Pixie's Pocket Spotlight: Chelsea Farms Honey, Madison Co. NC

Lovely Madison Co, NC honey from
Chelsea Farms (2011 batch)

Limited Edition Honey!  
This 2011 batch is going quickly!

In the hills and winding roads of Madison County, North Carolina is a lovely little place known as Chelsea Farms.  The sweet folks who maintain their small organic fruit farm also nurture two happy, healthy bee hives!

This early winter, they approached me at the market and asked if I would be interested in distributing their excess honey from the 2011 harvest.

I was intrigued, since I've had customers request plain honey in the past, and I don't yet have my own hives...so I agreed.

My agreement hastened when I heard the Chelsea Farms folks tell me that this here honey tied for first place in the Madison County beekeepers association meeting Blind Taste Test!

The honey has layers of flavors, and even some rich tannins that give it a strong base for the high sweet notes of the fruit pollen and Western North Carolina wildflowers.   I was sold at the first taste!  

So, if you are as intrigued as I was, become a fan and get you some of this amazingly rich and flavorful honey before it's all gone!   I can't wait to see what they have next harvest...

Available for sale at:

Pixie's Pocket.com

or Pixie's Pocket on Etsy!

WNC Farm Profile: Spinning Spider Creamery

Bloomy Samples at Market, photo from
SpinningSpiderCreamery.com

Now, I know that there are people out there who just do not like goat cheese, no matter what.  Let it be known that I am NOT one of those people! 

I adore chévre, ever since I worked behind the cheese counter at Integral Yoga Natural Foods in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Back then, I tried my first taste with a wrinkled nose and look of displeasure even before it touched my tongue...but it wasn't so bad!  And it's only become a stronger addiction since then.

And now I'm in Western North Carolina...a wonderful place with many small farms creating fabulous cheeses.  One of my favorites is Spinning Spider Creamery.

From the fresh creamy chévre to their aged varieties, I've enjoyed every bite of cheese that I've had from Spinning Spider Creamery.

The creamery is run by the Owen family.  They are dedicated, from the eldest to the youngest members involved in the raising, milking, and cheese-making process on their Madison County Farm.  The cheese is made with love and focus, and you can tell it in the quality.

Visit their site to see a list of shops that carry their cheese, and check the sidebar for links to their Farm Markets and other appearances!

Featured in the "Mental Farmer" blog!

This coming Saturday is the final day for the Woodfin YMCA Winter Market!  If the weather is nice, the market will be outdoors...mmm...sweet spring air.   If you are local, come out and see me!

One of my favorite parts about vending at markets is meeting customers and peers and new friends face to face...watching people's eyes light up as they sample the honey, and chat about the products filling their bags. 

I met a nice woman named Mary, and she is the brains behind the "Mental Farmer" blog!  She was kind enough to mention Pixie's Pocket in her post about the Woodfin YMCA Market, along with the other great vendors she purchased from!  Check it out here.

Photo by "Mental Farmer" blog, click to visit!

Woodfin YMCA Indoors Winter Market

Woodfin YMCA Winter Market

The winter market season is drawing to a close...only two more Saturdays to catch us dry and warm inside at the Woodfin YMCA!

I'm applying to be a day vendor for a couple of different local markets - hopefully, I'll have updates for you all soon!  Until then, my local customers can always place their orders on PixiesPocket.com and I will arrange for pickup or delivery and refund some of the postage fees.

You can also keep in touch by joining my mailing list.  I only send out messages when I have a few things to say, or with a coupon code for ordering online...I promise not to spam your inbox!

Thank you for your support, and I hope you are enjoying this lovely spring!

WNC Farm Profiles: Hickory Nut Gap Meats

Pepperoni.  Hot Sopressata.  Sweet Sopressata.  I keep trying to get a picture of these amazing meats for you all, but it's been impossible.

Every Saturday, I go to the Woodfin YMCA market.  Every Saturday, I come home with some cured meat product or another from Hickory Nut Gap, and place it on the counter, and BOOM!  It's gone!  Within hours, it has been devoured, nommed and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in my home.

This family farm has branched out beyond their own acreage and created a partnership with other meat producers from up and down the east coast.  They all agree to the same excellent standards of animal rearing and butchering, and the quality shows in their final products.

From their page: "Our mission is to connect sustainable agriculture practices, our family history, and our customers by sharing the family farm experience and serving as an example of healthy land stewardship while providing high quality ethically raised meats.  At Hickory Nut Gap Farm you will find animals raised in their natural environment. Pigs outdoors, cows on pasture eating grass and clover, multiple species grazing together, drinking fresh spring water and living the good life."


