Florida Fruit Pizza, Hold The Cheese

Fruit pizzas are sweet and healthy desserts. You make them with pie crust dough instead of pizza dough and you don’t add any cheese, unless you like cheese with cooked fruit.

Florida peach and blueberry sweet pizza, Fla.

After a trip to central Florida, where I picked blueberries and peaches, I was able to get the help of my husband to create this gorgeous fruit pizza. He made the pie crust from scratch but you can use boxed or pre-made raw pie crust dough sold in pie pans. You need just enough dough for one pie crust.

If you use a boxed product, follow the directions to reconstitute it. Then roll it into a ball, put it in a plastic bag and chill for 30 minutes to one hour, in the fridge.

Take it out, keep it in the plastic and roll it out to a circle of approximately 14 inches across and  ½ inch thick. Move it to a cookie sheet and remove the plastic bag. Roll up the sides of the dough slightly to make a ridge.

 

For the pre-made dough, take it out of the pie pan, lay it on the cookie sheet and roll up the edges.

Place the cookie sheet on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degree Fahrenheit.

In the meantime, cut four small Florida or other State, washed, peaches into thin half moon slices, and set aside. Then wash and set aside one cup of Florida or other State blueberries.

When the crust comes out of the oven, let it rest for 15 minutes to cool. Then arrange the peaches on the bottom in a circular pattern, and top with the blueberries.

Put the fruit pizza in the oven to cook for 30 minutes. You’ll know it is ready when the blueberries get a flat sheen look to them.

Remove from the pizza from the oven and let it rest for ten minutes or serve it immediately plain or with your favorite frozen confection.

Clewiston Sugar Festival's Swamp Cabbage Eats, Fla.

The Clewiston Sugar Festival sells lots of food and some of it is very local. The members of Elk's Lodge 1853, Clewiston, spent three days preparing a local Florida ingredient for their food.

Florida swamp cabbage boiled with sausage, and made
into fritters by Clewiston Elk's Lodge, Clewiston
Sugar Festival, Fla.

They used swamp cabbage, or heart of palm as it also called. They cut the trees down on Thursday, booted them on Friday morning, to get to the heart, blanched them on Friday night, and started cooking them at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, the day of the Sugar Festival.

Chef Snook Robinson making Florida swamp cabbage
fritters, Clewiston Elk's Lodge, Clewiston Sugar
Festival, Fla.

The swamp cabbage fritters were melt-in-the-mouth good. Chef Snook Robinson prepared them using a special wooden measuring tray to make sure they were all the same size. "I'm a highlander from Indiana and I came down here. And now I'm the fritter go-to guy," Snook said smiling, and shaking his head.

They make swamp cabbage dishes every year at the Clewiston Sugar Festival. So if you missed them this year, you can catch them in 2014.

Proceeds go to the Clewiston Elk's Lodge Fund and youth scholarship.
 

Brew At The Zoo, Palm Beach Zoo, Fla.

Normally you'd associate the words--beer, animals, and zoo with a wild party. Well that was sort of the case this past weekend at the Palm Beach Zoo, Florida, when they hosted their first Brew At The Zoo event.

Thirsty people lining up for Brew at the Zoo, West
Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

The night started off a bit rocky when guests had to wait an extra 30 minutes to get in, the reason given--a chilling problem. Then $35 yellow wrist band came with the smallest stein ever made, a two ounce shot glass.

Zoo volunteers pours two ounces of Shipyard beer,
Brew at The Zoo, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

Still there were no restrictions on how many times the glass could be filled. And with 20 breweries, serving over 50 craft beers, there was no sense of loss.

Beer Bon Voyage tour company at Brew at the Zoo,
West Palm Beach, Fla.,
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

The fountain at the entrance was turned off, opening up the space for many tents. Some were pouring beer, some sold food, and one was selling tours through beer country in the United States and Overseas.

Thirsty guest getting a glass of  Back Forty's Naked Pig
Ale, Brew At The Zoo, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

I joined people in lines, gulped down frothy sips of beer, munched a super spicy Italian sausage sandwich and then plunged into the undergrowth toward the animal enclosures, and more beer tents.

Karen Schwartz wearing a pretzel
necklace, Brew at the Zoo,
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

Along the way I met Karen Schwartz who was wearing a pretzel necklace. Her entire family was wearing necklaces, a tradition they started several beer events ago. She said it was an inexpensive way to counter the effects of the beer.

Guests lined up for Palm/Estaminet beer choices, Brew
at the Zoo, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

I continued walking. There were people lining up everywhere, through Aztec ruins, near simulated swamps, and by animal enclosures.

Florida panthers kept awake by guests of Brew at the
Zoo, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Copyright 2013 by Helen A Lockey

At the back of the zoo, near the Cisco Brewing Company's table, I found two Florida panthers lounging in their enclosure. They seemed unaware of the large crowds of people visiting their zoo so late at night.

Zoo volunteers never wavered in their warmth, smiling and pouring beer even as the clock struck ten.

Many delicious brews were served like Tequesta Brewing Co's Blueberry Saison, Terrapin Beer Company's Rye Pale Ale, and Estaminet's Premium Pilsner.

Proceeds from the event went to conservation, animal care, education, and sustainability at the Palm Beach Zoo.