If you had the chance to attend our latest gourmet cooking class you would have enjoyed some of the delicious homemade recipes created by Chef, Lisa Karvellas. And if you weren't in attendance, don't worry! There is an opportunity to taste some of her delicious dishes. Lisa will be taking orders for your 2013 Thanksgiving dinner, if you have any questions you can reach out to her, or always ask us!
Grown-up Mac & Cheese
We are looking forward to our farm dinner this evening, we have some wonderful guests joining us and some delicious food to prepares. Cheers!
Saturday was our first annual Back to the Garden - Woodstock inspired festival & we had a blast. We welcomed friends from near and far and together listed to live music while we made flower crowns, painted pots & tie-dyed t-shirts! Along with creating mini works of art, guests enjoyed grilled nj sweet corn, paula red apples & all natural watermelon slushes. Hooray for a sunny, relaxing day on the farm with new and old friends! Hope to see you at our next event!
Something about this time of year feels magical. Maybe it's that we can step outside and pick an apple for breakfast or collect veggies from our garden for an instant lunch. Little by little our farm is growing. Growing into a space for the community to come, learn, eat and play. Recently we started offering local produce and hope you will come and bring home some of the magic. Come hungry, leave healthy.
Summer is here. And if you're behind on planting your flowers or even veggies, it's okay! We have a selection of vibrant, local flowers that would love to go home with you. We are now offering 25% off all flowers, from hanging baskets to flats. Even perennials if you ask nicely!
So stop in and visit us before you hit the beach to celebrate July 4th. If you're not headed to the beach like us, enjoying your garden and the sprinklers is a great option too! Cheers to the flowers!
Earth Day is one of our favorite days to celebrate at Fresh & Fancy Farms. We love that at school children are reminded of the importance of our Earth and how we need to treat her each day. We want to help you say thank you to Mother Earth by planting your very own tree. Visit us at the farm and receive 20% off any tree in the month of April.
All of the seeds we planted months ago are popping up and growing with every passing day. We can't wait to harvest the delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs they will produce. This year we will have a small amount of unique produce for sale that we grow without chemicals or pesticides. The closer your food is to you the more nutrients it will retain before you get a chance to enjoy it. Also, no fuel will be needed to ship your favorite produce across the country and we like the sound of that!
We also encourage you to start your own garden. You can start small with containers on your porch. You can grow herbs, tomatoes, beans and more. We have everything you need to start and can answer any questions you may have along the way, that's what we're here for!
Spring is creeping in. And we may not feel it as the wind graces our faces but we can see it with each blooming bulb and sprouting seed. To celebrate spring we decided to create some natural dyes for our eggs and a few simple ways to decorate them. We put together a color cheat sheet so you can create some of your own!
What you need:
What to do:
Red - Cranberries Simmer 1 cup of cranberries in 1 cup of water for 20 minutes. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Pink - Red Beets - Simmer a large beet or two small beets add 4 cups of boiling water. Stir in 2 tsp. white vinegar and cool at room temperature. Remove beets.
Orange: Paprika - Stir 2 Tbsp. paprika into 1 cup of boiling water, make sure to stir in all of the particles. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar
Light Yellow - Carrot Greens - Simmer 1 cup of chopped carrot tops in 1.5 cups of water for 15 minutes. Strain. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar.
Deep Yellow - Turmeric - Stir 2 Tbsp. turmeric into 1 cup of boiling water, make sure to stir in all of the particles. Add 2 tsp. white vinegar
Light Blue - Red Cabbage - Cut .5 a head of red cabbage into chunks and add to 4 cups of boiling water. Stir in 2 tsp. white vinegar and cool at room temperature. Remove cabbage.
Deep Blue - Blueberries - Mix 1 cup of frozen blueberries with 1 cup water, bring to room temperature. Remove blueberries. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar.
Lavender - Grape Juice - Mix 1 cup grape juice and 1 tsp. white vinegar.
Brown - Coffee - Mix 1 cup of strong coffee and 1 tsp. white vinegar.
Spring is right around the corner and in about five days we will be open to welcome you to the farm for Easter sales. We will have flowers for you to bring to your Easter Host or Hostess and plenty of items to decorate your Easter table. We hope to see you on the 23rd for Egg Decorating or just to say hello!
We wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
This Valentine's day we made homemade gifts for our friends & loved ones. We got into the kitchen and made some NJ & heart shaped sugar cookies. We also made some of our famous "simply strawberry jam" - great for topping off heart shaped cookies or morning toast.
We also made some handmade valentine's for a few local businesses in town. We are happy to be a part of a town that has so many awesome small businesses that the community supports. So thank you for that!
We wish you a Valentine's Day filled with love, chocolate & something homemade!
xo
fresh & fancy
Growing up I wanted to open a small flower shop. I wanted it to be tiny and old. Maybe next to a bakery, where people would pick up a fresh baguette and then stop for a fresh bouquet. Instead, I have a tiny and old farm. I feel lucky that my family and I have found this small gem in the birthplace of Bergen County, NJ. Since I am a flower lover at heart and after all my job title is, “Flower Girl” you can imagine one of my favorite things to do is to create flower arrangements. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner we thought a few tips on how to create your own arrangements might come in handy.
1. Select a container. Be creative; don’t feel like you need a typical vase. Try an old milk bottle, a teacup or a mason jar (coffee cans will work too, put fresh flowers in a can of your valentine’s favorite coffee - hello romance).
2. Select flowers. You want to try and get flowers that are in season. Flower shop employees will help you with this. In season flowers, may not have traveled as far and tend to be less expensive (look for a peony in the dead of winter and you could be paying $10 a stem).
