Still trying to figure out what to cook friends and family for Thanksgiving this year? Try putting a spin on ordinary Thanksgiving sides with local produce from farmers tailgate markets! Despite some below freezing temperatures last week, there are still plenty of fresh vegetables at markets to use in your holiday cooking. This grain-free veggie … Read more
This weekend is your last chance to find a local jack-o-lantern or other decorative squash for Halloween! Farmers tailgate markets have plenty of pumpkins, as well as other winter squash varieties like kabocha, butternut, acorn, and jester squash to adorn your home with spooky decor for this weekend’s holiday. You can find winter squash from … Read more
With temperatures dipping into the thirties this week, it’s time to fully embrace the bounty of hardy, fall produce at farmers markets! While beloved summer crops like tomatoes and peppers will be seeing their last week at markets, you can find a plethora of winter greens, beets, head lettuce, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, … Read more
Apple season is at its peak in Western North Carolina, and farmers markets are overflowing with a wide variety of the fruit to choose from! Whether you’re looking for apple varieties on the sweeter side like Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisps, or something a little more sour and tart, such as Granny Smith and Pink Lady, … Read more
We officially entered fall last week, and what’s a better way to ring in the new season than with delicious seasonal flavors from our local farmers markets! This week, you can welcome the cool temperatures and changing leaves with fall favorites such as apples, pumpkins, ginger, winter squash and more. Pumpkin is a fall essential … Read more
Locally grown rice from Lee’s One Fortune Farm has arrived at markets this week! While rice is not commonly grown in Southern Appalachia, and generally grown in few areas of the United States, the Lees’ use of nearby streams to irrigate their rice paddies creates the submerged conditions needed to grow their rice. Red rice … Read more
Shelling beans are hard to come by at local farmers markets, but we’ve spotted a few options in the past few weeks. Ten Mile Farm has had crowder peas, a purple-hulled shelling bean, at Asheville City Market and Black Mountain Tailgate Market. Flying Cloud Farm has edamame, another favorite shelling bean, at North Asheville and … Read more
Okra is a favorite among southerners and, when cooked right, is quick to win over those who are not as familiar with the vegetable! Whether you fry, grill, roast, or pickle it, the wide variety of uses and unique taste of okra makes it the perfect main dish or side to any meal this summer. … Read more
There’s so much new summer produce flooding farmers markets this week, we can hardly keep up! The latest summer delicacy is eggplants! With several farms selling different varieties of the versatile plant, the opportunities for cooking in the weeks to come are endless. Look for an assortment of globe, Asian and fairy tale eggplant varieties … Read more
Summer has officially arrived, and with it has come plenty of new fruits and berries at Buncombe County farmers markets this week! Be sure to arrive early to get in on some of the goodness. Creasman Farms brought their first picking of peaches this season to Asheville City Market this past Saturday. For more peaches, … Read more