Harvesting Local Goodness at the Greenville Farmers Market
By April Pire | The Local Letter
I spent so much time talking at the Greenville Farmers Market on Saturday that I nearly forgot to take pictures. By the time I noticed someone starting to pack up, I realized I needed to make another pass through with my camera. I had been collecting business cards, asking questions, sampling a few things, and finding plenty of reasons to linger.
After starting September’s Harvesting Local Goodness series with Pullen Family Farms, I wanted to spend this week meeting more of the people growing, making, and selling things in our community. A morning at the market gave me a chance to do just that. Some stops were quick introductions. Others turned into an explanation of coffee roasting or a discussion about what to put in homemade hummus.
These visits were only a small portion of what you can find at the Greenville Farmers Market. There were plants, all kinds of vegetables, more jams and jellies, lemonade, and plenty of booths I didn’t make it to before vendors started packing up. I would have needed more time to visit everyone, but here are a few of the people I had the chance to meet.
A coffee lesson with Hunt County Coffee
At Hunt County Coffee, a few bags on the table turned into one of my longest stops of the morning. Dave R. Carter had coffee from Peru and New Guinea to talk about, and he was happy to explain how those beans made their way to Greenville.
He buys raw coffee through importers and roasts it himself. Those importers provide information about where the coffee was grown, its altitude, and how it was processed. Sometimes that information reaches all the way back to the people farming it. Dave generally prefers single-origin coffees, giving him a chance to work with beans from a particular place and share that background with customers.
He told me he has been roasting for about ten years and selling at the market for about seven. He started with a small tabletop roaster before investing in a larger one. His goal has remained pretty straightforward: bring people better coffee with a fresher roast, and help them understand what they’re drinking.
Freshness came up several times. He pointed out bags he had marked down because they were about a month past their roast date, explaining that he pays attention to how flavor changes over time. He wanted customers to know why those bags were priced differently.
What I enjoyed most was how willing he was to answer questions. You could ask about the beans, the roasting, or the long trip from a farm overseas to his table here in Greenville. He even had a printed sheet to help explain what coffee goes through before it reaches your cup.
For people looking for his coffee between market visits, Dave can help you find a bag or let you know what he has available. I didn’t bring home a bag this time, but I certainly left knowing more about what goes into one.
Klevier Natural Foods and a new way to make hummus
I don’t usually buy hummus, so Klevier Natural Foods was a bit of a surprise for me. I tried a sample, liked it, and ended up taking home a package of their flavor base.
Curt and Melissa Swanson previously sold finished hummus in stores in Galveston. After moving here, they shifted to selling the flavor base so customers could blend a fresh batch at home. The little pouch contains the ingredients that give their hummus its flavor. You supply the chickpeas.
Melissa walked me through it: add the base to a blender with a can of drained chickpeas, keeping a little of the liquid to adjust the texture to your liking. She described a blend that includes olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, turmeric, and roasted cumin. The turmeric gives it that golden color you can see in the samples.
Then we started talking about all the things you could add. Cilantro and feta had been a popular combination when they sold finished hummus. Roasted red peppers, olives, and jalapeños were other possibilities. You can leave it classic or use the base as a starting point for whatever sounds good in your kitchen.
They also suggested using hummus on sandwiches or with grilled meat, which gave me a few ideas beyond setting out a bowl of dip. Melissa asked me to let her know what I put in mine and how it turned out. That part felt very much like shopping at a farmers market: I was leaving with something to try and an invitation to come back and tell the person who made it what I thought.
Before I left the market, I went looking for sourdough to go with it and managed to grab the last loaf from Fredrickson Farm as they were packing up. My next step is making the hummus at home. I’ll have to report back on that part.
Following my nose to Wicky Jo Candle Co.
The food-inspired scents at Wicky Jo Candle Co. led Jo Rutter and me into a whole discussion about pie. Caramel pecan pie, apple pie, and cinnamon bun were among the scents we talked about, along with cleaner and woodsy options.
When I asked about making the candles, Jo told me she had taken over the original primary bedroom at home for her work. That gave me a little glimpse of the space and effort behind the jars arranged on her table. Somewhere between testing fragrances and preparing for markets, a room in the house had become a place to build a business.
She also showed me wickless options made for warmers. I kept coming back to the coffee scent. It smelled like a wonderful coffee shop, and that was the one I ended up choosing to bring home.
