Grandin Village is a place where even on a cloudy day it seems sunny, you will meet an old friend or make a new one and most everyone has a dog with a waggin’ tail.
The Grandin Village Farmers Market opened on Saturday, April 21, 2018. Located at 2080 Westover Avenue, Roanoke, Virginia, the market will be open every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 12 noon. Keep up with the happenings on the market via Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/GrandinVillageFarmersMarket/
GRANDIN VILLAGE FARMERS MARKET MISSION: The Grandin Village Farmers Market supports local sustainable agriculture by connecting the public with local farmers, artisans, and other producers in a vibrant and economically viable marketplace.
Among the many market treasures:
Blacksburg Italian Market Fine Artisan Pasta and Homemade Sauces. As they say on their label: Mangiare Bene, Stare Bene…translated “Eat Well, Feel Good.” I bought the egg and spinach linguini along with a jar of the Tomato Basil Sauce and the Marinara Sauce. Deliziosa! The pasta was fresh and the sauce had the rich tomato flavor that so many commercial sauces seem to be missing these days. They also offer a gluten free option–gnocchi made with potatoes, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, arrowroot and sorghum flour.
Grasshopper Pure Greens. Using nothing but light and pure water they produce LIVE microgreens. The owner happily gave us samples of her microgreens. I tasted broccoli, sweet pea and radish. The radish had a lot of ZING! If you like spicy, then you might like to try radish microgreens on avocado toast. Toast baguette slices, then brush lightly with melted butter. Spread ripe avocado on toast. Top with radish microgreens and some finely chopped tomato. Sprinkle with freshly ground black or pink peppercorns. Enjoy!
I brought home some broccoli and sweet pea microgreens which were perfect in this colorful snazzy salad:
Beets, Bacon and Blue Salad
Makes 2 salads
Chill 2 salad bowls in the freezer while preparing the salad.
- 2 medium beets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 small shallot, chopped fine
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 handfulls broccoli and sweet pea microgreens (just enough to cover the bottom of 2 shallow salad bowls)
- ½ pint fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese or ¼ cup finely grated Fontina cheese
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.  Â
Trim stem ends off beets and discard; trim root ends. (If you like beet greens, rinse them off, steam them over simmering water or in the microwave until just wilted. Cool and then chop them up finely to add to the microgreens in the salad.) Scrub beets well. Drizzle beets with 1 tablespoon olive oil and rub over the beets. Punch a few holes in each beet with a fork. Wrap each beet in foil, leaving just a little opening at the top of each package for steam to escape.
Place wrapped beets on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour until beets are very tender.
When beets are cool enough to handle, rub the skin off and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.Â
Place the microgreens and beet greens (optional) in the chilled salad bowls. Top with beets, crumbled bacon, blueberries and cheese.
In a small cup or bowl, whisk the red wine vinegar with 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar, shallot and salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over each salad. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Stay tuned, I will be visiting Grandin Village Farmers Market often in the coming months and there’s lots more treasures to discover…Herbal Foot Soak at The Haven on 5th ~ I’ve scheduled for May 30! (The Haven on 5th and Queenpin Family Wellness are regulars at the market.) And rumor has it that there is a new Food Tour in town…Grandin Village Food Tour…more info coming soon!
