I’ve known about BunnieCakes for a while, but I finally made it to Juice & Java on the Beach last weekend and got to try these delicious vegan and organic cupcakes (see a video of my interview on the side video).

There I met Mariana, the baker behind BunnieCakes, who explained that she began looking into vegan baking after not being able to find sugar and gluten-free food for her children. After some experimentation in the kitchen and some tweaking of her grandma’s cupcake recipe, she developed her own recipe, which substitutes butter, wheat flour, sugar and eggs for things like apple sauce, agave and sugar cane.

Her vegan cupcakes come in mini and regular sizes ($1.50-$2.75) and in 15 flavors including red velvet, vanilla ginger, passion fruit, key lime and espresso. They are currently available at the natural food and juice emporium Juice & Java in South Beach and in Aventura, at Garden of Eat’in, and very soon at the Saturday Doral Farmers Market. You can also place orders online and delight your friends at your next get-together, or send your mom a yummy animal-cruelty-free treat for Mother’s Day.

For more information visit www.BunnieCakes.com continue

(Thanks to Betsy Martinez for contributing with this story and to Chris Cutro for the picture)

When Grisel Couto asked for a bundle of fresh cilantro, she got just what she asked for. The booth attendant hand picked them right in front of her and bagged the herbs – dirt clumps still clinging to the roots. That’s what makes this crop fields-meets-city veggie mart so unique: some of the produce is grown right before your eyes.

Roots in the City’s Urban Market, the first-of-its-kind farmer’s market, ran every Wednesday through April in Overtown, offering the freshest veggies and herbs in Miami.

And besides the freshness of the produce, or the fact that it’s grown on premises, or that it’s the first of its kind in South Florida, the market was special to the city because it offered those on food stamps twice continue

Still not sure what to plant in your spring garden?

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is getting ready for its 31st Annual Spring Plant Fair April 24-25, only that this time it’s going to include the best from last year’s Edible Garden Festival, making it even more interesting.

This is the best opportunity to get your supplies of edibles before the summer is here.

The event will include culinary demos, a farmer’s market, lectures on composting, gardening, recycling and organic pest control, plus it’s your chance to check out dozens of local vendors.

More details will be coming soon.

Still not sure what to plant in your spring garden?

Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is getting ready for its 31st Annual Spring Plant Fair April 24-25, only that this time it’s going to include the best from last year’s Edible Garden Festival, making it even more interesting.

This is the best opportunity to get your supplies of edibles before the summer is here.

The event will include culinary demos, a farmer’s market, lectures on composting, gardening, recycling and organic pest control, plus it’s your chance to check out dozens of local vendors.

More details will be coming soon.

There’s the pasta machine… and then there is a cleaner, easier and even more delicious way to have fresh pasta at home. No, I don’t mean the processed, packaged type of pasta, but the Italian fresh market type of pasta that comes in dozen flavors, colors and aromas

I’m talking about Pappardelle’s handcrafted tomato basil penne, spinach garlic fettuccine, lemon basil fettuccine and a dozen other flavors, which I recently discovered at the the Grove’s Wednesday farmers market for $9 the pound.

The market has been going on for a few months now, but only recently I had a chance to check it out and discovered this fresh pasta stand that makes the drive there worth it.

Another interesting booth is Elhadj’s, who sells African shea butter, a natural moisturizer made from the African shea tree, and African black soap, which is used to clear the skin from acne and blemishes.

You can also shop for honey, fruits, juices and jewelry at the market.

If you go:

Mayfair Green Market
2311 Grand Avenue, Coconut Grove
Every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.