I live north, and because I am hopelessly uncool and anything but hip, I don’t go into downtown Austin very often. I know full well there are some AMAZING farmer’s markets down south, but on a Saturday morning when there are three million family/child-related things to do up north, I just lose all motivation to go down south to take advantage of those great farmer’s markets.
So, what’s a northie to do? Investigate farmer’s markets up north! There are now several. Briefly, the Austin Open Air Market came to the Cedar Park Center on Sundays (this particular farmer’s market is now looking for a new location). Cedar Park Farms 2 Market comes to Lakeline Mall on Saturdays. Georgetown has a farmer’s market on Thursdays. There’s a farmer’s market in Round Rock on Saturdays. Pflugerville’s farmer’s market will open up in May, and it will be open from 3 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. You get the picture…if you live north and you want to shop at a farmer’s market, there are several options throughout the week!
I live in Pflugerville, so from May to September, the Pflugerville farmer’s market is my go-to. In recent months, I have visited both the Austin Open Air Market when it was at the Cedar Park Center and the Cedar Park Farms 2 Market at Lakeline Mall. Because it is so early in the season, I did not find many vegetables for sale at either of these markets, but I did find lots of interesting crafts, snack foods, natural foods, great live music, and a general good time.
This past weekend, I got a small basket of fresh Brussels sprouts at the Cedar Park Farms 2 Market. I roasted the Brussels sprouts with some mild Italian sausage, olive oil, and spices and the dish turned out pretty well. I don’t really like Brussels sprouts and find they need a lot of “assistance” to make me happy, but Josh likes them and I knew he’d be up for trying this dish (I recently saw this recipe somewhere online). I will definitely make this dish again, and I will definitely buy the Brussels sprouts fresh again if I can.
Josh and I are following a low-carb lifestyle and are enjoying trying new dishes that include lots of fresh veggies. I look forward to continuing to visit farmer’s markets up north to see what kind of goodies I can find and what sorts of new recipes I can try. In the mean time, here’s the recipe for my most recent fresh-vegetable experiment.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sausage
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh Brussels sprouts cleaned and trimmed
4 links of mild Italian sausage squeezed out of the casings and broken up into small pieces
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP fresh minced garlic
2 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil and seasonings. Place the Brussels sprouts on the bottom of a glass baking dish and top with the sausage. Bake for 17 minutes, and then stir. Bake for another 15 minutes or so. Watch the dish carefully to make sure the sprouts are not starting to burn.
Written by Lori Anderson