Bee Heaven Farm Salad

A Sunday visit to the Bee Heaven Farm/Redland Organics tent at the Pinecrest Gardens Farmer's Market has become a weekly tradition for the Brickell Life family and this past Sunday was no exception. On tap for us were some just-harvested new potatoes, smoked eggs, pop-in-your mouth grape tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, carambola, zucchini, oyster mushrooms, yellow squash and some chives. We chatted with Margie Pikarsky, owner of Bee Heaven Farm for a while and since then; my 3-year old son has subsequently dubbed her "Farmer Margie." It's reached the point that the toy farm in his room is appropriately tended to by a 5-inch high action figure that he believes is of her liking.

While the fresh produce, mostly organic, is absolutely amazing, seeing my son make the connection between farm-to-table is priceless. By making regular visits to the market and driving down to the Redlands and Homestead on occasion, he understands the difference between carambola and jackfruit, and has even seen them growing on trees. He knows that he has to wash carrots and potatoes before we cook them because he has actually seen them growing in dirt in the ground. We even had a recent discussion about eating lots of strawberries now because in a few months it will be too hot for them to grow in South Florida until next winter.

So in deference to Bee Heaven Farm, "Farmer Margie," and all the great produce available at the Pinecrest Gardens Farmer's Market, we threw together a Bee Heaven Farm Salad last night in the home test kitchen.

This incredible salad included Bee Heaven Farm red leaf lettuce, roasted new potatoes, oyster mushrooms, grape tomatoes and smoked eggs. We also couldn't resist throwing in some conventional applewood smoked bacon, creamy goat cheese, cucumber and a little sea salt. We dressed it with a simple splash of good extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. Sometimes simple is the best and when a 3-year old eats smoked eggs and salad, even better.