Just a week before Christmas and Old Beach Farmers Market is loaded with gift ideas and wonderful foods.  Uli Bennewitz and daughter Sophie of Weeping Radish Farm Brewery in Grandy, N.C., are making a special appearance with their outstanding German-style sausages.Thoughtful gifts from other vendors include jams, cheeses, freshly-baked breads, rolls, cakes, cookies and to-die-for brownies. For someone you really like, consider giving a CSA from Mattawoman Farms or Pendulum Fine Meats. Croc’s is selling award-winning wine from Lake Anna Winery, a family-owned vineyard near Fredericksburg.

Fresh vegetables from Mattawoman include spinach, kale, collards, purple mustard greens, lettuce, turnips, bok choy, tatsoi, bunching onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sweet peppers and kohlrabi.

Edmonds Farm has bison and pork; Full Quiver has chicken, pork and eggs; Udder Chaos has pasture-raised beef; Brentwood Farm has lamb; Pendulum Fine Meat, offers a curated inventory from area farmers.

Author Toni Guagenti is signing her book “100 Things to do in Virginia Beach Before You Die” in the Information Tent. While you’re there ask one of our awesome volunteers about purchasing OBFM gift certificates that can be used buying from any vendor on every market day.

RECIPE

SUGAR & SPICE HOLIDAY DRY RUB

Dry rubs are a great way to bring a boost of flavor to animal proteins, and my Sugar & Spice Holiday Dry Rub is great for many cuts of beef, chicken or pork. I especially love to have a family and friends meal with a whole beef tenderloin that’s been marinated with this rub as a base.

All of the spices below are readily available for sale retail.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon granulated brown sugar, 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic, 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, 1 tablespoon dried orange peel, 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, 1 tablespoon sea salt, and 1 tablespoon smoked paprika. Stir to incorporate.

At this point, you could triple the recipe and put in a small decorative glass jar and give as a present over the holidays with the indication on a gift card that a half-cup of the rub is enough for an average whole beef tenderloin, and to use less for smaller cuts of beef, chicken or pork.

Also write on the gift card the directions for use: In a small bowl, add dry rub with 1 tablespoon red wine and 1 tablespoon olive oil and combine into a paste. Liberally rub the paste on the protein, place on a platter, and refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.

Recipe from Chef Patrick Evans-Hylton

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VENDORS

The Bakery at Riverside Farm

Beach Biscotti

Brentwood Farm

Brownies, Cookies & S’more

Build Your Food

The Creative Wedge

Croc’s 19th Street Bistro

Edmonds Farm

Fruitive

Full Quiver Farm

Give, Treat, Love

Grace and Gratitude

The Green Cat Café

Hashi Food Truck

It  Started with a Fig

Mattawoman Creek Farms

My Vegan Sweet Tooth

Pelon’s Baja Grill

Rockafeller’s Restaurant

Sandi’s Sandies

Speedy’s Hot Sauce

Three Ships Coffee

Udder Chaos Farms

Whole-Rollers