Treetop to Table: Taru Gardens at Sundy House

There is irony in having received an invitation to visit one of the most lush, gorgeous gardens I've ever seen.

I am a natural plant murderer; the complete opposite of a green thumb. Greenery cowers at the very mention of my name.

I joke about this, but it is often the source of much dismay for me since I dream about how fabulous it would be to grow my own fruits, veggies and herbs {a la Ina} to use in my cooking. 

Instead of brimming with jealousy at the obvious success of Sundy House's flourishing Taru Gardens, I secretly hoped that some of its magic would rub off on me as I wandered its shaded pathways with Executive Chef Lindsay Autry and Pastry Chef Sara Sipe for an afternoon of botanical learning.

Located in the heart of Delray Beach, Sundy House itself is a local landmark that brings great pride to the area with its rich history and deeply rooted {no pun intended} ecological awareness.

Like the earth has accepted the restored 1902 Queen Anne Victorian home as its own, Sundy House blends into the surrounding foliage, beckoning for further exploration from passersby. Its full acre of tropical gardens features over 5,000 types of plants and 500 varieties of vegetation from around the globe.

Over 100 of those plants yield things that can be cooked with or eaten, an opportunity that is not passed up by its chefs.

From sweet tropical fruits and fragrant herbs to strange, almost prehistoric-looking edibles, nothing is off limits in the kitchen and on the menu at the renowned Sundy House Restaurant. 

Oh, you know. Just nibbling on some plants.

Chef Lindsay Autry {former Top Chef contestant and finalist} enjoys the challenge of letting the seasons and available yield guide her menu selections -- a "farm to table" method that allows ingredients to be used at their peak of quality. As we roamed through the trails and paths of the garden, she pointed out unique varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs.

The garden is ever-changing depending on that season's weather and each plant's reaction to the environment, making it a constant surprise what one will find growing amidst the brush from year to year. Working with a "living" produce department has its moments -- dealing with an excess of one type of fruit {which reminded me of this}, wondering if something will bloom that year, and even figuring out what in the world some of the new items in the garden are!

One of my favorite parts of touring the garden with the chefs was seeing their passion and excitement for all things green. {And red... and orange... and...} From incorporating nature's little gifts into foods, desserts, drinks and plating to teaching visitors about these unique edibles, it's obvious they love what they do and appreciate the access to so many amazing things in their very own backyard.

As for me, I enjoyed every part of my visit. In fact, I could barely bring myself to leave! When the tour was over, I stuck around for a while sipping this amazing champagne cocktail with homemade star fruit syrup.

Yeah, you try leaving this place.

Then I headed back out to snap some more pictures and soak up the "zen" of Taru Gardens.

The pictures don't do this place justice. If you happen to be in area, make sure to stop in and visit Sundy House. They offer free tours of the garden certain days of the week. Better yet, make a reservation to eat there! {I'm so sad I didn't get to do so during FLAVOR Palm Beach, but I'm definitely planning on trying to come back soon!}



Chefs Lindsay & Sara gifted me with a bag of garden goodies...

Obsessed with her business card. Check out my Instagram for a close-up of the coolest part!

So, of course, I had to use some of them to make a little something to share with you!

These Star Fruit Tartlets are so dainty and sweet. I stumbled upon the recipe in an old press release from Sundy House that contained several of their recipes for carambola {star fruit's other name} treats since the garden produces lots of star fruit in late summer. Maybe that's why they were part of my goody bag! ;)

I made my own tartlet shells using this recipe {I halved it and made minis by baking them in cupcake tins}, but if you don't feel like going to all the trouble, you can probably find pre-made mini shelves at the grocery store.

They're a perfect way to use up this unusual {but beautiful} fruit, although it's also very tasty on its own!

Many thanks to my friends at Sundy House {and to my favorite It! Girl who set up the meeting!} for a wonderful afternoon. Can't wait to visit again!

