Spatula Diaries: Ideas for spring farmers market bounty

I know you’ve heard this before, but the nice thing about buying local is it takes minimal effort to make fresh ingredients taste great. That’s exactly the kind of stripped-down cooking I’m about these days as I simply try, like many of you, to keep my head above water.

Last Saturday, with my kids shockingly free from morning activities, I dropped by the Red Stick Farmers Market to do some shopping. If I’ve lost you there, don’t worry—most of the ingredients I’m featuring today are easy to find, but they do taste better fresh-picked.

We’re starting to hit that fun period at the market where you can find both cooler temperature crops, such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets and asparagus, as well as warmer crops such as peppers and cucumbers. I bought a big variety of veggies, along with honey from two vendors, herbed goat cheese and a whole-wheat half baguette. That night, I served the bread and cheese as an appetizer and made a side dish of roasted vegetables that took little thought to prepare.

My dinner spread featured the following:

• Two batches of asparagus, ends snapped, tossed in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted in a 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.

• Fresh, large beets, tops removed, ends trimmed and roasted in a foil-covered pan or cast-iron skillet with a little water in the bottom for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

• Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, washed and tossed with the following mixture: 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon honey. I then roasted them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Summer squash, trimmed and cut into inch-thick discs, then halved again, tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

I arranged the vegetables on beds of curly leaf lettuce and topped with various ingredients you can also find at the market, including gorgeous and flavorful microgreens, fresh cheese and roasted pecans.

Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor and the author of Hungry for Louisiana, An Omnivore’s Journey. Reach her at hungryforlouisiaana.com.