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Cakes by Shelby has gift ideas for teachers, family members, children and friends. Don’t forget to stop by and pick up the popular cake pops, too! Visit her website for more information about her treats.

Oakton

Our Oakton market will be open Saturday, Dec. 24.

Fabbioli Cellars

Fabbioli Cellars has the perfect wines for the holidays; they make perfect gifts and will add that special touch to your holiday feasts. Taste some of the best wines from Virginia and see for yourself. We will be bringing our dinner wines: the lighter Chamborcin, the fruity/peppery Cabernet Franc, and our full-bodied flagship wine, the Tres Sorelle; as well as our ever popular dessert wines: Royalty, a port-style dessert wine with a taste of smoked cherries, cloves, holiday spices, cinnamon and cranberries; Rosa Nera, the port-style, black raspberry dessert wine; our phenomenal Raspberry Merlot; and our wonderfully different Aperitif Pear Wine. So come and stock up for the entertaining and gift-giving season.

Peachtree Sweets

Rashmi of Peachtree Sweets will have gift boxes of the following items available for purchase Dec. 17 and Dec. 24.

Prices per dozen:

• Chocolate chip cookies 5.99
• Dark chocolate pecan cookies 7.99
• Rich chocolate brownies 8.99
• Nutty biscotti 4.99
• Berry berry muffins 6.99
• Chocolate almond muffin bites 6.99
• Pumpkin cranberry walnut bread (1 mini loaf) 5.99
• Chocolate truffles 9.99

She will also have chocolate truffles (chocolate hazelnut and coffee flavors) for sale in small 2- and 4-piece packs. You can order any of these items or place a more customized order Dec. 17 and pick it up Dec. 24, or call Rashmi at (630) 276-6168 by Dec. 22 at the latest to preorder. Gift boxes and baskets are also available.

The Finger Buffet

• Samosas with special chutney
• Sweet and savory empanadas
• Mushroom puffs
• Turkish pides
• Phyllo triangles
• Mixed boxes of cookies from around the world
• Fig-covered chocolates
• Variety tartlet trays including apple and pear tartlets
• Brie en croute in large and individual sizes

Nancy will accept orders for any of the above or mixed platters, either baked and ready to serve or frozen for baking at the last minute. Email her at nk22312@yahoo.com or call (703) 944-6802 with special orders. They can be picked up at the market.

Our newest vendor at our Centreville, Oakton and Gainesville markets is Virginia Crabs. They sell large male steamed crabs, crab cakes and steamed shrimp. Igor and Irada buy only local seafood and, in spite of their Old World heritage, they know how to do New World crabs.

You can order ahead from Virginia Crabs and pick up your order at the market. Their menu:

• One dozen large male crabs — $55
• 2 5-ounce crab cakes — $15
• Crab cake sandwich with slaw — $10
• One-pound steamed 16–20 count shrimp — $18

Email your order to us at jean@smartmarkets.org.

Photo by Bobbi Bowers.

Il Bastone will feature these offerings at our Oakton and Gainesville markets April 9 and 10.

Veggie Corn Empanada

Sweet corn, sautéed onions and red peppers, garlic, and melted mozzarella cheese in a light Béchamel sauce. These turnovers are a complete meal in one and pair well with white wines.

Vermut e Formaggio Sausage

Beef & pork sausage with a noticeable presence of Martini & Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth and Pecorino Romano cheese, lots of basil, parsley, and a dab of tomato paste. The complex and sharp flavor comes from the cheese itself, which is made from sheep’s milk and has the consistency of Parmesan cheese. The addition of the vermouth with its herbal characteristics strongly accents the overall taste of this cooking sausage. Due to its high aromatic concentration it is recommended that it be eaten as part of a sauce or stew.

We’ve welcomed new vendors to some of our markets—Cherry Glen Goat Cheese has joined us at both Oakton and Gainesville. We’ve assigned them a spot next to Loudoun Valley Vineyards so you can get the full benefit of a sampling. And I am sure that our French bakery will contribute a baguette or two. Check out Cherry Glen’s website—read it and drool!

Lothar’s Gourmet Sausages has also joined us at Gainesville. Please welcome him with open arms—he will give you a big hug in return. Lothar and June are such fun and really get “the spirit of the market” that I have worked so hard to promote.

Lothar left a high-level position in another business to return home to Germany to learn his trade the old-fashioned way, and he is now the sausage-meister at Fauquier’s Finest butchering facility, where he makes the sausages that many of our meat vendors sell. On his own time he makes traditional European sausages and cured and marinated meats—and according to my German husband, they are all really authentic and really tasty!

Robert Medina is now at Oakton and Gainesville with herbs, early produce and bedding plants for your own gardens—flowers and veggies. Our very own resident plant expert, Joe Belsan, will also come soon to advise on planting in a tilled garden and in pots and smaller, landscaped areas of your yard. If you can adjust your thinking about what a vegetable garden looks like, he can help you visualize an entirely different animal—or plant as the case may be.

Read this Fredericksburg.com article about a visit to Walnut Hill Farm, run by Jeff and Ginny Adams.

The Adamses are raising heritage livestock — hearty breeds that have been in America for centuries and are known for their flavorful meat. The husband and wife also are using methods that go back almost as far.

Everything they sell at local markets is raised on their land without chemicals, growth hormones or antibiotics.

You can buy grass-fed, free-range, hormone-free meats of all kinds from Walnut Hill at our Fairfax Corner and Gainesville markets.