All I Eat Food!

A Fashionista Gone Hungry!

Tropical Farm Fresh Friday

August 12, 2024allieatfood 3 Comments

Okay, so I’ll be honest. The only thing tropical about this post is that I am on vacation in Punta Cana and I’m sharing a post about my latest farmers market experience.

But veggies are almost as good as a tropical island. Almost?

This farmers market is located in Haddonfield, NJ, at Kings Court, 150 Kings Highway East. It takes place every Saturday through October 8, rain or shine!

While I have visited this cute, quaint town many times, it was the first time that I was actually visiting the farmers market.

There are those white eggplants again!

It was fairly small but there were a ton of great products to look at.

And everything looked really fresh and there were many varieties of fruits and veggies.

I found these mushrooms the most interesting. It seemed a little unusual to see oyster mushrooms at a farmers market but I loved that they are available.

I was also able to try some of this long bean salad, which was amazing. (Made with the long beans pictured above.) It tasted a little spicy and there was definitely some basil in there. Why didn’t I ask for the recipe?!

This market was especially fun because there were so many other vendors and stores that set up tents and tables along the street that you could wander around all morning checking out the different items. Kind of a two for one deal.

And if you’re ever visiting the Collingswood farmers market, you should definitely check out this one! Or vice versa. They are so very close but unique in their own way.

Enjoy your weekend while I bask in the sun!

Farm Fresh Friday–Unexpected Treasure

August 5, 2024allieatfood 3 Comments

All summer I have been hearing about Woodbury’s Farmers Market. Each Friday this market is held on Cooper Street & Railroad Avenue by train station parking lot in Woodbury, NJ from 2pm-6pm.

While this farmers market has been going on Friday after Friday, summer after summer, since 2003, it was the first time I have stopped by. And while I have wanted to visit practically every Friday this summer, it was the first time I was able to check out this unique hidden gem.

My favorite stop was this little organic stand, where the woman said she and her husband grow everything. When I asked if they had a farm that you could visit she told me that they actually just intended to eat what they grew but there too much so whatever they couldn’t eat they sold at the market.

See the whitish/green eggplant on the bottom? I never knew this but she told me that that was how eggplant was first grown, in the shape of an egg and it had a white color. As she held it in her hand it made perfect sense! Why had I never questioned this before!? I always just accepted that a big, purple vegetable was called eggplant.

After snapping some photos and capturing some photos I was so glad that I finally visited this unexpected treasure that I had always heard about. In fact, I loved it so much… I’m going back today

Farm Fresh Friday: Mood’s Farm Market

July 29, 2024allieatfood 5 Comments

Have you ever visited a farm early in the day when the sun hasn’t reached its highest heat and the grass is still dewy?

A few weeks ago Wendy and I took a visit to Mood’s Farm Market, a place where you can not only buy produce and homemade goods, but also pick your own fruit!

And you can buy corn, but by all means do not shuck it there!

Of course there were some essential rules. And no, this does not mean you get to pick which rules you want to follow

Before you pick you decide what fruit you will be picking. There is a list which also includes pricing. You then pay for a permit to pick in the respective area, purchase a cardboard container and begin!

We started picking blueberries first.

If you have never picked blueberries before let me tell you that it is not easy! I was definitely confused when I thought it would be a simple task. But there are a lot of berries that aren’t ripe, some that are bruised or wrinkly and others were just downright gross looking! So you’re trying to be quick but careful at the same time and it winds up taking a lot longer than you’d expect.

Wendy and I kept asking each other how we were doing and we knew that we were making progress once we weren’t hitting cardboard anymore. In other words, we had filled the bottom of the box completely and were actually getting somewhere. This made me laugh as we were picking. I think we should coin the term “hitting cardboard” don’t you think!?

Next, we headed to pick peaches.

This might have been the biggest peach I ever saw!

We were warned that they were extremely ripe and they really were! Most were so ripe that you’d touch them and they would turn to mush. And their juices were dripping out of them begging to be eaten. While it was hard to find some that were okay to take home, the few that we did take were so delicious and sweet.

After we were finished picking our fresh fruit we headed back, paid for our goods and were on our merry way. In a few short hours we were able to experience what goes into picking fruit and bring home some juicy berries and peaches. I’d call that a successful summer mornin’.

Enjoy the last weekend of July!

Farm Fresh Friday: Nature’s Candy

July 22, 2024allieatfood 2 Comments

If you’ve ever thought that fruit tastes like candy you wouldn’t be far off.

Because The Candy Box not only sells amazing, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate, but also fresh, sweet, fruit (and veggies) !

As you pull up to this cute and quaint candy shop, you can grab some produce all summer long.

Did you know that Jersey is known for their peaches too?

