Live Laugh Snap: pinecrest farmers market

Monday, December 20, 2010

Mini Roasted Eggplant

Last night I made Mini Roasted Eggplant...without a recipe. This is so not like me! I'm never adventurous or confident enough to experiment in the kitchen, but knew if I stuck to a few basic ingredients I should be in decent shape.

I bought the mini eggplants earlier that day at the Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market. I think they cost $2.00 for five of them. After washing, de-steming and cutting the eggplants in half, I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. While they were cooking, I sauteed chopped garlic in olive oil (from Greece) for about five minutes. Once the eggplant was done, I poured the olive oil/garlic on top and sprinkled freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Voila! My Mini Roasted Eggplant was a success and made for a great appetizer before our Italian inspired dinner.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Pinecrest Gardens Farmer's Market

I finally took Brickell Life's advice and made a trip to the Pinecrest Gardens Farmer's Market this weekend. Everything looked so good, it was hard to decide what to go home with. It's open every Sunday through May from 10am-2pm located at 11000 Red Road.

While browsing the fruits and veggies, I started talking with a very nice lady named Mary Anne who shared one of her favorite (and easiest) recipes with me - cook one box of Savory Herb Stove Top with one can of fat-free vegetable broth, mix in parsley, craisins, walnuts and serve! Sounds like a great holiday side dish I may have to try next week.

There were about 10-15 tents set-up selling fresh produce, beautiful orchids and plants, homemade soap, holiday cupcakes, gourmet pasta, fresh mozzarella cheese, and baked goods. There was also kettle corn, the Crepe Maker and freshly squeezed lemonade.

A couple different vendors had sweet tangerines. I bought a small basket of these for $2.00.