The carrots are in love!!!

About a month ago now, my family and I set out on the farm gate trail. Farm gate trail is set up by HawkesburyHarvest. A great selection of farms and vineyards, where you go direct to the farm and choose your produce or taste before you buy. Its was such a wonderful experience and the children and had an amazing time. It was a great opportunity to get the kids involved in picking their own vegetables and seeing how amazing our local farming communities are. 
 Our best experience was out at Hawkesbury Vegetable Farm. Here, you get to enjoy walking around the farm and the farmhands will select the best vegetables for you.

The kids got to pick/dig out the potatoes and dutch carrots.

It was interesting not just for the kids but me too, to see how some of the vegetables grow. Call me naive, I don't know, but I have never grown broccoli before, so I never knew it looked like this in the ground:

We had a ball!  There is a small entry fee charge, but bags are provided for your produce. The vegetables were well priced. For example the leeks were $1/each and the dutch carrots $1.50/buch of 12!! What a great price!! Other vegetable and fruit items can also be purchased, depending on availablity.

We then headed litterally down the road to King St Wilberforce to visit M & A butchery. Where the meat comes direct from the abattoir which is on the premises and its the only one like it in Sydney. I bought about $115 worth of meat and I am still getting through it!! The prices are very reasonable and all the meat is top quality! Smells and looks fresh.  One of my memorable purchases at the butchery was the leg of lamb. I had it deboned and baked it the following night as a roast. It was this night that I made the most amazing discovery! I was washing the dutch carrots and discovered this,

Our carrots were in love!! How cute is this?

My lamb roast was to die for!! All my vegetables were from the farm. I have to say that the potatoes were milky white and opaque. They were so soft to cut before baking. Usually when I cut into potatoes from the store they have a yellowy look and starting to look kinda transparent, if you know what I mean?? Definately not opaque!!  Ialso used the juices from the meat to make my own gravy by just adding flour to the juices over medium heat. It was a flavour packed meal!

The entwined 'in-love' carrots were delicious!!

All I did for the roast was trim the fat off the leg of lamb. Place cut up vegetables in the roasting pan with the lamb. Sprinkle Masterfood's Tuscan Seasoning all over it and drizzle it with olive oil all over lamb and vegetables bake at 180C for 40mins or until crisp and cooked through, and bob's your uncle!!!

Don't forget to check out the farm gate through HAWKESBURY HARVEST and have fun!!