Stroll, Scroll My Mother's Garden

Spreading like wildfire, a blanket of carefree, brightly flowered nasturtiums decorates a large, shaded patch just outside the greenhouses of My Mother's Garden in Wimauma.

Just being there makes me antsy to plant herbs - especially this time of year.

The thriving, 16-year-old certified organic farm has been on my field trip list ever since I met Kathy Oliver a year ago, when I was looking for lemongrass at her herb stand at the Saturday Farmers Market in downtown Sarasota.

A recent jaunt out to the farm on County Road 579 was twofold - the opportunity to taste rural farm life and a place to shop for herbs. After setting up an appointment with Kathy, I cleared a space in the trunk of my car.

Kathy and her sister, Susan Bishop, are the owner-operators of My Mother's Garden, which uses about 5 acres of the 90-acre, family-owned land. It's a peaceful mix of pasture land, oak and pine woods, fields and gardens for growing organic produce alongside the Little Manatee River.

"I could be happy here," I said to myself, as I drove up the tree-canopied, dirt driveway.

My favorite part of the visit, other than the load of herbs I purchased, was meeting Ginger. Ginger is the farm's sweet, lean 600-pound Tamworth sow. Kathy assured me Ginger need not worry about becoming some of the best bacon you can buy. She's used only for breeding purposes. I was relieved.

While taking the tour, I learned that My Mother's Garden's newest business venture is an online farmers market. Kathy is the herb master, and Susan is Web master of this joint project.

Susan said the goal is to bring backyard growers, small farmers or anyone with local food products together and connect them with consumers like you and me.

Customers buy directly from the grower at wholesale prices. Each week, the grower describes what's available, supplies photos of those items and sets the price.

It feels like a farmers market - scores of culinary herbs, salad greens and produce, plus grass-fed beef and pastured pork raised on the farm.

Sandy Council and Anne Davis recently signed on to sell the complete line of Ruskin Redneck Gormay Trading Co. products, which include hot and barbecue sauces, salsas, pickles, honey and custom-designed gift baskets.

Just as with a traditional farmers market, customers choose exactly what to buy, how much and from which local farmer.

But this market is slightly different. The buyers are in front of a computer in the comfort of their homes or places of business. All they have to do is log on and add items to their shopping cart.

Unlike a traditional market that may be only open for a couple of hours, with all the good stuff gone soon after opening, My Mother's Garden Online Market is open for business for about 48 hours - long enough to fully browse the site and plan menus. Orders can be placed any time from Monday to Wednesday evenings.

Customers then pick up and pay for their orders from 1 to 5 p.m. on Fridays at Sun City Center Homes, 1649-C Sun City Center Plaza, just north of the Chamber of Commerce building.

Check out this easy-to-use site at www.mymothersgarden.locallygrown.net.

Kathy gave me her recipe for vegetable summer rolls, which she says are perfect for lunch or a light summer dinner. Use any raw veggies you have on hand, or add crabmeat or shrimp. You can find the rice paper wrappers at most Asian food markets, or go to the sushi department at your local grocery store. Sweet or hot chili sauces, plum sauce or hoisin sauce is also good to use for dipping.

VEGETABLE SUMMER ROLLS

Leftover rice or noodles

10- to 12-inch rice-paper rounds

Sprouts, carrots, cabbage, scallions; any raw vegetables on hand

Fresh mint leaves; fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai; fresh cilantro leaves

Shred or finely chop the raw vegetables. Put a double thickness of paper towel on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Soak one rice-paper round - making sure there are no holes - in warm water until pliable for 10-30 seconds, and then transfer to paper towels. Handle gently, as they can easily tear. Lay wrapper on a plate and put small amounts of filling ingredients across the bottom third of wrapper; do not overstuff. Fold the bottom of the wrapper over the filling, then fold in the sides and roll over once. Keep them covered with a damp towel until serving; they can also be wrapped and refrigerated for several hours.

For dipping sauce:

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon ginger, minced or grated

Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.