Farmers’ Market Fridays: Rise ‘N Shine with Sweet Potatoes

The Freedom Farmers’ Market has often been an enjoyable and overwhelming experience for me. I love leisurely strolling through the booths, eyeing produce and flowers, petting friendly dogs and nibbling on samples of meats and cheeses. However, there comes a time at the market when I have to stop and assess what I came in for, what vegetables do I want to buy. And, of course, if I buy something unconventional, what am I going to do with it besides marvel at it in curiosity?

This past Saturday, I set out with a budget of about $30 and a few ideas of what I want to make. Things I eat typically with varying ingredients that I wouldn’t have to think of a replacement if a certain vegetable was not in season. My staple items are usually farm fresh eggs and hot ground sausage from Riverview Farms. Their eggs are about $6-7 and the yolks have a gorgeous golden color with a slight orange tinge. The sausage comes frozen, so ideally you can pop it in the fridge when you get home and it will be thawed out for Sunday brunch the next morning! Paired with the greens I bought from Hickory Hill Farm’s booth, I can make the tastiest breakfast salad for most of the week. I pan fry the sausage, toss it on the tender greens, and top it all off with two fried eggs, using the runny, custardy yolks as the dressing.

While the breakfast salad is nutritious, tasty, and satiating, I’m confident that it is quite possibly the least photogenic or aesthetically pleasing meal I make. If you find that your food must look more appealing in order for you to be enticed, I have another unconventional breakfast suggestion for you. It’s more filling than yogurt and granola, tastes like dessert, and it’s made of all locally produced foods you can get at the farmers’ market!

Roasted Sweet Potato with Goat Cheese, Almonds, and Honey

• 1 small sweet potato per person (Rise ‘N Shine Organic Farm)
• Goat cheese (Decimal Place Farm)
• 1 tsp Honey (I use Zeigler’s Georgia Wildflower Honey)
• Sliced Almonds (I crushed up some Organic Coconut Honey Almond Gourmet Nuts from Pure Bliss)

Preheat oven to 350. Wrap potato(es) in foil and bake for an hour. Once cooked, slice down the middle and add in the goat cheese, sprinkle in your sliced almonds, and drizzle with honey.

You could also peel and cut up the sweet potatoes, toss with a few teaspoons of coconut oil, and roast them for the same amount of time at the same temperature if you desire a silkier texture.

The Freedom Farmers’ Market is kicking off their third year of the main market season this Saturday, March 4th. If the weather holds out, it should be a gorgeous day to mosey on through, get some breakfast at their pop-up chef booth (the weekend’s guest is Terry Koval from Wrecking Bar Brew Pub in Little 5 Points), and grab some fresh veggies for the week!