https://www.facebook.com/AshevilleCityMarket

Other Market News:

Wednesday, January 25 – Carolina Wild Seafood will be in Waynesville at HART parking lot from 8a.m. to Noon and in Asheville by the entrance to the French Broad Food Coop from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Call or text Bernie prior to that to place an order at 828-768-2376, or you can email him on his smart phone at bsmolnik@msn.com .

Saturday, January 28 – Madison County Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market will be open at the Madison County Extension Office from 10 to 2. (the office is on Carolina Lane in Marshall).

https://www.facebook.com/marshilltailgatemarket

Saturday, January 28, Barnardsville – Dillingham Family Farm Winter Market on Saturdays from 10-1

Saturday, January 28, Spruce Pine Farmers’ Market, 12-4 at Mountainside Wine.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spruce-Pine-Farmers-Market/10150116875830514

Do You know of other markets open now? Please leave a comment with info about them.

Weaverville Tailgate Market is operating in the same location BUT INDOORS in the rock building where it is cozy. They have most of the regular vendors, especially the meat, cheese, and baked goods & breads…plus some additional artisans for holiday gift giving. 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays ~ Dec. 7, 14, and 21.

White Horse Farmers Market will feature the Black Mountain Tailgate Market vendors and extra Holiday vendors. INDOORS with holiday goodies and local food. At White Horse Black Mountain from 3-6 every Wednesdays ~ December 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Historic Haywood Farmers Market is operating on Wednesdays, December 7 and 14, and possibly longer. They are located INDOORS at 449A Pigeon Street, 276 South, on the corner of Craven and Pigeon in Waynesville. They also are open on Saturday.

 Click here for entire 2011 Holiday Market Schedule:

http://tailgatemarketfanclub.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/thanksgiving-holiday-markets-stock-up/

Yikes! Saturday is two weeks from Christmas Eve, and it’s time to get cracking on those Christmas gifts. Local preserves and honey & sorghum molasses are perennial favorites, and I love to give handmade soaps too. Most people would be thrilled to receive truffles or sweet treats. But in addition to the foods, there are all sorts of artisans selling wonderful things they have crafted…pottery, blown glass, jewelry, cards & prints, woolens, sculpture, ornaments, trees & wreaths, paperwhites, and so much more. You simply have to see for yourself.

Consider going on a market marathon this Saturday. Check out each Market’s hours (listed below) and make a plan to find a gift for everyone on your list by the end of the day. Take the Challenge!

I love paperwhites!

Organize and stock up for your Holiday parties  ~ trout, goat cheeses, possibly salmon, crackers, breads, baked goods that will blow your mind, veggies, meats, and eggs etc. Get creative and cook up something local to bring to your parties…or hey, just buy that pie and be done with it. Save yourself hours of time. Don’t show up grumpy because you spent your day off cooking and feel like you have ten million things still to be done. Just buy something at the market and grin; knowing that it will be amazing AND you can make headway on your never-ending holiday to-do list.

H O L I D A Y   M A R K E T S   &   S E A F O O D    I N F O

IMPORTANT Seafood Announcement:

Carolina Seafood will be taking PRE-ORDERS ONLY for Friday, December 23. Send in the order as early as possible. For Waynesville & Asheville orders call Bernie at 828-768-2376. For Black Mountain orders call Becki at 828-775-9251. Carolina Wild Seafood will not be at the regular markets, you will need to pre-order for the December 23 pick-up if you want to get seafood from Bernie and Dave.

SATURDAY HOLIDAY MARKETS:

9^th Annual Holiday Bazaar

The 9th Annual Holiday Bazaar will be held this year at the Montford Farmers Market location ~ behind the Asheville Chamber of Commerce at 36 Montford Avenue ~ on December 3, 10, and 17 from 11-3. (This is the same Holiday Market that was at UNCA the past few years and at the Wednesday Coop Market location before that.)

Asheville City Market

Holiday Markets on December 3, 10, and 17 from 10 – 1, market located at 161 S. Charlotte Street (note holiday hours change).

Madison County Farmers & Artisans Market

Located INDOORS at Fiddlestix in Mars Hill by the public library, on December 3, 10, and 17 from 9-1. Hot lunch available from Mackey Farm.

