You already know that farms around the area produce a lot of, um, produce. But did you realize that a fantastic feast could be assembled consisting solely of locally raised and harvested meat, dairy and produce? Vicki Allen from Carolina Grown created this Christmas Day menu for CityView. Bon Appetit!
Christmas Breakfast:
Cinnamon rolls: One large cinnamon roll made by StickBoy Bread Co. in Fuquay-Varina. Josh and Katie Dies originally worked and trained at the Boone location, and opened the Fuquay-Varina locale in 2008, making breads, muffins, cakes and more.
Eggs: From No Goats, No Glory Farm in Clemmons, an Animal Welfare-approved farm, working on its Certified Humane certification.
Sausage: Available in mild, medium and hot flavors, also from No Goats, No Glory Farm.
Strawberries: From Lewis Produce in Wilmington, which grows winter berries in their half-moon shaped, 500-feet-long, 14-feet-tall plastic solar tunnel.
Milk: Whole, skim, lowfat and chocolate milk from Maple View Farms in Hillsborough. The dairy farm uses Holstein dairy cows on its sustainable farm, where, in addition to bottling their milk in glass bottles, they also make butter, buttermilk, egg nog and ice cream.
Salad & Soup:
Strawberry and arugula salad with pecans and goat cheese: Strawberries from Lewis Produce; Arugula from Contrarian Farm in Pittsboro, which is sustainably run by Brittany Kordick. Choose your favorite goat cheese (chevre or feta) from Calico Farmstead Cheese. They make their cow cheeses from milk from their own cows and make their goat cheeses with local goat milk from neighboring farms.
Butternut Squash Soup: Butternut squash from Wise Farms in Mount Olive, which has been operating for more than 30 years. For the soup, we recommend using butter from Maple View Farm in Hillsborough.
Entreé:
Roast beef: Try a 2.5-3 pound sirloin tip roast or eye of round roast from Wilkerson Family Farms in Willow Spring. Their all natural Angus beef is grass-fed and grain finished (although the cattle are still allowed access to pasture) in order to eliminate after-taste in the meat.
Ham: A 3-pound tenderized ham from Rainbow Meadow Farms, run by the Garner family, where livestock graze via rotation on the 300-acres farm.
Collard greens: Certified Naturally Grown collard greens from God’s Green Earth farm in Dunn. The growing small farm is run by young farmers who graduated from NCSU and from UNCW.
Broccoli: From Wise Farm in Mount Olive.
Brussels sprouts: Grown by Oakridge Farms in Apex. This a farm in transition. The farm used to be contracted to a large chicken house, but is now transitioning to produce production (using “friendly pesticides” only when needed) and pasture-raised chicken.
Rutabagas: USDA certified organic rutabagas from Sanders Ridge Organic Farm in Boonville, NC. The farm also is part of a vineyard/winery and supplies their own restaurant at the winery with local food.
Turnips: From Contrarian Farm in Pittsboro.
Candied Sweet potatoes: Organic or non-organic sweet potatoes from Triple J Organics in Sims, which is a multi-generational farm. The farm covers thousands of acres among Johnston, Wilson, and Pitt counties, specializing in Covington sweet potatoes, as well as a few other varieties of sweet potatoes and other produce, as well.
Biscuits: From StickBoy Bread Co. in Fuquay Varina.
Raspberry-cranberry jam: From Plum Granny Organic Farm in King, NC. The farm grows USDA certified organic produce and also makes some jams from it’s extensive raspberry crops each year. This jam is a great substitute for traditional cranberry sauce and is great with turkey, pork, or chicken.
Beverages:
Egg nog: From Maple View Farm, this is a seasonal favorite.
Wine: Enjoy French-varietal reds and whites from Sanders Ridge Winery in Boonville, NC or Italian-style wines from Raffaldini Vineyard in Ronda, NC
Dessert platter:
Homemade pumpkin pie: Make a homemade favorite with a cooking pumpkin from Shore Farms Organics in Yadkinville. Nathan Pitts runs the certified naturally grown farm, and this pumpkin is an heirloom type with great flavor for baking pies and other pumpkin treats.
Carrot cake: Buy a delicious pre-made cake from StickBoy Bread Co.
Cheesecake: Plain, chocolate chunk, or pumpkin varities from StickBoy Bread Co.
Macaroons: From 3 Sisters Artisan Bakery, a home bakery in Mocksville run by three sisters. They offer a line of gluten-free products, as well.
See list on page 53 for contact information.
