Jul 6

Jul 6 Vegan Vacation: Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ

If you've been following along with this Vegan Vacation series, you'll know that we recently spent 8-days in New Jersey and the surrounding area. (Check out Comic Con and New Hope for our weekend fun.) On Monday, we didn't have anything planned. We girls had a slow-moving morning around the house filled with computer time and cartoons. I made a nice, big blueberry smoothie in my mom's Ninja blender with greens and almond milk, frozen bananas, and vanilla. So yummy!

Mom suggested that we check out Duke Farms that day since the weather was going to be nice, and we wanted to take things easily after our adventures in Pennsylvania the two days prior. According to their site, "Duke Farms is a leader in environmental stewardship and inspires visitors to become informed stewards of the land. It is a place of education, enjoyment and research that enhances the environmental health of the region." As someone who is a huge supporter of conservation and environmental responsibility, I thought this would be a great way to spend the day. Plus, I love being outdoors in the sun and fresh air.

After making the short drive to Hillsborough, NJ, we found our way to the visitor center and grabbed a map. The farm is massive, over 2,000 acres, so there's plenty to see. We knew we wouldn't have time to see everything, but decided that our top priority was the orchid range. Who doesn't love orchids?

Outside the visitor center with my girl.  Rocking the strawberry dress.  Vegans represent! — Outside the visitor center with my girl. Rocking the strawberry dress. Vegans represent!

We did a lot of walking along gorgeous tree-lined paths and saw lots of wildflowers, plus a small waterfall. Duke Farms has an agreement with the Natural Resource Conservation Service to aid in restoration of 528 acres of wetlands along the Raritan River, and what they've done is absolutely beautiful. They appear to be returning the land to its wild, pre-settlement glory. I love that they don't grow things in pretty little rows everywhere.

We truly enjoyed our time and the orchid range was unbelievable. They cultivate SO many varieties of orchid! We must've seen a hundred or more, and everyone is as pretty as the next. Here are just a few:

As you can see, they're very talented at what they do. At least, I think so since I've managed to kill every orchid anyone has ever gotten me.

When you're trying to get a cute picture of a VERY sleepy 3 year old...

If you'd like more information about Duke Farms and their mission, check out dukefarms.org.

When we returned home that evening, Mom and I tag-teamed the kitchen duties and made a very tasty and attractive dinner full of vegetables. I simmered a fresh-made Romanesco sauce, as Mom roasted some eggplant slices. Charlotte helped Mom spiral slice some zucchini, and I sautéed onions and mushrooms. We ended up with a vegan eggplant no-parm stack. Topped with fresh chopped basil, this was quite a satisfying dinner, and I had about 3 plates full. Oh, the joys of eating a plant-based diet! I get to eat pretty much whatever I want, as much as I want, with zero guilt. ;-)