The composting workshop I was so excited about was canceled because of the rain, but I still stopped by Little River Market Garden for the potluck and to tour this urban farm I had heard great things about. I was also interested in the possibility of getting a CSA from them.

Little River Market Garden, right off Biscayne and 82nd Street, is operated by Muriel Olivares, a young farmer who after doing a series of farming internships in Homestead and in New York, took on the challenge of starting her own organic CSA on this small plot next to Little River. So far she has 11 people signed up for the CSA, and hopes to open a few more places next year.

She showed us what she’s been growing so far -mostly beans she plans to chop and leave there to add oxygen and nitrogen to the soil.

She won’t start growing most veggies until the fall, when the growing season begins, but we did see some eggplants, banana trees, peppers and yucca.

I also counted about five different mushroom species, which Muriel says are proof of a complete ecosystem.

The tour and potluck was coordinated by the Urban Oasis Project, a group of edible garden enthusiasts who gather once a month to share seeds, seedlings and recipes, and who have been creating raised beds of edibles for low income families in Little Haiti and Mid-Town.

For more information on Little River Market Farm visit www.LittleRiverCSA.com

Remember when I planted my edible garden a few months ago? My first home-grown tomatoes are now ready to eat, so I decided to also pick some fresh basil from the garden and make a delicious Caprese salad.

Many people wonder what’s the difference between a regular and organic or homegrown tomato, and they are surprised to hear that regular tomatoes are picked green and ripen artificially with a gas called ethylene when they are closer to their point of sale location. Not only is that gas unnecessary in your food, but when tomatoes ripe naturally, they get to develop much more flavors thanks 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

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to watch some of the best and latest food-related documentaries, which will be screened locally as part of the Earth Month film series Let’s Re-take our Plates, organized by Whole Foods.

I’m particularly excited about No Impact Man, the documentary based on the Brooklyn family that decided to reduce their waste to the minimum for a whole year (I couldn’t drop the book). Other films include Fast Food Nation, Food. Inc, What’s on Your Plate? and The Garden, all very politically-charged films making strong arguments against the state of the food industry.

Here is the schedule:

Fast Food Nation
4:45 p.m, April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

King Corn/ Big River
2:30 p.m. April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
2 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

The Garden
12 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
5 p.m., April 19
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

No Impact Man
7 p.m., April 19
Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables
$5

What’s on Your Plate?
5 p.m. April 20
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Fast Food Nation
5 p.m., April 21
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

The Garden
8 p.m., April 21
Miami Beach Cinematheque
512 Espanola Way, Miami Beach
$10

End of the Line
5 p.m. April 22,
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Food Inc.
7:30 p.m., April 23
Temple Bet Shira
7500 SW 120th Street, Miami
$5

Visit the Let’s Re-take our Plates site for more information

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.

The Fertile Earth Foundation has been doing a lot lately, including starting a composting program with the City of Miami and getting some South Beach hotels to participate in it and compost their food waste.

The non-profits’ latest endeavor: a beer making class in collaboration with the Earth N’ Us Farm, which will take place this weekend at the farm.

“From Seeds to Suds, an Introduction to Homebrewing” is the best way for beer lovers who were always curious about brewing to get down and dirty. The class is also great for Miami’s locavores who sometimes wonder how to live the lifestyle without sacrificing the taste.

The class will cover many things, including:

• What equipment do I need in order to brew my own beer from home?
• What ingredients do I use to make beer?
o What other flavors can I add to my beer?
• How long does fermentation really take?
• Why and how is beer carbonated?

If you go:

WHAT: Beer making class
WHERE: Earth N’ US, 7630 NE 1st Ave
WHEN: Sunday, March 21, 2010 from 1to 5 p.m.
HOW MUCH: $45 now through March 20, $55 thereafter.
MORE INFO: Fertile Earth Foundation events

Photo courtesy of Trico741

Buying local has become a lot easier thanks to a new deal between Publix Super Markets and Redland Farms

Food grown at Miami’s Redland Farms has long been marked as Florida-grown, not really making a distinction between tomatoes picked 400 miles from here and those picked within county lines just few hours before.

