CHOCOLATE MILK

Kudos to Trickling Springs Creamery for this bottle of bliss. The chocolate is good, yes. But oh the milk! It comes from pasture-fed cows raised without steroids on small family farms, and is pasteurized to a very low temperature so that it retains proteins and nutrients. Tip: Pour a few glugs into coffee for a mocha java you can feel good about. Around $5 for a half gallon through Arganica Farm Club, Yoder’s Country Market in Pratts, Cranberry’s in Staunton, and Frenchman’s Cellar in Culpeper; tricklingspringscreamery.com.

STRAWBERRY DOUGHNUTS

Few things are as good as strawberry season in Central Virginia. One of those few is a strawberry doughnut from Chiles Peach Orchard in Crozet. We look forward to early May, when strawberries from the adjacent fields are mixed with cake doughnut flour and strawberry cider and then fried to perfection. In fact, they’re best as part of an all-out strawberry outing: pick-your-own strawberries, followed by a couple of doughnuts and a strawberry slushie. There’s no such thing as too much strawberry. $5 for six doughnuts; chilespeachorchard.com.

HONEY STRAWS

These elixir-filled tubes contain honey harvested from some of the more than 150 hives at Hungry Hill Farm in Shipman, and come in 15 different flavors, including wildflower, clover, lemon, root beer, and cinnamon. We like to keep a few (okay, more than a few) handy to sweeten a mug of tea or a cup of yogurt. Or just pinch them open, tilt your head back, and let the honey drizzle in. 25 cents each, or 5 for $1 at the Nellysford, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, and Staunton farmers’ markets; (434) 263-5336.

WINE STOPPERS

Multi-media artist Merideth Young finds the woods for these handcrafted wine stoppers on hikes along the trails of Central Virginia. “They’re made from stumps and twigs that would end up in a burn pile,” she says, demonstrating the lathe in her Albemarle County home studio. “I look for a tree that’s down, with moss growing on it and starting to rot.” Such trees apparently yield wood with colorful striations, and in turn, oneof- a-kind stoppers. $30 to $36 at the Seasonal Cook in Charlottesville and Wintergreen Winery in Nellysford.

SOFT PRETZEL....

When the folks at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton wanted to put a Bavarian-style pretzel on their menu, they found it right down the road at Goodwin Creek Farm & Bakery. Farmer-bakers John and Nancy Hellerman came up with a sesame-topped twist that goes nicely with Blue Mountain’s house-made ale mustard—and even better with a pint. The best part is the wonderfully chewy crust—the result of an egg wash courtesy of Goodwin Creek pasture-fed hens. $3.50 at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, bluemountainbrewery.com; more about Goodwin Creek at aftonvirginia.com.