Cedar Park Farms to Market

Market Happening

I have found that weather casters can be wrong.  Last week we expected 70 degrees with sunshine.  Well, that finally happened but not until the last hour of the market.  So, I am not promising any more beautiful days but the forecast as of today, Wednesday, is for sun with a high of 61 degrees. 

Vendor Updates

Many of you asked about Full Quiver last week and I wanted to let you know they will return this week with pork, beef, all of their cheeses and their jars of fermented veggies.  Razor Sharp will be there, so bring your knives, scissors and garden sheers, etc. for sharpening.  His price averages from $3-$5 per knife.  This will be the second week for Lavande, our new lavender farmer.  Our other producers will include: Hairston Creek Farm (certified organic) and a few dozen yard eggs, Smith and Smith free-range lamb, chicken & eggs, Engel Farm (bringing you those baby brussels sprouts), Pleasant Hill Farm (beef, tamales and jellies, jams and salsas), Flint Rock Farm with her wonderful hothouse tomatoes, English cucumbers and yard eggs, Two Happy Children Farm with those incredible heads of broccoli, Country Side Farm with his pastured chickens, fresh feral hog, duck, rabbit, geese, pheasant and turkey, Kitchen Pride Mushrooms with their Shitakes, Portabella and baby portabellas and beauriful yellow and silver oyster mushrooms.  Winters Family Beef brings their Steakhouse Style (featured by Chef Jack Gilmore of Jack Allen's Kitchen), pasture raised beef and jerky and sometimes they have cabritio, Wine from Flat Creek Winery and Bistro, Olive Oil and balsamic vinegars from Texas Hill Country Olive Company, Amador Farms with their hydroponic lettuces, most know for their fabulous Bibb lettuce (also featured at Jack Allen's Kitchen), Pecan Shop brings their wonderful, native Texas pecans, flavored and not, Mil-King Creamery offers low temp pasturized, non homogenized milk and their Formage Blanc fresh cheese, Round Rock Honey, Thompson's Eggs and Johnson's Backyard Garden who brings a large variety of seasonal organic vegetables.

Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour

Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour is coming up!  Saturday, May 5th, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.  It teaches and promotes raising backyard chickens and gives participants a chance to show off their chickens and coops and exchange ideas with folks who want to learn to raise chickens!  This FREE event includes coops north of Austin, in the cities of Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, and surrounding areas.  One lucky drawing winner will go home with a small barn coop, 4 laying hens, 50-lb bag of H&H Layer feed, 1 gallon waterer, 11-lb feeder, hay for the nest boxes, and a bag of hen treats, all courtesy of MobileChickenCoops.  They offer a full line of custom built chicken tractors, chicken coops, DIY kits, and accessories that are ready to ship or pick-up!  Shop online!

Hill Country Feed and Supply offers livestock and pet feeds, crop seed, and farm supplies.  Located on 183 in Leander. Deadline to get your coop on the tour is February 10, 2012.  E-mail for an application, or check them out on Facebook.

Celebration at Flat Creek Estates

Saturday, February 4 at 7pm
$65/Person : $60/Estate Club Member
Reservations: 512-267-6310

Bring your special someone to Flat Creek Estate for a Pre-Valentines Day Dinner on Saturday, Febraury 4 at 7pm. This exquisite 5-Course Dinner is only $65/person and is expertly paired with Flat Creek Estate award winning wines. Avoid the crowds and join us at this limited seating event.  Reservations Required * 48hr Cancellation Policy

Carrot Missiles

The “Carrot Missiles”, a group of 4th and 5th graders from Laurel Mountain Elementary, Round Rock ISD are back to the Cedar Park Farmers Market after participating in this year’s  FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Central Texas Regional Championship competition. The FLL Food Factor™ Science Challenge encourages FLL teams to research and find ways to prevent food contamination.

