Austin Farmers Market

Last Saturday I went to the Austin Farmers Market with my friend Allyson (pictured above with me at a happy hour last year.) No, we aren't becoming hippies, but the curiosity of what would be there was killing me. They have this every Saturday downtown and on Wednesday evenings you can find them at The Triangle (for you locals).

The first thing we grabbed were the most delicious quiche. Mine was caramelized onion and blue cheese. The crust was perfectly flaky and the egg mixture moist and flavorful with the perfect browning on top. Allyson had the spinach and feta quiche. Both were to die for.

An Austin bakery shows his beautiful loaves in wicker baskets. The round sour dough loaf was priced at $30.

I couldn’t pass on this red snapper from the gulf of mexico. I’m still learning to cook fish, and this looked like a beautiful fish to try. I bought a large filet (enough for three people…or you could say dinner for Jim and I and then lunch for Jim the next day.)

The colors of the produce were magnificent. These eggplants were so purple, and the listada di gandia variety was so unique (to me at least) I had to photograph it.

We saw everything from garlic to tomatoes and lamb to bison, fresh milk, watermelons, and even cactus.

When the sun started to peek through the clouds I looked for something cold and returned to this hibiscus mint tea stand. A boy who was probably in 5th grade took our orders. He scooped the ice into my cup and filled with the premixed hibiscus mint tea, then took his little fingers and plucked a few mint leaves of a potted plant in the stand and dropped them on top of my tea. I wish I had a picture of the little boy he was so freaking precious. The tea was really tasty too!

I purchased this zephyr squash, couldn’t pass up the color.

Local goat cheese…oh my. I purchased the cilantro/jalapeno, not sure how I’m going to eat it yet. Probably slathered on a cracker. Yum!

Allyson picked up some really nice produce at the farmer’s market and I’ve asked her to document how she used them. So here she is, my favorite guest blogger Allyson.

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At the farmer's market, I bought some beautiful yellow pear tomatoes, feta cheese marinated in olive oil with basil and tomatoes, and I also purchased fresh basil. These ingredients were perfect for a fresh dinner salad on Saturday night.

The Ingredients: Mixed greens (from a bag!), the yellow pear tomatoes (some sliced in half, some whole), the marinated feta cheese, deli turkey that I tore into the salad, Kraft light balsamic vinaigrette dressing, freshly ground pepper.

YUM! If I closed my eyes and drown out the sounds of the Olympics and the monsoon outside, I felt like I was in the Mediterranean....

To go with our dinner, I made the Pioneer Woman's cheese muffins. Well, I guess they are not hers, someone else submitted them for her most recent contest, but her web site is where I found this recipe. I had to cook them longer than the recipe said -- 30 minutes? I think something is wrong with my oven...

I thought these were good, and my husband agreed. Probably would have been better with full-fat cheese (I used low-fat), and I think they needed more salt. But that didn't stop me from eating 3 in a row...and 2 more the next day...

Coming up next in Allyson’s Adventures in Baking…Peanut Butter cookies and homemade bread!