Whether you love it or prefer to leave it - it's hard not to have an appreciation for the hearty okra plant. A member of the mallow family, okra is a flowering plant that produces edible pods that have been a staple in African and Southern US cuisine for years. Okra is a perennial in warm climates like Central Texas, so it comes back every year, does well in heat and draught conditions, and is a reliable crop for farmers to grow. With climate change casting uncertaintly on future food supplies, learning to love crops like okra can be quite beneficial.

For many, it's the "slimy" texture caused by cooking okra that can be off-putting. To combat this, you can try adding acidity from other ingredients like tomatoes, sprinkling it with salt, and roasting it like this recipe from our archive. It's also tasty when pickled or tossed raw in salads - Chef Erika mixed pickled okra and feta for a delicious and cooling salad last Saturday at Bell. Read on for some okra recipes to inspire your taste buds, and pick some up this weekend at Bell or Mueller.

Okra Plants at B5 Farm

Okra Plants at Bernhardt's Farm

FRESH AT THE MARKET: Click the image below to visit our Fresh at the Market page online, and find a list of what our farmers are bringing this weekend, what vendors are attending, market layouts, and more.

IN SEASON: AUGUST

Arugula * Basil (Thai, lemon, Genovese) * Beans (Asian long beans) * Beets (golden, red) * Bok choy * Carrots * Chard * Chicory * Cucumber (Armenian, pickling) * Eggplant (black beauty, purple, graffiti) * Figs * Garlic * Lemongrass * Lettuce * Malabar spinach * Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, canary, Korean, honeydew) * Okra * Onions (yellow, white, red, 1015) * Peaches * Peas * Peppers (sweet, bell, sweet Hungarian wax, jalapeno, banana) * Potatoes (Yukon, red, sweet) * Prickly pear * Squash (blossoms, butternut, acorn, spaghetti, delicata, yellow, zucchini, pattypan) * Sweet potato greens * Tomatillos * Tomatoes (Juliet, chocolate, golden cherry, heirloom, red) * Turnip greens * Watermelon Radish

LIVE MUSIC AT BELL: MIKE HAMILTON

SHOPPER SPOTLIGHT: TRINIDAD & TRICIA

We love getting to know more about our market shoppers! Click to read our latest shopper spotlight, featuring friends Trinidad & Tricia at Mueller.

MARKET RECIPES: OKRA EDITION!

Pickled Okra & Feta Salad

Oven Roasted Okra with Cherry Tomatoes & Pecans

Okra Fritters

Creole Okra & Tomatoes with Gulf Shrimp

Farmers' Market Gumbo

VENDING AT TEXAS FARMERS' MARKET 101

We recently re-opened our new vendor applications, and want to provide some additional clarification on the process for vending at our markets. Please read carefully, and visit this link for further information on the application process.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Anyone who wishes to sell or set-up within our market boundaries must go through TFM's application process. This process begins on our website at this link.

At our Mueller market, there is often a lot of activity going on both in the park and on neighboring street corners, which we as a market do not have control over. Please note that ONLY the vendors listed on our weekly market layouts (which you can find on our website and linked in our newsletters every Friday) are official TFM vendors. These vendors have gone through the application process and have been reviewed and inspected by our team to ensure they meet our market guidelines.

We take pride in being a PRODUCER-ONLY farmers' market, which means that vendors are only permitted to sell items they have grown or produced themselves - no reselling permitted. TFM does not allow any business that is not an official vendor to distribute products or solicit business within our market boundaries

If you are NOT a market vendor, and wish to distribute information about your business but do not fall in our vendor categories, TFM offers opportunities for non-profits to set up once per quarter free of charge, as well as sponsorship opportunities for a fee that helps support our non-profit markets. Please reach out to info@texasfarmersmarket.org if you fall into one of these categories and would like to learn more.

Lastly, with the upcoming election, we expect to see increased activity from both voter registrars and local petitioning groups. TFM fully supports voter registration (you can actually register at our Bell market on Saturdays!), but please note that groups petitioning for specific candidates are not endorsed by the market and we respect the community's freedom of choice.

Support our non-profit markets and get your message in front of thousands of dedicated shoppers by becoming a market sponsor! Click the image below to learn more about sponsor opportunities.

Click on the images below for more information

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