A Spring day at the farm
Spring is here and the color green is what I feel, St. Patrick’s day last month, lots of verdant produce and Earth month in April!
One of my favorite times of the year, for it always feels like a time of growth and hope. Green is the color of hope, a reminder that we are meant to grow towards the sun, a progressive feeling that keeps us alive. Green like Earth 🌎
I recently had the pleasure of cooking at Swank Specialty Produce Farm as they held their first CBD infused dinner along with several local chefs.
#FunFact- I like to cook with THC as a MMJ card holder so it was awesome to cook with CBD flower grown at the farm.
I prepared the welcome bite aka amuse bouche using some of the beautiful ingredients from the farm like their CBD Strain-Stormy Daniels, Watercress and Szechuan Bud.
#DidYouKnow- The Szechuan button (also known as the electric daisy or buzz button) grows on a species of herb called Acmella oleracea. When consumed, it releases a naturally occurring alkaloid that produces a strong numbing or tingling sensation in the mouth, followed by excessive salivation and then a cooling feeling in the throat. It gives a whole new meaning to the word mouthfeel.
My Dish: Chilled Watercress Soup / Electric Daisy Cream / Parmesan-Hemp Frico
I made a classic Vichyssoise soup pureed with lots of vibrant, tender watercress and served it chilled in a shot glass. I Garnished it with some watercress leaves and a savory whipped cream infused with Electric daisys to create that etheral tingling sensation on the palatte and topped the whole thing with a crisp parmesan and hemp infused frico infused with 2 MG of CBD.
I also enjoyed the beautiful day with my favorite person, my wild flower, my wife 💕
Spring brings a bounty of delicious ingredients to cook and eat. Here are some of my fave Spring ingredients and ways to use them.
Swank Specialty Produce was started in 1996 around the idea of growing different types of produce not normally grown in South Florida. What was started as a smaller lettuce operation has now grown into over 360 varieties of specialty produce and wild flowers on 20 acres in Loxahatchee Groves. Swank Farm is home, and operated by, the Swank family.
I remember receiving beautiful produce from Swank when I worked at Two Chefs, Miami. All the best Chefs in South Florida love their produce and also take part in their seasonal farm dinners, where they host a full sit down dinner paired with wines, cocktails and live music in their beautiful open-air 8500 square foot barn.
There’s also a really lovely farmers market on Saturday with over 25 vendors and some of their produce. Oh and did I mention.. a family of pigs also live on the farm!
Check out their Instagram for upcoming events and pics of their awesome farm - @swankspecialtyproduce
