Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Celebrate National Farmers Market Week – Visit Your local Farmers Market
Celebrate National Farmers Market Week – Visit Your local Farmers Market
National Farmers Market Week, established 26 years ago, is celebrated each year during the first full week of August, August 3rd – 9th, 2025. This annual celebration was established by the National Farmers Market Coalition to highlight the vital role farmers markets play in the nation’s food systems.
Farmers markets are changing the way we eat, shop, connect, and more! Across the country, farmers markets are defining their role in our communities. Markets are not only essential to local food systems, but they also increase opportunities for us to learn, grow, and work together. Farmers markets are designed in partnership with the people they serve and create a space where market operators, farmers, shoppers, and neighbors can collaborate to meet the evolving needs of their community.
Farmers markets serve as community hubs. Farmers markets foster direct relationships between community members and farmers which can work to create a more fair and sustainable food system. Farmers markets are a hub for connection and collective action around shared values.
Farmers markets don’t just happen. Farmers markets are abundant sources of food, connection and resilience in our communities, but they do not just happen on their own. Behind the scenes of every successful farmers market is a dedicated team working to make the market thrive. Farmers market operators are experts who need community and financial support to run their markets and resources specifically designed for their needs.
The culture of farmers markets is changing. The demographic of farmers markets has not always reflected their local communities, and some markets have not always created spaces where everyone can feel welcome. Together, there are farmers market operators and community organizers paving the way to improve equity in the farmers market space. We fundamentally believe that farmers markets are for everyone and seek to support efforts to make farmers markets safe, inviting and accessible for all.
Please take some time to visit your local farmers market this week and be sure to post your favorite photos and how you used your fresh produce. Post them here #FarmersMarketsAreEssential #FarmersMarketWeek #LoveMyMarket
Collect your fresh local, seasonal produce and give these farmers market favorite recipes a try!
Farmer’s Market Veggie Quesadillas
For the Quesadilla
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, diced, about 1 cup
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups finely chopped vegetables, bell pepper, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms, corn
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1-2 cups chopped greens, spinach, beet greens, turnips, your choice
1 cup black drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon lime zest
For the Cream
¼ cup sour cream
2-3 tablespoons hot sauce, your favorite
Pico De Gallo or Salsa for Serving
Preheat the oven to 400F (or preheat grill to medium)
For the vegetable filling, heat oil in an extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, sauté 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Lower heat to medium, and add the chopped veggies and salt. Stir occasionally until the veggies soften about 10 minutes (lower heat if need be).
Add the oregano, cumin, chili powder and give a good stir. Add the chopped greens and black beans and a couple of tablespoons of water, and stir until the greens wilt 1-2 minutes. Turn heat off. Stir in optional cilantro and lime zest.
Assemble the quesadillas by scattering ½ cup cheese over the whole tortilla. Add one cup of veggie filling over half of the tortilla. Fold the Tortilla in half so the filling is encased with cheese. Brush the outer side of the tortilla with oil, and place in a hot oven for 15 minutes.
You can place the greased quesadilla directly on the oven grates, or on a parchment lined sheet pan, flipping halfway through. Bake until tortilla is crispy and cheese is melty.
For the cream, mix a few tablespoons of your favorite hot sauce with sour cream and mix until combined.
Cut each into 4 pieces and serve with the Spicy Cream and Pico De Gallo.
Serves 4, each serving contains; Calories 474, Sugar 7g., Fat 21g., Fiber 7g., Protein 22g., Cholesterol 33g.
Shrimp and Summer Veggie Pasta
8 ounces dried pappardelle or your favorite pasta
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cups diced or sliced summer veggies such as: corn, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli
1 pound medium or large peeled & deveined raw shrimp
2 Tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic minced
1 lemon
1 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
fresh parsley chopped
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Boil pasta al dente, according to package instructions.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add in sliced and diced veggies and sauté 3-4 minutes over medium high. Add in peeled and deveined shrimp and stir to combine. Cover and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, until shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Add in butter and garlic, stir to combine.
Add drained pasta to shrimp and veggie pan, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add cooking liquid, juice of a 1/2 lemon, and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese to pan. Stir until pasta is well coated. Season with salt & pepper and additional lemon juice to taste.
Serve shrimp & veggie pasta family style on a platter. Sprinkle top with remaining parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley.
Tomato, Cucumber and Feta Salad
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges and seeded
4 slender pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved, thinly sliced
1-1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 dash sugar
1 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
4-1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup minced pitted oil or brine cured olives
2 tsp. drained capers
1 dash salt, or to taste
1 dash pepper, or to taste
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Combine tomatoes, cucumber and onion in a large nonreactive bowl. In a smaller nonreactive bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, sugar oregano and parsley. Whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the olives and capers. Season very lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions and toss lightly. Let stand for 10 minutes. Turn the salad into a deep serving plate and sprinkle with the feta.
Summer Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
1 (16 ounce) box of rotini noodles, or a noodle of your choice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 ears of fresh corn, shucked, kernels removed
2 pints of grape tomatoes
1 lb. fresh asparagus
Cook pasta according to package directions, adding corn and asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Place in a large bowl.
Add cucumber, tomatoes, and Basil Vinaigrette, tossing to combine. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to two days before serving.
Neuse News is an independent, locally-owned startup based in downtown Kinston. We’re committed to providing free, hyper-local news across Lenoir, Greene, and Jones counties—the kind of stories that matter most, delivered in a format built for today.
We don't charge subscriptions. Instead, we rely on readers like you—and the businesses that serve our community. When you shop local, dine local, and click on our sponsor ads, you help us keep real journalism free and accessible.
