In the introduction to her new book, "The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook," Dalia Colón writes about her first impressions of the Sunshine State: “By the time I’d unpacked my car, I’d came to a conclusion: In Florida, it’s too hot to eat.” For the first months in the state, she subsisted on smoothies and cheese toast.
The last two decades have been a culinary journey for Colón. She became a vegetarian in 2013, and she hosts The Zest, WUSF’s podcast showcasing Florida’s food, foodies, restaurants, and recipes.
After moving to Florida from Cleveland in 2005, Colón says it took her a while to appreciate the fruits, vegetables and herbs that the Sunshine State has to offer.
We sat down with Colón for this week’s episode to discuss The Zest and the release of her new cookbook.
“Citrus, seafood, Spanish flavor, and Southern charm; The Zest celebrates cuisine and community in the Sunshine State,” Colón said, recalling the intro to every podcast episode. She says while a podcast isn’t necessarily a place one turns to for a recipe, it does provide an opportunity to have longer conversations about food.
“Food is about so much more than just what’s on the plate. It’s about our history and our community and you put your soul on the plate.”
Colón has spoken to many different people in and around the greater Tampa Bay region and Southwest Florida about food and drinks. Like Huey Howard, a Black cattle rancher who raises cows on his farm east of Fort Myers.
“You probably had a burger that came from one of his cows,” Colón said. “There’s a good chance if you live in Southwest Florida.”
Colón says Howard got his start in the 1950s when his white friend purchased land for him because no one wanted to sell it to him directly. Today, he owns thousands of acres and even rents some of it to other people.
Then there’s Huston Lett of Bastet Brewing, who got Colón’s attention at a fundraising event by the “cat woman” design on his t-shirt. Turns out, the “cat woman” is actually Bastet, an Egyptian deity who's part woman, part feline and their brewery pays homage to beer’s Egyptian roots. Lett and his co-founder, Tom Ross, worked together at a law firm but always brewed beer on the side for friends and co-workers to taste.
“During the pandemic, they said, ‘You know what, let’s go for it,'” Colón explained. “And so, they quit their jobs. And now they own this watering hole near Ybor City off Route 60 in Tampa.”
Lett and Ross pull inspiration for their beer flavors from across the world. And they use uncommon ingredients like Ube yam and saffron. Some of their ingredients even come from right here in the Tampa Bay area, like pummelos from Dade City or strawberries from Plant City.
Colón just wrapped up a series on The Zest called “Couples in the Kitchen,” in honor of Valentine’s Day. For the series, she speaks specifically to couples in the food industry, like business owners, influencers and even home cooks.
As a cook herself, Colón says her inspiration for her cookbook came simply from being a vegetarian. With so many people leaning into vegetarian or vegan lifestyles – about 5% of the U.S. population, according to Colón – she saw this as an opportunity to show how wonderful the food can be.
“It’s not just the veggie burger at the barbecue that nobody wants to touch. It’s like you actually have to bring extra now because even the meat eaters will enjoy a lot of this food.”
Colón had to recreate all the recipes for the pictures in the cookbook. She said some favorites and creative recipes like buffalo cauliflower and Kelly Green Collard Cake made it into the book. Then there were those, like jackfruit ropa vieja, that just weren’t salvageable.
“I put it in my crock pot and thought 'okay, we’re gonna make jackfruit ropa vieja and it’s gonna be amazing and we’re gonna have it for dinner,'” Colón said. “That was a huge fail. It smelled terrible.”
The cookbook is full of history, personal stories and, of course, recipes. It comes out next month and is available wherever books are sold.
The ninth season of The Zest is streaming now on podcast platforms.
Listen to this week’s episode of Florida Matters to hear more of the conversation with Dalia Colón, available on podcast platforms.