Star Fruit Tartlets
Adapted from Here

6 homemade or store bought mini tart shells
4oz. cream cheese
1'4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6  slices of star fruit, seeds removed

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth.

2. Add beaten egg {I actually didn't even use all of the beaten egg, probably about half}, cream and vanilla extract and cream. Mix until well combined. I find a hand mixer to do the trick.

3. Scoop about a tablespoon of filling into each mini tart shell. {Don't overfill, mine puffed up and didn't look as pretty because I got a little too generous with the filling.} Press a slice of starfruit into the filling of each tartlet. Push down gently until it sinks in a bit.

4.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 5-6 minutes, this temperature for 6 minutes, then lower heat to 250° and bake for 7-8 more minutes.

5. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate until chilled. They aren't as pretty as when they're fresh out of the oven, but I think they taste better cold.

Bonus pic... I think they're secretly Gator fans! ;)

Food Blog Forum Orlando Recap {Part 2}

{For Part 1 of my Food Blog Forum recap, click here.}

How do you deal with meeting new people for the first time? What's your reaction when you find yourself in interesting social situations? {i.e. Meeting people you've already read all about.}

Me? I'm a babbler.

{I know what you're thinking. Me? Babble? Never.} ;)

I start talking and then I can't shut myself up. I talk to fill the silence with timid people. I talk to "put it all out there" and be open. I talk because I want the other person to feel like they're not the only one sharing. Or oversharing as the case may be.

So, even though I consider myself quite social, I can also be quite socially awkward. At least, that's what it feels like when it's happening.

You can imagine how I felt going into Friday evening's welcome reception with 125+ of my closest "friends" that I've never met.

Disney did their best to make us all feel at ease... beautiful little bites of food circulated the room, an open bar served up some liquid encouragement for flowing conversation, and the surroundings weren't too shabby, either.

Within the first few minutes, I found myself chatting with Elise Bauer from Simply Recipes {one of the very first food blogs I ever stumbled upon}, Megan from Wanna Be a Country Cleaver {one of my more recent favorites! I totally hugged her. I'm a nerd.}, Julie from The Little Kitchen {whom I had the privilege of meeting last year at Central Florida BlogCon}, and Lindsay from Love & Olive Oil.

Can I tell you what I said to these lovely folks? Nope. Not a word of it.

I was tuned into the Babble Station. All babble, all the time. I proceeded to yammer on for the rest of the hour with various other bloggers.

Fun Fact: I spoke with Tina from My Life as a Mrs. and we discovered that we're practically next door neighbors. Like, we shop at the same grocery store and everything. I also got to meet 2 more local bloggers -- Denise from Creative Kitchen and Michelle from The Domestic Mama & The Village Cook . South Florida Bloggers represent! ;)

By the end of the reception {which, by the way, was signaled by a woman walking around the room playing a xylophone-type contraption... Oh, Disney.}, I had made my way around the room and spoken to quite a few people but still had so many more I wanted to chat with!

We quickly changed into comfier "play clothes", and made our way to the Magic Kingdom in hopes of getting to ride a few of the highlights and catch the fireworks display & the parade.

Did I tell you we recruited a new park-hopping friend to our group at this point? Erin from Eat Drink Bake Cook {For the life of me I cannot remember the order of these words. I say it differently every time.} ... she was a doll!

It was just a tad windy waiting for the boat on the dock.

So, the three of us took on the Magic Kingdom after dark. As we discovered, there were a lot of changes to the park since the last time I visited, which made it sort of difficult to navigate. {Read: We got lost. A lot.} But we still managed to get to ride a couple of the "Mountains", and even some of the attractions in the new and improved Fantasyland.

Over by the new Beauty & The Beast area in Fantasyland.

Most importantly? I got a Dole Whip.

That is one happy Dole Whip-eating girl. 

We called it a night after the parade since we knew we had to be at breakfast by 8:00 a.m. and before I knew it, my alarm was going off and it was time for the conference!

