Does this recent cold snap have you feeling under the weather? Or is it reminding you to get your immune boosting remedies stocked up? Farmers markets, also known as nature’s farmacy, have lots of options for keeping your household healthy. Markets’ selections of tea, bountiful fall produce, and local honey are your friends right now.
Have you ever made your own cough drops? It’s easier than you think and all you need is some local honey, fresh ginger, some lemon juice, and a little powdered sugar or corn starch. You can make a batch and keep them around for up to four weeks. Start by mixing a half cup of honey, two tablespoons of lemon juice, and one teaspoon of fresh grated ginger in a deep saucepan. You want your sauce pan to be deep with heavy sides so it doesn’t spill over as the mixture will foam up. Heat these ingredients over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Use a candy thermometer to heat it to 300 degrees. When the foaming happens, take it off the heat briefly, then put it back on, but turn the head down a little bit so you don’t burn the honey. Once the mixture reaches a hard crack stage (like when making candy), remove and spoon out one-teaspoon drops onto parchment paper or a silicon mat. If you want to test your mixture before making drops, drip a little in a bowl of cold water and if it immediately hardens and becomes solid, it’s ready! Let the drops cool until hardened and dust with powdered sugar, cornstarch, or arrowroot powder so they don’t stick together. If you want them to last longer than four weeks, wrap each drop in a piece of parchment paper. This recipe makes 30 cough drops.
Find honey from vendors like Wilderkin BeeKeeping (Asheville City and River Arts District markets), Sister of Mother Earth (North Asheville and Weaverville markets), and Wee Bee Folk (Black Mountain Tailgate Market). You can still find fresh ginger from vendors like Thatchmore Farm (North Asheville and West Asheville markets), Wild East Farm (River Arts District Farmers Market), and Lee’s One Fortune Farm (Asheville City, Black Mountain, West Asheville, River Arts District, and East Asheville markets).
If you need a warm soup that will surely stifle your cold and heal you from the inside out, Italian “Penicillin” Soup does just that. The dish traces its roots to rural Italy, where home cooks made the most of simple, humble ingredients: a whole chicken, garden vegetables, and plenty of fresh herbs. Before antibiotics existed, nonnas relied on traditional broths and herb-infused soups to “sweat out” a cold. The term “Italian penicillin” didn’t gain popularity among Italian-American communities until the 20th century. Immigrant families brought their cherished recipes to the U.S., and the dish became a comforting bridge between old-world tradition and new-world resilience.
The recipe is simple and is even easier if you already have some homemade chicken broth–find stew hens from Dry Ridge Farm (Asheville City, North Asheville, and West Asheville markets) to make your own from scratch. To start, chop an onion, four carrots, three ribs of celery, and three cloves of garlic. Add them to a large soup pot with four cups of chicken broth, four cups of water, a parmesan rind (optional), and a good sprinkle of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Remove the parmesan rind then either using a stick blender or removing some of the veggies to puree in a blender, blend your soup to your preferred consistency. Taste for preferred saltiness. Add in pastina, or tiny pasta, and cook until tender. Serve and garnish with a sprinkle of parmesan and chopped parsley.
Summer crops are winding down but find an array of fall and winter produce like apples and persimmons, cold-hardy greens like spinach, kale, and arugula, multiple types of winter squash, flowering brassicas like broccoli and cauliflower, and root crops like beets, potatoes, and alliums. You’ll also find farm-fresh eggs, cheese, bread, pastries, fermented products, 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 Asheville City Market is offering gap support for SNAP eligible customers. Made possible through a generous donor, SNAP-eligible shoppers can receive $40 in market tokens to spend on food with local farms and vendors. Customers do not need to swipe a SNAP card to receive these tokens. These tokens will be offered at Asheville City Market each Saturday for the month of November, as long as funds allow.
Funding for this support at Asheville City Market comes from a private donor and is not part of ASAP’s regular Double SNAP for Fruits & Vegetables program. For any SNAP participants who have funds on their SNAP cards, ASAP will continue to match up to $20 for fruits and vegetables at all participating farmers markets. Find participating markets at asapconnections.org/farmersmarkets.
As far as Buncombe County farmers markets, these markets have self-funded SNAP Gap initiatives not associated with ASAP's Double SNAP incentive program: North Asheville Tailgate Market, Black Mountain Tailgate Market, West Asheville Tailgate Market, and River Arts District Farmers Market.
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