Coffee beans at one booth and coffee fragrance at another. Apparently, there was a little theme developing in my morning.
A closer look at plants with Double C Ranch
At Double C Ranch, owned by Kris and Shea Ivy, I asked Shea what had inspired the collection of plant-based products on their table. The answer began with goldenrod and a growing curiosity about the plants around them.
Shea explained that an interest in goldenrod had led her to start learning about other plants. One question became another: What is this plant? What can I learn about it? That curiosity eventually grew into the tinctures, syrups, and other products they brought to the market.
She described gathering some of the plants they use locally and being selective about where she purchases ingredients they cannot grow or gather here. What interested me was the attention she paid to things many of us might pass along a backroad without knowing their names.
It was a different connection to this month’s Harvesting Local Goodness theme, rooted in learning about what grows nearby and using that knowledge to create something.
A few more stops along the way
At Ashmore’s Pecan Creek Farm, the table held jars of jams, jellies, pickled okra, peppers, breads, and fresh produce. The person representing John and Carolyn Ashmore’s Lone Oak farm was deep in conversation with another customer, and I didn’t want to interrupt, so this was a shorter stop. I picked up a card to learn more instead. I didn’t buy anything from their table this time, but I had picked up a loaf of their zucchini bread on a previous trip to the market, and it was so good I remembered it as soon as I saw their table again.
I also stopped by Pullen Family Farms after sharing their story last week and said hello at Too Good Popcorn, another business we’ve featured before. Seeing familiar businesses alongside people I was just meeting made the morning feel like a chance to check in and keep exploring.
At Evogia Candle Company, I met Evelyn and explored another collection of scents. The family-owned Hunt County business makes candles and soaps, using materials including palm wax and beeswax. Evelyn invited me to pick things up and smell them, so there was plenty of opportunity to find a favorite.
There were sweet stops, too, including Melea Keck’s A Little Sugar & Butter Macarons, based in Quinlan. Melea was one of the local bakers featured in our first Hunt County Bakery Roundup, and I’m getting ready for Part 2 next week. The market gave me a chance to reconnect with her and gather a few more ideas for that story.
Give yourself time to ask a question
I went to the market looking for local goodness and came home with a hummus flavor base, sourdough, a coffee-scented purchase, and a collection of business cards to work through. I also came home with a better understanding of several businesses I might otherwise have only known by a name on a table.
That’s what I hope these stories help you do. The next time you’re at the market, give yourself a little time to ask someone how they got started or what they enjoy making. You might get a coffee lesson. You might find something you didn’t think you liked. You might leave with plans to try a new recipe and come back with an update.
And if you find a business you’re excited about, tell us in The Local Connection. Take a picture, share what you found, and give someone else a reason to stop at that table. You don’t have to buy from every business to help more people discover them.
Behind the Businesses
Greenville Farmers Market: Market Square | 2203 Lee St., Downtown Greenville | Saturday mornings | Facebook | 903-457-3138
Hunt County Coffee: Dave R. Carter | Greenville, TX | 214-632-8839 | huntcountycoffee@gmail.com | Hunt County Coffee on Facebook
Klevier Natural Foods: Curt and Melissa Swanson | Greenville, TX | 903-306-7810 | Find Klevier Natural Foods on Facebook for blending instructions and recipes.
Wicky Jo Candle Co.: Jo Rutter | 903-456-8141 | Find Wicky Jo Candle Co. on Facebook
Double C Ranch: Kris and Shea Ivy | 903-408-0447 | Website | Facebook: CC Ranch-Double C
Ashmore’s Pecan Creek Farm: John and Carolyn Ashmore | 5219 FM 2737, Lone Oak, TX 75453 | 214-502-9266
A Little Sugar & Butter Macarons: Melea Keck | Quinlan, TX | Find A Little Sugar & Butter Macarons on Facebook.
Evogia Candle Company: Evelyn | Hunt County, TX | 430-295-3882 | evogiacandles@yahoo.com
Harvesting Local Goodness
Throughout September, The Local Letter is following the food, goods and people that connect Hunt County from the farm to our tables. Harvesting Local Goodness is about knowing what is grown, raised and made close to home, and getting to know the people whose work makes it possible.
There is more to the story of what we buy locally. This month, we’re going to meet some of the people behind it.
Know a local business with a great story? Send them our way!