Sometimes it seems I am a world away from where I grew up. Other times I am reminded just how close I am to Lancaster County, in miles and in influence. There are Ardenites among us who grew up under Pennsylvania Dutch influence. (Dutch is a bit misleading. The original word is Deutsch which is German. We are actually Pennsylvania Germans.) Keri, from whom we bought our house, hails from New Holland. She laughs at me sometimes when my Dutchiness comes out in my speech, turns of phrases that I don't even know are giving me away because that is always the way I have always said them. With Keri, our spouses and a few friends, we serve up a Pennsylvania Dutch dinner at dinner gild. Ardenites not only enjoy the Chicken Bot Boi (Chicken Pot Pie) and whoopie pies, but we also find out who among us has our same heritage.
We find out in other ways, too. My neighbor Dorinda shared some pork and sauerkraut with me. She grew up around Hershey, PA. Her current household, like mine, isn't full of sauerkraut eaters. Dorinda and I like the taste of home every once in a while, but pork and sauerkraut isn't the kind of thing you can make in single servings. Then we have Sue and Rick, more Dutchy folks, who recently posted a picture of their haul of dandelion greens on Facebook. They did it up right with bacon dressing, as I knew they would.
I don't need to go far to get my fix of Pennsylvania Dutch goodies. Firstly, Delawareans also have a taste for scrapple. I'll admit, I don't come running when scrapple is mentioned, but I like to have it once in a blue moon. I have yet to have it in Delaware, but I am getting more curious. Last year at this time, our friend Larry took me to Booths Corner Farmers Market in nearby Garnet Valley, PA, where he showed me all the best market stands. I had been living in Arden for ten months without having gone there. When I went, it was as if I was at Roots Market in Manheim where my children went most Tuesday nights of their childhood for gyros with their grandparents. Even Maren remarked on this similarity the first time I took her to Booth's Corner. I could get all my hometown goodies there from Chicken Corn Soup to German Potato Salad, Apple Butter to Rhubarb Pie and much more. Many of the stands at the market advertise as being from Lancaster County. I'd say that half of those have Stoltzfus in the their stand names. They come each weekend with their loads of fruits and meats and baked goods from the county of my birth. How did I not know about this Mecca sooner? You can now find me there most weekends. I don't always get the dishes from home because who can resist the Korean rice bowls or Cajun Kate's gumbo, but I like going there and soaking up the atmosphere, knowing I could get my comfort foods if I really needed them.
I can't recall a single instance of homesickness for Lancaster County in our two years we have been here. I think that has more to do with my ability to get back home often and the fact that I have some touchstones here with me. In Delaware, I can carry home with me everywhere I go.
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