Asheville City Market–Winter is canceled tomorrow, March 14. Please check farmers market websites and social media pages for the most up-to-date information about closures. The following report was written earlier this week, and we are sharing it even though markets may not be open as planned.
In the coming days, ASAP will also share ways to continue to buy local food and support farmers and small businesses that rely on farmers markets. Find contact information, websites, and social media platforms for individual farms in ASAP’s online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org.
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Hominy Farm is a new vendor at River Arts District Winter Market, selling naturally leavened, wood-fired breads produced in the Candler bakery formerly used by Farm and Sparrow. Their collection includes ciabatta-like gan au levain, whole grain rustic boule, sesame rye, and apple toast tatin (from Creasman Farms apples). But it’s the man’oushe—a flatbread slathered with za’atar spice and olive oil—that might inspire you to pick up ingredients for a Middle Eastern–style platter while shopping at farmers markets this week.
Everbear Farm sells many cuts of lamb. For lamb patty mezze, pick up a pound of ground lamb or mutton and combine with chopped cilantro and mint, diced onion, breadcrumbs, egg, lemon juice, cumin, allspice, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Look for cilantro from Lee’s One Fortune Farm. You can also fold in crumbled feta from Spinning Spider Creamery. Form one-fourth cup patties and sauté for a few minutes on each side in a pan over medium heat or bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Next, pick up some spinach (several farms have it available, including Taiwan spinach from Lee’s One Fortune Farm). Steam or sauté in olive oil and serve topped with garlicky yogurt and toasted walnuts or pine nuts. Get garlic from New Moon Herbs Farm and make a paste with a few cloves and a teaspoon of salt in a mortar and pestle to stir into the yogurt.
Crudité with roasted beet and whipped feta dip rounds out your spread. Get baby beets from Highgate Farm, as well as carrots and radishes for dipping. Snow peas from Lee’s One Fortune Farm are another great crudité option. Remove the greens from the beets (save for another use or substitute for spinach above) and scrub the root portion. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and wrap in a foil packet. Roast in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes, until a paring knife can be inserted into the beets with no resistance. Unwrap foil packet to let beets cool, then peel. Whip with eight ounces of feta in a food processor until creamy, adding olive oil if needed to reach the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
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ASAP's mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food.
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When Jona Felts lived in Costa Rica, he was surrounded by hot peppers and banana vinegar—the perfect ingredients for farm-fresh hot sauce. When he came back to the mountains of North Carolina, he learned how to grow similar ingredients at Open Ridge Farm so he could use a little heat to sustain the farm through winter. Hear more on this week's Growing Local.
You can listen to all
Growing Local episodes on SoundCloud, iTunes, or on ASAP's website.
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