Featuring world-class culinary treats and marquee musical acts, the annual Highlands Food & Wine Festival will be held Nov. 13-16 at various venues within the community.

About a month ago, my neighbor sent a text asking if I wanted some of her fresh basil which was growing in abundance. Together, we clipped a bagful of the herb, then she loaned me her “Moosewood Cookbook” so I could use the basil to follow the book’s pesto recipe. That afternoon, I made the most delicious homemade pesto pasta that even the pickiest eater in the house loved. 

Question: Can drinking tart cherry juice help with my knee pain due to osteoarthritis?

Answer: While tart cherry juice isn’t harmful, the research proof of its efficacy to reduce pain or inflammation due to arthritis just is not there. 

To the Editor:

Recently three Haywood County citizens long involved in issues of public concern met with Congressman Chuck Edwards at his office in Hendersonville. Issues focused on were SNAP, medical insurance, research cuts and the federal match for Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes.

Did you know that you can find locally roasted coffee (beans and ground and even some K-cups!) at Ingles Markets?  

Be sure and look for these (and more) local coffee roasters at your Ingles Market, either on the local food shelf or on their own display: 

One thing I’ve been noticing lately on social media is a reference to “struggle meals”. These are easy, economical meals to make when money (and time) is tight. Often these meals start out with staple foods with protein like beans, cheese, canned tuna, peanut butter and eggs and then add in or have with starches and vegetables.

Here are some ideas of typical “struggle meals:” 

Friends of the Greenway will host the 12th FROG FAIR, an arts and crafts, music and food fundraiser event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Greenway Visitor Center/FROG Quarters at 573 E. Main St. in Franklin.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025, the storied John C. Campbell Folk School — located in Brasstown amid the rural landscape of Clay County — remains a cultural bastion for the arts, music and dance in Western North Carolina. 

“[The school] had an effect of kind of changing what traditional music and dance was in the region,” said T-Claw Crawford, music and dance coordinator for JCCFS. 

Be sure and check out the beer/wine and cider section of your Ingles Markets where you’ll find local and regional beer, wine and cider. 

There’s a certain feeling you get when you cross over the Graham County line. For most “outsiders,” whether it be nearby East Tennessee or origin points from any incoming direction, it’s a sense of genuine curiosity and wonder, where you don’t know what to expect around the next curve. And that’s half the fun, you dig?