GARDEN VARIETY: The rich soil of By Pond Farm yields an abundance of fruit and vegetables that caterer Larry Craig translates into stews, tarts and other tasty dishes. Among this bumper crop are speckled dragon beans, green tomatillos, Thai hot peppers and round lemon cucumbers.

Organic eggs in a range of pastel hues make their way into recipes for fortunate guests.

A serene pond, from which By Pond Farm derives its name, offers a small dock with a view of the residence.

They first met at a Manhattan food bank in 2006, as they were stuffing Thanksgiving baskets. Ever since, Larry Craig and Dan Ruhland have meshed interests and talents—but their greatest collaboration is transforming a 200-year-old farmhouse into an amazing country retreat that remains a labor of love.

“We realize that this lifestyle isn’t for everybody,” says Craig. “Some people think we live like pilgrims, but we aren’t roughing it by any means. What we have here is beyond every creature comfort.”

In 2007, the Manhattan-based couple began scouring Bucks County for a weekend place. Although they returned from Pennsylvania empty-handed, they stumbled upon By Pond Farm in Hunterdon County, and were instantly captivated by its huge red barn, serene pond and surrounding 10 acres of possibilities.

Though some prospective homeowners might have been daunted by the challenge, Ruhland and Craig were eager to infuse the very traditional—and very vanilla—center hall Colonial with personality. Ruhland of Dan Ruhland Designs (danruhlanddesigns.com), and Craig of Laurence Craig Catering (laurencecraigcatering.com) had the energy to tackle the project.

“It just evolved,” says Craig. “We especially liked the outbuildings, the barn and the pond because we knew we wanted animals. It definitely needed a lot of work, but it seemed manageable.”

“Just walking through the house for the first time, we visualized what it could be like, and we knew we could simplify what was there and make something great out of it,” adds Ruhland. Over the last three years, the home has become a stylish retreat that opens its wide doors to friends and family all year ’round.

Party Central

Craig, who grew up in a subdivision in Old Bridge, and Ruhland, who hails from a Wisconsin dairy farm, entertain frequently, with a couple of big parties annually for 100-plus friends and business associates. In fact, they were so eager to stage their inaugural By Pond Farm bash that it was hosted in the barn on a blustery New Year’s Day because the residence was still being renovated. Not surprisingly, their second

soiree was a huge “our house is done” party, 18 months later.

“We average one party a month, but they are usually smaller events for four to eight,” says Craig. It seems that the farm offers all sorts of opportunities for celebration. “And we might have a baby shower this spring for our two pregnant llamas,” Ruhland chimes in.

The understated pool and grounds are perfect settings for warm-weather parties, while winter festivities move inside near a blazing fireplace.

“I have to be in the mood to cook. I don’t mind making dinner for up to 10 people, but if it’s any larger, my catering business will handle the event so that I can enjoy our guests,” Craig says.

Maplewood-based Laurence Craig Catering organizes 300-plus parties a year in the tri-state area—from dinners for 10 to galas for 2,000. One can’t help but wonder whether some of Craig’s culinary skills have brushed off on Ruhland.

“I’m actually quite happy as the occasional sous chef,” admits Ruhland with a wide smile. “I take charge in the kitchen only when the primary chef is not in.” Their unpretentious yet refined kitchen, featured in the March 2011 issue of House Beautiful magazine, boasts a generous 48-inch Wolf range with griddle, two dishwashers and convenient Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers.

“Our parties are very laid back,” says Craig. “When we entertain, there’s definitely an abundance of food and drink. No one leaves hungry.”

“For parties, we also like to cut flowers from the yard—whatever is growing at the time,” says Ruhland. “And we don’t own serious china and silver. We serve on everyday stuff we like.”

Living Off the Land

There’s one more reason for rejoicing at By Pond Farm—to celebrate a new vegetable crop. Last year, the homeowners hosted a “tomato party” that featured Craig’s own recipes.

Ruhland and Craig offer up high-end hospitality with ripe fruits and vegetables from their organic garden. After learning how to can and preserve, they now turn their crops into fruit jams, applesauce and tomatillo jelly. “We also have 30 quarts of homemade pasta sauce in our pantry,” says Ruhland. “We enjoy knowing where our food comes from and reconnecting with the earth.”

