Fort Myers Farmer’s Market Finds, Pierogis

Fort Myers Farmer's Market finds, pierogis and cabbage rolls. Yesterday was a perfect day for comfort food. They skies were overcast as a "cold front" moved in, windy at times with spotty, spitting rain. However, the market was still packed. I'm talking about the Lake's Regional Park Farmer's Market. It's off of Gladiolus between US41 and Summerlin Road. This seasonal market takes place on Wednesdays.

I rolled up just in time to see a friend manning the Cape Coral Pierogi Company tent. Shoreh was explaining to those lined up, how to heat up the handmade pockets of dough filled with cheese. Trays were lined up containing several kinds of pierogis. One had a mix of sauerkraut while the other was Philly cheesesteak inspired.

The pierogi's are made by Iwona Palussek who was born in Warsaw, Poland. A former restaurant owner, now you can find her at various markets in Southwest Florida. She also caters. But back to the pierogis. They were perfectly formed, perfectly stuffed and perfectly delicious.

Pierogis are not Iwona's only signature dish. The stuffed cabbages are out of this world. I'm not always a fan of cooked cabbage. However, these are full of flavor. The leaves are stuffed with a beef mixture and drizzled with red sauce for the finishing touch. I've been told they freeze well too. They almost always sell out.

You never know what goodies will be under the tent, including latkes and soups. I was encouraged to try the mushroom soup. I also grabbed a rosemary baguette from the French bakery tent that was next door. The two were a match made in heaven. Check out this video and be prepared to salivate.

If you know of any fabulous farmer's markets finds, let me know here.

Fort Myers Farmer's Market Finds, Mini Donuts. If you have a sweet tooth, you need to know about the Dippidy Donuts Food Truck that appears at local farmer's markets. Last month I was talking to a friend who was going on about how happy she was that the Lake's Regional Park Farmer's Market was finally open in Fort Myers. The park off of Gladiolus was closed for a few months following Hurricane Ian, forcing market vendors to temporarily relocate. I too love this market and try to stop by on Wednesdays when it is open.

My friend, talking about some of the new vendors this season, gasped and put her hand on her chest. "There's even a donut food truck. They make the donuts right there, hot and fresh. That is just sooooo wrong," she said. This is one of those cases where wrong really means right. Unless you are talking about your diet. Until then, I had not noticed to the truck. Perhaps it was hard to see through the crowd that often gathers in front of it. I like to think it was because my focus was on healthful fresh produce.

Regardless, last week, I set out to find this evil hot donut truck. I quietly got an order of cinnamon sugar mini's and suddenly understood what she meant. Each little bite was perfectly cooked and coated in flavor. So when this week's market day rolled around, I went back for more. In addition, I took some time to get to know the owners, Tim and Michelle Jenkins.

They are from the Midwest where they owned a corporate event center and an Ax throwing business. The Jenkins have two daughters, are an active family, and wanted to live in an area where they could be outdoors all year long. They also love the water. Southwest Florida checked all the boxes so they sold their businesses and relocated.

Knowing that I write about food, wine and travel, they gave me a behind the scenes look at their compact operation. Here is a video of the small by mighty donut fryer.

Enjoy these photos of my latest Fort Myers Farmer's Market Finds, mini donuts from Dippidy. By they way, you can reserve the food truck  for events.