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!
How To: Arrange Your Flowers
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
Seeds of Spring
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:
- Eggplant (Black beauty, Rosa bianca)
- Heirloom Tomatoes (Marvel Striped, Tigerella)
- Fresh Basil
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
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:
- Colorful Carrot Mix (St. Valery Orange, Dragon Purple, Yellowstone, White Satin)
- Olive Oil
- Fresh Rosemary
- Local Honey (Try Andrew’s Honey in Union Square on Wednesday)
- Salt
- Pepper
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:
- Edamame
- Colorful Beets (Detroit Dark Red, Chioggia (the ones with the red & white rings), Bull’s Blood and Golden Beets)
- Purple Dove Beans