Now this energetic duo is building a second vegetable garden, 40-by-80 square feet, that will include about 125 varieties that will make their way into Craig’s signature dishes.

Exotic Turkish orange eggplants and white-pearl cucumbers will add interest to soups and salads, while 25-pound Chinese winter watermelons and Chinese red beans (that grow as long as two feet) are just plain fun to grow.

“It will be a productive but pretty garden,“ says Ruhland, who decided to start much of this year‘s crop from seed. Daily, he tends to the young seedlings that reside on a high-tech grow cart in the pool house.

Ruhland and Craig always welcome the arrival of new seed catalogs. “We go through the pages together and when we see unusual seeds for just three dollars a pack, we get a little carried away,” says Craig. “Yeah, we don’t have a tremendous amount of restraint in that area,” Ruhland says.

Birds and Bees

The farmhouse’s marble kitchen countertop is a daily staging area for organic chicken and duck eggs. Picture-perfect in shades of pale blue and brown, eggs are individually hand stamped with the likeness of either a chicken or a duck, then packaged in a cardboard carton in which the homeowners insert their individual business cards. “Our egg cartons have become our calling card for friends and clients,” says Craig.

With an amazing yield of almost 150 chicken eggs a week, there are plenty available for everyday cooking, but Craig prefers duck eggs for baking desserts because they contain a larger yolk with higher fat content. While Craig mans the kitchen, Ruhland maintains beehives several acres from the house (because Craig has a strong aversion to the insects). Ruhland takes charge of the hives, but Craig looks forward to incorporating the fresh honey into his summertime recipes. Always up for a challenge, Ruhland also plans to try his hand at tapping maple trees next fall.

Common Ground

Tending to the grounds of the 10-acre property is a job unto itself. When the homeowners first moved in, they consulted a landscape architect for some basic ideas, but have improvised ever since.

“We got a list of plants, did an initial layout and, once we considered the property as a ‘composition,’ it was basically architecture with plants,” says Ruhland, who has an architectural degree from the University of Wisconsin.

To complement the hundreds of flowers already on the property, the duo planted 3,000 daffodil bulbs last fall. Each week, a landscaper tidies up the grounds, but the homeowners enjoy managing the acreage themselves. They also have help once a week to clean stalls and maintain the barn.

“We work well together because I’m a big-picture person, good at pulling the right people together,” says Craig. “But Dan will make sure it gets done. He’ll get up on the roof, but I won’t climb a ladder. If I were still living on my own, I’d be in an apartment in the city. Neither of us would ever have tackled this farm on our own. It takes two.”

Everything is done with a nurturing hand at By Pond Farm. Even the filtered well water is special. “We used to go through about a gazillion plastic water bottles a year,” says Ruhland. “But then we went online and found glass jars with lids, so I imprinted some inkjet labels with ’By Pond Farm’ and put one on each jar.”  Now the branded vessels are filled and stored in one of the three fridges in the kitchen and pantry area, and guests are no longer offered plastic bottles.

“Our entertaining and decorating style is really a conglomeration—a mix of what we each enjoy,” says Craig. “We both have to like it.”

“We think differently and don’t always agree but, ultimately, we make it work,” says Ruhland.

Animal House

Larry Craig and Dan Ruhland tackle almost any job around the farm—from daily feedings to administering annual vaccinations to their 90 pets (as Craig holds the critters and Ruhland navigates the needle).

Angora rabbit, llama and sheep wool is sheared by specialists, and then some of the fiber is colored with organic dye from goldenrod and walnuts on the property, and spun into fine yarn. Craig and Ruhland took spinning, knitting and crocheting classes, and their original designs are evident all around their home—a plush wool pillow and blanket, as well as an assortment of socks, hats and scarves. Of course, these guys know precisely which fiber came from which animals. “Each of our mammals has a name,” says Craig.

At press time, By Pond Farm was home to 2 llamas, 2 mini donkeys, 2 steers, 2 akbash dogs, 3 cats, 16 sheep, 4 turkeys, 4 geese, 2 swans, 30 chickens, 9 ducks, 5 angora rabbits, 3 Nigerian dwarf goats, as well as transient ducks and geese. Since several animals are about to give birth, the homeowners admit that their pet inventory is continually in flux.