Here’s the newsletter featuring tonight’s vendor lineup, info about live music, dining options, and more. See you at the market!
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Here’s our vendor lineup, some news, and specials, all at tonight’s market. View it all in this week’s newsletter.
We’ve got a lot of goodies lined up for this lovely Monday evening, including some new vendors and lots of tasty options for dinner. Click the newsletter button below to see tonight’s edition, which includes our vendor lineup, some menu items and specials, and more
See you at the market!
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Here’s the vendor lineup and some specials at tonight’s market!
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By Jimmy Sherfey
When we think about a dairy cow, we might picture the classic black and white Holstein as well as what they promise to bring – a cool glass of milk, maybe at a sun-washed breakfast nook. However, we don’t always think of the distance between these two images. For instance: the cow’s habitat, quality of life, diet, and its general drain on time and resources. All of these can vary from breed to breed, farm to farm. In the case of the famous Holsteins, it can take quite a lot of imported, processed feed to produce a gallon. By contrast, the Jersey Cows at Keely Exum’s Dairy Farm in New Smyrna Beach do not require the endless amounts grain forked into the maw of a typical heavy breed. In fact, the cows at Keely’s don’t eat grain, feeding primarily on the grass growing in the farm’s ample pasture with a just a little help from non-gmo Alfalfa (a forage crop beneficial to livestock for millennia). Add to this grazing philosophy, the freedom for cows to grow naturally, free of hormones and antibiotics, and you’ve got pure happy, healthy dairy.
“On unlimited pasture they choose what they want,” Keely says holding her infant son Arthur. Her farm offers one hundred acres of grassland to seventy head of cattle and the general public is welcome to witness the milk being drawn from udders every evening from 5-7pm, as they pump out around 60 gallons of raw dairy a day.
While in attendance visitors won’t have to look hard to spot happy livestock elsewhere on Keely’s idyllic property. A team of charcoal-colored Berkshire hogs, when not wallowing in the nearby spring, can be found at the fence of their 20 acre pig pen waiting for the day’s ration of dairy. This rare heritage breed of pig yields a well-marbled pork with chops bearing a close resemblance to steak.
Adding to the farm’s riches, and more or less there for good company, are chickens, ducks, alpaca, and horses all enjoying their own section of the farm.
The farm doesn’t stop at raw, grass-fed milk*. Keely also makes fresh cream*, yogurt* (greek, icelandic, and drinkable), cottage cheese*, kefir*, buttermilk* and even milk-based soap.
In addition to being able to live on the grass based diet that the farm provides, Jersey cows also produce superior milk. Jersey cows produce a more digestible milk protein (a2) than other breeds and richer, creamier milk with a higher fat content than Holsteins. Fresh, raw milk has a rich cream layer on top, an attractive attribute given the preponderance of thin homogenized, pasteurized milk.
Though she may be a little biased, you’ll never be able to accuse her of not caring about the farm and the animals that populate it. Exum treats her cows more like trusted employees, rather than expendable resources to be sapped. While large scale farms obsessed with the bottom line might turn less-productive cows into ground beef, each of Keely’s enjoy the range life long after prime output, free to raise their calves.
“How can you eat them when they’ve given you everything?” Exum says.
Keely Farms Dairy delivers to homes and businesses in Brevard, Volusia, and Seminole Counties as well as the greater Orlando area, free of charge.
In addition to raw dairy products, you can order $20 farm boxes overflowing with delicious assorted veggies from their neighbors at Tomazin farms. Order online here: http://www.keelyfarmsdairy.com/order-here.html
*As required by the Federal Pasteurized Milk Ordinance and Florida Statute 502.091, which forbid the sale of unpasturized milk products for human consumption, this farm’s products are labeled: “Not for Human Consumption” and sold as “Feed for Calves.“
We’ve received a lot of requests to adjust the market’s hours, and we saw the end of Daylight Savings as the perfect opportunity to roll them back. The market is now open from 5:00 to 6:00 pm every Monday, giving you a little more daylight and more convenient hours to shop. We’d also like to take this opportunity to remind you of the parking options here in the neighborhood. We’ve had some issues with parking on Winter Park Road, just north of the market. So we want to be sure no one gets a ticket! The map below should help. As always, please be courteous to our neighbors; don’t block driveways and obey all parking signage. See you at the market!
Last week we gave props to Nicole O. for being a superstar customer showing up in spite of the heavy winds, lightning, and downpour. This week, we’ll look at a vendor that set up shop amidst the torrential downpour with zero gripes given. All summer, Maury & Tanya, have been showing up week in, week out – rain or shine – quietly making some of the most delectable empanadas we’ve had. Branding is no-nonsense and neither is the food. The savory, deep flavor of the rice and beans matched with the cooked-to-perfection, crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside empanadas make for some clean plates. We caught up with the Authentic Empanadas crew on their drive to tonight’s market to get a little backstory on the magic behind their recipes, their business and their stellar attitudes, all of which make them such market troopers on the weekly.
