Summer Harvest: From the Farm

A weekend highlight for me is visiting local farms. I'll take this over stifling, over-sized mega supermarkets any day. Summertime means an abundance of local delights.

At Old Hood Farm in Emerson: New Jersey sugar plums and raspberries. Both are like nature's candy.


Blueberries. Love seasonal berries over granola and either almond milk or soy yogurt as a simple summer breakfast.


Jersey beans. My mom sautés these in Earth Balance (or use olive oil), garlic and parsley. Mine never come out as good as hers. I think even peanut butter and jelly tastes better when your mom makes it.


At Abram Demaree Homestead on Old Hook Road in Closter, some new items were offered from last week's visit.

Bruschetta, the perfect recipe to make with summer tomatoes and basil. I topped it on a crusty bread I picked up at nearby Old Hook Farm. Served with their chopped salad (assorted greens with diced celery) and you've got a light summer meal.


Charbroiled zucchini, topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Veganize at home: just leave off the cheese.


Salsa bites: tomato, garlic, onion and chipotle in a pastry crust.

I eat a little something sweet every day. No apologies. Burnt sugar cookies.


Home grown flowers.

Wishing you were here...


I left thinking of 10,000 Maniacs delightful ode to the infectious pleasures of summer, "Stockton Gala Days," and its declaration:

"That summer fields grow high.
We had wildflower fever.
We had to lay down where they grow."

Catch wildflower fever, and delight in all the season's bounty.

Support New Jersey Farms

Don't want your local farm stand to be sold and developed into a housing complex, strip mall or yet another CVS Pharmacy (how many does New Jersey need?) Simple: spend some of your dollar there.

I paid a recent visit to Abram Demaree Homestead on Old Hook and Schraalenburgh Roads in Closter, New Jersey. Check out this 2008 profile of the farm from The New York Times, which been a working farm since the 1700s. Let's keep it that way.


You can lunch outside on their quaint patio Tuesdays through Sundays. Vegetarian options include a spinach Swiss cheese quiche, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, chopped salad, and split pea soup - all made on the premises.


The view.

Fresh baked cookies. Ever look at the ingredient list on those grocery store baked goods? Alarming. If you made a rule, 'don't eat it if you can't pronounce all the ingredients' you'd go hungry fast in American supermarkets.

Homemade blueberry pie, $4.95. We bought one of these, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. Yummy à la mode or on its own.

Have strawberries? Try this easy and vegan strawberry pie recipe.


Jersey Girl tomato sauce. Love the vintage pie sign. Pie is the ultimate comfort dessert for me.

Lavender grows on the fields as you drive in. Buy it here.


For organic and local produce, right down the road at Old Hook Farm in Emerson (also featured in the Times), the first corn of the season! I feasted on this corn at a summer solstice supper.

A wonderful selection of organic, homegrown lettuce. So many pay 'convenience' costs of purchasing salads at lunch, but with a little effort, it's so much cheaper to bring your own. Who wants to pay $7 for lettuce and veggies you'll eat while checking e-mail?

When Anton Ego takes his first bite of ratatouille in the film of the same name, he in a flash mentally time travels to a day in his childhood when his mother made the soul-nourishing dish. Upon taking a taste of these New Jersey cherries, my mom and I were instantly transported to a family farmhouse in Switzerland with its cherry trees. Reflect on the food memories you have from your childhood.

Sunflowers from, you guessed it, the beautiful state of New Jersey: $5.99 a bunch.


Find a family farm near you through Local Harvest.

From the Farm

After a winter hibernation, Demarest Farm opened for the season on Earth Day. This Hillsdale, New Jersey-based farm has been around since 1886. You may recall my visit here last year.

You can now enjoy a lovely lunch outside at one of their tables, in their greenhouse, or on a picnic bench (my preferred choice). Bonus points: they are dog-friendly. My mom and I took our family's adopted dog, who enjoyed the sunshine with us while we dined.

In addition to two daily soups (one vegetarian selection that day, corn chowder), they always have vegetarian chili, loaded with bell peppers, chickpeas and beans, $4.59/pound. This portion was $2.85, paired with an onion roll, $1.10. To avoid the disposables, my mom and I brought our own silverware, cloth napkins and cups in a picnic basket.

