Farm Fresh Gpoodness

I live in New jersey th e Garden State. It's the most evident in the fall when our farms (yes we have farms and large ones too) yield amazing bushels of fresh fruit and vegetables. I went on a mini tour of Monmouth County. It's Jersey's most productive county with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and farms along its' interior. The farms are a plenty and it was hard to choose which one to visit.

I stopped at Monmouth;'s most famous farm, Delicious Orchards. This is one of the oldest and has everything, They're known for their variety of fruits and veggies. You can also go raspberry and apple picking here in the fall and strawberry gathering in June. I bought some fresh Brussels sprouts (so good with butter and Parmesan cheese) and a nice acorn squash. This is the perfect time for any kind of squash and it's a versatile veggie. It's great roasted with olive oil or good pureed into a soup. I also splurged on Delicious' baked goods buying their famed cider doughnuts, pan brownies and English muffin bread.

I also stopped at an apple and pumpkin picking farm. There are several of these in Monmouth county . There are also pear orchards where you can go too. These are perfect if you're making butters or desserts. The place also sold squashes and tubers. I picked up an interesting white sweet potato. Imagine a yam with the color leached out of it and you have an albino sweet potato. It can be cooked the same ways as a regular sweet potato and has the same taste.

Go to the farms where ever you are. There's so many good choices for farm fresh ingredients. You;ll get the benefit of picking your own as well as all those important vitamins.