rachelocal

Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Rachel.

April 16, 2015 by rachelocal

So…hello there…It’s been awhile. In the past, when I’ve taken a break from the blog, I swore to myself I would NEVER do one of those so-hello-there-it’s-been-awhile-but-I’m-baaaaaak posts. Instead, I would just come back without fanfare and return to business as usual. Well, I’m baaaaak. (Without fanfare.) I have no excuse for taking such an extended break. If I did have excuses, I would want them to look something like this… 1. Sorry, Blog, but I can’t pay attention to […]

Categories: Random • Tags: baking, blogging, excuses, makeup, mermaids, pop tarts, The Little Mermaid, writing

Inspiration and a Guest Post

September 26, 2014 by rachelocal

In a little over a month I’m journeying to a distant land. A land described as “magical” by three different people during recent conversations. India. I’ve always wanted to go. Mostly because it’s just about as foreign a place as I can imagine. But the yearning to go began when I was a very young Sunday school student. A favorite teacher told the story of Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India, who saved hundreds of children from lives of enslavement in the Temples. As […]

Categories: Guest Posts, Random • Tags: amy carmichael, faith, india, inspiration, life, missions, prayer

The Backyard Farmer is BACK!

August 28, 2014 by rachelocal

Two years ago when I started this blog and began researching local food options in my area, I was blessed to meet John. He lives down the road a little ways from my house. For a few blissful seasons, I helped him plant tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries and then harvest those beauties plus many others. His backyard is the equivalent of a small farm–he even has chickens! I’m pleased to say that he is open for business this year after […]

Categories: Delaware Farms, Gardening, Local Farms • Tags: farmer's market, food, Food Bank of Delaware, friendship, gardening, inspiration, life, local, produce stand, summer

Cookies Make Everything Better, Even Taxes

August 13, 2014 by rachelocal

It’s August, so why am I doing taxes? It’s a long, boring story fraught with laziness (on my part) and stupidity (on my former tax “accountant’s” part). Seeing as I needed to get some items settled before a pocket-protector-clad IRS agent knocked on my front door, I asked around for a recommendation for a new and improved tax accountant. Based on a tip from my good friend Tiffany, I headed to Maryland with piles of documents in hand. After three hours […]

Categories: Fall Recipes, Local Stores, Recipes, Restaurant, Spring Recipes, Summer Recipes, Winter Recipes • Tags: accounting, baking, being a grown up sucks, cookies, dessert, food, friendship, ice cream, life, maryland, taxes

How to Throw a Maryland-Style Crab Feast: A Photo Guide

June 25, 2014 by rachelocal

1. Text friends the following message: “crab feast on Sunday?” 2. Gather friends. 3. Line your table with a double layer of the Sunday paper. 4. Buy Old Bay seasoned, steamed crabs and beer (preferably Maryland brewed Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale). Side dishes are incidental. 5. Use a mallet and your hands to get at the meaty goodness. 6. Get the kids involved. 7. Don’t eat the lungs, but do eat the “mustard” (aka, the yellow-colored deliciousness found inside, made […]

Categories: Local Stores, Recipes, Summer Recipes • Tags: beer, crabs, food, friendship, life, local, maryland, photography, summer, traditions

Livin’ for the Weekend Brunch

April 30, 2014 by rachelocal

It’s Thursday, which means the weekend is almost upon us! Nothing feels more glorious than driving away from work on a Friday evening. I usually peel maniacally out of the parking lot with the windows down and music cranked, yelling, “Latah, Suckahs!” Not really. I normally walk casually to my car after having wished my coworkers a “Have a good weekend!” or exchanged the obligatory, “Any plans this weekend?” I may exchange an awkward high five and “Happy Friday!” as well, but that’s […]

Categories: Random, Restaurant • Tags: bacon, breakfast, brunch, coffee, Delaware, food, Lancaster Farm Fresh, life, local, restaurants, weekend

Happy, Hopeful Spring!

April 28, 2014 by rachelocal

I think it’s finally safe to say that Old Man Winter has left us in peace. He’s no longer raging with polar vortexes and hurling plummeting temperatures our way. To celebrate, all the flowers and bugs and birds have come out to play, dancing in the sunlight and breeze. I took some time to celebrate with them at Longwood Gardens, capturing a few particularly happy moments with my camera. The conservatory buzzed with pink, purple, and blue. The nectarine trees, tomato […]

Categories: Gardening • Tags: charlotte bronte, flowers, inspiration, life, local, longwood gardens, nature, photography, spring, travel, tulips

I-Tried-To-Make-It-Vegan-But-Failed Smoky Split Pea Soup

April 7, 2014 by rachelocal

Spring is here. Or so they say. I wouldn’t know, because I haven’t been outside in two days. Currently, my husband and I are quarantined due to two different ailments, both plague-like and incapacitating. My windows are open, so I can see the sun and feel the breeze. The weather seems to be perfectly springlike, but like I said before, I’m stuck inside, sick. And not just oh-I-feel-yucky sick. No, no, no – I’m why-does-it-hurt-to-wear-clothes-and-why-aren’t-there-more-episodes-of-downton-abbey sick. While watching reruns of […]

Categories: Recipes, Spring Recipes, Winter Recipes • Tags: bacon, Downton Abbey, food, life, local, soup, spring, vegan, vegetarian

I Made Sweet Potato Curry, LOL

March 31, 2014 by rachelocal

When I peered into my produce box a few weeks ago, I laughed. Out loud. Literally. Because these sweet potatoes stared back at me: This interesting configuration of root vegetables made me think of a time when I had no idea what text abbreviations meant. I didn’t start texting on the regular until I was about 30. (I’m old, y’all.) When I did text I used the numbers, pressing each key twenty times just to type a smiley face. Everything […]

Categories: Fall Recipes, Recipes, Winter Recipes • Tags: curry, food, humor, local, LOL, sweet potatoes, technology, text messaging, vegan, vegetarian

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