Here’s what’s new at the winter Downtown Farmers Market in SLC

This article is excerpted from the Utah Eats newsletter, compiled by Kolbie Peterson, The Salt Lake Tribune’s food and drink reporter. To get the full newsletter in your inbox every Wednesday, become a subscriber by going to sltrib.com/newsletters.

Hello, Eaters!

The frosts of fall may have arrived, but that doesn’t mean farmers markets have to call it quits for the season. They just move indoors.

Last Saturday was the first day of the Downtown Farmers Market, winter edition, held at The Gateway shopping center at 32 N. Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City. The large room that houses the market is slightly hidden, but it’s not hard to find — just head north from the Olympic fountain, following the signs and people, and the door will be on your right. The winter market will be held at The Gateway every Saturday through April 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For opening day, the space was packed with shoppers browsing displays of fresh produce, baked goods, beeswax candles, spice blends, flash-frozen salmon, teas, honey and more, along with arts and crafts.

When I entered the market, the first thing that caught my eye was a display of gorgeous sunflower shoots, pea shoots, radish sprouts and broccoli microgreens at the Urban Prairie Agriculture booth. This venture is based in Ogden and is run by farmer and food access advocate Anne Dunaway, who is a newcomer to the winter market.

In Ogden, Dunaway has an outdoor farm where she grows vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, as well as an indoor farm, where she grows leafy greens and microgreens year-round. She also runs a fresh-food grocery store, at 301 E. 28th St., in Ogden. Follow Urban Prairie on Instagram at @urbanprairieagriculture.

Across from the Urban Prairie stand, I discovered the booth for Magpie Sweets & Eats, run by chef Maggie Faber, who is also new to the winter market. She sells mostly salad dressings, dips and spice blends (the Pickle Ranch smelled deliciously of dill), but for the Thanksgiving season she is also taking pre-orders for oven-ready turkeys.

Brined, pre-seasoned and spatchcocked (which means the backbone is removed and the turkey is laid flat so it cooks more evenly and quickly), the turkeys are $100 each and come with basting oil, a quart of gravy and full instructions. Order your turkey at MagpieEats.com.

Maybe I was craving something snacky and sweet, but I was drawn to the Raw Eddy’s booth, where I met business owner Kaitlyn Maestas. She told me about the snacks she makes, which are vegan, gluten-free, plant-based and soy-free, as well as delicious. I tried the fudge brownie bite, and it hit the spot, with a chocolatey flavor and invitingly chewy texture.

Maestas said all of her cookies and bites are made with superfoods and adaptogens, which are active ingredients in certain plants and mushrooms that may have health benefits. She said the focus of Raw Eddy’s is to make good-tasting snacks that can have a positive impact on your brain, promoting mental health. Learn more at RawEddys.com.

I was happy to see that Abigail’s Oven was at the winter market — I’d kept meaning to grab a loaf of their sourdough bread at the summer market. This time, I bought a loaf of garlic rosemary ($13), which is one of their top sellers. All of their bread is made with only three ingredients — flour, salt and water — fermented for 10 hours, and then baked in Dutch ovens. Visit AbigailsOven.com for more information.

Finally, I followed my nose to the booths for Apiana Blooms — which sells fragrant beeswax candles — and The Queens Tea, which sells loose-leaf tea as well as beautifully scented soap, all of which would make great holiday gifts.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

• Fiiz — the specialty soda shop that has 52 locations throughout Utah — is coming out with new festive flavors for fall. The Smashing Pumpkin is a blend of Dr Pepper, pumpkin spice, vanilla and cream, and the Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate is made with hot chocolate, pumpkin spice, caramel drizzle and whipped cream, according to a news release. Plus, for $3, customers can get pretzel bites and cheese with the purchase of any full-price drink.

Openings:

• Melancholy Wine & Cocktail Lounge opened last weekend in the Post District, at 556 S. Gale St. in Salt Lake City. I’ll check it out and report back once they’ve had a chance to settle into their new digs.

• Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a Texas-based burger concept, is opening its second Utah location, at 9710 S. State St. in Sandy, according to a news release. A grand opening will be held Friday, and 15 attendees will be randomly chosen to receive free Mooyah for a year. Mooyah also has a location in Provo.

Closings:

• The State Road Tavern — along with the rest of the DeJoria Center concert venue at the High Star Ranch development in Kamas — will shut down on Dec. 31, KPCW reported. The company told employees on Nov. 5. The State Road Tavern was spotlighted on the Oct. 23 episode of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” as a meeting spot for Whitney Rose and Meredith Marks.

Dish of the Week

For Sunday dinner last weekend, my dining companion and I got some help from Parami, a Utah business that sells jars of handmade Thai curry sauces.

Parami was founded by Nika Noun, who is originally from Cambodia and has spent half her life in America and half in Asia. She went to college at Brigham Young University, where she’d often cook for her friends, and they’d rave over her Thai curry, she said.

Once Noun discovered that she couldn’t find high-quality curry sauces on grocery store shelves, she started making her own and bottling them, she said.

We got a jar of her massaman curry at the Downtown Farmers Market. It’s made with the core curry ingredients of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots and coconut cream, with the addition of cinnamon, which she said makes it a nice curry for fall.

Noun makes her curries gluten-free, dairy-free, preservative-free and nut-free (except for her vegan panang curry, which has peanuts), and all you have to do is add your desired protein and veggies, then simmer.

We had great results with chicken thighs, red and orange bell peppers and zucchini (pictured above), and served it over rice.

You can get Parami curry at ParamiTaste.com, on Amazon and at the Downtown Farmers Market.