Bison at Cedar Park Farms to Market

Soccer season has started (and so has baseball season) and unfortunately for me that means I have to spend less time writing about what I am finding at the local farmers market so that I can find some time to actually cook it. However, I had to at least make the time today to mention a couple of the wonderful recipes that I have made in the past couple of weeks using the local ingredients that you can find at the market during February, one of those which, fortunately for us, is bison.

I usually have stock in my freezer but last week I spent all day roasting the two fresh chickens that I got from 6J Ranch and ran out of steam before I made the stock. I had thawed the ground bison meat that I got last weekend from Thunder Heart Bison (Cedar Park Farmers Market) and for dinner tonight I had to come up with a recipe that did not need stock, so I cooked a 'Bison Picadillo' and served it rolled up in warm whole wheat tortillas. Here is the recipe:

2 tsp olive oil

1 lb ground bison

1/2 lb potatoes, cubed small

1 can Muir Glenn tomatoes with chiles

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp chipotle powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp sea salt

whole wheat tortillas

Boil potatoes for about 5-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft; add bison, crumble, and cook until browned. Add cumin, chipotle, salt, and tomatoes. Cook until most liquid evaporates. Add cooked potatoes until warmed. Add some picadillo to center of each tortilla and roll up. Enjoy!!

Ground meat is easy to find at the farmer's market. We normally stick to chicken but last weekend we bought 2lbs of ground sirloin from 6J Ranch and a couple of days ago I took it out of the freezer so that I could cook it today. I wanted something easy and found a recipe for Sloppy Joes from Cooking Light. It was hard to get my daughter to eat it because she does not have fond memories from the Sloppy Joes that they serve at school. I assured her this recipe would be different and she agreed to try it. She ended up having 3 servings! Other delicious recipes we made this week are:

Roasted Beet Pizza (Cooking Light - we used regular and golden beets from Hairston Creek Farm)

Easy Pickled Beets (Cooking Light - regular and golden beets from Hairston Creek Farm)

Creamy Broccoli Soup (Real Simple - we used the romanesco cauliflower from Johnson's Backyard in place of the broccoli - see picture).

I could not find the link to this recipe but have included it here:

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 med onion chopped

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (we used chicken stock we made last week)

1 bunch broccoli, florets roughly chopped, stems peeled and sliced (we used cauliflower)

1 large russed potato (we used potatoes from Johnson's Backyard)

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 oz sharp white cheddar, grated

Preparation

• Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, untsil the onion is soft.
• Add the broth, broccoli, potato, 2 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Puree soup until smooth.