One of my favorite local farms is Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville. They have eggs, beef, whey-fed pork, and cheeses in their farm store, along with an array of products from other Jersey food artisans. It's always a treat to visit the farm, to see animals being raised the way they ought to be. Check out these chickens, roaming their pasture:
Of course, most of them just wanted to stay under cover. I don't blame them - we have lots of hawks in our area!
Some young calves were grazing in the field by the entrance (Route 206 is on the other side of that fence - I always check out the cows when I pass by).
Back in the shade are the goats that sustain Cherry Grove's new label: Piping Goat Creamery. This weekend's special chevre flavor was "Scapegoat": goat cheese mixed with garlic scapes from nearby Z Food Farm. Delicious!
So what brought us to the farm yesterday (and, actually, the day before as well, since I had the date wrong) was one of their periodic cookouts. These events are arranged to give you a taste for their grassfed beef before you start planning your holiday barbecue (they did this before Memorial Day as well). It wasn't a huge event, but there was great local food, some music and the opportunity to roam around the farm.
This is my grass-fed beef burger with Cherry Grove's "Full Nettle Jack" cheese and First Field Jersey ketchup on a bun from the Village Bakery. Salad was from Z Food Farms with dressing from Muirhead Foods. We finished our meal off with some Joe Chips and some delicious but rock-solid ice cream from the Purple Cow, located on Main St in Lawrenceville (they had ice cream in a cooler out in the hot sun - if it weren't frozen solid it would have been soup).
In addition to the music, we were entertained by a cooking demo, where one of Cherry Grove's chef-cheese makers (sorry, but I've forgotten his name!) showed us how to cook with grassfed beef, making burger patties with a variety of spice rubs as well as beef empanadas.
Perhaps the best part of the day is that we came home with 5 lbs of Cherry Grove's grassfed beef at a special holiday price! We also got fresh eggs, pork sausage and that Scapegoat cheese I mentioned. Not only was it a lovely afternoon, but we have lots delicious future meals to look forward to!
If you're in the area, stop by Cherry Grove Farm. It's a great place that produces top-notch products! And if you're not in the area, look for a local farm near you. You might be surprised by what you find!
Yes, it's amazing. We visited the farm once. The farm workers are very nice. And the guy who you forgot his name was Sam (I looked at the picture of his and remembered.) Our guide was Stacey, if you met her. Shes very nice. And also, its a beautiful area. Cherry Grove Farm is really astounding.
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