..................................................

I'm SO not a morning person. But I have to say, the whimsical breakfast spread presented by Disney definitely made losing some sleep a little less painful.

How often do you get to start your day with a light-up fruit salad?

As if glowing breakfast items weren't enough to wake us up, we also received our swag bags around this time... oh, the swag! Our sponsors and friends really spoiled us rotten. I'm pretty sure I've already gained a few LBs from exploring all the edible goodies we were given.

Swag, unloaded from the bag at home. I'm pretty sure some of the stuff isn't even pictured here.

Guess what I'll be talking about in the next post??

You guessed it: More FBF, and more FOOD! 

I'll be sharing some of the insights I gained from listening to the wonderful presenters, as well as our Disney-tastic lunch. Can you believe everything I've shared all happened within the first 24 hours of the conference weekend?? No wonder I'm still recovering!

Since I've been busy getting back into the groove this week, I haven't had too much time in the kitchen, so I'm sharing an older recipe that was popular at a 4th of July party last year that you can bust out at your Memorial Day gatherings. 

It's a Strawberry-Peanut Butter Tart, and I'm pretty sure there's no way to mess it up. Not even if you're tired from a weekend of Disney fun. It's pretty, can be made to look "patriotic", and basically tastes like a big PB&J flavored cookie. How All-American is that?

Click over to the recipe here. 

Strawberry-Peanut Butter Tart

I'm not gonna lie, folks, the recipe I'm sharing today is from the 4th of July. {Hence the stars.}

Why has it taken me so long, you ask? Well, things have been busy around here. Between opening the husband's new office, working there, working my old job, working for myself, and hardly ever being around during the weekends, there hasn't been a whole lot of extra time laying around.

I have also been eating nothing but leaves, seeds, vegetables, and fruits for the past week thanks to the silent threats of my {extremely} tight jeans... and while I thoroughly enjoy all of the above food categories, I will spare you from my self inflicted restrictions.

The irony here is that, during times when I'm on my best nutritional behavior, I tend to have the most creative, most decadent recipe ideas. {There are a handful I'm thinking of at this very moment that I can't wait to try out once my jeans and butt start to get along again}.

I liken it to roaming through the blazing desert and having hallucinations of an oasis. A body deprived of sugar will start to imagine all kinds of good stuff.

The mind is a funny thing.

Anyway, this Strawberry-Peanut Butter Tart is no hallucination. It's real, it's easy, and it's good.

Like a giant peanut butter cookie slathered with strawberry jam, this tart is just another {delicious} way to get a PB & J fix.

Sometimes simple really is best.

I'll be sure to write down all of my recipe fantasies this week so I'll have some fun stuff to share once I am out of the desert I allow myself to indulge a little again.

In the meantime, hold yourself over with this tart. :)

Strawberry-Peanut Butter Tart
Adapted from Food Network Magazine

1 1/2 sticks butter {12 tablespoons}, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour {you may need a bit more if dough is not stiff enough}
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup peanut butter {creamy or crunchy, whichever you prefer}
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a fluted tart pan {with removal bottom} with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl ,whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, granulated and confectioners' sugars, beaing until well incorporated and smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla.

Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture a little at a time and combine until a soft dough forms. {If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour. I had to, but it may have been because I forgot to leave my butter out to soften and it became slightly melted when I softened it in the microwave.}

Take half of the dough, and press into bottom of prepared tart pan and up the sides. Spoon strawberry jam in the center of the dough, and spread carefully, leaving a 1/2 inch border all the way around. With half of the remaining dough, create a rim around the tart, pressing carefully to adhere.

Using the other half of the dough, create shapes {if desired}, balls, or dollop by the spoonful over the top of the jam.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden around the edge of the crust.

Remove from oven and allow tart to cool for about 15-20 minute. Carefully remove ring and transfer to a serving plate.