The Golden Fleece: Slow Earth Kitchen brings Greek cuisine to Asheville this winter. Meanwhile, Rhubarb’s chef John Fleer is planning a collaborative holiday dinner;
Small bites: Oskar Blues Big Money Chili-onaire cook-off promotes ‘do-goodery’
Oskar Blues’ CAN’d Aid Foundation is seeking competitive talents for its chili cook-off in Brevard. Meanwhile, FEAST and Asheville Middle School team up for a pie fundraiser; MetroWines’ Anita Riley invites two women behind Hi-Wire Brewing’s branding to the shop; Smiling Hara Tempeh’s Hempeh makes its way to grocery shelves; and Lex 18 hosts an Appalachian-themed evening.
Racetrack to rodeo: Taylor Earnhardt Putnam carries on family legacy in SRA finals
Putnam comes into this weekend’s Finals competition as the leading “All Around Cowgirl,” having scored more points in multiple categories than her competitors, in addition to being ranked fourth overall in barrel racing and ninth in breakaway roping. True to her family legacy, she has established herself as a top competitor in her chosen sport, translating her heritage of winning and love for speed from the asphalt to the cow-pen.
UPDATE: Gov. McCrory allows legalization of industrial hemp in North Carolina
North Carolina is just one signature away from taking advantage of a 2014 Farm Bill provision that allows states to enact their own hemp-growing pilot programs.
Give!Local kickoff: Very auspicious and very Asheville
Give!Local raised nearly $1,000 in its opening day and many of the nonprofits raised additional money at the kickoff event. Thirty nonprofits, their boards, two food vendors, three bands, a dinosaur and a ghost pepper all convened along with about 200 people from the public.
It takes a village: French Broad Food Co-op announces expansion proposals
The iconic community-owned food market and grocer has announced initial plans to expand its current space on the 60-100 block of Biltmore Avenue and is reaching out to community organizations and the city of Asheville to begin discussions on the possibility of a massive multiuse facility.
Fairy food: WNC’s wild air potatoes satisfy appetites, feed imaginations
A local search for tiny tubers leads to a discovery of Cherokee fairy folk and an exploration of Chinese medical lore.
Conscious party: Full Circle Farm Sanctuary throws a Halloween benefit
Attendees can enter to win a prize for the most attractive carved pumpkin, best costume and most flavorful vegan pumpkin pie.
Ethical Meat Handbook urges readers to transform our food system
With her new book, Asheville farmer, butcher, chef and teacher Meredith Leigh explores what a more humane and ethical food system might look like and examines the crucial role consumers play in efforts to change our foodways.
Hardnecks and softnecks: Talking garlic with Root Bottom Farm
Thai fire, Sicilian silver, German red: The world of garlic is far more exotic than one might expect from perusing the plain, white varieties found in most supermarket aisles. Root Bottom Farm owners Morgan and Sarah Decker are working to spread the word about the diverse types of the pungent, flavorful bulb that can be grown in Western North Carolina.
CROP Hunger Walk aims to bolster area food supplies
Even in Foodtopia, hunger is a big problem. Last year, MANNA FoodBank alone distributed 15 million pounds of food through 248 agency partners in 16 counties in Western North Carolina. Just more than 100,000 people were served from MANNA alone, in about 40,000 households.
Small bites: Taste of Sylva supports town’s development
Foodie festivals continue in WNC with Taste of Sylva’s downtown restaurant crawl. Meanwhile, Organic Growers School is poised to train a new crop of farmers; Ambrozia will host a wine dinner with Metro Wines’ Andy Hale; and Taste of Asheville tickets are now on sale.
In photos: Venture Local Fair and WNC Garlic Fest
Despite the gray skies and blustery mountain winds that cloaked the day on Saturday, Sept. 26, the city’s first Venture Local Fair put the vibrant colors of Asheville’s local business community on display.
Faces in the crowd: WNC crowdfunding initiatives
Each week, Xpress highlights notable WNC crowdsourcing initiatives that may inspire readers to become new faces in the crowd. This week features one woman’s quest to revive her elders’ traditions and a West Asheville server’s full-fledged street festival.
Wild sustenance: Lambsquarters provide backyard source of nutrition, flavor
Often considered a weed, locally prolific lambsquarter is actually a highly nutritious wild edible that we can harvest for free in our own backyards.
Survey findings may help stem the loss of farms in WNC
Making a living as a farmer is tough anywhere, but it’s particularly true in the North Carolina mountains. Western North Carolina lost 18 percent of its farms — more than 2,800 — in the 15 years between 1997 and 2012. And the majority of existing WNC farmers today are nearing retirement age — many of them without heirs who plan to keep the farm going.
Organic Growers School Harvest Conference returns for its second year
The Organic Growers School’s second Harvest Conference on Saturday, Sept. 12, offered 26 workshops focused on fall and winter growing, cooking, fermentation and preservation, self-reliance, herbal medicine and homestead skills.
Green Opportunities’ new director gets his feet — and his shoes — wet
As the new executive director of Green Opportunities, the green jobs training program that works with low-income Asheville residents, George C. Jones plans to continue the environmental consciousness that was practiced by previous leadership, but his tenure will be guided by his business background.
Small bites: Bikers and burger lovers unite at Dave’s 209
Dave’s 209 is serving up burgers and hand-dipped shakes to locals and visitors in Hot Springs. Meanwhile, Asheville will soon host a soil-building class, Noble Cider’ grand-opening party and a brain-food trivia game.
A mossier, more magical world: Local ‘mosser’ releases new book on moss gardening
Annie Martin — or Mossin’ Annie — is a Western North Carolina native, educator, landscape designer, farmer and champion — of mosses. She’s designed moss gardens for the North Carolina Arboretum and the Highland Botanical Station and her book, The Magical World of Moss Gardening, is being published by Timber Press and released this month.
First annual Monarch Butterfly Day offers help to a declining butterfly population
Nearly one billion monarch butterflies have vanished since 1990 due to habitat destruction, which impacts their primary food source, milkweed, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Efforts to protect monarch butterflies center on educating the public about the plight of the monarchs, as well as encouraging the creation of garden spaces that provide nectar plants […]