Pulp Fiction Cocktail, Ice Plant Bar, St. Augustine, Fla.

St. Augustine, Fla.--If you get a chance, drink the exotic, delicious cocktails at Ice Plant Bar. They use as much local ingredients as possible in their drinks. They also make ice with purified water that is free of air bubbles and impurities. This allows their drinks to be colder and the ice to last longer. 

Florida sourced Pulp Fiction cocktail, Ice Plant Bar, St. Augustine. Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A . Locked

I got to taste their newly launched Pulp Fiction cocktail ($9) made with Florida kumquats, purple basil, lime, orange flower water and Novo Fogo cachaça.

It had a wonderful new rain earthy quality to it and tasted like an aromatic herb garden in a glass.

Ice Plant Bar hours are Tues.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Sun & Mon 11:30 a.m. to Midnight

They serve lunch Monday to Friday and dinner seven days a week. 

They are located at 110 Riberia Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084

Phone: (904) 829-6553

Hard Red Winter Wheat, Organic Methods, N.C.

Davidson, N.C.--Farmer Brad Hinkley grows wheat in North Carolina. He grows many other things at Coldwater Creek Farms but for the past few years he's been growing hard red winter wheat using organic practices. I interviewed him at the Davidson's Farmers Market in April.

Farmer Brad Hinkley with N.C. grown ground hard red winter wheat and grits,
Davidson Farmers Market, N.C.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

He used to be a certified organic farm so he knows what he is doing. He has 18-acres of wheat that up until recently he had ground at a local restaurant.

"I bought a mill to grind our wheat," he said with a broad smile that lit up his bearded face. He also grind grits.

If you want to try his products you can either go to the Saturday morning Farmers Market in Davidson, find a restaurant in Charlotte using his products or contact Hinkley at (828)406-0849.

He'll sell and ship them to you if you pay for them and shipping.

I think these grits could easily compete with Anson Mills Grits.

Bali Ha'i, The Kampong, Miami, Fla.

Miami, Fla.--There was lots of local flavor at this year's Bali Ha'i Fundraiser. The event took place at The Kampong National Botanical Garden in Coconut Grove, earlier this month.  There was a silent auction, a live auction and plenty of yummy food from Miami restaurants. Many of these used local and regionally sourced ingredients.

White Chocolate Rosemary Cremeux by Pastry Chef Patty Lopez, Bali Ha'i at
The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

One of the more outstandingly delicious bites, White Chocolate Rosemary Cremeux, came from the imagination of Pastry Chef Patty Lopez of Bourbon Steak, Miami, A Michael Mina Restaurant. It included a polenta strudel with blackberry and Florida blueberry sorbet, and a delightful, Florida sourced, candied rosemary leaf.

Heirloom tomato fattoush salad served on a cracker by Chef
Alex Chang of Vagabond Restaurant & Bar, Bali Ha'i at
The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

Another delicious bite, by Chef Alex Chang of Vagabond Restaurant & Bar, called, "Heirloom tomato fattoush salad served on a cracker," was made with Florida sourced heirloom tomatoes, Florida grown black sapote paste and Florida harvested purslane. It was served on a black sesame cracker with sheep's milk feta.

Spring Fling lamb dish by Lasso The Moon Inc, Bali Ha'i at
The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

There was also "Spring Fling," by Lasso The Moon Inc., made with succulent pistachio-dijon crusted lamb and Paradise Farms sourced rosemary- mint jam..

Florida Boar Dumplings by Miami Smokers, Bali Ha'i at
The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

Other Florida sourced dishes, like steamed dumplings by Miami Smokers, was made with Florida boar the chef shot and processed himself.

Florida sourced beet salad by Eighteen Twenty Six Restaurant
& Lounge, Bali Ha'i at The Kampong, Coconut Grove, Fla.
Copyright 2015 by Helen A Lockey

And there was a Florida sourced beet salad, from Eighteen Twenty Six Restaurant & Lounge, topped with nitro-frozen beet juice.

The Bali Ha'i at The Kampong Fundraiser is a yearly event.

The least expensive ticket, the one I purchased, hovers around $150. To find out more you can go to their website http://ntbg.org/gardens/kampong.php

Or you can call them for a tour between September and June (305) 442-7169