your fish filet? Or the hefty slab of salmon you picked up at the supermarket?

Sadly, most consumers are clueless about the answers -- and it's this ignorance that's killing our oceans.

Read also:
- Blue Runner: Quality Seafood From His Door to Yours
- Publix Seafood Practices Rank 19 of 20 Stores Analyzed, Greenpeace Says

A new documentary by a local production company hopes to change that by shining a spotlight on the fish farming industry -- and it's not a pretty picture.

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Whole Foods Market

Do you know how your turkey was treated?

Thanksgiving is less than a week away and you're planning a traditional holiday dinner, which includes a golden turkey as the showpiece of the meal.

Before you head to the supermarket, know what you're buying. Many frozen and fresh turkeys sold at major chains and big box warehouses come from factory farms, known for their abusive conditions.

Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation and witnessed firsthand the abuse these birds are subjected to.

A video shot at a North Carolina Butterball farm shows workers throwing turkeys against steel crates, kicking the birds, and grabbing them by the wings and neck. One worker notices maggots living inside the flesh of a barely-alive bird:

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Emily Codik

Grilled chicken at Pinecrest Gardens

This market inside the lush Pinecrest Gardens is home to as many as 65 vendors during the high season, which begins December 1 and ends in mid-May. One of them is Copperpots, a tiny company owned by Tom Wilfong and his girlfriend, Vanessa Safie. Together, they produce jams and marmalades with flavors including rum raisin, apple butter, jalapeño, and pineapple five-spice. The pair also prepares local strawberry and mango jams when the fruits are in season.

Copperpots' products are always made in small batches with all-natural ingredients. An eight-ounce jar goes for $7, and a four-ouncer costs $4. By 2 p.m. the day we visited, the couple had already sold out of their most coveted flavors: apple butter and pineapple.

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Emily Codik

Radishes at the Coconut Grove Farmers Market

Glaser Organic Farms occupies the largest tent at the Coconut Grove Farmers Market. Tracy Fleming, who has owned the farm with her husband, Stan, for more than 30 years, sells a variety of local and nonlocal produce. The tent is widely recognized for its locally processed, organic raw and vegan foods. The enterprising farm also sells to Whole Foods locations across South Florida.

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