Where do you and Maury hail from, how did you two meet?
Maury hails from the deep south, a small town called Hallsboro, NC, and I am from New Jersey. We both met in the heart of Manhattan, New York City. We met at work, while working for a large international marketing firm. That’s where the magic between us began.
When did you guys first get into the empanada business, and where do the recipes come from?
The empanada business began for us around 3 years ago. We have been making them for about 16 years. The education and love for making them stemmed from a family member from Venezuela that moved in with us for 10 years and taught us to cook every Latin dish you can imagine! Empanadas was her specialty! We made lots of empanadas every day for the Latin community, for many many years. The recipe was handed to us under lock & key and is only known by 3 people. This recipe is from a woman who is half Puerto Rican and half Venezuelan, originally from Caracas, Venezuela.
You drive to a lot of different markets. What do you normally do on the ride over? What’s your go-to driving music?
Business plans, we have a 2 1/2 hour drive to the market, so it makes for some good quality husband and wife time. We talk a lot, mainly about different business strategies and new marketing plans. We coast along the highway listening to smooth jazz and old school R&B.
Your hot sauce recipe is pretty much bangin. Could you give us some backstory on it?
One of my Puerto Rican friends asked if we had a Guava and beef empanada. I told her no, but that got me thinking. I wanted to develop a sauce with guava and the recipe just came to me. We have been very blessed with how well our sauce is received within the community and the local markets. Our sauce is called GUA.P.O y caliente. The name of our sauce is an acronym for “Guava, Peach, Orange juice, and habanero pepper. Our sauce is all natural, and gluten free. We are currently selling our sauce at local markets, festivals and online.
What do you like Audubon Park and the Monday night market?
It has a cool, eclectic vibe. It is a small but mighty market that people genuinely love to visit! The market management is very laid back and treats its vendors as partners and that really appeals to us. We love how the community really supports the market, and that’s really awesome. We so enjoy being able to see some of the same faces week after week. We have developed a very strong customer base there, and for that we are very grateful.
Thanks, Tanya & Maury, We’ll take one of everything!
A lot of folks thought setting up Farmers’ Market with the remnants of a hurricane just over the horizon was foolhardy. Even more folks decided to stay in last Monday when the storm surges brought an inordinate amount of rain to Central Florida. As you may have noticed, Audubon is a rain or shine kind of market, so major props to the vendors that show up despite the conditions. Even greater praise to the local food warriors, who brave the elements to get their groceries week in, week out.
Last Monday, well into the second hour of punching fast growing water pockets from tent tops, we were only a little surprised to see regular market customer, Nicole show up with her tote bag and perpetual smile. It reminded us why we put on the market , even in the face of impending tent destruction, so this week we decided to ask Nicole what brings her out to the market every week, hell or highwater.
Asking this in the nicest way possible: What were you thinking coming to the market last Monday?
I don’t usually check the weather forecasts [Our kind of gal!] so I had no idea of the imminent torrential downpour. When I left for the market it was just sprinkling, but there was no turning back since I must keep my little kefir grains alive. Richard [Heart of Christmas] is always there, rain or shine, and has some awesome raw dairy, cheese, and eggs! [For the uninitiated, kefir grains are used to make a fermented milk full of beneficial bacteria and yeast, providing a lot of good probiotics similar to kombucha.]
Was the trip worth it? It must have been a treacherous pass.
I’m always pleasantly surprised. My kefir grains aren’t the only ones that have to eat so it wouldn’t be too big of stretch to say going to the market is a matter of life and death [chuckles]...I do most of my grocery shopping at the market and Fresh 24.
What are your favorite items to pick up each week?
I love Enamored With Nature by Amanda Dumas, especially her fire cider, homemade vanilla extract, natural toothpaste, and deodorant…Love Lori’s local honey from St. Johns River Honey and of course Andrei’s coconuts at Natural Goodness. Michelle from Orenda Herbals is a relatively new, lovely face, and Dan always has amazing produce, but I haven’t seen him in a while.
Tonight, Labor Day! Come see what Nicole sees in our little collection of local food producers and artisanal makers. Market takes place from 6-10pm. We can all but assure you that it won’t be as wet as last week ;)
Our discovery of Midnight Sun Ice Cream Truck has us flying pretty high, above all the steamy temps and in the cool clouds of hand-made, quality treats. They are at the market tonight with Vanilla Bean ice cream in between double chocolate chip cookies, Rose pistachio ice cream with WA cherries on cardamom shortbread cookies, Lavender lemonade ice cream on shortbread cookies. The list goes on, and yes, it’s all just as breathtaking.
Here’s what you should know about Midnight Sun:
They Do it Right: All of their ingredients are handmade with the exclusion of the flour (because they’re not trying to mill all day. They’ve quite a bit on their plate as it is).