Dillingham Family Farm Winter Market in Barnardsville, on Saturdays from 10-1. Turn right on to Dillingham Rd. and go about 5 miles to the end of Dillingham Road ( look for red sign that says “Fresh Eggs”).

Haywood’s Historic Farmers’ Market in Waynesville

Located INDOORS for the Holiday Markets at 449A Pigeon Street, 276 South, on the corner of Pigeon & Craven Streets. December 3, 10, and 17 (possibly longer, and also on Wednesdays in December).

Flat Rock Christmas Market

Christmas Market on December 10 from 2-5, located behind Hand in Hand Gallery in the courtyard in front of Hubba Hubba Smokehouse along Little Rainbow Row in Flat Rock. Listen to holiday music while you shop and enjoy a complimentary sample of Paul Shoemaker’s Fall Squash Bisque. On December 10 only!

Bakersville Farmers Market, Holiday Market on December 10 from 10-2 at the Historic Courthouse in Bakersville…plus winter market Jan – April on the second Saturday of the month. Only time!

Historic Marion Tailgate Market   

Holiday Markets on December 10 from 3-5:30, AND December 17 from 10-12 (note different hours for each Saturday).

Jackson County Farmers Market

INDOORS at the Episcopal Church, 18 Jackson Street in downtown Sylva on December 3, 10, and 17 from 9-12.

Spruce Pine Farmers Market

Join them for a winter market Jan – April on the last Saturday of the month from 12-4.

Transylvania Tailgate Market

Market open on December 10 and 17 from 8-12.

Yancey County Farmers Market

INDOORS at the Burnsville Town Center with special Holiday Markets on December 3 and 10 from 9-3. Last chance!

CRAFT MARKETS:

Madison County Arts Council ~ Holiday Sale, Artists and Crafts

In the Arts Council building on Main Street in Marshall on Saturday, December 10 from 10-5. Only time!

Handmade Wreath...and LOCAL!

Don’t let this Wednesday slip by without attending one of these Holiday Markets…before you realize it, they will be over. FYI ~ All three of these markets are INDOORS…so weather won’t be a concern.

Weaverville Tailgate Market is operating in the same location BUT INDOORS in the rock building where it is cozy. They have most of the regular vendors, especially the meat, cheese, and baked goods & breads…plus some additional artisans for holiday gift giving. 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays ~ Dec. 7, 14, and 21.

Historic Haywood Farmers Market is operating on Wednesdays, December 7 and 14, and possibly longer. They are located INDOORS at 449A Pigeon Street, 276 South, on the corner of Craven and Pigeon in Waynesville. They also are open on Saturday.

First day! White Horse Farmers Market will feature the Black Mountain Tailgate Market vendors and extra Holiday vendors. INDOORS with holiday goodies and local food. At White Horse Black Mountain from 3-6 every Wednesdays ~ December 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Click here for entire 2011 Holiday Market Schedule:

http://tailgatemarketfanclub.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/thanksgiving-holiday-markets-stock-up/

Romanesco

keep 45% of every dollar you spend right here in our own community. That dollar will support actual people you know, rather than a big anonymous corporation somewhere on the other side of the globe.

I admit to loving imported artisan vinegars, and I do go to Wal-mart on occasion. If someone opens up Belgium chocolates or Belgium beer, I will delightedly sample them. I am sure there are lots of things in my house that were “Made In China”. But, I have never been to China! Buying local is so appealing because we associate the face (i.e. the person) with the food or the craft. When we eat from the tailgate market or from our garden, seriously, we acknowledge who grew that food with a sort of gratefulness and admiration.

Shortbread from Sweetheart Bakery

We recently gave a basket as a wedding gift to some friends who are moving to Europe. This sturdy market basket was woven by Louise Langsner from different colored willow whips that  grew on her farm in Madison County. Super-personal and super-rooted in this particular little spot of Blue Ridge Mountains soil. Those Appalachian twigs will find themselves in Austria, hopefully lending a little taste of these mountains to our friends when homesickness strikes. Over time that basket will have its own story to tell about what it has held…rocks…market visits…toilet paper…apples…but it will have a story.

When I was 19, Jean (from my college art department) gave me a very ordinary little tin measuring cup and measuring spoons to celebrate my new apartment. I use that measuring cup to this day and was heartbroken when the measuring spoons broke. I am weirdly fond of inanimate objects and believe that things you use everyday are imbued with the story of your life. Even the spot on your floor where you stand stirring the onions in your skillet. You could even say that unused things want

Spinning Spider Chevre

their utility to be fulfilled (so do use that fancy china sometimes, or it will feel sad and neglected).

