Winter greens like lettuces, kale, collards, chard, spinach, arugula, mustard greens, bok choy and more are still abundant at Buncombe County farmers tailgate markets. While it is officially Spring as of last Thursday, we are still awaiting more abundant spring crops and for more tailgate markets to reopen—soon! Stay tuned for next week for the full scoop on market reopenings.
By this time of year, you may have tried every type of salad, stewed green, or soup with the bountiful and locally available winter and spring greens, but if you may be growing tired, transform them to make them anew! Add them to your smoothie routine, wilt them into a soup, or blend them into a pesto.
You can turn virtually any green into a pesto. Pesto is a versatile recipe that can be paired with pasta, spread onto sandwiches, drizzled onto pizza, mixed into a potato salad, or coated onto proteins like chicken and trout. For a good pesto, only a few ingredients are needed: olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan or pine nuts (optional), and some fresh greens of choice. Of course we have all tasted or made a classic basil pesto, but try one out with kale, spinach, or even radish tops. Start by washing your greens and removing some of the stalky stem. Loosely chop them, making about a cup of greens and add them to a food processor along with a half-cup of olive oil, one-fourth cup of pine nuts (or nuts of choice), a half-cup of parmesan, two cloves of chopped garlic, juice of a lemon, and salt to taste. Blend until smooth, adding more nuts and parmesan or more greens, oil and lemon juice depending on how thick you like your pesto. A number of farmers have you covered with hearty greens options including Highgate Farm (Asheville City and River Arts District markets), Lee’s One Fortune Farm with Asian greens (Asheville City, River Arts District, Weaverville, and Black Mountain markets), and Olivette Farm (Asheville City Market).
Mix your pesto with pasta for a classic and comforting dinner or coat chicken and roast it in the oven. Find locally made linguini in a variety of infused flavors like spinach, lemon pepper, and more from Anna’s Pasta at North Asheville Tailgate Market and linguini, ravioli, tortellini, and gnocchi from Rio Bertolini at Asheville City Market. Find chicken from Wild East Farm (North Asheville and River Arts District markets), Dillingham Family Farm (Weaverville Tailgate Market), and Good Wheel Farm (North Asheville Tailgate Market).
At winter markets now you’ll also find kohlrabi, cabbages, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, and more. Markets are also stocked with a variety of cheeses, pasta, pastries, drinks, and prepared foods. As always, you can find information about farms, tailgate markets, and farm stands, including locations and hours, by visiting ASAP’s online Local Food Guide at appalachiangrown.org.
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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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ASAP’s Growing Minds mini-grants are open now until March 31! These grants help early childhood education (ECE) centers and K-12 schools provide children positive experiences with healthy, local foods through these components of farm to school: school gardens, farm field trips and farmer classroom visits, and local foods served in meals, snacks, and/or taste tests.
We are only able to award schools located within the following counties in the Western North Carolina region: Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey.
To learn more or to apply, go to growing-minds.org/farm-to-school-funding/.
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