Well, not anymore. The supermarket will start marking produce grown in the farms near Homestead under the label “Redland-Raised” in an incentive to promote locally-grown food.

Expect to find Redland-Raised avocados, green beans, yellow squash, zucchini, okra, sweet potato, tomatoes, papayas and sapotes, among other things.

I’ll be posting pictures of the produce after my next trip to the market.

Image by wonderlane

Halloween can be scary, really scary.

Think about all the candy wrappers ending up in landfills and the flashy costumes bought and tossed the next day.

Think about all the calories that you’ll put on before, during and after Halloween -yes, Halloween candy bowls tend to stay around for days after Halloween.

Doing the right thing doesn’t mean you have to miss on the fun.

Here are some tips for a green Halloween:

1-Costume: Instead of buying a $20 synthetic outfit shipped from China, get creative and come out with the same outfit with things you already have at home. The most common outfits are easy to recreate: a pirate, a nurse, a witch. Use old clothes or stop by a nearby Goodwill Store, where you could even find a used costume. Check out this site for inspiration. This site also has good ideas for home-made outfits for children, although some require some preparation.

2-Office candy: You can’t stop co-workers from bringing in candy, but you can try talking to them about having a healthy Halloween this year. There are tons of tasty snacks that won’t disappoint their taste buds. If no one sounds very exited about the idea, still bring some healthy snacks for them to try. It might change their minds, and it will keep you away from their candy bowl. Nuts and dried fruits are my favorite. Reduce your waste by looking for stores that sell the snacks by weight. Fruits and a few dips will also keep co-workers hanging around your desk (think yogurt, chocolate, peanut butter, just to name a few). Read labels and watch out for calorie-filled dips.

3-Pumpkin carving: Forget about this wasteful activity unless you plan to eat the pumpkin filling. Check out www.pumpkinrecipes.us for recipes and ideas. Make sure the pumpkin is later composted.

4-Education: Talk to your child about healthy and unhealthy candy. The site Greenhalloween.org suggests setting up a point system: they get points for every piece of candy they collect (and don’t eat), and then they get to trade their points for a new toy. If you have small children, you can also agree with other parents to only give out healthy candy, then take your kids only to their homes.

5-Treats: Most children are told not to eat unwrapped candy, so they might not eat dried fruits and nuts. Instead, give out small toys such as playing cards, books or crayons. You can buy certain amount of small toys, wrap each in magazine paper and put them in a tray or bowl. Have each trick-or-treating child pick one prize. They’ll love the surprise factor.

6-More candy: If nuts and dried fruit won’t do, you can always shop at health food stores for granola bars, chocolate-covered fruits and nuts, and organic and nutritious snacks. Make sure that all boxes, wraps and bags are recyclable. Buy bags of loose candy as opposed of individually wrapped candy. You can also make your own granola or chocolate dipped snacks.

7-The day after: Take your time to separate recyclables in their respective containers. Candy can be composted, so just toss away all the candy you don’t plan to eat or you’ll end up eating it. If you got a used costume from a Goodwill Store, plan to take it back. You won’t use it again and someone else could.

8-Share ideas: What do you do to make your Halloween green? Comment below! I’d love to hear what do you.

Image by jeffk

Thinking about starting a vegetable garden?

Then Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival is your best first stop: get seeds, seedlings and advice from experts. Today is the festival’s last day, so don’t think too much about it.

I stopped by yesterday and got tons of advice on how to fight the insects that are colonizing my pepper plant, and I also picked up four ounces of composting worms that I can’t wait to start feeding.

Here are the five reasons why you should go today:

1-Seedlings: Although I didn’t get any -I’ve learned to quiet my beginner’s enthusiasm and be realistic about the space I actually have-there were dozens of seedlings to pick from: mint, parsley, chives, basil, pepper, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, arugula, romaine lettuce, jalapeno, celery, collard, carrots and more.

