Neo Cantina in the Biltmore Village features Southwestern flavors made with a green sensibility. The restaurant uses local foods, just like its sister restaurant, Neo Burrito. Chef John Redden favors heirloom tomatoes in his recipes, one of which he shares below. For more information, visit http://neocantina.com Xpress: What’s your favorite tomato variety? Redden: Definitely the […]
Calling all tomato-growers! Show off your gorgeous garden goods at the first Homegrown Tomato Contest, Thursday Aug. 25, from 3 until 5 p.m. at The Market Place in downtown Asheville. Bring your tastiest, most exquisite tomato for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to The Market Place, seed collections from local seed company […]
The Morning Glory Café features home-style food with a modern and seasonal twist in a comfortable, homey atmosphere. Chef and owner Cookie Hadley has been in the restaurant business since 1987. Here, he waxes poetic about summer tomatoes. For more information, visit http://themorningglorycafe.com Xpress: What’s your favorite tomato variety? Hadley: I love so many. I […]
Wondering what this special section is all about? All of the businesses that you see over the next few pages are Appalachian Grown Certified by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, which means that they purchase or sell certified, locally grown farm products. ASAP works to promote the businesses that support our local agriculture, which in turn […]
Ready to go back to school? So is Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. During the previous school year, ASAP's Growing Minds Farm to School Cooking Program reached nearly 1,400 area students with the help of educators, chefs and community volunteers. Growing Minds works to connect farms and schools and give children positive experiences with healthy foods. […]
ASAP’s Growing Minds Program received 40 cooking kits through Partnership for a Healthier America for this school year. They will go to 40 schools (1 each) with grades ranging from pre-school through high school. The cookware kits contain items like induction burners, stainless steel pots and pans, knives and utensils – which were generously donated […]
Old houses aren’t the only “fixer-uppers” out there. Just ask longtime Asheville musician and radio host Laura Blackley, who purchased neglected land in Candler with her partner, Cindy Jordan, in 2006. Their hope? A small family farm. “When we started, we wanted to do and grow everything, and I do mean everything,” says Blackley. But […]
You could call Cathy Cleary, co-owner of West End Bakery in West Asheville, a legume lover. Her biggest crush? The Fortex pole bean, a type of long, stringless green bean that she grows for her restaurant every year. “They never get tough, they have a wonderful flavor and they’re great raw, roasted, steamed, blanched or […]
Ingredients: Salad 2 cups quinoa 2 ¾ cups water 1 lb green beans, stems removed and beans cut into 1-inch lengths 3 cups grated carrots 1 red pepper, diced ½ cup toasted sesame seeds Sesame-ginger dressing: 8 cloves garlic, crushed ¼ cup fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped ¼ cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup tamari […]
Look around: It’s easy to see that WNC’s harvest season is picking up serious steam. Our tailgate markets are overflowing with fruits, veggies and herbs. Restaurants are featuring local ingredients, from beets to squash, on their menus. Grocery store shelves are dotted with more local-product signs every day. But what’s not so easy to see […]
See and enjoy the 2011 harvest up close at area tailgate markets, which are currently chock full of everything you need for a Fourth of July feast: blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries; local meats and seafood; summer squash, carrots, onions, potatoes — the list goes on. Be on the lookout for beans, which begin arriving in […]
The Farmers’ Film fundraising events: Thursday, June 30, 5-7 p.m., at Highland Brewing Company’s tasting room (highlandbrewing.com) Thursday, July 7, 6-8 p.m., at Black Mountain Ale House (669-9090) Both events offer the opportunity to see the movie trailer, meet the film’s farmers, enter to win door prizes and enjoy farm-fresh local food. Farm to School […]
What: ASAP's 2011 Family Farm Tour. The Family Farm Tour is coordinated by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and sponsored by Biltmore and Greenlife Grocery. WNC Magazine is a media sponsor. Over one summer weekend, community members can learn how food grows, taste farm-fresh treats, interact with farm animals and meet our community's food producers. Join us to celebrate our agricultural heritage […]
They say that Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. In our thriving local food community, that’s because it’s the time summer squash and other early-season veggies begin joining spring items at tailgate markets. And that’s a big deal for area chefs, including Jeff Miller, proprietor and pit boss of Luella’s Bar-B-Que. “We’re going […]
Out of the whispers on a recent bus field trip, one student from Debbi Madill’s kindergarten class at Cullowhee Valley School could be heard exclaiming, “Oh, Ms. Madill, look! We’re in farm valley!” The hay, horses and tractors spotted out the windows were sure signs they were nearing their destination: Ten Acre Garden in Canton. […]
Lifelong friends and Haywood County farmers Dibe Duckett and Kaleb Rathbone have always been idea men, they say. One of their best ideas to date? To hold their now-famous spring Strawberry Day festival, which turns 3 this month. Duckett, a sixth-generation farmer, owns and operates two Duckett’s Produce roadside stands with his family — one […]
It’s strawberry time For many local food lovers and area chefs, the month of May is circled on kitchen calendars in red with a big exclamation mark. That’s because it’s the window in which ripe, juicy local strawberries are available. Accordingly, they are the focus of this month’s Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Get Local […]
From Nate Allen, Knife and Fork (knifeandforknc.com) Ingredients: Salad: 1 oz extra virgin olive oil 1 bunch local tender young asparagus, trimmed 1/2 dry pint local whole fresh strawberries 1/4 cup crumbled local chevre 1/4 cup green onion vinaigrette (below) Vinaigrette: 1/2 bunch local green onion tops, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds Juice of half a […]
The beginning of tailgate-market season is a bit like the start to a new year of junior high school. But instead of being excited to hear about your friends’ vacations, to see what they’re wearing and to find out who they are or aren’t dating, you’re excited to find out what your friends will be […]
Western North Carolinians may not don foam cheese hats at Tourists’ games, but we’re a cheese-loving and cheese-making region all the same. That’s why Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project is putting the focus on local farmstead cheese this month in its Get Local initiative, which brings together farmers, chefs and community members to celebrate a single […]
It’s been a long winter, but a green glow at the end of the tunnel is finally visible. “My asparagus is starting to wake up,” says Danny McConnell of McConnell Farms in Hendersonville. While his exact harvest date is up in the air (literally; it depends upon the weather), he estimates they’ll be ready around […]
