Browse: July 2007

We’re halfway through summer (or so we keep telling ourselves) and the pool is our new best friend. It's time to kick the relationship up a notch with our picks for the best pool toys in town. Turns out underwater games have come a long way since rubber duckies...

Forget paper or plastic, the right answer is neither. Reusable totes are the best thing to happen to grocery stores since sliced bread. Here's the Earth Bytes lowdown:

• It takes 1,000 years for a single plastic grocery bag to decompose.
• We use 100 billion plastic grocery bags every year.
• Replacing plastic bags with canvas or nylon totes saves about 12 million barrels of oil a year.
• Paper bags are more eco friendly than plastic, but it still takes 14 million trees to produce a year's supply.
• One ton of paper bags fills 3.3 cubic meters of landfill space.
• Canvas grocery totes last an average of two years.
• It costs around $4,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags. It costs $0 to reuse your nylon or canvas grocery bags.

In Miami, where there's smoke there's usually a great Cuban cigar. And when there's a great Cuban cigar, there's usually a whole lot of history. We visited Little Havana's El Credito Cigar Factory to peel back the label on this storied Cuban art.

A few fun facts we picked up along the way:

• The darker the leaf, the stronger the tobacco.
• For high quality stogies, tobacco is left to ferment 2 to 5 years.
• Altadis' Cohiba Behike is said to be the world's most expensive cigar at $420 a pop.
• The world's longest cigar was made in Tampa, Florida in 2006 and measured 101 feet long and weighed 53 pounds.

Bring home a piece of Cuban history:

• El Credito Cigar Factory, 1106 SW 8th St, Miami; 305-858-4162
• Bamboo Cigars of Miami Beach, 1339 Washington Ave, Miami Beach; 305-534-5760
• C&P House, 741 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach; 305-673-3194
• Coco Cigar, 3015 Grand Ave, Coconut Grove; 305-442-9188
• Sabor Havana Cigars, 10101 SW 72nd St, South Miami; 305-412-0720

You can’t see it, but it’s here: The world's third-largest coral reef lies deep in our backyard. The Florida Keys Reef Tract begins just off Key Biscayne and runs 221 miles south, paralleling Florida’s southeastern coast down to the Dry Tortugas, about 70 miles west of Key West. It’s the only living coral barrier reef in North America and it supports over 260 species of tropcal fish and 80 varieties of coral

Impressed? Wait until you see it up close. Parrotfish, wrasses, damselfish, snappers, grunts, and barracudas are commonly spotted amidst the reef, as are lobsters, sea cucumbers, urchins, shrimp, and anemones. Here are a few of our favorite spots to take the plunge:

• Fowey Rocks Lighthouse reef (20 to 35 feet deep) is a perfect place for beginning snorkelers as lots of soft corals play host to plenty of tropical and exotic fish.
• Emerald Reef (15 to 30 feet deep) has been called one of Miami’s best undiscovered reef sites. Lobsters are said to favor the natural reef loaded with large rocks that double as hiding spots.
• Thousands of colorful fish swim through the waters of Patty’s Patch (30 feet deep) reef just south of Key Biscayne. Lucky divers have been known to spot moray eels.
• After swimming through Patty’s Patch, head to Rainbow Reef (30 feet deep) for exceptional views of intricate hard corals and graceful soft corals.

Like what you see? Help take care of it - as with all things environmental, preservation is key to the Florida Keys Reef Tract. Do your part underwater with these quick and easy tips:

• Don't touch the coral. Period.
• Be fin-friendly. Swim far enough away so you don't break the coral with your fins.
• Don’t swim too close to the bottom. You'll stir up sediment and disturb new coral growth.
  

The details: For info on the coral reef and diving and snorkeling excursions, visit pennekamppark.com, tarpoondivecenter.com or southbeachdivers.com. For preservation tips visit reefrelief.org.

Happy birthday Peru! Tomorrow marks the country’s 186th year of independence from Spain. Locals will spend two days celebrating with serenatas, parades, fairs and festivals. Just because we’re north of the equator doesn’t mean we can’t get in on the fun – we’ve scoured the hemisphere (and the city) for fun facts and authentic Peruvian fare.

