Bee Heaven Brunch

For Renee's birthday last weekend we had brunch at Bee Heaven Farms in the Redlands, a farming community near Homestead and Florida City. I'd originally heard about the event through an email from the local Miami Slow Food convivium. The brunch was part of several events held in the area that day, including a tour of the Fruit and Spice Park, a tour of Schnebly winery and then a potluck for local slow foodies. As Renee had to work later that day, and it was about 50 miles away, we only made it to the brunch.

Bee Heaven farms operates a CSA program that serves Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, as well as the Keys. I've been trying to convince my dad to get a share this season, but I"m not sure if he'll go for it.

Brunch consisted of fresh corn tortillas topped with scrambled Bee Heaven eggs, guacamole from their avocados and what I assumed were their homegrown black eyed peas cooked with carrots and potatoes. There were also lots of fresh herbs like shiso and oregano, as well as garlic chives (I think). To drink we had iced teas of lemongrass and limeade and allspice, both sweetened with the farm's honey. For dessert, there were preserved guava shells and cubes of firm, salty farmers cheese.

After eating, we got a tour of the farm, which included their avocado groves, bee hives, mobile chicken hutches (which I'd recently read about in The Omnivore's Dilemma), tropical fruit trees and the storage are for all the CSA deliveries. We tasted some coco plums and I even managed to come home with some curry leaves, which I've yet to find in stores here in Hollywood. I probably wouldn't have even noticed the enormous curry bush had it not smelled so strongly.

Although you can't see it here, there are wheels on the corners of this chicken pen so that it can be moved around the property, allowing the chickens to forage and fertilize in different areas.