Spinach SALAD - Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, Tomato and Andouille Sausage

How's this for a lunch??? The ingredients are in the title.

I had some kick ass Andouille Sausage left from my order from the CAJUN GROCER. While I can get Andouille spiced sausage here in Kansas, it is nothing the genuine article I received mail order. I had one link left, and wanted to stretch it for a meal for myself and my wife.

I sliced the sausage into thin long strips, grilled them for a few minutes on each side. With the sausage drippings, I added asparagus tips and red pepper pieces, and sauteed them for a few minutes. I like my vegetables slightly under cooked so they are very crisp. Arrange these on a bed of spinach greens and add some sliced Roma tomatoes. I added just a bit of balsamic vinegar as a dressing.

This salad fit the bill perfectly! And the ingredients were surprisingly fresh considering it is Kansas in the middle of winter...

We have a terrific farmer's market in Kansas City. During the summer, the stalls are packed with flowers, locally grown produce, exotic ingredients and some wonderful spices. I have already made a few posts about the Kansas City River Market, like this one... Trip to the FARMER's MARKET. I live in the suburbs, so it is a bit of a drive. This was the first time that I went there in the winter. It was a bit sad not to have the local farmers with their stalls of goods. BUT, there were a few fresh produce sellers who truck items in from out of state. By far, the price was at least 1/2 the price of my usually underpriced grocery store. Great example, a red pepper is $1.50 at the store. Here, they were 2 for a buck! Hog heaven for sure. All the produce ingredients for the salad came from the farmer's market trip.

We also bought a pineapple, some grapes, a pound of unsalted cashews (hard to find, but REALLY GREAT), and 50 half cups of spices. Yeap, you read that right. There is a terrific "spice guy" at the market. He sells 1/2 cup scoops of dozens of spices for $1.00 a scoop. We are days away from leaving for a 6 month trip to the US Virgin Islands. I am excited to try Island Cuisine, but I did not want to go without spices.

BUT, that's a post for another day

My advice for today... Even in winter, go hunt down that Farmer's Market. Saves money, fresher and inspires you to create beautiful salads!

GEAUX SAINTS!

Now, if you read Sunday's post, you remember that I was nominated for the above award. I listed 6 lies and 1 truth about me. Click on the award to get to Sunday's post to read the "mostly" lies. It is such a fun award, and since each of the lies are just a bit true, I am going to stretch the reveal out for a few days, taking just one of the lies each day and telling the story.

So, the first NOT TRUE statement that I will reveal is that #5 is wrong. Most of the guesses were for this one, sorry. But, feel free to return to the post and make a comment guessing which is true.

#5 read - "I was once an ace reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper (OK, truth is that I was a contributing writer for the Peoria Journal Star, Peoria, Illinois's finest daily rag).". Nah, close as I ever got was a few articles published in an in-house magazine. I have spelling issues. The hey day of my youth, when I contemplated such desires was prior to spell check. No editor would accept the extra challenge.

OK, see you tomorrow for the next not truth.
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