Eating local wherever you are

So the last three weeks, the girls and I have been staying on the Delmarva Peninsula, just outside of Fenwick Island. We've had a lot of fun and we've eaten pretty well. Here is a quick review of some of things we've learned and enjoyed while we're here.

First of all, all those fields that are not corn fields, what are they? I told PJ that they were broccoli plants b/c I didn't know what they were, but it turns out, they are GMO soybeans. Who knew? Not me, They are modified to be Roundup resistant, also known as Roundup Ready Crops. So I was sort of upset to learn that, but knowledge is power right?

On to happier things.

So what is a summer vacation without ice cream? I made a lot of it the past few weeks. My cream of choice? Lewes Dairy. I typically look for dairy that is growth hormone free, but I also like to balance that with choosing a local product, since the total amount of cream one person consumes is small, it's not as important to be rBGH as our drinking milk is. So, since the grocery store we use does not have rBGH free cream anyway, I was thrilled when I started to learn more about Lewes Dairy Cream. First of all, Lewes dairy has been a family run company since the early 1920s. Second, most of the milk they bottle comes from Sussex county DE, and distribute locally in DE and MD. And most importantly, the cream is FABULOUS! Really, it tastes great. I have no idea what they do differently than other dairys, but I fell in love. Apparently that is common as their website proclaims "Restaurants from the shore to our nation’s capital often proudly proclaim “We use only Lewes Dairy Cream!”". I can understand why.
So the last three weeks, the girls and I have been staying on the Delmarva Peninsula, just outside of Fenwick Island. We've had a lot of fun and we've eaten pretty well. Here is a quick review of some of things we've learned and enjoyed while we're here.

First of all, all those fields that are not corn fields, what are they? I told PJ that they were broccoli plants b/c I didn't know what they were, but it turns out, they are GMO soybeans. Who knew? Not me, They are modified to be Roundup resistant, also known as Roundup Ready Crops. So I was sort of upset to learn that, but knowledge is power right?

On to happier things.

So what is a summer vacation without ice cream? I made a lot of it the past few weeks. My cream of choice? Lewes Dairy. I typically look for dairy that is growth hormone free, but I also like to balance that with choosing a local product, since the total amount of cream one person consumes is small, it's not as important to be rBGH as our drinking milk is. So, since the grocery store we use does not have rBGH free cream anyway, I was thrilled when I started to learn more about Lewes Dairy Cream. First of all, Lewes dairy has been a family run company since the early 1920s. Second, most of the milk they bottle comes from Sussex county DE, and distribute locally in DE and MD. And most importantly, the cream is FABULOUS! Really, it tastes great. I have no idea what they do differently than other dairys, but I fell in love. Apparently that is common as their website proclaims "Restaurants from the shore to our nation’s capital often proudly proclaim “We use only Lewes Dairy Cream!”". I can understand why.

So I love the beach because there are so many farmers markets. This year I found a favorite farm.
It's called Parsons Farms Produce. It is run by Paul Parsons As far as I know, he has two markets, one every day on Rt 20 Roxana and Dagsboro, and one market in Fenwick Island on Mondays and Wednesdays. We only stopped at the Rt 20 market stand. We had a fabulous time there. We found their produce superior to that of other local farm markets, both in quality and selection.

In addition they had two bonus features. The first is Poodle. Poodle is an Angora Goat. Paul Parsons has other animals too - three goats, two cows. When you walk into his market with a toddler, he asks you if you would like to feed them. He has a laundry basket of extra corn and corn silks, and can feed the animals. This was a highlight of three weeks at the beach. We went twice. The animals are very gentle and happy to have the attention.

The second bonus feature was a program called Epicurean Kids. It's run independently by Chef Maria, and she has a number of different programs, but we participated in the last day of her summer drop in program. We took a tractor hay ride to the field, picked a spaghetti squash, and came back and since it was the last day of the program, we made fruit tarts to celebrate the rainbow of summer produce they had picked. Paul Parsons drove the tractor and spoke to the kids (ages 2-7) about the fields and different fruit and vegetables. I highly recommend this program if you pass this way next summer. Chef Maria had safe knifes for the kids to use, and aprons, and a hand cleaning station. We had a lot of fun and it was well run.