3. Design. Select a variety of textures and sizes. You want some individual stems (large & small) and some fillers (the greens and small bushy flowers). Pick flower colors that live well together. Avoid typical flowers (standard red roses for instance) - go wild.
4. Arrange. Always cut each flower stem on an angle (this helps them drink easier). Remove all the stems that will be submerged in the water (this keeps the water cleaner). Fill your container with clean room temperature water. Place the fillers in first, next the larger flowers, last place smaller more delicate flowers. Add more fillers in small pieces where needed.
5. Maintain. Empty your water and re-fill everyday or every other day. Your flowers will last longer.
I dropped some of these arrangements off at the local nail salon and gave a few to the guys helping us finish the barn. The result is always the same. SMILES.
If you want an arrangement specially made for Valentine’s Day or a random Tuesday, feel free to email us at the farm.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Peace & Love,
Fresh & Fancy
I haven’t had a fresh tomato in four months. It’s not because they’re not available to me, because they are. It’s because they don’t taste half as good as when they’re in season and I’m not even going to get into the nutrients involved. Instead, I will pine over seed catalogs and wait for the snow to stop.
While looking through catalogs, the first thing I ask myself is, what do I want to eat? Immediately, heirloom tomatoes, multicolor carrots and eggplants come to mind (among other things). I check out the seeds I saved the season before and make sure I don’t double up.
Now that I know what I want to eat, the next question is, how do I want to eat it? One thing to note is the closer your fruits and vegetables are grown to your location, the higher the nutrient count and the fresher they will taste. This means you won’t have to do much for a delicious dish.
Here are a few ideas:
Eggplant Bruschetta
What You Need:
What To Do:
Slice eggplant into 1’’ rounds. Soak in cool water for a minute. Eggplants are like sponges, so if you let them drink olive oil first, the finishing product could be on the mushy side. Remove eggplant rounds from the water and lay them flat on a baking sheet. Brush on olive oil and top with some salt and fresh pepper. Throw in the oven for 15 minutes on 375. Remove baking tray from the oven and flip the eggplant, top with some salt and pepper and bake for 5 more minutes.
Chop tomatoes, basil and mix with olive oil, salt and pepper. Top eggplant, open up a bottle of red wine and enjoy!
Note: Use a fork & knife, unless you’re with your parents...they have to love you.
Sweet Roasted Carrots
What You Need:
What To Do:
Cut carrots into 1/2” rounds. Toss with olive oil,
chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast at 375 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, coat with honey and throw them back in for 15 more minutes. These make a great solo side, or mix them into some quinoa and throw in some dried fruit and nuts for a quick meal.
This spring is the first season Fresh & Fancy Farms will be offering fresh fruits and vegetables to the public. We will also feature cooking classes and even a few taught by Elana of JohnandElana.com! Stay tuned for updates class spots will be limited!
A few newbies to the Fresh & Fancy garden in 2013:
Thank you for all of your support in 2012. Here's to a bright future at Fresh & Fancy Farms! We are in the process of building our barn and look forward to bringing the community together to celebrate all things local! If you want updates, you can subscribed to our newsletter here.
Thank you again and Merry, Merry Christmas!
peace & love,
Fresh & Fancy Farms
It's such a wonderful time of year. Yes, it's chilly and the sun may vanish for days, still everything seems a bit cheerier. People are getting into the Christmas season with kind gestures and warm smiles. And did we mention we have Christmas tunes playing all day? No, we're not sick of them yet...and we're not sure we ever will be. One of the many reasons we love this time on the farm is because we get to create wreaths by hand. They are made with love and no two are the same! We feature unique styles and mixed greens to help brighten your holiday season and your front door. We even create wreaths that are perfect for indoors (like the eucalyptus & hydrangea). So whether you need one for your front door or as a gift, stop by today and see us! We will even give you 15% off if you mention this post...because we like you!
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We hope you have a magical Thanksgiving Day surrounded by all the friends & family you are thankful for! We are thankful for YOU! Thank you for all of your support in our first year as a family-owned & operated farm. Relax today & don't rush out toooo early tomorrow, but when you do...we will give you 15% off your full purchase to say thank you! YEs...that includes Christmas trees!
Enjoy 15% off:
Christian Mazzariello of Emerson, NJ won our First Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest at this year's Fall Festival!! At our Fall Festival we hosted friends and family for pumpkin carving, crafts and fall goodies! We look forward to having Christian's pumpkin carving skills back for next year's contest! Thank you for participating Christian and we look forward to seeing you soon!
We have exciting news! We now offer holiday decorating services. Do you want wreathes on all of your windows? Lights? Holiday garland? Email us and speak with one of our Design Specialists today! How it works:
Check out some holiday decor photos below - if you dream it we can execute it!
What we offer:
OUTDOOR DECOR
INDOOR DECOR
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Fall is such a magical time on the farm. The pumpkins, the mums, the crisp air, it's all just wonderful. But when you have visitors dressed up and excited about arts & crafts...that's when the real magic begins! This past weekend, we had fall arts & crafts on the farm. All of our little fresh & fancy visitors were dressed proudly in their Halloween costumes as they pranced along the fall flowers and through the pumpkin patch.
We hope to see more costumes on Halloween! We welcome all trick-or-treaters!
Stop, slow down, and take it all in! Happy Fall!
Each week the Bergen County Springboard program visits us. They are an awesome group of kids! Today we planted a variety of fall bulbs, daffodils , tulips, muscari, crocus and more! Can't wait to see these beauties pop up in the spring! If you have a group that wants to visit we would love to have them, feel free to contact us today!
