Who doesn't like to host responsibility-free dinner parties at a fraction of the cost of other…read morechefs in the area? Who doesn't like to eat fresh and nutritious meals while having a candid conversation with your very own personal registered dietician about how and why food works? Luckily for anyone in or around DC, these things can be yours by way of WhyFoodWorks, LLC!!! I have had quite a few experiences with Sarah's awesome company and can't speak highly enough of it. The concept is simple: you provide the kitchen and the guests and she provides the food, utensils, optional wine pairings, and scientific expertise to cook you an amazing meal (she cleans up, too!) that is cost-effective without compromising nutritional value. There are usually about five menus she has available per month and they are always evolving. Dinner parties range from 4-8 guests and the meals can be tailored to your event. At $60 per person, with the host receiving 50% off, this makes for a fun and unique experience that is actually improving your life. I've given dinner parties as gifts and it is ALWAYS a hit. Definitely something for that friend or relative that has it all. If you're tired of eating over-sized and over-processed meals and breaking the bank to do so, check out WhyFoodWorks. It's fun, it's educational, and it's worry free. What's not to love?!

From the owner: Health is a hot topic at the office, and increasingly corporations and organizations are making a…read morebig effort to take care of their employees. Nutrition is the foundation of a healthy body, and studies show that healthy employees are more productive, miss fewer days of work, and even use less sick time to care for family members - good health is contagious! Whether you have a wellness program in place or want to provide your employees with some information in a fun, engaging way, a seminar is a great way to start the conversation about food.

I can't say enough good things about Wilma's Batter. We've been placing an order just about every…read moreweek to make waffles over the weekend. We have never been disappointed, the batter consistently makes delicious, fluffy, soft Belgian waffles. The pickiest eater in our house, a 5 year old, always asks for a second helping, so it's kids approved. Hands down Wilma's Batter is the best waffles we've made to date, and we would definitely recommend you try it!

From the owner: We deliver 100% All Natural Refrigerated "Ready-to-Pour" Pancake and Waffle Batter. The finest…read morehandcrafted pancake and waffle batters in the DMV. Making breakfast BETTER with REAL ingredients! Same-Day Delivery Available!

Even after going here for the first time today, I still don't get the draw of this place. For…read morethose that might not know how it works, you setup a time by calling or going online and place an order for a certain number of meals, selected from the 12 available meals for the month. Then you go in and get to work preparing the meals to be put in freezer bags to take home with you. The idea sounds good but to me it's basically like paying $25/meal to go somewhere to make your own Stouffer's frozen dinner. It doesn't look fresh, it doesn't look good and it doesn't allow you flexibility in choosing ingredients, style of sauces or cuts of meats. Plus almost all ingredients are frozen! Maybe to people who don't have much free time or cooking knowledge, and would rather step meals up a notch from frozen dinners, this would be great, but I'd rather go to a grocery store, choose my own ingredients and make a fresh dish for substantially less money. I did like how friendly all employees were and that they serve complimentary scones, coffee cake, and coffee/tea. They do their best but it's just not for me.

Let's Dish is great concept for creating meals in advance in a kitchen where someone has done most…read moreof the prep and all of the cleanup for you. My family is 2 people -- both "empty-nesters" and "snow birds". We're semi-retired but still have busy days just younger couples with families. We do the 4-meal plan once a month and split them in half. The result is 8 meals for $100. Each meal easily serves the two of us with some leftover for lunch another day. That's $12.50 for dinner for a healthy, quick dinner for two. For comparison, Wegman's offers individual meals to go for $6 (12.00 for 2). Let;s Dish is much more economical than carry out. For travel, Let's Dish is perfect! We pack a cooler bag with 8-10 meals and go to Ocean City or Florida. We can cook yummy quick meals without purchasing spices, condiments and ingredients. The staff at the Timoniuim Let's Dish are very helpful. They always offer suggestions for prep and packaging. My husband and I can bang out our 8 meals in about an hour. Since we're doing the prep we can control the salt and spice content. Fresh hot scones, coffee, and tea are always available during day sessions. We enjoy them while reviewing the menus for the coming months. There is always an instore sign-up bonus so we're always getting a little goody for free. I particularly like the suggestions for sides and wine to "go with". This info is on a printed page that I can take with me (take extra copies for travel) and post on my freezer door. Let's dish does not take the place of cooking from scratch but it has a permanent place in our schedule. It's a cost-effective time-saver. And it's a lot of fun.

