How country living turned me into a food snob.
It’s another brisk and clear morning here in Hume, Va., and I’m on my way to a local farm to pick up some groceries. Okay, so you probably haven’t heard of Hume. It’s a little village located an hour from Washington, D.C. If you say that you’ve been to the area but haven’t seen it, you may have sneezed and passed right through it. There’s a cow mooing in the distance and a hay truck that’s almost blocking both sides of the single-lane road.
You can hear its brakes screeching for miles, the fact that there are two of us on the road at the same time feels like a great inconvenience. And looking at the Blue Ridge Mountains, I agree that they were appropriately named because they really are blue.
When I finally get to the farm, my rubber boots hit the dirt and with that it’s as if I’ve punctured something rich. The ground smells like wet potatoes. You ain’t in the city no more, I tell myself. Four years ago my boots were leather with 4-inch heels, and they were being worn down by the sidewalks of downtown Toronto, Canada. But since then, it’s been a progression to ending up here—a mecca for any foodie—amidst a handful of wineries and farms. Freshness has been redefined for me and it’s no longer a race against time to use up my ingredients as soon as possible because this fennel was just picked. On that note, I find myself asking questions like, when was this picked? Or how old was this cow?—as the age of a cow defines the tenderness of its meat. I can also ask the farmer about the animal’s diet. I learned that this heritage hog was eating watermelon rinds, which gives a clean, sweet taste to its bacon.
Compared to the customer service I receive at the usual big box grocery store with meats from unknown distant farms, now I feel like I receive the VIP treatment. I am privy to certain information, am on a first name basis with the farmers, and have visited my food’s habitat.
Don’t get me wrong, I still supplement with ingredients from my local market, which is smart enough to carry a majority of local produce and a very limited selection of foreign. And I think I’ve turned into a bit of a label diva, as I am always looking where ingredients are made or are from.
I understand that not everyone gets the distinct pleasure of meeting the cow that will provide the milk for tomorrow’s breakfast, but I think we should all know the farm where our produce is coming from. I sneer at the fancy packaging from big companies and their “Best By” dates and now look at the Cinderella produce modestly packaged with plastic wrap or clear plastic bags—carrots should not be babies or bright orange!
So city slickers, enjoy your complete salad kits. I’m going to pick up some fresh picked winter greens. Enjoy your stereotypes about us country bumpkins that we have too much time on our hands. This isn’t fast food we’re talking about here, but good food. At least I’m not relying on a fancy label claiming this chicken was free range; I saw mine roaming on the way in.
Rub elbows with fellow farmers at the Williamsburg Farmers’ Market located in Merchants Square (williamsburgfarmersmarket.com) or the Old Beach Farmers’ Market located in the parking lot of Croc’s 19th Street Bistro in Virginia Beach (oldbeachfarmersmarket.com). Also check out these area farms:
Drewry Farms
www.drewryfarms.com
541 Strawberry Lane, Wakefield, VA 23888
(757) 899-3636
U-pick and pre-picked blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries melons and seasonal produce. Natural beef, pork and eggs.
Open daily, May 1-Sept. 15, 7:30am-7:00pm
Mattawoman Creek Farm
www.mattawomancreekfarms.com
4103 Barlow Creek Lane, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-5731
100% Certified Organic produce, all grown by here. Serving South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore. Year-round CSAs, markets and online sales.
Lucky Duck Landing Farms
www.facebook.com/LDLFarms
3612 West Neck Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
(757) 647-5970
Fresh Free Range Chicken Meat and Eggs. No hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, MSG or steroids, just plain good healthy chicken.