Plum is heading back into the kitchen - and into larger pants - very soon. Today we visit with Clay Conley, executive chef at Azul at the Mandarin Oriental. Conley wows our stomachs and our eyes with his homemade ricotta gnocchi with sausage Bolognese. Recreate the magic at home with this recipe and get tips from the master in our upbeat how-to video.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Sausage Bolognese

Welcome to lobster mini season - 48 hours of lobster mania.

Each year, recreational certified divers get two days to grab up to twelve spiny lobsters per person before the commercial season begins on August 6. The 2007 season kicked off at midnight on July 24 and ends at midnight on July 26. We spent the afternoon at sea with RJ Diving to get a front row seat of all the action. Here are a few fun facts we picked up along the way:

• There are three ways to snare a lobster - by hand, by lasso or by tickle stick and net (the most popular and effective method)
• Lobsters must be at least three inches in carapace length - possession and use of a measuring device is required at all times
• Egg-bearing female lobsters must be released (got to keep the population growing)
• The Atlantic can get a bit rough
• Divers love their lobsters grilled, steamed, boiled, broiled and stir fried
• You can't go wrong with butter and lemon

Check out our video and slideshow for all the action.

Lobster mini-season is here. Recreational divers get two days to grab up to a dozen spiny lobsters before the commercial season begins. We spent the afternoon at sea with RJ Diving to get a front row seat of all the action.

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The curtain rises on MOCA’s NInth Annual Optic Nerve Festival tomorrow night. Founded by the Museum of Contemporary Art and sponsored by Starbucks (a common artist addiction), the local film festival celebrates South Florida filmmakers by selecting 17 short films and videos for public display. One of the films is ultimately purchased as a part of the museum’s collection.

This year’s 17 featured films range from 50 seconds to six minutes in length, include narrative, non-narrative and animated forms and were selected from a pool of over 60 submissions. We chatted with one of the lucky winners, filmmaker and video artist Jane Hsu, about her film, You Tube and the South Florida artist scene.

Tainted imports, trans fats, salmonella scares - having a snack is beginning to feel like an exercise in fear. We're bringing the fun back with our picks for natural treats. Some are locally grown, some are organic, all are delicious.

Get Nutty: Replace the Skippy with Woodstock Farms' Unsalted Cashew Butter and kick your PB & J up one giant nutrition notch. Rich in heart healthy unsaturated fats, cashew butter has more zinc, iron and calcium that peanut butter. Extra treat - the absence of salt helps keep blood pressure down.

In this episode of Miami Beach Short Stories Plum visits the New World Symphony. Established in 1987, NWS prepares gifted graduates of distinguished music programs for leadership positions in orchestras and ensembles around the world. For more information about the symphony visit nws.edu.

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Ricotta Gnocchi with Sausage Bolognese

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbs unsalted butter
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbs rosemary, chopped
• 1 tbs thyme, chopped
• 10 basil leaves
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand with juices
• 1 cup veal stock
• 1-1.5 lbs Italian hot sausage
• Salt & pepper

1. Heat oil and half the butter in a large pan. Sear sausage and caramelize.
2. Add garlic, onions and herbs (half the basil) and cook until very soft.
3. Add red wine and reduce until liquid is gone. Add tomatoes and cook until dry. Add veal stock and reduce to a sauce consistency.
4. Finish with basil leaves and remaining butter half.

• 5 egg yolks
• 30 grams salt
• 440 grams all-purpose flour
• 1.13 kg ricotta impastata cheese
• 50 grams fontina cheese
• 30 grams Parmesan cheese

1. Mix all ingredients together to form a dough.
2. Roll dough on a floured surface and snake into a one-inch diameter.
3. Cut crossway to form dumplings (each should weigh about four grams).
4. Drop dumplings in boiling salted water into they float.
5. Remove from water, toss with warm Bolognese.
6. Top with cheese and broil until browned and bubbling.

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Welcome to our first Plum Picks, our way to spread the word about great products around town. Plum picks can be anything from margaritas to pool toys (send us suggestions) – today we tackle the almighty quesadilla.

The modern quesadilla is quite the multitasker - it can be crispy, saucy, spicy and a thousand other things. We found Asian fusion options and diet-friendly choices. One thing's for sure - the quesadilla is not just cheese and tortilla. Satisfy your Mexican cravings with these tangy dishes.