Since I can rant and rave and praise but can't get a picture, I am happy to let you know that you can purchase their products online! They also supply many Asheville restaurants with their fabulous food.

(March 23) Update from Hickory Nut Gap Meats:  "We are looking forward to our upcoming market season, you'll be able to find us at the North Asheville Tailgate Market, Asheville City Market, and West Asheville Tailgate Market. You can also come out to the Farm Store in Fairview where we house our meats, eggs, berries, and dozens of other locally made products."

The Local Food Movement in Western North Carolina

There were many things that caused me to move to Western North Carolina to seek my fortune...my time spent in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia taught me that I enjoy life in the rolling elevations and sloping hills.  Many of my friends had visited or spent a bit of time living in Asheville and I often heard about how much I would love this odd little town with it's vibrant art scene and it's appreciation for it's green places.

One of the things that I have most come to appreciate about western North Carolina is the vibrant local food scene.  The farming community here is strong, and made up of folks whose families have been working the same spots for generations, but equally represented are the suburban organic gardeners and small-scale city farms.  A lot of the people here are very aware of everything that they consume, and do their best to ensure that it is organic and as locally-sourced as possible.

After a couple months of living here, it dawned on me that my honey-infusing hobby might actually be a viable business in a community like this.  With the help and support of my friends (Modern Scribe Photography) and family and with time, trial and error, I find myself a busy pixie with a small but increasingly stable business.

As such, I've been honored to be the newbie vendor at a great little farm market.  The Woodfin YMCA is hosting an indoors Winter Market through the end of March, and I have been learning a lot.

I've also been meeting some amazing people, farms and food producers who are well-known and much-appreciated in WNC for their amazing products.

Home Grown Goodness!

For example, for lunch today I had a slice of Farm & Sparrow market bread, with Spinning Spider Creamery plain chevre spread on thick, and topped with slices of Hickory Nut Gap Farm's pepperoni.  Freaking amazing, simple, and such good quality food!  Each of these places are located within an hour's drive of my home.

I'm going to be doing a couple of posts to highlight some of the farms I've met in this market.  Keep posted, and if you live in the area, please come meet me at the Woodfin YMCA Farm Market (Saturdays, 10-noon, through March) and support your local food producers!

Going to Market!

Howdy, folks! 

I'm pleased to be vending at a new market in Asheville.  The Neighborhood YMCA in Woodfin is hosting an indoors Winter Market on Saturdays in February and March.  It's a new market, and small, but full of local farmers and crafters.  Nutritionists and dieticians will be on hand to talk food and health, and I will be there sampling and selling Pixie's Pocket Infused Honey!

If you want to know where to purchase Pixie's Pocket products, both online or in shops, click on the tab called "Where to Buy Pixie's Pocket Honey" - more stores and markets to come soon!

Here's to health, and the coming spring.   Be well!

Let's Talk About: Local Honey!

Every now and then, folks ask if I ever sell plain honey in my shop, The Pixie's Pocket.

Unfortunately, I won't feel quite right doing this until I have my own hives and bees to tend to, as it feels like cheating to sell another beekeeper's honey without adding my own touch to it, infusing it with lovely herbs.

Here's a recent query I received about The Pixie's Pocket:

"I have a question about your honey...We LOVE your naturally flavored honey, and I was wondering, particularly with interest in regard to its basic flowery flavor,  are you willing to sell the honey plain?"

Weeeeelllll....I suppose that am willing to do so, but it would be more beneficial to your health and your local economy to support one of your nearby beekeepers!

The honey that I have used as the base of infused honeys from the Pixie's Pocket are both wildflower blends. When I lived in Virginia, I supported Golden Angels Apiary from the Shenandoah Valley.  Now that I live in North Carolina, I use Haw Creek Honey.

Now, I suppose I could fill one of my pretty jars with Haw Creek Honey, package it up, and mail it to you. But I'd have to charge you pretty well for it...instead, for the same price, you could be getting a larger jar of honey made from the wildflowers in your town, supporting your local beekeepers, and saving on carbon emissions from shipping!

Check your local farm market to find someone selling honey from their hives.  Or you can use this list of resources to find a beekeeper near you:

• Check your local farm market

• Local Harvest:  These guys don't just list honey, but all farm markets and u-pick farms in the United States

• Find your local beekeeper's association and inquire with them

• The Honey Board:  Another United States site, search by state for honey distributors.

• Honey-O: Finally, an international guide to beekeepers and beekeeping associations!