Jacquemin Farms
With changing leaves comes everyone’s favorite fall flavors. Once the wintertime frost hits, Ohio produce disappears, making fall the last chance of the year to enjoy many local fruits and vegetables. Fall is the perfect time to savor what’s available and make the most of the Ohio produce.
The family-run farm Jacquemin Farms makes the most of fall produce with its farm-to-table mentality.
Jacquemin Farms’ market offers a variety of homegrown and locally-sourced produce, while the cafe uses the produce to make its own goods in-house.
Business and Operations Director Kerry Sullivan emphasizes the importance the fresh produce.
“(We like to) enjoy it while it’s here. Apples go into storage. A lot of the fall produce, like winter squash, you can actually keep for a while,” says Sullivan. “So, when people buy it in the fall, you can store it through the holidays as long as you store it in your house or in your garage.”
From scratch
Jacquemin Farms’ first introduction to making dishes in-house was a donut trailer during the outdoor seasons.
In 2021, the cafe opened which now helps the farm stay open year-round with an emphasis on homegrown and local goods.
“We do as much farm-to-table as we possibly can. We support local businesses and also have the freshest stuff available,” says Sullivan. The farm’s popular homemade cake donuts, which originated from the trailer, can be found in the cafe, including the seasonal pumpkin-flavored donuts. The cafe also serves a variety of baked goods such as muffins, cookies and pies.
For other fall flavors, the cafe has pumpkin and fall-themed coffees as well as its apple cider, which is made in-house and is also used in the café’s apple cider slushies.
If you are looking for something more on the savory side, the cafe also offers sandwiches, egg bites and pasta salad.
Leftover produce
Jacquemin Farms
Although Jacquemin Farms prides itself in making the most out of its produce, any surplus of goods are donated.
For example, if the baking mixes are not going to be used in time, they are donated to a local food pantry so others can use them before they expire.
“One year we took eight bushels of cucumbers down to the local food pantry because we just had tons that we couldn’t use and we weren’t going to be able to sell all of them,” says Sullivan.
This year Jacquemin Farms plans to donate the surplus produce and goods to the Dublin Food Pantry.
Recipe
Pumpkin Drop Cookies with Brown Sugar Buttercream Icing
Recipe Courtesy of Jacquemin Farms
Cookies:
Jacquemin Farms
2 cups softened butter
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups pumpkin (15 oz. can)
2 cups flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, beat the softened butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Mix until fully combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla until combined and then add in the pumpkin.
Gradually add 1 cup of flour at a time until all combined.
Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough roughly 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops of cookies are set.
Once cool, frost the cookies. Garnish with cinnamon.
Icing:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 cups powder sugar
Instructions
With an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and vanilla until sugar is fully dissolved.
Gradually add the powder sugar and milk until desired consistency.
Pro tip: If you want to make use of your fall produce and use fresh pumpkin, you can bake, boil or microwave it, then purée in a food processor. For more information on choosing the right pumpkin for cooking, click here.
Korrigan Craddock is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