2-Worms: What I did end up getting was four ounces of worms after hearing Lanette Sobel from the Fertile Earth Foundation give a basic intro to composting with worms.

I’ve been collecting all my kitchen waste in pots and mixing it with soil that I later use for planting, but this takes a lot of space. Worms sounded like a faster and more space efficient idea. I’ll be keeping you up-to-date on my worm composting experience.

3-Lectures: This is the best part of the festival. Learn everything from growing tomatoes to growing edibles South Beach style. You’ll hardly find so many experts on edible plant matters at the same place elsewhere. Check out today’s schedule.

I was particularly interested in yesterday’s “Organic Pest and Disease Management” lecture by Andres Mejides: about a week ago, I found some yellow and white insects on my pepper plant.

With a lot of humor, Mejides went from the gentler pest solutions -like ladybugs- to the stronger ones -like sulpher. What I have apparently are aphids, so following his advice, I’ll use chili pepper and garlic to fight them.

4-Involvement: Learn about local organizations promoting edible green spaces and get involved.

GROW, a non-profit urban farm educating the community on land reclamation and urban farming, was there to talk about its farm by the airport and giving away free herbs grown there.

The Urban Oasis Project, which recently completed its 10/10 by 10/10 campaign (10 families, 10 gardens by October 10) was there getting the word out and selling seeds and sprouting kits. (Ok, here’s my disclaimer: I volunteer for this wonderful organization).

5-Local vendors:I ran across some interesting local vendors producing delicious products:

Delightful Bites was selling all kinds of rich homemade jams, jellies, preserves and chutneys.

Bees N the Keys had a variety of honey flavors and I was told you can actually visit their bee farm in Key Largo, something I plan to do next time I’m in the area.

Crackerman Crackers, based out of Bay Harbor Islands, is also worth checking out. They use unbleached flour and only a handful of ingredients for their crackers and breads- the old-fashioned way bread should be.

They specialize in two products: crackers made of golden and brown organic flaxseed and sesame seed, and German-style whole wheat bread made with organic pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Since I began growing veggies in my apartment last month, thoughts about seeds, soil, seedlings and worms (yes, worms) have occupied my mind more than they should (e.g.: I had to forbid myself from making more trips to Home Depot).

So when I heard that Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden was having its annual Edible Garden Festival Oct. 24-25, I rushed to their site to make sure it was not sold out (it’s not) and was even more thrilled after reading the list of lectures scheduled through the weekend, including one by Melissa Contreras, co-founder of the Urban Oasis Project (I was inspired to start growing veggies after attending a potluck at her home and seeing the dozens of tropical fruit trees, spices and veggies she grows).

So what can you learn at the festival? See it for yourself; here is the complete schedule: (I’m still trying to get a schedule broken down by day so I can decide which day I’ll go):

Lectures

Saturday, October 24

* 10:00 a.m. The Sustainable Edible Garden, Ginny Stibolt
* 11:00 a.m. Creative Container Gardening, Carolyne Coppolo
* 12:00 p.m. Growing Organic Heirloom Tomatoes, Margie Pikarsky
* 1:00 p.m. Edible Landscaping in Paradise, Gabriele Marewski
* 2:00 p.m. Organic Pest and Disease Management, Andres Mejides
* 3:00 p.m. Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening, Adrian Hunsberger
* 4:00 p.m. Growing the Chocolate Pudding Fruit in South Florida, Noris Ledesma

Sunday, October 25

* 10:00 a.m. Get Your Veggie Garden Growing!, Angela Garrison
* 11:00 a.m. Creative Container Gardening, Carolyne Coppolo
* 12:00 p.m. Sustainable Gardening: Rain Gardens, Ginny Stibolt
* 1:00 p.m. South Florida Gardening with Fruits and Vegetables, Dr. Richard J. Campbell
* 2:00 p.m. Counter Top Gardening with Sprouts, Keith Seidler
* 3:00 p.m. Easy as Takeout: Asian Edibles in the Landscape!,Ron Mossman
* 4:00 p.m. Extreme Edible Landscaping: Urban Homesteading!, Melissa Contreras

