Floridian Foods

 Florida has been in our thoughts and prayers lately. It is  a beautiful state , rich with scenry, sunshine and culture. It also had a wide array of different dishes that are worth trying.They can be Cuban influenced or made with the states's citrus crops.

One of the most popular dishesin the Miami area is the Cuban sandwich. This is a hearty hero type of sandwich that has layers of hot roast pork, ham, pickles, Swiss cheese and pickles.It's served on thick Cuban bread and hasn;t changed since it was first introduced to the state in the early Twentieth Century, Miamians also snack on chicharrones, deep fried pork belly rings  They're fried in their own fat like bacon and spiced. Croquetas or ham croquettes are another popular Floridian dish, reflective of the heavy Cuban influences. These are a tasty mix of minced ham and onion, bonded together by eggs  and then rolled in cracker meal These are then deep fried and can be eaten plain or with sauces. Of course fish are eaten on this peninsula. Fish lovers enjoy broiled flounder, pompano or snapper along with grouper. There are also  stome crabs and pink shrimp to try too. Do Floridians eat gator? Yes!! The tail is

usually deep fried and tastes like chicken nuggets. Restaurants feature it as an appetizer along side wings and crab cakes.

The state has always been known for its' citrus, The Spanish brought the fruits over in the 1490's when they first  colonized the Caribbean. There have been orange groves since the mid 1800's and Floridians and visitors have been enjoying fresh juice ever since. Lemons have been grown there  for commercial use since th e late 1800's. Grapefruit is another citrus fruit that the state produces and it originates from the Indian River area in Melbourne Florida near the Atlantic Coast. They're shipped everywhere from the United Kingdom to South Korea.The warm climate and sunny days are also perfect for growing limes and even homeownrrs have a tree or two in their backyards. This brings about the state's most popular and delicious dessert Key LIme pie.it was first made in Key West. home of Ernest Hemingway in the 1890's. the main ingredient was coindensed milk which people fo the time used since fresh milk was so scarce. Most long time Floridian families have their version of this  but it's mostyl an eggless custard zinged up with the juice of eight to ten limes.

Our hearts and prayers are with Floridians right now as they try to rebuild after Hurricane Ian. See the state as a great culinary one. It's full of interesting dishes and flavors.

The Actual Naked Chefs

Jamie Oliver may be the Naked Chef but there are actual naked chefs out there. No kidding. Nudists do cook - and cook hot , splattery dishes as well as create icy cold desserts. How do they do it? Very interestingly.

Nude chefs (again, maybe two words that should not be together) was the subject of Food section regular, Priya Krishna wrote about for today's New York Times Food section. She visited Lutz, Florida,a Tampa suburb where there is a colony, Lake Como. Surprisingly enough this 200 year old (!) practice is becoming popular again. The Chicago Times wrote about nakations - clothing free getaways and Bon Appetit magazine published "9 Rules For Naked Dining :The Etiquette of Nude Resorts". Many have embraced nudism. To them it feels freeing and creative. At Lake Como, visitors and regulars can have a full service meal at the Bare Buns Cafe which has meals, snacks and drinks. There is also the Butt Hutt, which not only serves drinks but also offers karaeoke and dance lessons. Luckily the chefs and the bartenders have to wear clothes, simply for health reasons.

It's a different matter for nude home chefs.A part time Lake Como resident, Jack Clark feels it liberating to just cook without clothes. It's freer and makes him more creative. He does wear oven mitts (!!) to protect his hands from burns and to protect them from splatters. They came in handy when he had to drain pasta for his linguine and clam sauce for his dinner party. Dinner parties on that point are also easier. There's no worry about what to wear and how you look. It's also less constraining after you've had a full meal. There are no binding waistbands or the discreet opening of top buttons after eating too much. Cooking though will have its' hazards and pitfalls.One, nudist, Karyn McMullen, another Lake Como denizen, has to take a big step back when taking food out of the oven. Her husband Jayson stays a good ways away from the grill when barbecuing and mostly refrains from frying. He does wear an apron when that happens.Another homeowner there, Nancy Rehling wears a tee shirt when cooking to protect her skin from any splatters. She already has scars from fried fish , boiled over soups and cheese which is the worst since it sticks and burns.

Will nude cooking catch on? Yes, in the nudist colonies. It's a freeing and carefree way to let loose in the kitchen.

Sweet Swamp Honey

Say "swamp" and either alligators or bogs come to mind. Yet honey is also a "swamp thing" and bee keepers are wading through not only marshy land but bad weather conditions to harvest it. Why do they do it?It's a lucrative market for it and aficionados crave it.

