Most people can easily find goat’s milk cheese in local grocery stores. But how often do you get to meet the goats who produced that milk and enjoy fine dining within steps of the barn? At Elderslie Farm, in Kechi, Kansas, you can do both. Taking its name from a Scotch term for “where the elders lie,” the farm actually encompasses four businesses operating under the motto “affection, endeavor, delight.”
Perhaps the best way to take advantage of Florida's sunshine is an al fresco meal surrounded by nature. It's the ultimate dinner with a view, all the better if your meal is inspired by or borrowed from the garden.
Mustard lovers: Head to Middleton, Wisconsin. More than 6,000 varieties of mustard are showcased at the National Mustard Museum in this town just outside Madison. Admission is free, though the destination is open only five days a week during the coronavirus pandemic (face coverings are required; capacity is limited). Enter and you’ll encounter shelves groaning with mustards from all 50 states and more than 70 countries, along with displays of antique mustard pots, tins and jars, plus vintage posters and advertisements.
Petting zoos, picking your own produce—such as spring’s sweet berries and summer’s peaches—and winding your way through fall’s corn mazes before choosing a pumpkin can give you a taste of rural life. But if you’re looking for a more immersive event, a farm tour offers a feast for the senses.
The Pacific Northwest is one of the USA’s top ten producers of apples, and the diversity, knowledge, and craftsmanship of its apple crops shines through ciders being produced in the region. No wonder the craft ciders of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are growing in popularity. The chance to taste ciders is one great reason to visit the area, whether you favor versions made from limited-edition heritage crabapples or the star-dotted Cosmic Crisps bred at Washington State University.
Tens of thousands of soda bottles line the shelves, filled with liquids of every possible hue. Most of the beverage flavors are familiar—root beer, cola, strawberry. But some sound like a mad scientist's concoction—buffalo wing, blue cheese-flavored. Located in the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, Blue Sun Soda Shop claims to stock the nation’s largest selection of soda, ranging from popular craft brands to wacky novelties.
It could be said that food is our most important love language. “Mother Nature isn’t just a circle of life, it’s a circle of love—and one to be most revered,” says Sylvia Ganier, who works diligently on her organic farm in Nashville, Tennessee. Cultivating food is labor-intensive work with a low monetary yield; it’s ultimately a labor of love.
This Valentine’s Day most of the world’s lovers are planning on staying in, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream of a tropical island escape. With a little planning ahead, you can even enjoy an exotic tasting tour of the Hawaiian Islands. Tease and tantalize taste buds with Hawaii’s finest flavors—with enticing options like Oahu-made chocolate, elixirs from Kauai, and wine made of grapes grown on a fiery mountainside—to feel swept away in the sensations of tropical breezes and salty waves even while at home.
It’s one of those holiday dishes folks shake their heads at, chalking it up to the crazy culinary people of South Louisiana. Even the name brings forth a laugh. The portmanteau word “turducken,” a mash-up of its key ingredient names, takes a well-seasoned, deboned turkey and stuffs it with boneless chicken that’s been stuffed with boneless duck. In between are layers of well-seasoned Cajun-style dressing and pork stuffing.
Thanksgiving may look different this year at most homes, but the real VIP at your holiday table can continue tradition: the Thanksgiving turkey. Each November an estimated 46 million turkeys are consumed around Thanksgiving, according to the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. To learn more about turkeys, we headed straight to farmers who raise heritage breeds and are serving up insights along with some recipes here.
