The Sodium Free Zone

Sodium free zone For some sick, distorted kick in the pants, God has decided to elevate my blood pressure. Call …

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Farmer’s Market

farmersmarketFull disclosure: My thumb is not green. In fact, it’s more pink than anything else. I don’t grow my own food. But that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the downtown Sarasota farmer’s market every Saturday morning, and if you’re like me–more pink thumb than green thumb–it shouldn’t stop you, either.

The market is held on Lemon Avenue every Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and not only is it a place to see and be seen–for dogs as well as humans–it’s a great place to buy all the fresh, locally grown produce you’ll need for a week of cooking. I’m a big fan of the Asian spinach that can be found there, and the Worden Farms stand is a fantastic place to buy organic produce, from herbs to colorful fruits and veggies. (The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota is a big fan of Worden Farms’ produce.) You can get local honey a few booths down–it’s supposed to help relieve pollen allergies–and pick up fresh flowers for your springtime table, perfect for setting the scene for a great meal.

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Preparing Your Freezers For Hurricane Season

By Chef Judi Gallagher –

Coming from the North, when I first moved to Southwest Florida, I had New England Snow Storm preparedness on my mind. That means stocking up on at least 2 gallons of milk, lots of meats, chickens and baking products, so if you were snow bound for a few days, you cooked stews, bolognaise sauces and baked chocolate cakes and cookies and the family ate like royalty. Of course, if the power went out- we stuck everything in the snow pile just outside the back door.  Well, welcome to hurricane season in Florida, where the first thing to go out is your cable TV, closely followed by all power. With temperatures that range in the 90’s in the summer with even higher heat indexes, Sun coast residents need to be prepared.

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Juicing Couture

The juicing craze has been trailing on for some time now, but shows no sign of stopping. Juicers are becoming …

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