A guide built for Mueller’s holiday cooks

In a neighborhood where the weekly market is a fixture, Mueller home cooks have a new tool to plan and shop Thanksgiving close to home. Chef and community organizer Leanne Valenti has released a free digital handbook, A Central Texas Thanksgiving, created with Texas Farmers Market and contributions from more than 30 chefs and more than 30 farmers. The guide is organized for browsing, not cover-to-cover reading, and includes more than 75 recipes—from mains to desserts—built around seasonal ingredients and the producers who grow them.

Valenti said the project is designed to help shoppers discover what’s in season, meet local farmers, shop area markets, and cook with the harvest, according to a press release. She also emphasized goals to support local businesses and cut waste during what she called Austin’s biggest home-cooking weekend.

Beginning now and through Thanksgiving, QR codes linking directly to the guide are posted at the two Texas Farmers Market locations—Bell and Mueller—as well as at Radius Butcher & Grocery, Boggy Creek Farmstand, and Local Pastures. Even after the QR codes come down, the guide will remain available for cooks planning ahead for the winter holidays or looking to carry these habits into the new year.

How to use it

The guide works like a local map for your menu. Ingredient pages show which farms are selling a given item. Market tabs list which shops carry specific products. Recipe pages connect directly to both, so you can move from inspiration to a shopping list without guesswork.

Consider the page for James Beard Award winner Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due. If you’re cooking his turkey country pâté, you’ll find what you need—turkey offal, bacon, and other staples—by checking the markets tab and confirming that Radius Butcher & Grocery stocks whole turkeys, bacon, and more. While planning that stop, you might notice Swiss chard on Radius’s list, click through, and pull up three chard recipes alongside a list of area farms that have the greens on their tables. The same crosswalk applies across the guide’s 75-plus recipes.

Another contributor, chef Ian Thurwachter (Intero and Poeta), adds a chile roasted carrots recipe—an example of a vegetable-forward side that fits the season and the stalls at the Mueller market. The guide also highlights staples and specialties from partners such as Boggy Creek Farmstand and Local Pastures, making it easier to connect a dish to a producer.

Where to scan the guide in person:

  • Texas Farmers Market at Bell
  • Texas Farmers Market at Mueller
  • Radius Butcher & Grocery
  • Boggy Creek Farmstand
  • Local Pastures

Why it matters in Central Texas

Central Texas growers are expanding specialty crops despite overall land pressures. Vegetable-growing operations rose 32% and acreage climbed 67% between 2012 and 2022, while fruit acreage increased 98% and fruit-producing farms grew 76%, even as the region lost 6.6% of farmland acreage overall, according to Central Texas Food System. A guide that helps residents find and cook what these farms produce can connect those gains to holiday menus.

It also aligns with a broader ethic prized by many chefs. As Horeca Webzine collects, “The closer to the source, the better the taste.” The same roundup notes, “If you respect the seasons, your cooking will always be in harmony with nature.” Those ideas are embedded in the guide’s structure: start with what’s in season, then plan the plate and the shopping route.

What the trends show

Nationally, cooks are leaning into classics while trying new riffs. Interest in staples—from green bean casserole to turkey brine—has surged this season, as reported by FoodNavigator-USA. At the same time, menus are blending nostalgia with innovation, from elevated comfort foods to global flavors and plant-based mains, according to Ecomposer. Data shared via DoorDash also points to a jump in vegetable demand—orders for squash and other produce climbed by more than 70% year over year in many regions, making them popular holiday sides, reported Boston25News.

A Central Texas Thanksgiving meets that moment. The recipe mix includes traditional centerpieces alongside vegetable-forward sides and locally adaptable ideas, like Thurwachter’s chile roasted carrots. Because each recipe threads back to a list of farms and markets, a cook can swap in what’s abundant—turning a template into a truly regional spread.

A Mueller-first workflow

For Mueller residents, the path is straightforward: scan the QR code at the Texas Farmers Market at Mueller, browse the recipe categories, and save a few picks. Check the ingredient pages to see which farms are selling what you need that week, then use the markets tab to confirm which shops carry the specialty items your menu requires—whether that’s whole birds and bacon from Radius Butcher & Grocery or greens and herbs from producer stalls. Shoppers who prefer a single stop can scan at Radius, Boggy Creek Farmstand, or Local Pastures, then build a list before they head out.

Valenti said in a press release that the guide aims to strengthen local food culture by making it simple to cook with what nearby farmers are growing and to cut down on waste by planning around seasonal availability. That approach dovetails with the region’s shifting production and the holiday’s current tastes. And it provides a blueprint that can be updated as farms and markets change with the seasons.

The QR codes will come down after Thanksgiving, but the guide remains live for everyday cooking, winter gatherings, and, eventually, next year’s planning. If this edition helps residents shop smarter at the Mueller market—and keeps more local produce on the table—it will have done what it set out to do. Read the press release on austin.culturemap.com.

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