In the age-old fairy tale, turning into a pumpkin at midnight is frowned upon. This year at Thanksgiving, however, when you turn the centerpiece of your meal into a magically stuffed Cinderella pumpkin, you can be sure that your holiday guests will wonder which fairy godmother swooped in to prepare it.
Fresh at Farmers Markets
Start your shopping list and get meal inspiration each week with ASAP’s roundup of what’s fresh at farmers markets. Although this report focuses on vendors at Buncombe County markets, many products mentioned can be found at markets throughout the region. Want to get this report in your inbox each week? Subscribe to ASAP’s Weekly Farmers Market Report newsletter. Looking for a yearlong view? Check out ASAP’s produce seasonality chart.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
There were a limited number of local turkeys available from Appalachian Grown farms this year, and those sold out by the end of October. So what if you didn’t reserve your bird early, but still want a local meat centerpiece for your Thanksgiving dinner? If you’re willing to get a little creative, you can find alternatives at farmers tailgate markets. (Planning a vegan or vegetarian feast? Stay tuned for next week’s column for ideas.)
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
The mornings and evenings are getting pretty chilly, and if you’re feeling like us, you may want to snuggle in with a warm drink for a few extra minutes. Farmers tailgate markets have lots of nourishing options for getting creative with hot drinks, whether you prefer tea, cider, or even a frothy vegetable latte.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
Last chance to get your decorative gourds and jack-o-lanterns for Halloween! Farmers tailgate markets have plenty of pumpkin and squash types to choose from, but why stop there? You can collect an assortment of fall veggies for carving up a spooky-but-cute porch display.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
Many farms in the region experienced their first frost this week, which signals the end of tomatoes, peppers, and other summer veggies for the season. We may see the final harvest of these crops at farmers tailgate markets for another week or so, but it’s time to fully embrace fall. Right now we’re seeing lots of head lettuce coming back to market as well as cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
Persimmons are a lovely fall treat, great for making baked goods, fruit leather, pudding, jam, and other sweets. But you can also use this autumnal fruit in more savory dishes. The fuyu variety of persimmon, which tastes similar to an apricot or date with notes of cinnamon, is great in salads, in stews, or roasted.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
Late summer and early autumn produce continues to mingle on farmers tailgate market tables, giving shoppers a panoply of options. You can get ripe tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, okra, beans, and potatoes alongside winter squash, apples, the earliest sweet potatoes, and hardy greens like kale, collards, arugula, chard, and mustard. With this abundance, you might be thinking about preserving a little bit for later. Not sure where to start? DIY hot sauce is one of the easiest ways to savor local flavor all winter.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
As the seasons are shifting towards cooler nights and shorter days, and the leaves are starting to change, it is the time of year to cozy up with warming ginger tea or hot apple cider to celebrate the fall harvest and prepare for the winter. Apples, pumpkins, ginger, turmeric, winter squash and sweet potatoes are among some fall favorites that you can find throughout our region, providing just the right combination of flavors, and inspiration for so many delightful and nourishing meals.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
The fall crop of rice is here from Lee’s One Fortune Farm! While rice is not commonly grown in the Southern Appalachian region, the Lees have tested and expanded their crop over the past few years. Throughout the fall and winter, they will have sweet sticky, brown, purple, and more varieties available at farmers tailgate markets. Find Lee’s One Fortune Farm at ASAP, Black Mountain, West Asheville, River Arts District, and East Asheville markets.
Fresh at Farmers Markets This Week
This time of year marks a sweet spot where summer devolves into fall and we get to enjoy the best of both worlds. Fall officially kicks off next week, ushering in cool mornings, community campfires, and fall food staples like sweet potatoes, squashes, apples, cauliflower, onions, cabbage, and leafy greens. While we eagerly await these arrivals and jump at the chance to get some early fall harvests, we are also tending to preserving the last of the summer crops of which there are still plenty at market.