Kim Severson,a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section, traveled down to the Georgia and Florida Panhandle swamps for this fascinating article. These dark and murky places yield up a sunny golden honey that is growing in popularity. it comes from bees harvesting the tupelo gum tree that usually grows profusely along the Chipola and Apalachicola Rivers. The tree's blooms are these little  pom-poms of frail, fragile flowers. because of this, Tupelo honey is one of the most expensive honeys out there. The cheapest is eleven dollars a bottle while the most is an eye opening twenty-six. Connoisseurs compare the flavor to first cinnamon and anise with finishing notes of jasmine and something citrusy such as tangerine rind. Eating one spoonful is impossible. Tupelo lovers usually have two or three of the light buttery gold syrup. What can be made with it? Namely biscuits (and it would be interesting to mix it into butter.) You can try it as a glaze for salmon or as an ingredient for dip for shrimp.It could work as part of a salad dressing , thanks to the sweet and tangerine taste.

Tupelo honey has always been considered the champagne of the honey. There are several reasons for this. One  is there's  only a small window of harvesting, namely three weeks. It just ended. It had been a bad one thanks to the trees being damaged back in October by Hurricane Michael, the first hurricane five to hit the US. wooden bee boxes were smashed to smithereens or blown away. Trees were bent , leaves were blown away. Blooms started five months early if they started at all. The land
where they grow is going to get scarce thanks to developers looking into housing. Then there is the battle between Florida and Georgia over water use. When all these factors kick in, the champagne of honeys will likely be the price of Dom Perignon. The Savannah Bee Company sells the stuff for 100 dollars a bottle, namely at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.Some of the companies, like Lanier run by the third generation cultivate the honey and sell it direct. Others sell it to Brandon Tai who pitches in to help make it. He also produces sourwood honey which has a flavor that hints of gingerbread and caramel. Some of the bees move around, thanks to beekeeper, Frederick Merriam Jr, move them to Maine to pollinate his blueberry crop after the Tupelo harvest season.Still, it will never be as reasonably priced as California based honeys.

Tupelo honey is a gourmet's treat. The harvest has been through a lot but if there are tupelo trees there will always be the treat.The expensive price tag is worth it,

Helping The Hurricane Victims

There have been three devastating hurricanes in the last month . Homes have  been demolished and with them the heart of any house - the kitchen. It's ,time to step up in our kitchens to generate money and items that are crucial to starting over. Charity does begin at home, but with our ovens and pantries.

One of the easiest fund raisers to organize is a bake sale. Nothing beats homemade cookies and cupcakes. These are simple to make and fun to vary. Bake giant chocolate chip cookies instead of the usual smaller ones. (Try the recipe from Wednesday's New York Times Food section.) It's a good idea economically because you can charge more - think three dollars a cookie  instead of two dollars for six. They can also be made in sugar and peanut butter flavors too.  Since it's fall, think about a fun batch of caramel apple cupcakes. Bake them in muffin tins for a rounded apple look and then ice with caramel when cooled. Finish by sticking popsicle sticks in them to look like the real thing. Again, these can be priced at four  dollars a piece to bring in more money. To honor those hit by Hurricane Maria on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, bake  Pueto Rican cakes. These are a delicate mix of an egg and butter rich cake soaked in a homemade rum syrup.They're then decorated with a  syrup soaked meringue. Another cake to celebrate the island is a yummy pineapple rum cake which is sure to be a best seller. It's a pineapple upside down cake spiked with the Caribbean spirit. Squares of it would sell well.

A second way of helping is going through your pantry and donating any duplicates.It's easier to donate cans and foodstuffs to the Houston and Florida victims.It's not so much for those on Puerto Rico.  If anything donate water and diapers to those hit by Hurricane Maria.  When donating, try to aim for canned items that are versatile. Tomato sauce and  can be used in making a great pasta dinner but it can also be used for making chili as well as soup. Canned green beans can be used both in salads and as a side. Canned potatoes are another must donate. They are great in thickening up soup but the sliced ones can used in scalloped potatoes.Corn is another versatile canned veggie because it can be added to salads or served on its' own. Canned chili, although not as good as homemade - yet makes for a  satisfying meal They're not as donated as much as other canned goods but canned fruits are always welcome. Kids. love canned peaches and these make for a change up from the usual processed snack cakes for dessert. Just remember to get the ones that are low in syrup and sugar. Try canned grapefruit which is loaded with Vitamin C along with canned mandarin oranges also packed with Vitamin C and fiber. Fruit salad is also good. It can even be eaten for breakfast and canned cherries make for a nice snack.

We have to open not only our hearts, but our Kitchens and pantries too. Organize bake sales. Start a can drive . Bring those hurt by these wicked hurricanes closer to returning to their own kitchens and pantries.

The Future Of Our Imports

What will the  new administration be like for food importers and overseas growers? It's going to be a tough time however long it lasts. What should we do? That's a good question and there's not a solid answer.