We went strawberry picking here and it was soo fun!! Make sure to monitor their FB page for real…read moretime updates on the strawberry fields and reservations. They usually open up the reservations a day in advance. When you get there, they give you a row to pick from and you can fill up the bucket as long as it fits!! They also have a bakery where they sell strawberry goods like muffins, donuts with strawberry glaze, pie, pound cake, cheese croissant, fudge and cookies

OK, the Oatlands is next to the major road, the Hamilton is via long stretch of dirt road, and the…read morestrawberry hill is a bit further on that road from Hamilton. Picking usually decent. The 40/bucket and reservation red tape is fairly annoying but maybe Nova just has too many rich people into expensive strawberry picking that y'all need to line them up. Strawberry hill was the best picking for me. 10 minutes to fill two buckets with big ripe berries that you need to eat within a few days or they are gone. Sweet, no funny taste. About an hour drive for me, but going back this weekend. It's worth the drive to me.

The produce from this place is the best. They mostly sell though CSA shares at the farmer's market…read morebut hold open houses a couple of times a year so members can explore the place and see where their food is grown. The shares include all of the staple produce you would expect but with more variety and some fun, extra crops you might not see at the supermarket. If you like to support local business and enjoy fresh veggies packed with flavor, this is the place.

My husband and I signed up for a CSA with Owl's Nest last year, and picking up our veggies became…read morethe highlight of our month. In rain or shine, the staff was incredibly friendly at every pick-up and over email. The diversity and freshness of the produce inspired us to try new recipes and even wholly new veggies! Their mission and the way they include and support their community really spoke to us. I cannot recommend them enough!

Chestnuts are quintessentially Autumn: The smoky aroma of the roasted chestnuts fills the street…read morecorners as vendors hand out bags full of those little plump shiny brown beauties. Getting the meat out of chestnuts, breaking and peeling away the hard shells and the inner skin, is actually fun - a moment filled with frustration and, much much more, delicious anticipation. Well, quintessential I said, but only so anywhere but the good old U.S.A: A blight in 1904 practically killed off the American chestnuts. Having recently tasted the fresh chestnuts of the season in a town renowned for its chestnuts in Nagano, Japan, I was set on a mission to find fresh chestnuts on this continent. What a great age we live in! A quick search on the Internet returned Delmarvelous Farms: It was about time someone started cultivating chestnuts again in the U.S.; after all, the blight had occurred 100 years ago. Always erring and risking on the side of ordering too much, I got myself a 10lb bag of their freshly picked chestnuts. Following the expert's advice, I scored an "X" on the flat side of the nuts and put them into the hot seat for some roasting. Half an hour later, voila, beautifully cracked and piping hot, the chestnuts seemed ready to be eaten. Impatience got my fingers burnt as the steam escaped from the helpfully scored "X." Undeterred in any case, I proceeded to test out Delmarvelous' claim that their chestnuts were easy to peel: They were. The bigger and deeper the score was, the bigger cracks the chestnuts made. So, score well. Tasting: Not so sweet as some Asian counterparts, these chestnuts were nonetheless very nutty and fragrant. The roasting had charred the shells slightly which made the kitchen smell like a wood cabin. These Delmarvelous chestnuts were generally more similar to the European chestnuts than the Asian: The texture was firmer than the softer and starchier Asian ones and the color of the flesh was yellow compared to light brown. One word of caution: These nuts were creepingly addictive. By the time I thought I was done with the sampling, more than half of the nuts were already gone. I see that 10lb bag was the right choice after all.

On Oct. 27, 2011, I placed a $69.00 gift order from Delmarvelous Farms. My bank account was…read moreimmediately debited. As of Dec. 3, there is no sign of the order. Attempts to contact Delmarvelous by email and telephone have been futile - no response, no explanation, no refund, no chestnuts. I have had to resort to BBB, sadly. I'd never order from them again.

This place is the grilling capital of south central Pa . I can tell you that if you like BBQ flavor…read more, you need to talk to the experts. They will hook you up with equipment and the A to Z's on how to use it. The wide array of seasoning and sauces will have your mouth watering before you even leave the show room. You can give the of a lifetime from their vast selection. Truly something for everyone.