I realize I am verging way off-topic, but somehow it is all connected for me (or maybe it is the glass of wine). Much of our connectedness has become impersonal. Email vs. hand written letter. Text vs. phone call. Phone call vs. actual visit. Playing games with machines instead of with each other. Watching a computer screen vs. soaking up nature. We long for the authentic, the tangible, the solidity of eye contact.

That’s where our local markets come in…and its easy. You just show up!

The Holiday Markets started up last Wednesday, and this Saturday they really kick in with sunshine and good weather predicted. Think holiday parties, think Christmas presents, think…’tis the season to be jolly!

Seafood Announcement:

Carolina Seafood will be taking PRE-ORDERS ONLY for Wednesday, December 7 and for Friday, December 23. Send in the order as early as possible. For Waynesville & Asheville orders call Bernie at

Paul Littman's Homegrown Beans, Dried!

828-768-2376. For Black Mountain orders call Becki at 828-775-9251.

SATURDAY HOLIDAY MARKETS:

9^th Annual Holiday Bazaar

Held this year at the Montford Farmers Market location behind the Asheville Chamber of Commerce just off I-240 at 36 Montford Avenue on December 3, 10, and 17 from 11-3. (This is the same Holiday Market was at UNCA the past few years and at the Wednesday Coop Market location before that.)

Asheville City Market

Located at 161 S. Charlotte Street on December 3, 10, and 17 from 10 – 1 (note holiday hours change).

Madison County Farmers & Artisans Market

Located INDOORS at Fiddlestix in Mars Hill by the public library, on December 3, 10, and 17 from 9-1. Hot lunch available from Mackey Farm.

Dillingham Family Farm Winter Market in Barnardsville, go about 5 miles to the end of Dillingham Road ( look for red sign that says “Fresh Eggs”) on Saturdays from 10-1

Haywood’s Historic Farmers’ Market in Waynesville

Located INDOORS for the Holiday Markets at 449A Pigeon Street, 276 South, on the corner of Pigeon & Craven Streets. December 3, 10, and 17 (possibly longer, and also on Wednesdays in December).

Bakersville Farmers Market, Holiday Market on December 10 from10-2 at the Historic Courthouse in Bakersville…plus winter market Jan – April on the second Saturday of the month.

Historic Marion Tailgate Market   

Gorgeous at Gaining Ground

December 3 and 17 from 10-12, and on December 10 from 3-5:30.

Jackson County Farmers Market

INDOORS at the Episcopal Church, 18 Jackson Street in downtown Sylva on December 3, 10, and 17 from 9-12.

Spruce Pine Farmers Market

Holiday Market on December 3 from 11-3 at Mountainside Wine…and a winter market Jan – April on the last Saturday of the month from 12-4.

Transylvania Tailgate Market

Market open on December 10 and 17, but a special Holiday Market on December 3. From 8-12.

Yancey County Farmers Market

INDOORS at the Burnsville Town Center with special Holiday Markets on December 3 and 10 from 9-3.

CRAFT MARKETS:

The Big Crafty

Indie artists and crafters at the Asheville Art Museum and Pack Place, on SUNDAY, December 4 from Noon – 6.

Madison County Arts Council ~ Holiday Sale, Artists and Crafts

In the Arts Council building on Main Street in Marshall on Saturday, December 10 from 10-5.

Get the food you love, continue to support local farmers AND think LOCAL for your holiday gifts. There are many amazing vendors and artisans at these markets. You can give something wonderfully edible (like jams or chocolates), soaps & body products, or something made by a local artisan…pottery, jewelry, woolens, artwork and more.

WEDNESDAY HOLIDAY MARKETS

Weaverville Tailgate Market is operating in the same location BUT INDOORS in the rock building where it is cozy. They have most of the regular vendors, especially the meat, cheese, and baked goods & breads…plus some additional artisans for holiday gift giving. 2-6 p.m. Wednesdays ~ November 30, Dec. 7, 14, and 21.

Wednesday Coop Market ~ today is their last official market day. Shop until darkish this evening. Some vendors may continue into December.