This blog has stayed away from all things political - that's not my direction with it. I write about trends and recipes, nutrition and new products However with the new American administration, Americans are going to be hurt by certain bans, Our fruits and vegetables that come in from Mexico will now be higher in price thanks to our president wanting to build a wall on our border  with the Mexicans paying for it. How does that affect us?  Mexican farmers will charge more for the vegetables they grow. That means tomatoes and avocados will cost more and to many families that means going without. Some fruits such as strawberries will also be in the crossfires along with bananas and raspberries. The Chihuahua region gives the US most of it' pecans, contrary to the popular belief that they come from Georgia. Pecans are usually used in pies around the holidays so many  home chefs and bakers won't be that affected by them. Restaurants, however, do use them, namely in salads and some chicken dishes. This will increase in pricing. with the larger chains and smaller, privately owned ones.

Beer drinkers will also be affected. Corona and Dos Equis both come from there as does tequila. These along with drinks made with them, across the US will also go up in price thanks to the building of this "wall". Agave syrup, now popular with hipsters and health, will also be affected. Organic agave is expensive enough with prices ranging from eleven  dollars to fifteen may go up  in pricing starting at sixteen at the cheapest and twenty at the most expensive. If all this occurs what can we do? Luckily the US has some great summer harvests with fruits and vegetables coming in from all areas of the US. The winter will be a little more trickier. We'll have to rely on Hawaii, California, and Florida for produce. Americans will probably be returning to  using Georgia raised pecans. Since New Mexico and Arizona have the same kind of desert conditions as most of Mexico, they can be the producers of both agave syrup and even tequila.  We can also protest the wall and stop all this nonsense too.

Hopefully, this new president  will renege on his pledge to "build that wall". It will not only create animosity with the Mexicans but also hurt our trade and eating habits. He should come to his senses and realize a wall is not the answer.

Cuisine Of The Sunshine State

Florida is known for many things, sugar white sands, the mysterious Everglades and a fascinating history.Yet it also has some interesting dishes, influenced by the South and the many people who have immigrated there. It is not only a snowbird's retreat,it is a foodie's one too.

Many forget that the state is also part of the South and with that comes Southern cooking The northernmost counties border Georgia and Alabama.Grits are a  staple  but the grunt fish , popular i n the area is added in. People from Jacksonville to Pensacola also enjoy barbecue along Brunswick stew. That true southern dessert chess pie ,a custardy treat rich with sugar, cream and eggs is found in many bakeries along with being made by many home bakers.Georgia's pecan pie drifted south and is also enjoyed in northern Florida. The indigenous people, the Seminoles also contributed to the table. They showed settlers how to cook boiled swamp cabbage or the nicer name heart of cabbage palmIt's cooked with water salt and a little sugar. The greens can also be bought, already soaked in a vinaigrette  and relabeled hearts of palm.The tribe also contributed a fried bread made only of flour water and oil along with softkee a kind of hominy made with wild rice, baking soda and cornstarch.It can be served with meat or just plain. Some of the indigenous meats from alligator to deer are served with skillet corn stuffing, possibly influenced by intermarriage with former enslaved Africans.Cajun and Creole influences have also impacted the cuisine too

The southern part of the state has been so richly influenced by the Caribbean that the cuisine is now called Floribbean.One of the main influences is Cuban, thanks to many migrating from Castro's Cuba for almost sixty years. The hallmarks are an emphasis on fresh ingredients, namely chicken and fish and ,a melange of spices.especially strong flavors offset by milder ones. Also the cuisine uses a lot of fresh fruit juice, namely citrus such as lemon and orange. This is the Cuban and Haitian influence wit their love of sweet and tangy. However unlike some Cuban and Jamaican, the heat is less intense.It's not as eye watering as Jamaican jerk. The fieriness is almost always mitigated by the addition of mango,papaya, rum, almond , key lime or honey. A typical Miami dinner might be paella, with fresh caught fish  or pernil, roast pig accompanied by arroz con gandule -rice and peas. Barbacoa, the original barbecue is also featured and done in many backyard cookouts.What makes it different from regular grilled meats is the   use of  fresh juice as a marinade for the meats. Of course the most famed Southern Florida dessert is the drool worthy Key Lime pie. It comes from the Florida Keys, Papa Hemingway's hangout. This is a tart, yet rich and custardy pie thanks to the limes and eggs used along with condensed milk and topped with whipped cream The crust is almost alwaysnmade of graham crackers.

Florida gives us a panorama of different scenes, from ritzy beaches to gator filled swamps. It also gives us a variety of different dishes, each as unique as the people who make them. They are diverse and tasty, exciting and flavorful,

Stay strong, my Orlando readers. Show bravery and heart. Show love when others want hate, courage when others want fear. We're behind you.