Gardening Demonstrations:

Saturday, October 24

* 11:30 a.m. The Fall Veggie Garden: South Beach Style, Danny Ackell
* 1:30 p.m. Composting and Worms, Lanette Sobel

Sunday, October 25

* 10:00 a.m. Slow Food School Gardens, Hunter Reno
* 1:30 p.m. Square Foot Gardening with Kids, Hunter Reno

Cooking Demos

Saturday, October 24

* 11:30 a.m. Johnson & Wales
* 12:30 p.m. Chef Sean Bernal of Oceanaire Seafood Room
* 1:30 p.m. Herb Pesto, Chef Kira Volz of Creek 28
* 2:30 p.m. Avocado Tartar, Chef Elizabeth Barlow of Canyon Ranch

Sunday, October 25

* 11:30 a.m. Chef Adri Garcia of Green Rocks Foods and Mise en Place
* 1:30 p.m. Chef Giancarla Bodoni from Escopazzo
* 2:30 p.m. Chef Lori Moldovan, Certified Holistic Health Counselor

A scarecrow contest will be going on too. Although it’s too late to participate, it should be interesting to watch, specially since the materials have to be environmentally-friendly.

Click here for a printable coupon worth $5 off admission. Check back for a schedule broken down by day, I’m hoping to get a copy soon.

What lectures are you looking forward? Which one is a can’t miss? I’d love to read your comments and thoughts!

IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival and Scarecrow Contest
WHEN: Oct. 24-25 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables
MORE INFO: Visit Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden’s website

After a little hesitation, I finally joined a produce buying club called the Organic Produce Buying Club of South Florida (read below for a complete list of CSA’s and buying clubs in South Florida). I got my first box of organic and locally-grown produce yesterday and I’m so pleased with my shipment!

Although a produce buying club is a little different than a Community Supported Agriculture group, they share a similar concept: you support local farmers and get cheaper organic produce.

Basically, a farmer will offer a number of “shares” or memberships to the public at a fixed price, and in turn, customers will receive a weekly -or bi-weekly- shipment of seasonal organic veggies and fruits. Prices are lower than at farmers markets because buyers, as a group, are buying in bulk. Another advantage is that most produce is picked up about 24 hours before the shipment, so you get incredibly fresh food.

This is as close as growing your own organic produce as you can get, even better than a farmer’s market.

The reason I didn’t join a CSA is because of you have to pay for the whole season in advance (about $600) whereas you pay-as-you-go in the buying club.

I have to admit my first shipment exceeded my expectations. I was hesitant because of the price: $49 per box, shipped to a local pickup location twice a month. They explained the box would be enough for a family of three or four who eat four home-prepared meals a week. We’re two at home, and I’m a working-from-home vegetarian who loves to cook, meaning I eat about eight or nine veggie-packed meals at home per week. My worry was that the produce might not be enough and that I would end up paying too much for it.

I decided to still give it a try, and I’m glad I did. This is what I got yesterday:

This is the detailed list:
7 bananas
4 yellow nectarines
7 Valencia oranges
13 ginger gold apples
cilantro
spinach
a red-tip leaf lettuce
an orange cauliflower
a red cabbage
a bag of Cremini mushrooms
baby tomatoes
3 yellow onions
2 garlic heads
11 carrots
2 acorn squashes
4 Russet potatoes

If you don’t like anything in the box, you can always exchange it, but it wasn’t my case.

I also loved the surprise factor à la Iron Chef. I drove back home thinking what would go good with what, what would be the best way to cook those squashes (any suggestions? I never cooked them before), and how I’d use the orange cauliflower to try an Indian recipe with curry that I found a while ago.

Anyway, I compiled a list of local CSAs and buying clubs:
Let me know if you don’t see your CSA here. Also, I’d like to hear your experience with CSAs, tips, which one has worked best for you?

