Canter Hill
Farm
WHY WE GROW
We grow because we care what we eat. We care even more what our children eat. And we think you care, too. We founded Canter Hill Farm in 2008 with the goal of growing our own food so that we knew exactly what was (and what wasn't) in it. We didn't set out to start a business - we had two full-time careers of our own. But then we started talking to people who read the books that we did and cared as much as we did - and we decided to try to grow for them, too. That's how it all began....
WHERE WE ARE
2138 Valley Hill Road
Malvern, PA 19355
We are open on
Fridays from 12 - 4.
Email: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
Phone: 610.827.1594
(For a quick response, email is best!)
HOW TO BUY
SCHEDULE
Bryn Mawr:
1st and 3rd (and 5th!) Saturdays of the month from 10 - noon
Location: Parking lot of the Bryn Mawr Train Station (Lancaster Avenue & Bryn Mawr Avenue)
Chestnut Hill:
1st and 3rd (and 5th!) Saturdays of the month from 10 - noon
Location: in front of the Mermaid Inn.
Kennett Square:
Get on our "Kennett Dropoff List" by sending us an email
Media:
Email to get on the "Media dropoff" email list. I'll alert you when I'm coming to Media and we can meet up for a pickup.
Meetup on January 2nd, 16th and 30th.
Farm:
Friday from 12 - 4 pm
(or request an appt.)
worth the drive
Three huge sales on the FARM or in MEDIA today
It snowed.
I think we all knew it was a little too early for summer, but I wanted it SOOO badly that I kind of hoped I could make the warm stay. But there’s one upside to our temperature dip: we get a second chance (maybe, hopefully for a while…) to make a few comforting meals meant for chilly days.
And if you head to the farm TODAY (Friday, 12 – 4 pm) or set up a time for tomorrow (Saturday) or meet up in MEDIA tonight:
We have three great sales on cozy foods:
BEEF SHANKS:
These are the beef equivalent of osso bucco (osso bucco is typically from a younger steer, and therefore called veal), these meaty, round cuts are roughly the size of a bocce ball (some get to the size of a salad plate) with a marrow-filled leg bone cutting through their center. They are PERFECT for stew or braising, because they break down into tender morsels, and the marrow makes the sauce or stew amazingly rich.
Regularly $14 / lb, on sale for just $9 / lb at the FARM!
CHIP STEAK:
Who doesn’t love a cheesy, gooey cheesesteak? Our thin sliced chip steak is SO easy to make into a delicious meal. Salt and pepper and a quick fry, or add in a little terriaky or buffalo sauce to change it up a bit. I love to add sauteed mushrooms, onions and of course – CHEESE – and you have a delicious and EASY dinner.
Regularly $14 / lb, ALSO ON SALE FOR $9 / lb at the FARM today.
MEATLOAF:
I made this last night and was reminded of how great it is to get mix all the ingredients, pop it into a loaf pan, do something else for 50 minutes and have a delicious dinner (for 2 meals for 5 each time!)
I LOVE this recipe from Erin French at Lost Kitchen, and all you need from Canter Hill is two ground beefs and 1 ground pork (and some eggs!).
If I can inspire you, grab ALL THREE today at the farm and save $1 on each ($3 total).
Whether you’re making the meatloaf or not, you can ALWAYS use ground beef and ground pork (I always add pork to my meatballs). Click below for a link to the recipe – just note that I find that rather than 1.5 lbs of each (ground beef and pork), using 2 lbs of ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork works perfectly, holds together well and frankly – works better for me since all our grounds are in 1 lb packs!! Remember that if you don’t have fresh thyme right now, 2 Tablespoons fresh equates to 2 tsp of dried, and that’s what I had and it was delicious.
Planning for Easter:
PLEASE start thinking about your Passover and Easter meats. We are working out our Easter plans since our children’s spring break runs the week before Easter, so the farm will be CLOSED on Good Friday (April 3rd), and our market participation on April 4th is uncertain. Therefore, order your half hams, end roasts, lamb legs, lamb racks, Center Cut Tenderloins or whole tenderloins and Prime Rib Roasts NOW to ensure that we’ll get them to you.
BILTONG and DROEWORS:
We have both, but not for long (because they are popular!) Stop by the farm today or order ahead for next Saturday’s markets (3/21).
What about the markets?
We are in Bryn Mawr and Chestnut Hill NEXT weekend (3/21) from 10 – noon.
MEDIA:
I am in Media TONIGHT (March 13th) and happy to deliver larger orders or meet up for smaller ones.
Email: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
Order ahead to ensure we don’t run out, if your request is unique or if you want to benefit from both market’s sales: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
KITTENS:
We’ve had a big kitten year. We have two PRECIOUS kittens (one boy and one girl) that are ready for new homes! Unbelievably friendly and loving (used to dogs, chaos and general torture), they are the PERFECT Easter Basket treat!
Our Mission:
We founded the farm on a simple premise:
Before chemicals, labs and factory farms got involved, God had created a perfect, workable system. We will learn about it, respect it, and we will naturally and successfully be able to be "beyond-organic" in our food supply.
New to farming, we had no pre-conceived ideas about raising animals or vegetables, and sought out farmers across the globe to learn what we did and didn't want to do. We quickly saw that most food systems raising just one type of offering needed external inputs - fertilizers, corn and sadly - sometimes chemicals and antibiotics. That's why we raise a variety of animals. Each has been chosen to serve a function for the others.
Over the last 10 years, we have grown and in addition to our home-base farm in Malvern, we lease 180 acres of grazing land from old family friends in Lancaster County. During the summer, we rotate half of our sheep flock through this land, and most of our steers call this land home. All of the land we graze is 100% free of any chemicals or sprays and we re-plant every other year to manage soil compression, erosion and to preserve a diversity of forage.
Canter Hill's beef and lamb is 100% grass (or hay) feed, and supplemented only with salt licks. We de-worm our sheep flock once annually, after lambing season (at the same time as sheering - typically the first week of June) and do not introduce any other chemicals or antibiotics. We have not experienced the same need to de-worm our steers. We have been migrating our sheep flock from Dorset to Katahdin, and therefore most of our sheep are now 50% or more Katahdin (a hair sheep), because we believe the meat tastes nicer! Our beef is both Black and Lowline Angus. We are shifting towards Lowline Angus which is more tolerant of 100% grass feeding and generally very hardy.
Canter Hill's poultry and pork is either pasture (for poultry) or forage fed (our pigs dig in the forest, and our turkeys also tend to roam!). They are supplemented with organic, soy-free feed. How much feed vs. forage do they consume? It depends on the weather. If it's raining or cold, more feed than forage. On warm days that aren't drenching, almost entirely forage. This is why we raise from March - November.
We STRONGLY encourage you to open your minds to frozen meat. If you're committed to pasture raising, recognize that you can't have fresh meat in the dead of winter, and purchase a great freezer!
We are committed to pasture-raised, antibiotic-free and chemical-free poultry, lamb and produce.