They do use organic flour, local eggs and seasonal ingredients – currently they’re working with Heart of Christmas Organic Blueberries the results of which you will see tonight!
Crazy Fraiche: All baked goods are done just hours before service, ice cream is scooped and sandwiched to order.
Science Says: Their Monday Sundae is exclusive to the Audubon Park Farmers’ Market and intrinsically superior to a sundae consumed on a Sunday.
Running Down a Dream: Owners Levi & Jocelyn met in Gainesville, moved to San Diego working as the chef and manager of a Restaurant. Levi is a seasoned Chef/Pastry Chef from Alaska. Jocelyn’s a local gal hailing from Melbourne.
The Brand: It’s a reference to Levi’s birth state of Alaska which is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun (Days can be both exceptionally long and short over there, depending on the time of year). Alaska also boasts the highest per capita Ice Cream consumption in the U.S., who knew? The anvil on their logo represents the old-fashioned way of doing things. Given their efforts to make all-ingredients by hand from praline to vanilla extract to butterscotch to marshmallows and fudge, I think we can safely call them “iced-cream-smiths.”
In Their Own Words: “Ice cream has always been a
big part of our lives, both professionally and personally,” says Jocelyn.
“We are really proud of Orlando’s push for locally owned businesses and locally-produced food in particular…The Audubon Park Market is the
perfect representation of the great products and services produced locally and
it has been a favorite of ours for a while now. It feels great to be a part of it,
to be contributing to it.”
Don’t miss out on the Monday Night Magic in front of Stardust from 6-10pm!
Pickles and Blazers. That’s about it when it comes to old items for sale at Audubon Market. Everything else is as fresh as you can find – usually harvested days prior and/or made the day of. But hey – don’t sweep those pickles and blazers beneath the rug. Just because they weren’t put to full use in their heyday, doesn’t mean they can’t be born anew under the watch of a careful, discerning eye.
Pickles, after all, are just vintage vegetables you bring to potlucks to one-up your friend who simply brought a cucumber salad with fresh tomatoes, salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar – okay that sounds rad, too.
At any rate, the folks at Ozark Dreams have you covered in the pickle department – delicious local produce brined and aged to sweet, spicy perfection.
That’s taken care of – Now, who is curating the coolest old-school threads?
Peter Von Taborsky brings us Bamapana Vintage…
Where did the name come from?
It’s an Australian Demi-God of mischief. He was kicked out of his tribe for doing a bunch of horrible things, but he would just sneak back into the camp, wreak havoc and blame it on everyone else. In retrospect I probably should’ve thought of something else. But it was my email address since the 90’s so I just decided to keep it.
How did you get into clothing resale?
As far as selling. I had sold clothes since the 90’s, I would sell band T-shirts, stuff like that. It was a fun way to supplement income and then it kind of fell to the side. A couple years ago, my wife told me I need to get rid of some of the stuff. It was all super cool stuff. I started putting it up online, making semi-decent money. At the time I had a cleaning business that was starting to go south, because of the economy. So in the last year, I made more money with Bamapana than I ever did with my cleaning business. It’s something I love to do, even though I’m not getting rich.
What does wearing vintage clothing do for one’s confidence?
If you’re getting married tomorrow and you said you needed a suit. I would say go vintage. It’s close to fitting, and it doesn’t look like you bought it at the mall. You can bring it to a tailor and it’s going to fit you like a glove. You’re going to be bulletproof.
What has been your proudest moment as owner of Bamapana Vintage?
I picked up this suit that was green corduroy; It was from the 1970’s based on the research I did. It has a 5” lapel which was super huge. I sold it to a guy who was from Ireland and he moved to Sweden to get married. He wrote me an email, he was like, “I love this suit. My fiance loves it. It’s going to fit great. I’m getting married in it is there anyway you can sell me the tie that’s in the picture?” – The tie wasn’t for sale yet. I paid a quarter for the tie. So I wrote him back, ‘Tell you what: I’m going to give you the tie, it’s a wedding present and he wrote me the nicest letter back about how this is the suit he dreamed of getting married it in. [The tie was purchased around the corner at men’s store that was in the Fashion Square plaza. The original owner retired and sold it before he passed in ‘98] It hung there until I purchased it. Now it’s going to be in this guy’s wedding in Sweden. I LOVE that! It’s going to get a second life you know.
Is it being a vintage clothing aficionado, finding steals and letting them go?
I wanted to keep this Run DMC shirt. It’s shirt that I picked up recently; it was apart of a limited series, each included a lyric from, I wanna say, Run’s House? I would’ve definitely kept that, but this person in California really wanted it. A lot of the times I’ll see something and it just needs to be rescued… I love the fact that I can walk into a thrift store and drop a couple hundred bucks knowing that we’re going to get the money back. And I like the fact that something my wife was kind of leery of, she now thinks is fun. We love going out thrifting.
Local food and community. Monday nights in Audubon Park.
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