We shared a white peach iced tea, $2.

I love wraps. Recreate this avocado, tomato and onion wrap at home.

Deli pickles.

I was pining for some Clyde's of Garfield Italian ice, but it isn't available until this weekend. I would have gotten one scoop watermelon, one scoop honeydew melon. Next time!

There's usually a mob around these during their busiest season in the fall: cider donuts. If you'd like, veganize at home.

I cannot wait for fresh summer tomatoes to hit the farm for tomato and basil salads.

Simple snack: radishes.

Love the way they repurposed this old chair in the garden.

I like Demarest for lunching, but for general shopping, I favor Old Hook Farm, for its wider selection of vegan offerings, organic produce, and local finds. Demarest Farm had asparagus from Peru, but look what I found at Old Hook Farm. This will be cream of asparagus soup (the cream from soy creamer).

In addition to produce, I picked up some indulgences: vegan fudge bars, and some organic strawberry lemonade.

Fragrant lilacs. My mom surprised me with a bunch while we took turns waiting in the car with the dog.


Find a family farm near you through LocalHarvest.

I am grateful for:

Never having a shortage of reading material to spark the imagination.

Why oh why do I even browse the shelves at C.A.T.S. Resale Shop? Of course I found another intriguing book for just 50 cents.

My co-worker Kathy organizes a book club. From the library, our latest pick takes us to Italy. My stomach is already growling.


I can't imagine eBooks replacing some things.

Children's books are just so magical. This treasure was from the This-n-That Thrift Shop in Hillsdale, NJ, and awaits one very lucky young reader.


Random acts of kindness, like the weekly tea time started by Kathy. She suprised us with fresh fruit salad to accompany bluberry and cranberry orange scones. Lively conversation followed.


Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Think we don't need a revolution? The next time you are at a major supermarket, take a look what's in everyone's carts.

Each week, I laugh, I cry, I cheer on from my couch. The flashmob: bloody brilliant!



Saving money, and eating healthier, by making most of my meals at homes.

My latest picks, mostly from Old Hook Farm, a few things from Trader Joe's.

On the menu? Veggie fajitas (mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, corn); vegan spinach florentine ravioli; fresh beetroot salad, wraps with avocado, hummus, roasted red and yellow peppers, and red leaf lettuce. For breakfast: granola with fresh strawberries and almond milk, and fresh grapefruit. A really yummy dessert: strawberry mango crisp.

Eating banana cake in my parents' kitchen with a glass of iced coffee after taking the dog to the park. Check out this easy vegan banana muffin recipe.

A pot of homemade roasted cauliflower soup. Roasted anything is usually amazing in my book. I adore soup year-round.

My mom made homemade croutons to add to the soup. Simply toast whole wheat bread, cut, sauté in Earth Balance and garlic powder. Done.

The guilty pleasure of an afternoon weekend nap. My friend Slyester at the C.A.T.S. Resale Shop is an enthusiastic a napper as I am. He is often in nap prose when I see him.

Spring is in the air...

literally, at the Macy's Flower Show at Herald Square. I work in the area, so I stopped by.






...at Old Hook Farm. Doesn't my angel statue I so admire look lovely next to the sea of yellow?



....at Van Saun County Park in Paramus, NJ, where the carousel is now open. I say you are never too old to enjoy a ride.

Outside the children's play area, a boost up for thirsty, more petit, park goers.

A quiet brook.


I dreamt I had a picnic lunch of eggless 'egg' sandwiches, potato salad, lemonade, peanut butter cookies and fresh fruit.

I thought what a lovely name to give an iris.

...at the Pascack Brook Park in Westwood, NJ. Oh how I would love to linger with a book on the bench by the waterside. Our adopted doggy had other plans. There's a lot to sniff, after all!

A kite took flight.

Beautiful paths beckoned a stroll.


Dusk and geese swam. The water was aglow.

Outdoor celebrations were had in the sunshine. Birthdays shouldn't just be celebrated by the young and then dreaded in later years. Give thanks, always, for another year granted. Give thanks each day for another day granted.