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Sure, the image is a little trite: Dad in his battleworn apron, presiding over the Weber. But since Sunday is both Father’s Day and the first day of summer, we’re going to lean into the stereotype and devote this column to grilling. Grillable veggies like summer squash, spring onions, and mushrooms are plentiful at farmers tailgate markets right now, in addition to a wide assortment of steaks, sausages, chops, and birds.
Steamy weather and intermittent thunderstorms can make cooking meals a real drag. Times like these call for a few refrigerator staples that can perk up a simple salad or help power through an afternoon lull. Luckily, fruit and berry season is kicking into gear at farmers tailgate markets. Beyond fresh eating and desserts, these are great for making zippy vinaigrettes and icy drinks.
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June is here and farmers tailgate markets are picking up speed with warmer weather and new produce finds each week. Look for garlic scapes, basil, summer squash, and even the very first cherries of the year.
Is baking, grilling, and relaxing all on your agenda for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend? Get yourself some rhubarb, which has a short window of availability at farmers tailgate markets. Beyond the name of one of Asheville’s locally sourcing restaurants, rhubarb is a prized ingredient in many springtime desserts, beverages, and toppings. We’ve seen it from McConnell Farms (North and West Asheville Tailgate Markets) and Myseanica Family Farm (ASAP and Enka-Candler markets). Read the rest of this entry »
Beets can usually be found at farmers tailgate markets year-round, especially with farmers employing cold frames or high tunnels to extend their season through the winter. So the spring beet crop often arrives without much fanfare. But these early-season beets are worth getting excited about. Read the rest of this entry »
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with Karen Chapman, the garden coordinator at W.D. Williams Elementary School in Swannanoa, N.C.
We’re coming into the height of spring produce—and even getting the first glimpse of summer—at farmers tailgate markets now. Cucumbers, sugar snap peas, spring onions, and bamboo shoots have arrived, along with other spring treats like asparagus and strawberries. And farms continue to offer the best of spring spinach, chard, tender lettuces, arugula, radishes, beets, carrots, salad turnips, mushrooms and more.
Just in time for Mother’s Day, strawberries are hitting farmers tailgate markets! You can get them now from Lee’s One Fortune Farm and Ivy Creek Family Farm, and more farms will have them in the coming days and weeks. Find the Lees at the ASAP, Black Mountain, West Asheville, River Arts District, and East Asheville markets. Ivy Creek is at the North Asheville and Weaverville markets. Note that North Asheville Tailgate Market is moving to Salvage Station for this Saturday only, due to UNC Asheville’s graduation.
As temperatures continue to rise, more farmers and others vendors are returning to fill out farmers tailgate markets—and a few more markets are ready to open! Enka-Candler Tailgate Market, at the A-B Tech Small Business Center in Enka, opens this Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. Black Mountain Tailgate Market will open next Saturday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to noon. (If you’re looking for a market outside of Buncombe County, here’s a full list of opening dates throughout the region.)
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talk with Carol Griffith, manager of Ashe County Farmers Market in West Jefferson. The market will open May 1 and run Saturday mornings through October.