UPDATE: June 1st 2022

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all who have donated to our fundraiser to-date. While we have not met our goal, we are still accepting donations and earmarking these funds to be used towards bringing free compost drop-off back to the Mueller market. If you have any questions or suggestions, or are a local business interested in partnering with us to help make this happen, please email us at marketing@texasfarmersmarket.org. 

In celebration of Earth Month and our goal of creating a zero waste market and community, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Texas Farmers’ Market Compost Fundraiser, with the goal of bringing our free Community Composting program and other market activities back to the Mueller market! The fundraiser begins April 4th and runs through May 31st, as we celebrate Earth Month throughout the month of April and International Compost Awareness Week May 1st – 7th.

Donate at this link – any amount helps!

Longtime Mueller shoppers may recall that we offered free compost drop-off at the market prior to COVID. Due to increased operational costs to keep the markets running throughout the pandemic, the program has been on hold at Mueller ever since (the program was brought back to the Lakeline market in December 2021 in partnership with Break it Down Austin). In order to bring the compost and other programming back to Mueller, TFM is seeking donations from the community to help our non-profit organization afford costs including a weekly pick-up service, staffing, and equipment/supply needs. Read on to learn more about our Community Composting program, and donate today to help us fill up our compost bin! 

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale (lacinato/dino kale works well!)

olive oil

salt

seasonings of choice (we used pecan parm & smoked paprika!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Tear kale into small pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and your seasonings of choice. Toss and spread onto a baking pan so that they aren’t overlapping (this helps ensure they get nice and crispy!)

Bake for about 5 minutes – keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t get burnt. They bake quickly!

Remove, let cool, and enjoy.

The easiest and tastiest quick pickle recipe for your seasonal market finds!

Ingredients:

Your veggies of choice – we love using green tomatoes, red onions, radishes, cucumbers, peppers, garlic, carrots, beets

Distilled white vinegar (feel free to mix in other vinegars too like apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar)

Sea salt or Kosher salt

Peppercorns (you can add other herbs and spices like mustard seeds, dill, crushed red pepper, and so on).

Directions:

Add one part water and one part vinegar of choice to a pot over low heat.  We used 2 cups water/2 cups vinegar which made enough brine for three jars. Add 2 tbs salt and stir to dissolve, and peppercorns, additional spices as desired. Taste the brine! Make sure the flavor is to your liking and tweak as needed.

Slice up your veggies and pack them tightly into mason jars. Add some garlic cloves and peppercorns to the jar as well. Pour the brine over the veggies and fill to the top of the jar, so the veggies are covered. Let cool and then put in the fridge. We love adding them to sandwiches, salads, and more for the perfect bite of acidity and crunch.

We’re getting cozy in the kitchen today and enjoying this fall weather! If you’ve visited the market lately you’ve probably seen that our farmers are bringing tons and tons of squash and pumpkins. One of our favorite ways to eat winter squash is roasting it and stuffing it with rice or quinoa and more veggies. Learn how to make this easy and beautiful dish below – the best part is you can use EVERY part of the pumpkin/squash in some way shape or form. Any leftover scraps can be frozen and used to make veggie stock!

Ingredients used:

1 pumpkin or acorn squash from Bouldin Food Forest or B5Farm (depending on size these are great for personal servings, one per person!)
1 onion
1 bunch kale (Bernhardt’s Farm)
1 cup quinoa, cooked
Dried cranberries
Veggie stock
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
Cut the top off your pumpkin and set aside
Scoop out the seeds and stringy part of the pumpkin and set aside
Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender

While the pumpkin is cooking, prepare the “stuffing”
Dice the onion and add to a pan with a drizzle of olive oil
Add sliced kale and cooked quinoa, handful of dried cranberries
Add 1/2 cup veggie stock, salt, pepper
Sauté until onions are slightly browned and remove from heat

Add the stuffing to the pumpkin and place back in the oven for about 10 more minutes
Tip: At this point you can also rinse off the pumpkin seeds and spread them around the parchment paper with a drizzle of olive oil/salt/pepper

Remove the stuffed pumpkin and seeds, sprinkle some of the toasted seeds on top of your pumpkin (or save them for snacking later) and enjoy!

Tepache by Mercado Sin Nombre

Ingredients:
rind + core of 1 pineapple (preferably organic)
1 piloncillo cone, shaved
1 Mexican cinnamon stick
2 star anise, cracked
2 cloves, cracked
3 allspice berries, cracked
3 black peppercorns, cracked
Pinch of salt

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in a ceramic or glass container. Cover with water and stir to dissolve piloncillo shavings. Ensure all pineapple rind is submerged (about 1.5 – 2 liters. Place a weight of some kind on top if needed) before covering with a lid. Let sit in a cool, dark place for 3-4 days without letting much, if any, air in.

Pour tepache through a fine mesh strainer to remove solid ingredients. If liquid is too syrupy, add water to get to your desired consistency. Serve over plenty of ice and enjoy.

If you’re looking for a brighter and nuanced tepache for those hotter days, add:
1 lemongrass stick
1 tsp coriander
1 tbs chamomile