Happy Thanksgiving

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:

  • Christmas trees
  • Holiday indoor/outdoor wreaths
  • Fresh green roping/garland
  • Grave blankets
  • Indoor plants
  • Nursery stock

First Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest Winner!

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!

Crafts & Costumes!

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!

Planting Bulbs with the Springboard Program!

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!

 

 

Daisies In The Snow!

It was cold. And the snow was falling. But that didn’t stop the Westwood Daisy troop from venturing to Fresh & Fancy Farms! Pumpkins were set up, cider was poured and cupcakes were made! One-by-one the umbrella clad Daisies came waltzing through the greenhouse door decked out in fancy outfits from tutu dresses to striped tights! These brave little Daisy Scouts earned the pumpkin patch badge on the snowy October day. Check out some of the photos below and let us know what you think. If you’re a troop leader or want to make a trip to the farm, give us a call, shoot us an email, find us on Facebook or send us tweet. We would love to see you!

Thank you girls for joining us! Check out the blog, North Jersey Mom to find out what to do with the little ones! It's written by the Katie, Troop Leader and Mom of two!

Don’t forget we will be having Christmas trees and holiday items starting in December!

How to: Roast Your Own Pumpkin Seeds

This fabulous recipe you're about to embark on is brought to us fresh from the fabulous blog, JohnandElana.com. John and Elana are an Italian brother/sister combination who write about their food adventures and generally just love food! Check out their blog for recipes, restaurant reviews and beautiful food photography!

Did you know that pumpkin seeds are for eating? It's true, I promise.

Pumpkin seeds are a meaty seed. Large and puffy, almost like a bean and they provide a chewy contrast to the snappier cashew nuts I included in this recipe. And with the added salt from a sprinkling of roasted sunflower seeds, I also promise that this recipe for roasted and spiced pumpkin seeds will make you happier than a smiling Jack-O-Lantern.

Now, you could buy some pumpkin seeds. OR you could get enthusiastic, break out a large, sharp knife and serving spoon and a pumpkin of your choosing and harvest the seeds yourself. Do this while you are carving up your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. It's fun. It's a mess. You'll love it.

Shameless plug: you should go get this pumpkin of your choosing at Fresh and Fancy Farms, where I hear that the pumpkins are abundant and ripe for the picking. Also I painted the barn sign there, so you should check that out, too.

What You Need:

3 Tbsp sugar 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cinnamon Pinch of ground cloves 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 large egg white 1 cup unsalted cashews 1 cup pumpkin seeds (not roasted) 1 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds (to be mixed in later)

OPTIONAL HERBS! If you would like to get a touch "crazy" you can sprinkle some fresh herbs over the nuts while they are roasting. Sage would work nicely here as well as tarragon. Go for it!

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 4-sided sheet pan. Whisk together the sugar, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk the egg white in a medium bowl until frothy, then stir in the nuts. Add the spice mixture and toss to coat evenly.

Spread the nut mixture on the sheet pan in one layer. Bake, stirring once or twice until dry and toasted, about 20 - 25 minutes. Loosen nuts from the pan and cool completely.

Add in your salted sunflower seeds and mix well!

You can even make this one ahead and store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

* Recipe adapted from Gourmet Magazine.

How To: Preserve Your Herbs!

If I were an herb, I would want to be rosemary. It’s pretty, smells good and is pest-resistant. Not to mention it comes from the Latin words ros marinus aka dew of the sea. In many locations it needs no other water than the humidity carried by the sea breeze to live. Sounds nice right! Okay, enough about me. There is nothing like growing and cooking with your own herbs. I can almost guarantee what you’re serving will suddenly taste magical. This past summer was a learning experience for myself; filled with trial and error, sunshine and rain. I went from taking care of a small potted herb garden to being the official caretaker of a farms worth of herbs at Fresh & Fancy Farms.

And with summer at its end and herbs on their last life, storing them seems like a wonderful option!  I am going to give you a few tips on how to store your herbs so you can enjoy them year round.

Oh and we’re going to keep it simple, because simple is good. You will do one of two things with your herbs, hang dry or freeze. Hang drying works best for herbs that don’t have high moisture content (oregano, rosemary, thyme). For moisture dense herbs (basil, chives, mint, sage) using a dehydrator or freezing them is best.

DRY

1. Cut your herbs. Check them out and make sure you’re not selecting anything that doesn’t look up to par – no mold, dry spots, or signs of disease.