After several weeks of intense work, the “Carrot Missiles” completed their participation at the FLL Regional Championship held at Westlake High School on January 21st. Before starting their preparation for next year's FLL challenge, the "Carrot Missiles" will share their findings with the Central Texas community. Come and see their research project results, a new special type of food packaging called the “a-Pak” (for anti-bacterial package) a solution designed to minimize food contamination by bacteria. The "Carrot Missiles drew inspiration from their interactions with vendors from the Cedar Park Farmers Market and from research done in the area of nano technology by leading-edge research centers. The "Carrot Missiles" will also showcase their robot design and Food Factor™ Challenge missions!

"FIRST® highly values an FLL team that spreads the word about their discoveries with others. After all, researchers who make their data available for use by the scientific community help extend society’s knowledge" From FLL Central Texas News

Upcoming Events

February 10th: The last day to sign up for the chicken coop for the Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour being held on May 5.

February 11th - 9am - 1pm: Celebrate Valentines Day with a V-day treat demonstration by Kate Payne, author of The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking.  She's on facebook!      

February 11th - 9am - 11am: The "Carrot Missles" are very excited to come back to the Farmers Market

February 18 - 9am - 1pm: Celebration of culture at the market.  We are asking that vendors share with you the customs and tastes of each of their cultures. This could be fun!      

May 5th - 10am - 4pm: Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour Join us for a tour of the coolest coops around!  Visit the facebook page!

Should I buy Whole Grain Pasta?

Is whole grain pasta really better for you than regular pasta? Recently I featured pasta puttanesca greened up with a little kale in the sauce. When one reader made this recipe at home, he opted to use whole grain pasta instead (I used a regular rigatoni).

But if I care about health so much why didn’t I use whole grain pasta originally?

You probably already know that I health-heartedly support the regular consumption of whole grains. But I also hold that there is a huge difference between intact grains and processed whole grains. So yes, brown rice is better for you than white rice, but pasta is different.

Noodles are made of dough and are therefore processed no matter what. For this reason they will never be a pinnacle of health food, but that does not mean that there can’t be a place for them in your diet. Italians eat pasta almost every day, and most of them are healthier than us. The important thing to think about when you are eating pasta–any pasta–is quantity.

So to answer the question, is whole grain pasta better than regular pasta? Maybe a little. But because I do not eat pasta very often, and because when I do eat pasta I eat a normal (aka small) portion, I always buy what I think will taste the best with meal. And for me, that is usually handmade fresh pasta (the soft refrigerated kind), not the whole grain stuff.

If you do not mind the taste of whole grain pasta, go ahead and buy it. It might be slightly better for you than the other kind. But the impact of whole grain pasta on your overall health is really small, so this is not a question to get hung up on.

Want a healthier Italian meal? Add more vegetables.

Read more from SummerTomato

Market News

Wow!  Another 70 degree day is in store for us this Saturday at the CPF2M.  62 vendors are expected.  Your favorite farmers, ranchers and other vendors will be there as well as another new lavender farmer, Craig Stewart from Lavande of Texas just north of Bellville.

We will also have our milk and Fomage Blanc fresh cheese back this week.  Mill-King promises to bring more gallons for you and your families.  Soon to come is 2% milk, butter and other wonderful dairy products.  Don't forget that Full Quiver also brings raw milk cheeses to the market each week, including: Cheddar, Colby, Monterey and pepper jack, Gryuere, Mozzarella, Feta, cheese curds and Neufchatel.

Lisa of Feto Soap will be showing you how to create a custom bar of glycerin soap in just minutes at her booth. And, we will have special activities for the kids at Kids' Corner.  See you Saturday!

Upcoming Events 

February 11th - 9am - 1pm: Celebrate Valentines Day with a V-day treat demonstration by Kate Payne, author of The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking. She's on facebook!  

February 18 - 9am - 1pm: Celebration of culture at the market.  We are asking that vendors share with you the customs and tastes of each of their cultures. Hang on, this could be fun.

February 10th - The last day to sign up for the chicken coop for the Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour being held on May 5.

May 5th - 10am - 4pm: Hill Country Chicken Coop Tour Join us for a tour of the coolest coops around!  Visit the facebook page!

Vendor Info

Lavande is new this week.  Craig, Dana or Sarah handcraft each of their items which include aromatherapy, bath and body, culinary, for the home, sachet & pillows, all made with lavender grown at the Lavande farm.  They are located in Bellville, south and west of Hempstead.  Farmer Craig will offer Bloom & U-Pick opportunities this summer. Be sure to stop by to check out their amazing products and to give them a Cedar Park Farms 2 Market welcome.

