What I Did On My Holiday Weekend

This Labor Day weekend was filled with a big ol' bunch of nothing to do -- except bake (three blackberry themed goodies), make ice cream (poured scalding milk on my hand), ride my bike (Delaware Greenway rocks!), and take liberal naps (I'm half cat). My only real outing of the weekend was a trip to the New Castle Farmer's Market just south of Wilmington in New Castle, Delaware.

Unless I'm going to the DMV, I never attempt to go immediately south of Wilmington. The traffic is atrocious at all hours of the day, and I just can't figure out why. How can an 8-lane highway be parked still just south of Wilmington (I-95 and Hwy 13)? Is it because everyone lives in lower Delaware, but works in Wilmington and Philly? Whatever the reason, it has kept me away.

Because I never go south of Wilmington, I've never seen the New Castle Farmer's Market until last weekend when coming back from the beach we detoured from the stopped traffic on 95 to hop onto the stopped traffic on 13 (can't win!). We passed a huge parking lot filled with hundreds of cars, a large building with "farmer's market" on the side, and an outdoor flea market. Being a sucker for flea markets, I put the New Castle Farmer's Market on my to-do list.

I started inside the building first. The building is long, but not very wide, so the size is a little deceiving from the road. Inside there are two large produce stands (one at each end, and not all local produce), various shops selling cheap knock-off goods, a Mexican grocery, candy shop, Amish bakery and butcher shop, Mexican restaurant, pizza joint, seafood restaurant, pretzel shop, ice cream shop, another meat counter, and a couple of other American burger and sandwich type places (I know I left some things out; I'm not a directory).My first stop was at Stoltzfus Amish Bakery. (Are all the Stoltzfus bakeries related, or is it just that every third Amish person is named Stotlzfus and owns a bakery? This is a serious question. Amish aren't keen on making websites, so the puter box reveled no answers.) Amish classics like shoofly pie and whoopie pies do not thrill me, so I went with a slice of red velvet roll. The cake was flavorless and tough, but perhaps the cake needs that tough texture in order to be rolled without cracking. Cream cheese frosting saved the day.
I had every intention of picking up lunch at the market, but nothing excited me. The thick stuffed pizzas were the most tempting, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat all that cheese (had a salad later at home which makes for bad food blogging, but saves calories).
The real fun is outside at the flea market where you get to riffle through people's collected crap in search of treasure. No flawless set of original Fiestaware was found, but I did pick up a pickling recipe book amid the hundreds of crockpot cookery and microwave cooking books. Do you think in 30 years well laugh at all the celebrity chef and special diet cookbooks we buy now that will end up at flea markets?I also got two Corelle cups that were the perfect size for the blackberry pudding I made (very pretty, but strange -- coming soon).

Despite the horrid traffic on 13, I will be back to the New Castle Farmer's Market for the flea market (love 'em!), but probably never back to the indoor section (it's not a true farmer's market, and I have no need for knock-off purses).