ORGANIC PRODUCE BUYING CLUB OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Area served: Central pickup location in Bal Harbor Islands, satellite locations throughout SoFla.
Cost: $20 membership fee, $49 per shipment, which must be pre-paid during the previous pick-up.
Frequency: Every two weeks
Box size: 25-35 lbs of fruits and veggies.
Notes: Additional produce is available with prior notice. You can request half a shipment too, and they’ll help you find someone to split your share. Volunteer some hours and get a $10-$30 discount from your next share.
More info: Visit www.organicbuyingclubsofla.com

REDLAND ORGANICS
Area served: Located three miles north of Homestead, with additional pickup sites scattered between the Lower Keys and Pompano Beach.
Cost: As a CSA, you pay in advance for the five-month season, $630 for the full share, $375 for half, for 19 to 20 pickups, resulting in $31-$34 per share. Delivery at a pickup location has an additional fee: $40 for pickup in Miami-Dade, $60 in Broward, $100 in the Keys.
Frequency:Weekly
Box size: According to their site, a weekly full share is enough for a family of up to four.
Notes: The season runs for about 22 weeks from mid-November through mid-April. Four-week trial for $170. Additional produce available for purchase.
More info: Visit www.redlandorganics.com

FARM FRESH MIAMI
Area served: Pickups throughout Miami-Dade.
Cost: $50 per box, $30 for half a share, paid in advance during the previous pick-up. There is also a $30 one-time membership fee, and you must pay for your last share when joining to avoid “stand ups.”
Frequency: Every two weeks
Box size: 25-30lbs of produce in the full box, 15+lbs in the split share.
Notes: They are currently offering free one-week trials.
More info: Visit www.farmfreshmiami.com

GREEN CAY PRODUCE
Area served: Located in Boynton Beach, with additional pickup locations in central and southern Palm Beach County
Cost: $34 for a large box ($40 if delivered to a pickup site), $22 for the small box ($28 with delivery). Pay for the 34-week season in advance and get a free box at the end of the season.
Frequency: Either weekly or every other week.
Box size: Large box measures: 13″h x 12″w x 15″l, with eight to 10 items. Small box is 7″h x 11″w x 14″l, with six to eight items.
Notes: Different payment plans available.
More info: Visit Green Cay Produce of Farming Systems Research

WORDEN FARM
Area served: located in Punta Gorda, serves with pickup locations throughout Southwest Florida.
Cost:As a CSA, you pay $600 in advance for the 20-week season, resulting in $30 per share. Additional $60 fee for delivery at a pickup site.
Frequency: Weekly
Box size: According to their site, each shipment has eight or more items, enough for two people.
Notes:Currently open for enrollment. Season runs from the first week of December to the middle of April. Additional produce is available for purchase.
More info: Visit www.wordenfarm.com

09/16/09 update: I found a few more local CSAs I’d like to include in the list:

ANNIE’S ORGANIC PRODUCE BUYING CLUB OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Area served: Pickup locations throughout the tri-county area and the keys.
Cost: $45 per box, half share available for $35.
Frequency: Weekly or bi-weekly
Box size: Up to 35 lbs.
Notes: You can choose among different types of boxes: Florida-grown produce only, more veggies than fruits, veggies for juices only, etc. Also sells organic dairy, meats, nuts, prepared foods like hummus and more.
More info: Visit: www.anniesbuyingclub.com

Fruit juices and smoothies, vegetarian empanadas, organic produce and an endless honey selection; the farmers market at the Normandy Village Marketplace has everything to complement a day at the beach in a friendlier and more tranquil atmosphere than its South Beach counterpart on tourist trap Lincoln Road.

Stop for brunch and pick up a few Argentine empanadas ($1.95 each, three for $5.50) and an iced natural juice ($3.75 to $5.25) before heading down to the beach (just a few blocks away).

