It’s no secret that I’m a farm-stand hound, but it’s not always vegetables I’m stopping for. Sausages are a weeknight staple at our house, and I can find local sausages at the little Whippoorwill Farm stand on Old County Road not far from my house. (Many local farms make sausages, which are a good introduction to Island-raised meat. So says the author of The Locavore Carnivore Challenge. Ahem.)

I pop the packages in the freezer and thaw them in the fridge when I need them. Sometimes I roast the sausages in a cast iron pan, but lately I’ve been turning them into, yes, a sheet-pan dinner with potatoes and local veggies. Because why not? Cut the vegetables to the right size, and they’ll roast in the same amount of time it takes for the sausages to cook through.

Contrast the richness of the sausages and veggies with a fresh corn dressing, serve on salad greens, and you’ve got an all-local dinner.  

You won’t hold it against me then (now that I’ve opened with meat), if I mention a quirky vegetable I found at Beetlebung Farm last week: kohlrabi.