Breakfast looks wildly different across the world — some cultures fill up on hearty fare, while others go lighter with the morning meal.
No matter your preference, you can pick up ingredients at area farmers tailgate markets to fix a breakfast that’s just right for you. Standard regional breakfast fare abounds: eggs, bacon, bread, grits, potatoes, and cheese. But what about some playful and unconventional options?
If you have kids (or just the spirit of one), grab golden beets from Ten Mile Farm at Asheville City Market, cut them into quarters, and slice thin. Fry in a light layer of oil with salt and other seasonings to taste, then serve on a plate to represent the rising sun in the morning. (You can also prepare potatoes, turnips, or red beets in the same way to create a landscape under the sun.)
When you’re feeling festive, perhaps substitute steak for the morning’s bacon, sweet potatoes for potatoes, and cheesy grits for buttered grits. You can even make a breakfast dessert — pick up apples from Creasman Farms and granola from Happy-Go-Lucky Foods to make an apple crisp.
One idea for a creative breakfast using winter produce from the farmers market: butternut squash cornbread muffins. Find squash from New Moon Herbs Farm and Ten Mile Farm and cornmeal from Ten Mile Farm, all at Asheville City Market. Although it’s not at the farmer’s market, you can get Carolina Ground flour in bulk from the French Broad Food Co-op.
Green smoothies are growing in popularity, and the market’s got you covered if you want to give them a go. Pick up any combination of dark leafy greens (kale and spinach are recommended), and then add microgreens and wheatgrass from Sleight Family Farm. Experiment with additions such as apples, honey, ginger, granola, or jam. The possibilities are endless.
Uninterested in putting work into your breakfast? Pick up already prepared breakfast tarts and turnovers from Sweetheart Bakery or buy bagels in bulk from Crust Never Sleeps, then freeze them to warm up and eat through the week.
In other news, Meadow Cove Farm was featured last week for an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times about heirloom sweet potato varieties. Visit Meadow Cove at the YMCA Indoor Winter Tailgate Market to say hi, learn more, and take some of their tubers home to try for yourself!
Check out the list of winter tailgate markets happening across the region. As always, you can find information about farms, tailgate markets, and farm stands, including locations and hours, by visiting ASAP’s online Local Food Guide.
(Prepared by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project.)