It is easy to understand why this little shop is called a box. The actual store is only the little building on the left. It’s the kind of place you might just miss while driving by but it would be a shame if you did.

If you’re ever in town or you are a local reader, make sure you stop in The Candy Box and try their chocolate. You are definitely in for a treat. Just make sure you grab some fruit on your way in – it will help balance things out and I promise it is as sweet as the candy

Farm Fresh Friday: In the Garden

July 15, 2024allieatfood 3 Comments

TGIFFF! Or, thank goodness it’s Farm Fresh Friday

As I always mention, one of the perks of buying your produce local is that you know where your food is coming from.

And in this week’s case, I really know where this food is coming from. That’s because it is coming from a family friends’ garden. If you’re reading, Hi Diane!

From their garden –> table top farm market –> my family’s kitchen.

And we are once again asked to be honest. Honesty is the best policy people!

Rows of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and fresh flowers growing.

I love being able to see a garden and can’t wait to have one of my own! Maybe it is the little kid in me that loves being able to see the veggies growing and then in baskets for sale.

Another reason to buy produce from local stands is because it is so much less expensive! Even if grocery stores claim that their products are local, their prices are always going to be higher.

As my Mom and I drove away on quite possibly the most beautiful day of summer I tried my best to make a memory of a perfect morning when we drove through New Jersey’s countryside in search of fresh finds. And how moments later we’d be purchasing fresh fruit and chocolate. But that’s a tale for another day…

Hope your weekend is fresh and fun!

Farm Fresh Friday: Cherry Grove Farm

June 24, 2024allieatfood 8 Comments

It’s kind of ironic that I write about farms each Friday because farms and I just don’t mix well. But what you must understand is that I love everything that comes from the farm and what the food does for everyone involved. Local, farm grown products are not only healthier but better for the environment, the animals, the farmers… the whole process just makes the world a better place.

So when Robin asked if I would be interested in visiting Cherry Grove Farm, I won’t lie, I hesitated a bit at the thought of what exactly we would be doing on the farm. Would I be picking fruit? Would we be seeing animals? Most importantly, would I be getting dirty?

But alas, there were no worries. “Cheese,” Robin said. I’m sure there were other words that went along with cheese but that was clearly all I heard. "Cheese!? Heck yes!” I replied.

So off we (Robin, Lisa, Wendy and I) went on one of the hottest days of Farm Fresh season in search of cheese.

Despite getting a tad bit lost we arrived at Cherry Grove Farm in the earlier part of the day. When we got there we ventured into the little shop where there was not only cheese but local products galore. It was really great seeing so many products all in one little shop.

After educating ourselves about great NJ products we decided to venture out to the farm.

It was actually a little surprising to see such a wide variety of animals on the farm. Maybe it was because I was expecting cheese and cheese = cows and not pigs, goats and baby cows…but I was pleasantly surprised to see these animals!

Am I the only one that can’t help but smile when I see this many animals hanging out together? I just imagine the conversations they were having with each other. They were VERY chatty!

After we took a peak at the animals we were introduced to Stacy, who is in charge of marketing for Cherry Grove. She was kind enough to give us some background on the farm and show us around.

We were lucky enough to see this little guy! A baby calf who was born just 4 days before. He was really wobbly and when I went to pet him he backed away terrified. Stacy said once they are socialized with humans they learn to love them like the rest of the cows.

We also had a peek at some of the Mommy cows. One of the cows was the mom of the baby calf so she was still resting and the other cow had broken her hip. Cherry Grove is not only sustainable and organic, but they use no growth hormones, antibiotics or steroids. That means that in order for the cow to heal she simply rests and gets better naturally. Stacy also told us that they feed the cows kale because it is a natural super food and helps them heal quicker.

Cherry Grove also has chickens that are kept in chicken coops most of the time because there are predators on the farm. We were told that during the day hawks want the chickens and at night fox are out to get them! So there is a short time period where they can roam free.

After our tour we headed back inside where we had the chance to try some cheese!

Cherry Grove Havilah is a hard-aged alpine style cheese, with a beautiful black rind made from a layer of ash. This cheese is slightly pungent with a sweet finish and some pineapple notes. A great accompaniment to pears and apples.

Full Nettle Jack cheese actually contains stinging nettles which are not only tasty but have great healing powers as well!

Stay tuned for a recipe that uses their fresh goat cheese!

And while we were eating and purchasing cheese we were also watching it be made! It doesn’t get any more interesting and fresh than that.

We had a great day learning about fresh cheese and where it comes from – a place where animals are treated with love and food is made by people who are passionate about what they do.

Now that is one reason I am proud to say, I am from New Jersey.

Follow

Follow “All I Eat Food!”

Build a website with WordPress.com