Please Support Your Local Farms

Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville is a 400 acre certified organic farm that supplies grass-fed lamb and beef, pastured heirloom pork, free range eggs, and artisinal cheeses to the local community. The farm is just beautiful and the animals are all well cared for. Eggs are $5 a dozen, which may seem a little pricey but trust me they are worth every penny. Store bought eggs cannot compare! I've also had their Italian sausage, ground beef, and cheeses. If you have not seen Food, Inc., I would highly recommend it. I saw it at a small theater in Asbury Park, NJ over the summer. I see that it is now available on dvd at Amazon. It will change the way you look at food production in the US.

Last weekend, Cherry Grove Farm hosted their annual Pasture Party. My husband, two daughters and I attended on Sunday. It was such a beautiful day here in NJ - sunny and the highs were in the low 70's (amazing for November). Cherry Grove partnered with other local businesses to bring fresh, local foods to their customers. Food and drinks were supplied by Nomad Pizza, Small World Coffee, Village Bakery, Flying Fish Brewing Co., Hopewell Valley Vineyards, and of course Cherry Grove Farm. One disappointment was the lack of The Bent Spoon, from neighboring Princeton, which features artisan ice cream - which had been there on Saturday, serving pumpkin mascarpone ice cream, but didn't return on Sunday :(

Nomad Pizza is a traveling pizzeria, complete with a wood-fired oven, that serves delicious pizza made with fresh local, and organic ingredients. We sampled onion and mushroom, pepperoni, and pizza margherita - yum! Cherry Grove served their fresh handmade cheeses, grass fed beef burgers, macaroni and cheese, pasta with andouille sausage, potato salad, macaroni salad, pulled pork, and fresh lamb... a feast! I also enjoyed an Extra Pale Ale from Flying Fish Brewing Co. Fresh artisan breads and rolls from The Village bakery were also served. Dessert was also supplied by The Village bakery and consisted of bread pudding and a delicious apple cake made from organic apples from local Terhunes Orchards. The coffee that I tried from Small World Coffee was "crispy hippie", a Mexican coffee, that was quite delicious.

Cherry Grove also had a hay ride, live music, and arts and crafts for the children. The weather was perfect, the crowd was friendly, what a nice afternoon. We enjoyed a nice family day together, drove my daughter back to Swarthmore, and then headed home. We'll see her soon for Thanksgiving! I would like to make the Pasture Party an annual tradition. Please support your local farms and businesses. They need everyone's support to survive, especially in this economy.