Besides regular chicken, meat and tuna empanadas, the Juices & Bites booth (which has a permanent juice bar across the street) sells a broad selection of vegetarian-friendly empanadas including spinach, spinach and cheese, corn and bechamel, broccoli and cheddar, onion and mozzarella, caprese, and three cheese. They also make all sorts of juices and smoothies including strawberry, banana, passion fruit, guava, mango, papaya, carrot and celery, and sell fresh coconut milk (let’s just pretend those soda cans next to the coconuts are not there).

The produce booth is a little pricey (in the $2-for-a-large-mango-price range ) but everything is organic and you can find many rare veggies that regular grocery stores don’t always carry.

Stop by the Bee Land’s booth for, well, you know what to get here. Most honey jars sell for $5-12, although there are a few family size bottles in the $40s. They sell uncommon flavors like eucalyptus honey, and jars with almonds and other nuts inside, as well as bee pollen and royal jelly, used to treat depression, menopause symptoms and other conditions.

The other booths at the market sell orchids and flowers (which I personally have some reservations about buying here or anywhere, but that should be another topic of conservation) as well as handmade jewelry.

Compared to the Lincoln Road market, there are only about six vendors here, meaning less price competition, but hey, it also means less time spent shopping around and more time at the beach.

If you go:
WHAT: Farmers Market at Normandy Village Marketplace
WHERE: 900 Block of 71st Street at the Normandy Isle Fountain, along the Rue Vendome, North Beach.
WHEN: Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MORE INFO: Visit www.themarketcompany.org

Everyone loves fairs, and the South Florida Living Green Fair in Dania Beach this fall won’t disappoint.

Organizers are expecting at least 10,000 attendees over the weekend fair Nov. 14-15 at John U. Lloyd Beach Park.

With pavilions on themes such as The Great Outdoors, Natural Beauty, The Harvest, Travel the Earth and Sprouts, the fair will surely have something for everyone, no matter what shade of green they are (not many details have been revealed yet, but I can’t wait to enter that sprouts pavilion).

The food and wine sampling seems promising too, as well as the cooking demos. Other highlights include test drives of electric, hybrid and CNG vehicles, education on solar, wind and water technologies, tips on how to create an organic garden.

If you go:
What: South Florida Living Green Fair
When: Nov. 14-15
Where: John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, 6503 N. Ocean Drive
More info: http://www.livinggreenfair.com

10/15/09 update:
WANT A FREE FAMILY PASS? We’re giving away 10 family passes (valid for up to 5 people each) to the first 10 people to comment below. You need to use a real email address so I can send you the information you need (I won’t use your e-mail address to send any spam or share it with anyone).

Photo by Busymommy

With an endless selection of organic -and mostly local- vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, roots, and herbs, Coconut Grove Farmers’ Market will make you feel proud of living in the Sunshine State.

Glasser Organic Farms, which dominates the farmers’ market, always has fresh, raw and organic ready-to-go vegetable pies, salads, sushi, pizza, hummus, pâtés and spreads, as well as more gourmet dishes like stuffed Portobello mushroom cups. Prices range between $4.95-$10. Get one of their fresh juice or coconut milk bottles for $2.50 to $4.25 ($9.50 for the family-size one).

But that’s not why you’ll keep coming to this market: they also have the best variety of nuts, seeds, grains, dried fruits and mushrooms, and prepared raw foods like flax seed crackers, granola bars, dressings, jams, olives and artichokes in oil, chickpea croquettes… and even 11 types of honey.

Don’t leave Glasser’s without a raw dessert, or take it to go: fruity cakes and pies, ice-creams, fruit salads, and brownies are just some of the treats you’ll find here.

Next to it is the raw food stand Lamoy’s Living Foods, where you can get a sample plate of five raw dishes, like curry pecan cuscus, raw Caesar salad, and a carrot, seaweed and beets salad, for $12. Like the main dishes, the dessert will change every week, but Lemoy (photographed below) will always have something for those with a sweet tooth (she had a raw raspberry pudding last time I was there).

Walk around and you’ll also find booths selling natural supplements and soaps.

If you go:
Coconut Grove Farmer’s Market
3300 Grand Ave.
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.