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We never fail to get excited about the fact that we can get locally grown rice in the Western North Carolina mountains. Lee’s One Fortune Farm has had its fall harvest available in limited quantities for the past couple of weeks at many farmers tailgate markets, including purple and brown rice varieties. The flavor of rice this fresh elevates even the simplest preparations, but Korean bibimbap is a dish that can really highlight all the best of your market haul.
It’s that time of year again—break out your canning jars and start preserving the end of the summer season! Mid-September is an ideal time to put up tomatoes, which are still abundant at markets now, but will start fading out over the next month. Remember, you can ask farmers if they have large volumes of tomatoes (or other produce) that you can purchase in bulk.
With the long holiday weekend ended, the first few weeks of school gone by, and the days definitely getting a little shorter, it’s easy to feel especially pressed for time in September. You might be shopping at farmers tailgate markets with the best intentions, but time to prepare meals is elusive. With fall crops starting to mingle with the best of summer produce still available, though, now is a great time to try some grab-and-go produce, whether for snacking or tucking into school lunches.
Labor Day bookends the summer season (though technically we have three more weeks), and is often a last hurrah for a weekend of outdoor food and fun. If you’re firing up your grill, the farmers tailgate markets are packed with great options, including ground beef for burgers, steaks, pork chops, whole chickens, summer squash, eggplant, corn on the cob, and much more. But don’t stop there! Here are a few less-traditional items you might want to throw on the grill this season. Read the rest of this entry »
Peppers are really coming into their own at farmers tailgate markets right now. These bright nightshades can vary so much in flavor, heat, color, size, and texture. Asking the farmer about the varieties they’re growing is a great way to learn about new types and get tips on how you might prepare them.
Your favorite peak summer produce—tomatoes, corn, peppers, melons, peaches, blackberries, beans, okra, eggplant—is still filling the tables at farmers tailgate markets. We have a month or two more to enjoy these items. But there are hints of seasonal change in the air.
Is there a more quintessential summer experience than eating a popsicle in the sun, with sweet fruit juices dribbling down your chin? Farmers tailgate markets offer a wealth of popsicle ingredients, including some options for thinking outside the tried and true mold.
There are many methods for shopping at farmers tailgate markets. There’s the make-a-list-in-advance tactic (we offer a weekly rundown here for that kind of shopper). There’s the do-a-lap-first-then-form-a-plan strategy. And then there’s the grab-everything-that-looks-good-and-figure-it-out-later approach. It’s after shopping excursions like the latter that we fully appreciate a dish like succotash.
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month, we talk with Amy Pickett, owner of Sugar & Snow Gelato, which will be one of the vendors for ASAP’s Local Food Experience Aug. 15. She’s pictured above with Jennifer Perkins of Looking Glass Creamery.
Watermelons and cantaloupe are starting to come in at farmers tailgate markets, which lend themselves particularly well to no-cook meals for muggy mountain evenings. There are plenty of nights we might just slice up a melon and call it dinner, but if you’re ready to take it up a notch, try these chilled soup ideas.