Goodbye to this blog site..

We are happy to announce that our Farmers Market blog is moving to the main Harrisonburg Farmers Market website. Visit that site to read everything about the Market–history, mission, guidelines, weekly offerings, directions, hours, recipes and of course the latest news. All blog posts will be on the Market Blog page.

This site will be deleted soon. Thanks for reading!

A Tisket, a Tasket, a Market Gift Basket

With all of the statistics showing that buying local is one of the best gifts this Holiday Season, I am pleased to share the following article, submitted by Danny Markley, one of the many wonderful Market customers that I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with as Manager…

Are you looking for some wonderful gifts for your family, friends and co-workers for the Holidays? Look no further than the Harrisonburg Farmers Market. The Market offers a great alternative to the crowds and stress of malls, and your purchases directly support the vendors and the local community. Gifts from your local Market hold a unique appeal for friends and family who live in other areas — they are a thoughtful way to share a small slice of your life in the ‘burg.

Consider filling a holiday gift basket with items found at the Market. You can mix a variety of Market foods and crafts or make a themed gift basket. There is a wide variety of unique handcrafted gift items to choose from and a great selection of local farm products and prepared foods to add to the mix.

A combo gift basket could include fresh pears, cheeses, mini-loaves of baked breads, honey or jam and a wide variety of other items. A spa gift basket might include locally made beeswax candles, soaps and an assortment of lavender products. A kitchen gift basket could be filled with fresh herbs and garlic, a hot sauce assortment and pottery or wooden kitchen utensils. You could even do a pet gift basket with a holiday-themed matching dog collar and scarf, along with some catnip toys and “meow milk” for the felines in the house. You will also find beautiful one-of-a-kind handcrafted cards to add the final personal touch to any gift or basket.

…So give up the stress and big box stores, come on out to the Market, support the local economy and experience the joy of creating a special customized Local Gift Basket that will thrill anyone and everyone on your gift list. Now there is a holiday shopping custom that we can all live with!

-Josie Showalter with thanks to Danny Markley for his contribution.

The Thanksgiving Pie

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and many are planning their annual menu. Turkey may be the star of the Thanksgiving table with the gravy and stuffing in supporting roles, but this is the one holiday where PIE is always part of the grande finale and will almost always guarantee curtain calls.

The pie you serve may come from a yellowed butter-stained index card written in a great grandmother’s spindly handwriting and lovingly baked from scratch, or it can come from a fancy Paris-type patisserie, or even picked up at the last minute from a chain supermarket. This year consider the Market as the pie source for YOUR holiday table. There will be quite a selection, ranging from the traditional pumpkin and pecan pies to chestnut-pumpkin and a whole range of fruit pies. See the special pie showcase below the Weekly Market for more specifics on what will be available.

If you buy your pie from the Market, shake the hand that rolled out the crust for your pie and ask who grew and harvested the apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes or chestnuts that went into your pie. You will not only have a wonderful pie to top off your meal, but you will feel good about where it came from and what went into it — now there a true Thanksgiving treat!

My personal favorite Thanksgiving pie recipe comes from The Pink Teacup, a former hole-in-the-wall restaurant in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The restaurant has since moved to a fancier location with uptown prices, but this pie recipe remains a constant. Find it below in the recipe section.

~Pamela Bodkin

‘Tis (Almost) the Season!

Halloween and All Saints Day have come and gone; the first snow of the winter is behind us and the Holiday season is almost here. With only two weeks until Thanksgiving, it is time to start planning the Holiday menu(s). Keep the Farmers Market in mind, along with our Valley heritage and traditions as you move into the Holiday Season.

There is so much to behold at the Market, and it is the perfect time to take advantage of the meats, fruits, vegetables, the cool weather varieties (tough there are still some late summer veggies available — like tomatoes and eggplant!), mushrooms, shelf staples (flour and cornmeal), honey, chestnuts and walnuts, dairy products, cheese made from cow and goat milk…some with delicious flavorings like pimento, dill, caraway and so on. Additional vendors round out the pantry with beautiful desserts, artisan breads, cookies, tarts, pies and more. Visit the Market for a pleasant and low-stress Holiday food shopping experience!

~Penelope Ferguson, RD

Cold-Weather Friends

After three inches of snow and bitter winds during last Saturday’s Market, it seems pretty clear that Old Man Winter is on his way to the Valley. Soon, people and animals alike will be hunkering down and bundling up (whether that be with extra clothes, extra fur, or extra holiday pounds!) to make it through the cold days…

But the vendors, staff and volunteers of the Market will continue to brave the elements in order to provide an amazing array of produce, baked goods, meat and dairy, crafts and more each week…just as you, our customers, will be venturing out to shop and connect with friends and neighbors. Unlike many farmers markets, we go year round, and continue to have an impressive variety of products, shifting as the seasons shift — now through the Holiday Market in December, and then the Winter Market January through March…

As I stood under the Pavilion last Saturday, snow blowing into my face and soaking my clothes, I had to smile at the steady flow of customers who stopped by and took advantage of Customer Appreciation Day. Whatever the weather, it is always a reason to be joyful when you see the community coming together like that.

~ Justin Van Kleeck

It’s Time to Celebrate!

We hope you will join us on Saturday for our Annual Fall Celebration and Customer Appreciation Day. We have a whole variety of things planned for the entire family! There will be a scavenger hunt, pumpkin painting and more for the young and young at heart; the JMU Science Station will be back; Dan Easley and Friends will be providing their unique and lively music (weather permitting); and you can enjoy free Classic Carriage rides. While you are out be sure to check out all of the additional festivities going on around Downtown! And for your shopping pleasure you can be sure that the vendors will have many different ways of letting you know how much your support of the Market is appreciated!

Eating Real!

I have spent a fair amount of my time this week planning events, attending meetings and generally working on a number of different things related to Food Day. I was struck earlier today by the very first part of the “Why Eat Real?” pageon the Food Day website. It reads as follows: “Real food tastes great. Meals built around vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are delicious and satisfying.” Sometimes that which is most obvious is what tend to forget or overlook.

One of the things that the Market certainly does for us all is to keep this concept fresh (no pun intended) in our minds! Browsing the current beautiful and delicious array of foods available at the Market will certainly inspire us all to cook and eat real, not to mention making it fun and easy at the same time. Bon appétit!

~Josie Showalter