Historic Haywood Farmers Market is operating on Wednesdays through December 14 and possibly longer. They are located INDOORS at 449A Pigeon Street, 276 South, on the corner of Craven and Pigeon in Waynesville. They also are open on Saturday.

City Market South ~ today is their last market day from 2-5.

Starting NEXT Wednesday:

 White Horse Farmers Market will feature the Black Mountain Tailgate Market vendors INDOORS with holiday goodies and local food. At White Horse Black Mountain from 3-6 through December 28.

Click here for entire 2011 Holiday Market Schedule:

http://tailgatemarketfanclub.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/thanksgiving-holiday-markets-stock-up/

Spinning Spider Creamery has two special holiday chevres - pumpkin and cranberry. I tasted them at the Montford market this Wednesday, and both are delicious. Local goat dairies abound in our area (aren’t we lucky!). Support your favorite cheese-maker and bring the easiest, most delicious treat to dinner. Chevre is slated for hors d’oeuvers at our house, along with those Roots & Branches Rosemary Crackers hopefully.

And, oh, the baked goods. If you aren’t going to have time to bake…don’t buy a pie at the grocery store. Get beautiful handmade pies from your favorite baker. Hey – the pie crust won’t be patched together either like my homemade ones can sometimes be! Chill out and contribute something gorgeous to dinner. Imagine these…hot market croissants as your dinner rolls. With butter. Wouldn’t that be heavenly?

Greens are so, so very tender and in season now. I fixed some unbelievably yummy greens from my garden the other night. It’s the frost that makes them sweet. Make some greens topped with caramelized onions and a splash of good balsamic vinegar.

Remember as you are cooking your Thanksgiving meal, include your family. Pass down your families treasured recipes and how to make them. Start new traditions. Toddlers love to help. Your middle schoolers will probably complain, but they’ll be very grateful ten years from now – when they realize they have a few cooking skills thanks to you.

Cheri's Winter Squash

THANKSGIVING & HOLIDAY MARKETS:

Asheville City Market will be CLOSED on Saturday, November 19 because of the Christmas parade. They are OPEN on Nov. 26 from 8-1, and on thru Dec.17 for their Holiday Market from 10-1.

City Market- South will be open on Wednesdays from 2-6 through Nov. 30 at Biltmore Park Town Square.

Black Mountain Tailgate Market celebrates their Holiday Market on this Saturday, November 19 from 10-1. The market location will be inside White Horse Black Mountain.

Also every Wednesday afternoon from 3-6 through December 28, a special indoor market – White Horse Farmers’ Market (indoor version of Black Mountain Tailgate) will be held at White Horse Black Mountain in Black Mountain.

Dillinghan Family Farm in Barnardsville hosts a Winter Market on Saturday mornings from 10-1.

Madison Farmers Holiday Market will be Saturday, Nov. 19 from 10-3 indoors at Fiddlestix in Mars Hill by the public library. They will be at Fiddlestix each Saturday through December 17.

Marshall Handmade Market will be held on Saturday, November 19 from 10-5 at Marshall High Studios on the island in downtown Marshall. Great place to find local handmade Christmas gifts. Can’t find the island? Ask anybody on the streets in Marshall.

Montford Farmers Market is open on Wednesday, Nov. 23 from 2-dark. Get last minute Thanksgiving goodies and pick up special orders. Closed for the season after that.

Then at the same Montford Market location, but on Saturdays…9th Annual Holiday Bazaar which will be held on December 3, 10, and 17 at the Montford Farmer’s Market location (in the Asheville Chamber of Commerce parking lot) from 11-3.

North Asheville Tailgate Market will be open on Saturdays, November 19 & 26 from 8-12. UNCA

After that, many of the venders will be at the 9th Annual Holiday Bazaar which will be held on December 3, 10, and 17 at the Montford Farmer’s Market location (in the Asheville Chamber of Commerce parking lot) from 11-3.

Waynesville - Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market is open through December 17 on Wednesdays  &  Saturdays from 8-1, indoors at the corner of Pigeon and Craven Streets.

Weaverville Tailgate Market will host special Holiday Markets on Wednesdays inside the Weaverville Community Center ~ Nov. 30 and December 7, 14, and 21 from 2-6.

Wednesday Co-op Market on Biltmore Avenue, some vendors and seafood still there on Wednesday afternoons from 2 – darkish.

