BY SYLVIA GARSON, Kids Can Cook TV Show, GUEST WRITER TO THE TIMES
FT. MYERS – A place we call home, Ft. Myers, Florida a paradise lost and perhaps now re-discovered in a whole new way as we go forward. To quote Joseph Kennedy who said the following “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. I came back over a year ago and after the storm Ian. As the producer of a community show called the Kids Can Cook TV Show which I began in 1991 with our very first show taped at Dr. Martin Luther King High School in New York City. Having spent a certain amount of time in Ft. Myers, so much so that when my Florida friends discovered that I have been in Ft. Myers for almost every storm that has ever touched down. At which point some of my friends in Florida remarked that I should be sure to let them know when I am coming, however if I had that kind of power I would have used it to make sure the storm named Ian would have gone out to sea and left this great community known as Ft. Myers safe and sound.
I am and still remain more of an artist and not with unlimited resources, however I did have contacts for food companies and one more very important ingredient, which was my desire to help the people after the horrific storm named Ian had touched down. It has been almost two years and after talking to a number of people that I know in Ft. Myers I have also discovered that quite a few people in the Ft. Myers area can still not live in their homes, people that come from all walks of life including upper middle class, middle class and people less fortunate, and this seems to be due to a few different circumstances and through no fault of their own.
The help was so desperately needed and I thought that even if someone like me who can just help a little that could mean a lot, and at the same time extend a little hope.
As I came back last June for the purpose of giving out non-perishable food items and to also highlight the impact the storm Ian had on the beautiful Ft. Myers Beach Library and to write about how Ft. Myers and the library was coming along and with the great help of the owners of Mario’s Meat Market and at the same time got to not only meet Mario but also gave him a hug. I got to talk to the local children and their family to see how they were coming along.
While there I was also invited back to do the show at Mario’s and knew that this would take some doing. Many years ago I had some great help here in Ft. Myers not just from the community but also from the Cypress Lake High School of film and television, which included a center for the arts, and with our own studio having closed, relocated and finally opened but much smaller and knew I would have to first find a way to not just tape the show but to also find a way to edit the show.
I reached out to the school and spoke to Ms. Amos and that part was confirmed. I was also able to get some great help from a wonderful newer hotel called Home 2 Suites which helped me so much that saying a mere thank you would not have been enough to truly thank the Home 2 Suites & their wonderful staff.
The Kids Can Cook TV Show, with all this help, also wanted to not only do the show but also wanted to continue to give back and with the great help of Cento Food Products I was able to arrange for some additional non-perishable food to be ear marked to go to the South Ft. Myers Food Pantry, and contacted Mr. Biff Staples the president of the pantry and invited him to be on the show.
From the beginning the Kids Can Cook TV Show always celebrated all children from all countries and located some local children whose family was from the beautiful country of Peru. Two of the girls from Peru were Violeta & Ilana and they prepared a salad by mixing some fresh salad ingredients with some of the artichoke, and olives from the Cento Food Products and also please see my own recipe for salad on the go on how to prepare a great fast and easy salad by combining some of the Cento Food Products with some of the fresh veggies, lettuce, tomato, etc. The girls prepared a colorful salad, the boys (Elijah and Tyler from Orlando) were busy eating the black olives as they prepared an Italian salad which Elijah and Tyler prepared and seemed to enjoy, while the parents enjoyed a barbecue we prepared for them with corn on the cob, potatoes and of course hot dogs. All done on the brand new Home Depot barbecue grill with my homemade barbecue sauce that the children helped prepare, see recipe below.
When the smaller boy Tyler remarked he did not like salad I simply reminded him that salad was good for you. I ended the show by thanking all the beautiful children and put little Tyler in front of me as I helped him open his goody bag of gifts from the Orlando Magic showing him how his t-shirt would fit him.
Sylvia’s Secret Salad Recipe:
You can use your favorite lettuce, iceberg lettuce is best for shredding if you cut cucumbers & tomatoes into thick wedges or slices the salad will last longer. You first shred a bed of the lettuce than add the cucumbers and tomatoes. Add the following for a great, easy and tasty salad, Cento marinated artichokes, green or black olives and then combine garbanzo beans they also have great fiber.
Sylvia’s Secret Barbecue Sauce:
Start by squeezing three fresh oranges and one lemon into a bowl. Add one or two minced or crushed garlic cloves. Add one tablespoon of unsalted soy sauce, add one large cup of fresh or frozen orange juice and also add one large cup of maple syrup, and you can also place the chicken wings and or ribs in two separate bowls and refrigerate for one hour before you place on the grill.
Special thanks to the following: Southwest.com www.southwest.com 1-800-435-9792 (a great airline with a personal touch), Home 2 Suites- (your home away from home) www.home2suites.com 1-239-208-5454, Ft. Myers, Florida, Mario’s Meat Market www.mariosmeatmarket.com 239-936-7275, 12326 South Cleveland Avenue, Ft. Myers, Florida, Home Depot www.homedepot.com 1-239-437-6333, (where doers get things done), Cento Food Products -www.cento.com 1-856-853-7800, Snack Innovations Drizzicilicious (snacks that will excite your tastebuds), Cypress Lake High School of film and television & the Center for the Arts, 239-481-2233, Fischer Bros. & Leslie-230 W. 72nd Street, NY, NY 10023, www.fischerbros.com 212-787-1715, The Pizza Collective -2060 Broadway (between 70th & 71st Street) New York, NY 10023, 646-693-0949, www.pizzacollective.com, La Caridad Restaurant – Comida China y Criolla 130 West 72nd St., NY, NY 10023, 1-212-970-2838, www.lacaridad72.com, Chris Chase – Hair Salon 182 9th Avenue (between 21st & 22nd Street) 212-206-7991, Zabar’s- a New York City landmark (the best bagels) gourmet emporium specializing in smoked fish, cheeses, kitchen goods, housewares www.zabars.com, 2245 Broadway, NY, NY, 1-212-787-2000, Hadassa Antiques Gallary 1050 Second Avenue, Gallary #75 antiques, art objects, estates bought and sold free appraisals, 1-212-751-0009, [email protected], 16 Handles-great soft serve frozen yogurt, 325 Amsterdam Ave., NY, NY, 1-646-861-1281, Zitomer Pharmacy 969 Madison Avenue (between 75th & 76th Street), NY, NY 10021, 1-212-737-5560, www.zitomer.com