2. Wash them and let them dry really well. You don’t want any mold growing.

3. Remove lower leaves from the bottom of the branch/stem.

4. Bundle and secure your herbs together using string, wire, binder clips, etc.

5. Hang them in a dry, warm (not humid) place for about two weeks.

6. Store in labeled and dated zip lock bag or mason jar.

FREEZE

1. Follow steps 1&2

2. Chop up your moisture dense herb and place 1/3 in an ice cube tray and fill the remainder with water.

3. Once frozen throw them into a large labeled and dated zip lock bag.

4. You can also take the whole leaf and store them in zip lock bag – that works too!

Highlights From Our 1st Annual Fresh & Fancy Fall Festival

The sun was shining, the cider was flowing and the popcorn was popping. This past weekend was our 1st Annual Fall Festival and it was a blast! Thank you all for celebrating with us. Below are some of the days highlights, from pumpkin picking to painting. To see more photos visit our Facebook page here.  And to find out about our future events, join our mailing list! Look forward to seeing you on the farm soon. Keep Smiling & Happy Fall!

Hooray! Today is the Fresh & Fancy Fall Festival!

The 1st Annual Fresh & Fancy Fall Festival is here...Hooray! It's such an exciting day for us at Fresh & Fancy Farms. We are celebrating fall and inviting all of our friends, family and the local community to do it with us. The more the merrier, that's (one) of our mottos!

Excited, early morning texts have been rolling in from my favorite sister Kadie. Love it! If you're excited for today's crafts, she's the pretty and crafty gal to thank! Did we mention Brian is making the trip home from school just to celebrate with us, college boy & his lovely lady, Grace, can't get enough of the farm and who can blame them! Tim we're excited you're joining us too (obviously)!

Balloons, top hats, face painting, arts, crafts, cider, popcorn & more - did we mention this is all on the house! From us to you, because well...we like you!

This is not your typical fall festival and that's the way we like it! Hope to see you today on the farm, and if not today soon! Happy Day.

Peace & Love,

Fresh & Fancy Farms

Get Pumpkiny this Fall

When I see the bright orange pumpkins peeking out from their sleepy green patches, I am immediately transported to my childhood pumpkin picking adventures.  All bundled up, in fleece-lined jeans no less, my family and I would make a day of a trip to a local farm and we would each get to pick out our very own pumpkin.  We would go home with our autumn treasures and the decision of what face to carve into my pumpkin would be the most difficult decision of my young life. Pumpkins and the feel of fall weather still hold the same magic for me today.  I've lived through 22 autumns and I am glad to say I've learned a few other wonderful things you can make with pumpkins, besides good ol' Jack-o-lantern and pumpkin pie!  Inside and out, pumpkins offer us wonderful nutrients, color and flavor that we can use in recipes and craft projects.  Here are some new twists on our good friends Mr. and Ms. Pumpkin:

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1.) Pumpkin pizza? Pumpkin pasta? Its time to get our creative juices flowing and make some fun new dishes with this rad veggie.  Any time a recipe calls for canned pumpkin or pureed pumpkin, try making your own.  All it involves is cutting up some small pumpkins, baking them and throwing them in the food processor.. check out a great and funny how-to on the Pioneer Woman Blog!

2.) Remember how we talked about those great nutrients that are in pumpkins?  That wonderful orange hue is thanks to the beta-carotene in orange foods like pumpkins which support healthy hair and vision.  It does wonders for your skin too.. try making a pumpkin facial scrub.  All you need is some cooked pumpkin, some honey and some milk, the details are here.  You'll smell delectable and your skin will thank you!

3.) This one is for the birds!  Mother Huddle shows us how to make a wonderful bird feeder out of a halved pumpkin, gourd or squash.  All you need is some dowels, bird seed and wire and a little elbow grease.  A kid-friendly project, the results are sure to bring chirps of happiness from the birds and your little ones.

4.) What about those seeds? Don't throw them out!  Roast them with some salt, pepper and spicy chili powder for a great snack or string them together for a fabulous fashion statement.

5.) Get funky with your decorating!  Drill a hole in small pumpkins to make them into candle holders or modge-podge some leaves onto your pumpkin for a no-carve decoration.

Pick up your pumpkins throughout October & November and don't forget to stop by tomorrow for our 1st Annual Fall Festival at Fresh & Fancy Farms! Pumpkins are a fantastic source of antioxidants, color and festivity.. use them well and make them Fresh & Fancy!

{words} Alex Roem (Food activist, sustainability queen and latest Fresh & Fancy Farm member, all while revolutionizing the way we think about food at FoodFight).

 

Happy Fresh & Fancy Friday

 

It's Friday, the sun is shining and the air is crisp. Have a fresh & fancy free weekend filled with adventures and fun. Oh and ladies, go by yourself a new lipstick. As my grandmother always says, "If you have lipstick...you have everything!"

Stay tuned for fall features all next week!

xo

 

 

 

 

 

We've Got Mums!

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.  -Joe Fox from "You've Got Mail" (aka Tom Hanks) There is something so lively and crisp about the fall. From the colors to the cool days we can't seem to get enough. This fall we encourage you to enjoy all of mother nature's true colors before the days slowly begin to freeze and snow covers the ground. If you're looking for some more color in your life, visit us at Fresh & Fancy Farms, for some happy & vibrant mums!

Other fall planting we have include, winter pansies and colorful asters. If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comments sections below or check us out onFacebook.