West Asheville Tailgate Market will be open on Tuesday, November 22 from 2:30-5:30. Stock up for Thanksgiving! Celebrate the end of the season ~ Holiday Basket Sale.

Yancey County Farmers’ Market will be held inside at the Burnsville Town Center on Saturdays, November 19 & 26 from 9-1, followed by two Holiday Markets on Saturdays, December 3 & 10 from 9-3

All my leaves fell down today. The upright Japanese maple outside my kitchen window was holding, holding, holding on to its red glow, and each day staving off winter. They’re gone. Every red leaf has carpeted the ground. My weeping Japanese maple was glowing red too, until today. Gone. I found a few brave oakleaf hydrangea leaves, red and still hanging. Bare gray branches against a gray sky everywhere I look. Earlier the giant sycamore ~ her yellow fans shimmering and falling ~ stood tall, white and gray on blue and clouds.

All of us, creatures and plants, are turning inwards. Seeking warmth. Grateful for heat and clothing and blankets and fur and spots of sunshine without wind. And this is only the start of it, this first real day without leaves.

I will look for the beauty in the quiet, in the sleeping branches, the flurry of birds…and the monarch who lingers on the pansies.

Published yesterday on Cornbreadlover’s Blog.

Rodney Webb, of Madison Farms Mushrooms, gave a Mushroom Growing Workshop at the OGS True Nature Country Fair in October. At the end of the workshop, Rodney provided some inoculated substrate for attendees to take home and try growing mushrooms themselves. Trouble is…I had been in the archery booth and hadn’t attended the workshop. I stuffed some of the substrate in a bag, but wasn’t sure how to make them grow. My friend Nicky, who did attend, said to press most of the air out of the bag and tie it shut.

I couldn’t remember what to do after that, so I just left the inoculated bag sitting next to my coffee grinder. Critical steps of the mushroom-growing procedure had surely been left undone due to my complete ignorance. I doubted anything tangible would happen ~ except possibly witnessing an unsolicited science project like compost-in-the-making on my kitchen counter.

Kitchen Counter Oyster Mushroom Farm

A month or so later…in the blur of grinding beans for my morning coffee, my eyes refocused to see…actual mushrooms growing right out of the bag. Whoa. Magic does happen! And what happened next? I am just going to admit it…lust for more magic kicked right in. I stabbed a bunch of holes into the plastic bag so that the other spores could hopefully have a place to sprout out too. That was only yesterday. If something wonderful happens, I’ll let you know.

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Coffeecake

And fabulous. Truthfully everything I have ever bought from Aimee is wonderful. That’s Aimee Mostwill & Sweetheart Bakery, who shows up at area Tailgate Markets every week.

Sweetheart bakes sweets and savories. Everything looks terribly tempting, so it’s always hard to decide what to get. For a while I was sticking with a crunchy spelt scone. Sometimes I get a pocketful of different shortbread cookies. The Pear Hand-pies with little pastry hearts on top…they’re irresistible. A few weeks running, George shared entire Sweetheart Bakery pies with us at work on Saturday mornings. No one that I work with is inhibited about eating homemade pastries, so I can safely admit ~ coffee was brewed and the pie evaporated.

Aimee Mostwill/Sweetheart Bakery can be found on Saturday mornings at the Asheville City Market and the North Asheville Tailgate Market. On Wednesday afternoons she is at the Montford Farmers’ Market.

Aimee isn’t the only baker at the markets though. If fact the array of choices makes my mouth water and I can’t even remember all of them. Joanne Moore has a huge following (you will have to go early to buy from Joanne ~ she always sells out). Blue Heron/ Susan Mallard brings gorgeous tarts and pies every week. Farm & Sparrow and Loafchild have breads and pastries. There is a gluten-free baker. Cathy Osada sells goodies along with her honey (pound cake and wedding cookies are my favorites). Jeanne bakes a great pound cake too. I apologize to any bakers that I left out, but just wander the market with your nose and eyes. You can’t go wrong!

Thanksgiving is coming and bakers at all the markets will be taking special orders. Make it easy on yourself. Order treats, pies, savories, croissants, rolls, and special breads in advance and have a more relaxed Thanksgiving Day. Farm & Sparrow has a whole list of options on their Facebook page, and just ask any baker at the market about placing a special order. Imagine brewing up some coffee after Thanksgiving dinner and biting into a delectable something. Yum, yum, yum!