Fresh Pastures Farm is also new to the Cedar Park Farms 2 Market but not new to the area.  They have been a vendor at our sister market, Round Rock Farms 2 Market.  Brie and her husband, John raise a variety of animals on their farm in Taylor, right down the road from Hutto, Georgetown and Round Rock.  After seeing the movie, Food, Inc. and reading the Omnivore's Dilemma and Real Food they were strongly convicted that they needed to eat differently...locally, humanely, organically. They started raising pastured chickens and processed them at the farm. They now raise rabbit, beef, pork and chicken in very small quantities.  So, this week they will bring eggs and pork from the hog (funny story about the hog and pics on facebook page) they just had processed. They are not a large enough operation to be at the market continuously and when we get the RRF2M up and running again that will be their primary market.  Visit their website.  You'll love and learn from what you see!

10 tips for eating healthy on a budget

• Cook at home The most important change I made to save money was to turn cooking at home into my default option rather than rely on neighborhood eateries as my go-to cop out. Eating out is expensive, no matter which way you cut it.
• Shop on weekends If you already have fresh food in the fridge you will be more motivated to cook for yourself instead of going out and spending money. Make the habit of buying food ahead of time and you won’t be as tempted to waste money going out.
• Shop seasonally When choosing what to eat, taste trumps health 90% of the time. (That’s why you rolled your eyes when I suggested you eat fewer burritos.) If you really want to start eating healthy you must want to eat vegetables, and that will only happen if the ones you buy taste delicious. Seasonal, farm fresh produce can completely change how you feel about vegetables and fruits—it also tends to be the best deal in the produce section.
• Shop at the farmers market In my experience the best tasting produce in a chain grocery store is at Whole Foods. But if you have ever been shopping there you know what a dent it can put in your wallet (this does not apply to their non-fresh items, which are competitively priced and often cheaper than other stores). Rather than handing over your Whole Paycheck or settling for less than inspiring options at HEB, do your weekly produce shopping at your local farmers market. If you shop intelligently (see below) you can get 2 meals for the cost of one burrito.
• Focus on leafy greens Leafy greens like kale, chard, collards, spinach and broccoli are some of the most nutritious, least expensive things you can buy. And this is true at any grocery store, not just the farmers market. Frequently, half a bunch of kale with some beans, grains and herbs is my entire dinner and costs around $1.50. It also takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. Can you beat that?
• Buy in bulk Canned beans are fine, but dried beans taste better and are way cheaper. Grains from the bulk bins at your local health food store are only pennies per serving. Cook these staples in large batches and save them in your freezer for cheap, quick and nutritious food anytime. This is also true of lentils. Just add some greens and you’re good to go.
• Eat less meat This is probably the easiest way to save money. Whether at the grocery store or at restaurants meat is always the most expensive thing on the menu. I do not advocate a vegetarian diet, but limiting meat to once or twice a week is an easy way to cut back on both calories and expenses. If you are worried about protein (you needn’t be) you can eat beans, eggs and lentils instead.
• Use fish from cans Fish is an important part of a healthy diet, but fresh fish can be expensive (especially the wild sustainable kinds). Canned salmon, sardines (boneless, skinless), smoked mackerel and anchovies are inexpensive alternatives for protein, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Make fruit dessert. I am the first to admit that fruit can be very expensive, especially summertime berries and stone fruits. While I do recommend you invest in some high-quality farmers market fruit, it will be easier on your wallet if you consider fruit a treat.
• Think long term I am not arguing that buying every single food item at the farmers market is the cheapest way to shop, but it is almost certainly the healthiest. Our hedonistic tendencies may incline us toward cheap, greasy foods but you should consider what you are really paying for in the long run. Poor diet can be attributed to most cases of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and a generally difficult, painful life. And I probably don’t need to convince you that a farm fresh salad costs less than a hospital trip and a lifetime of medication. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive, but unhealthy eating can cost you your life.