Asheville Farmers Markets and Summertime Recipes

One of the beautiful things about Asheville is the importance placed on shopping small, locally, and responsibly, which makes grocery shopping in the summer that much more exciting.  With the warmer weather, the flowers are blooming, the vegetables are ripe for picking, and farmers markets are overflowing with goodies!  On Tuesdays, there is the West Asheville Tailgate Market from 3:30pm-6:30pm at 718 Haywood Road.  On Wednesdays, there is the River Arts District Farmers Market from 3:00pm- 6:00pm at 175 Clingman Avenue.  On Thursdays, there is the Oakley Farmers Market from 3:30pm-6:30pm at 12 Old Charlotte Hwy.  On Fridays, there is East Asheville Farmers Market from 3:00pm-6:00pm at 954 Tunnel Road.  On Saturdays, there is the North Asheville Tailgate Market from 8:00am-12:00pm at the UNC-Asheville campus, as well as the Asheville City Market from 9:00am-12:00pm located downtown on N. Market Street.  For more details about the markets, check here.

As delicious as it would be for everyone to have their own green thumb, some of you don’t have the space or the time.  Thankfully, you can still enjoy the wonders of a locally grown and freshly picked cucumber by stopping by the farmer’s market.  You can find your basics and some not so basic needs at most markets such as bread, milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, cheese, garden starts, soap, coffee, and handmade artisan wares.  Unsure what to do with all this delicious and tantalizing excitement? I have been busy buzzing along people’s windows and have watched some pretty cool recipes unfold!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Filling:

3 cups of sliced strawberries

2 cups of rhubarb, cut into ¼ inch pieces 

1 cup of sugar

1 Tbsp of flour

¼ tsp of salt

¼ tsp of lemon juice

• Mix all the ingredients together before making the crust to give the flour time to soak up any extra strawberry juice. This will help the filling from being too runny.

Crust:

1 ¼ cups of all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon of salt

¾ cup of shortening

4 to 5 Tbsp of cold water

• In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour and salt, then with a pastry blender cut in shortening until it is pea sized.
• Sprinkle water on one tablespoon at a time tossing with fork. Push moistened dough to the side. Mix till all flour is moistened. Don’t mix too much or crust will be hard.
• Form into a ball and roll out on floured surface. Turn and flour dough a few times till its the size you need.

Make the Pie:

• Place the pie into the pie plate and lightly form it to the plate.
• Pour in the filling and place the top crust layer over the plate pinching the two crusts together.
• Bake at 450℉ for 15 mins then bake at 350℉ for 30 mins or until the edges of the crust turns a golden brown.

Lemon Lavender Syrup

3/4 cup of honey

¼ cup of lemon juice

¾ cup of water

2 Tbsp of fresh lavender

• Simmer over low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Pour through a fine mesh strainer to drain out lavender sprigs, if desired.
• Enjoy your syrup in sparkling water, tea, or a cocktail!

Let us know how these recipes worked for you and please share your favorite finds from the farmer’s market!  Check back soon for more farmer’s market fun!

Enjoy the sunshine and the local goodies!

Your friend,

The Bee