Healthier eating for the New Year, right? Want to get the best in organic, fresh, high quality food without having to go to the store? Want to have it all year long? Impossible you say? I know, nothing good grows in the summer in Florida. Well, actually some really good things grow here in the summer. On second thought, make that some really great things! Love spinach? Me too! My two favorites are Bloomsdale, which is an heirloom variety that we grow at our Gamble Creek Farm, and Chinese spinach, which we grow in our raised bed organic, community gardens on Pine Avenue.

The Pine Avenue Community Edible gardens started as a result of the Pine Avenue Restoration project. Restoring our historic Main Street beget platinum rated green buildings which resulted in losing the asphalt and pavers that contribute to run off into coastal waters. Mike Miller’s native landscaping provided an additional benefit by negating the runoff from conventional landscaping that uses fertilizers and pesticides.

All this got us thinking about how we could grow our own food on what has become “The Greenest Little Mainstreet in America.”

Miller stumbled across ECHO in Fort Myers. ECHO is short for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. They work with 118 countries around the planet and teach people how to grow super nutritious varieties of plants, helping them to become self-sustainable and feed their communities. Miller’s collaboration with ECHO was the beginning of our organic, community gardens.

Eight gardens, sponsored by the shop owners on Pine Avenue, turned into 16 gardens thanks to Lizzie Vann and Mike Thrasher, who own the Historic Green Village on Pine Avenue. Anna Maria residents got in on the act, and now we have over 30 on the island.

Word spread just about as fast as the plants were growing, and now they have migrated to Lakewood Ranch. Katuk, Moringa, edible hibiscus, Okinawa spinach, and Seminole pumpkin are a few of the varietals. Want in? It's easy. Just contact Mike Miller. You can check it all out at http://www.perfectisland.us/Edibles.html.

If you want to start small, just drop by one of the gardens on Pine and take a cutting of the Chinese spinach. Stick it in water, and it will root in 10 days or so. Then plant it. You'll be overrun by fresh spinach in no time.

Not sure how to cook the plants? Check out all kinds of recipes on the website or scan the QR code off of the information marker at any of the boxes.

Sautéed Chinese Spinach

By ED CHILES

Method

• Sauté the Chinese spinach in a touch of olive oil. Add a little fresh garlic and some chile flakes.
• Rub a little olive oil and salt and pepper on the leaves and place on a grate in the oven at 350 degrees until they are light brown and crispy.
• Use them fresh in salads.

Seminole pumpkin AKA squash blossoms

Method

• Rinse out inside and outside of squash blossoms and pat dry.
• Toss lightly in a bit of olive oil. Dust with a little salt and pepper.
• Roast on a grate in a 350 degrees until they get light, golden brown and crisp.

Stuffed squash blossoms

Method

• Mix 3 parts ricotta cheese to 1 part goat cheese. You can add fresh garlic paste if you would like. Adding a little chopped sautéed spinach is good too.
• Spoon it all into a ziploc bag and snip the corner so there is a small opening.
• Pipe the stuffing into the blossoms.
• Dip the blossom in a beaten egg and then roll it in almond flour.
• Sauté in olive oil till golden brown.