After a bountiful berry-picking trip to Eden Farm, Lisa Fulk of Sunshine Canning decided to try something different. This is a lovely treat for a hot day—a concentrated homemade “mix” ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Lisa Fulk, certified Master Food Preserver and owner of Sunshine Canning, shares a delightfully easy recipe for a homemade jelly with perfect-for-Florida ingredients.

A couple of weeks ago, Guest Contributor Lisa Fulk taught a private canning class for a group of women in Sarasota. Between the mimosas, the yummy snacks and the chitchat, they managed to cover the ins and outs of boiling water bath canning and made a delightful jam of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

When is a downtown restaurant not quite a downtown restaurant? Answer: When it is the Star Keeper Café. Let me explain. Most downtown restaurants share a few common attributes, such as visibility, street presence, familiarity and a storefront-like entrance. Although the Star Keeper Café is located downtown, it would be a stretch to apply any of the aforementioned attributes to its description. It is unique in appearance and history. The Star Keeper serves breakfast, lunch and a bit of nostalgia, too! Nestled between Main Street and Ringling Avenue in downtown [...]

Sarasota seems to have been hit by the first of what I have a feeling may be a steady stream of “Swap-waves.” The first swap-sprinkle hit me through Facebook when someone added me to a “Gift Economy” group. Then, somebody else added me to a “Buy/Sell/Trade” group … and a day or so later, I’m part of “Sarasota Swappers.” I joined with gusto, eager to see how these networks flowed. Around the same time, my friend Jerah Coviello invited me to a clothing swap she was organizing through ecovogue365, an [...]