Double Brook Farm Autumn Zinnias by Tasha O’Neill

Those of you who know me, know [-- long before my own year in Provence --] that my favorite fragrance in the entire world is lavender.  A close second, –with the added benefit of that pungent evergreen flavor–, is rosemary.  When I lived in Cannes, lavender honey was the key treat of weekly visits to its marche/market.  Fresh herbs were a given, in that land where the mistral infused the very air with rosemary.  However, never did I expect to taste rosemary ice cream.

[As a food stylist in Manhattan, there was nothing trickier than photographing ice cream --Robin McConaughy's masterful image of their unforgettable new specialty: ]

Robin McConaughy’s Rosemary-Caramel Ice Cream!

I tasted this remarkable creation, –rich as Devonshire cream, darkly complex with caramel, redolent of rosemary–, in next-door Hopewell, at Double Brook farm.  There is no better flavoring for lamb — but ice cream?  Splendid, never-to-be-forgotten, and probably unequaled.  Even Shakespeare insists, “rosemary — that’s for remembrance.”

Double Brook Farm Fresh Bean Array by Tasha O’Neill

Those of you who read D&R Greenway newsletters and the local media, know well that sustainable farming is alive and well in Hopewell, thanks to Robin and Jon McConaughy.  This past Friday, friend and fine-art-photographer Tasha O’Neill attended Jon and Robin’s Friday farm produce sale, our first visit to the farm for that purpose.

Double Brook Farm Hot Peppers by Tasha O’Neill

(This energetic young couple had hosted D&R Greenway’s Down-to-Earth Ball a year ago.  Their handsome cattle are carefully moved a prescribed number of times per day, from grass field to grass field, on D&R Greenway’s St. Michaels Farm Preserve off Aunt Molly Road in Hopewell.)

Double Brook Farm Tomatilloes, Tasha O’Neill

THIS day, Tasha and I encountered Double Brook Farm’s raison d’etre, FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE and salumi (exotic meats from their own tenderly animals — Tasha bought lardo and I soppresata) cameras in hand.  She was kind enough to send her images this morning, so I’m sharing them with you.

Double Brook Farm Salumi, Slow-Food-Snail-Seal-of-Approval   Tasha O’Neill

As we insist, over and over in these virtual pages, New Jersey is beautiful.  She produces such spectacular produce, ‘right in our own back yards.’

Garden State Bounty, Double Brook Farm by Tasha O’Neill

Here is Double Brooks web-site — Robin herself could be a fine art photographer:  http://www.doublebrookfarm.com/

Double Brook Okra by Tasha O’Neill

Put yourself on Robin’s e-mail list, so you’ll know when the farmstand is open again.  When the store on #518 is fully restored and providing this sort of bounty year-round.  When the restaurant, on #518, that exquisite red brick home, is brought back to life and its brick-lined paths trimmed and ready for visitors.  Tasha and I and I had been invited to explore the flower paths, the herb gardens behind the soon-to-be restaurants.  But we “had promises to keep…”, in another dear old NJ Town, Kingston.  So we don’t have herb pictures for you.

Robin’s and Jon’s Rubies - Red Onions of Double Brook Farm   by Tasha O’Neill

But we do have some of the essence of Double Brook Farm in these new scenes.

Succulent, Tender, Subtly Irresistible Shiitakes of Double Brook by Tasha O’Neill

I am awash in gratitude, as you know, to those who KEEP THE meaning of GARDEN in the Garden State.

Preserved Farm, Salem County, New Jersey      cfe

I thank you for reading NJ WILD so often and so studiously.  Last month’s statistics included 3500 viewers, most of you staying on for a page and a half, from virtually every country/continent.  How can that be?  Because New Jersey is beautiful and bountiful, and we’re lucky enough to live and farm-shop here!