The West Virginia Farmers Market Association worked on a collaborative project with the American Heart Association and local chef, April Hamilton of Charleston. This project, The Recipe Challenge, started as a contest in search of the best heart friendly fresh recipes. Over 80 recipes were submitted for the challenge. Winners from across the state were chosen for grand prizes. Three farmers markets received pop-up kitchens based on the number of submissions from their markets.

Three recipes were chosen to win cash prizes. Susan Maslowski, Milton, was awarded third place for her Honey Angel Food Cake. Sherry Kaslowski, Fairmont, won the second place prize for her Crust-less Quiche. And the grand prize was awarded to Elizabeth Wheeler of Shepherdstown for her Chicken Butternut Patties. These recipes along with several others have been collected and were available in a cookbook. There were be free samples of the winning recipes, and ingredients were available to purchase.

The West Virginia Farmers Market Association would like to congratulate all our winners, staff past and present, and all the contributors from the community for the successful partnership that has led to the release of “West Virginia Foods & Flavors Farmers Market Cookbook.”