New cookbook full of fresh farm ingredients
Plus, here's the scoop on local restaurant openings and closings
Nine years after it originally debuted, the new edition of a cookbook presented by the West Virginia Farmers Market Association and the West Virginia American Heart Association is now out, featuring dozens of recipes made with fresh, wholesome ingredients you can pick up at your local farmers market.
Divided into seven sections based on different types of dishes, the 120-page “West Virginia Food & Flavors” is also packed with gorgeous color photography, cooking tricks and healthy-eating tips.
During a cookbook release event at the Kanawha County Public Library’s main branch on Capitol Street last week, West Virginia Farmers Market Association Executive Director Holly Morgan shared why this cookbook project is so important to so many.
“A thriving market feeds all tables,” she explained. “It helps the farmers who can sell what they grow, the families who get to enjoy their bounty and the communities that thrive as a result.”
In a letter included in the front of the cookbook, the Executive Director of West Virginia’s arm of the American Heart Association touched on the benefits of farmers markets as well.
“At the heart of every healthy lifestyle is access to fresh, nutritious ingredients,” Michelle Anderson wrote. “Farmers markets provide more than just fruits and vegetables – they connect us to local growers, support our community and inspire us to make choices that nourish our bodies and our families.”
Recipes included in the new addition range from starters like Grandma Billie’s Pickled Cucumbers and Onions; West Virginia Onion and Ramp Soup; and Lighter Logan County Fried Green Tomatoes; to entrees like Moroccan Eggplant with Couscous and Yogurt; Chicken Schnitzel with Braised Red Cabbage and West Virginia Gold Apple Currant Mostarda; and Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Cheesy Corn Grits.
There’s even a section on fruit drinks and spritzes, plus desserts like Honey Angel Food Cake and Golden Delicious Apple Crisp.
Printed copies of the cookbook will soon be available in some public library branches, and as a downloadable PDF on the West Virginia American Heart Association Facebook page.
Local restaurant openings and closings
In other local food news …
The Gino’s Pizza & Spaghetti House that shares a location with Tudor’s Biscuit World at 217 Lee St. on Charleston’s West Side announced its permanent closing last week. In a statement posted on Facebook, the restaurant said the closure only affects that particular Gino’s location and the Tudor’s there will remain open.
They actually teased an upcoming announcement about a possible expansion of that Tudor’s, which is intriguing. Although I’m not about to open the Tudor’s vs. Suzi’s “which is better” biscuit can of worms, I’ll absolutely fall on the sword for Tudor’s sausage gravy, which is superior.
Pulp Juice and Smoothie Bar at 3708 MacCorkle Ave. SE held its grand opening last Tuesday next to the new Jersey Mike’s in Kanawha City. A national franchise serving more than 30 different smoothies plus a variety of fresh-squeezed juices, wraps and bowls, this is Pulp’s third location in West Virginia, behind Huntington and Teays Valley.
The Los Agaves Mexican restaurant location at 1003 Dunbar Ave. in Dunbar has reopened after a fire in an air conditioning unit damaged the building on the Fourth of July.
And finally, get a load of this roller-coaster ride.
Just a few weeks after announcing plans to clean and reopen their Greenbrier Street restaurant that was heavily damaged by last month’s floods, Deli Fresh in Charleston shared the unfortunate news several days ago that the building – it turns out – could not reopen as-is and would have to be demolished, putting their future in serious jeopardy.
The very next day, however, the story took another wild turn.
“A member of our community has gone above and beyond to make it possible for us to not only reopen Deli Fresh,” the restaurant announced, “but reopen right in the exact same area!”
Turns out that new location will be at 1268 Greenbrier St., “literally a stone’s throw from where we were,” the restaurant confirmed.
The new location is next to Envy Salon, about midway between the old Deli Fresh and the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association.
“Our tentative opening date is late winter, and we’re shooting for March 1, 2027,” but they cautioned that there are many factors and lots of remodeling needs that may affect that date.
More details to come, but it looks like their story isn’t over just yet.
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at wvfoodguy@aol.com.
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