Category Archives: Gluten-Free

Texas Blueberries, Peaches & Tomatoes Are Here – Plus Local Arugula and More…

June 14th, 2012
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The Texas fruit has just started coming in, and it’s unbelievable!  Here’s what we’re planning* for this weekend’s almost 100% local co-op style produce shares…

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

Here are some recipes for you…

Texas Blueberries

>> Make sure to read this post on how to keep your berries mold-free and lasting longer!

Texas Peaches

Local peach from Larken Farms in Waxahachie

What Is Arugula?

Arugula is a wonderfully “spicy” green that can be eaten the same way you would spinach.  Try throwing it in a pan with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Heat a pan on medium low with olive oil and add sliced or chopped onions.  Sprinkle some sea salt and let it cook low and slow for about 20 minutes.  As it starts to soften and become a slightly brown color, add the sliced mushrooms and then arugula.  Use this as a filling for fajitas, topping on a grass-fed beef or bison burger, or atop of a hot bowl of polenta and raw cheese for a veggie bowl like none other.

Our other favorite way to use arugula is to eat it raw.  Make bite-sized lettuce wraps with them.  Wrap the arugula around eggs and chicken sausage in the morning or try grass-fed beef with raw pepper jack.  Delicious!

Here’s one more arugula recipe for ya…

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Thank you for being a part of Urban Acres and supporting Texas farmers and local, organic produce!  We ♥ our farmers, and we ♥ you!

Gluten-Free Herbed Zucchini and Feta Fritters

May 31st, 2012
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Do you have a surplus of zucchini and need more recipe ideas?  Here’s a great way to use it – Herbed Zucchini and Feta Fritters from Girl Cooks World.  These fresh little fritters are packed with shredded zucchini, chopped mint, dill and parsley and chunks of feta cheese.

Image: girlcooksworld.com

>> Get the Recipe.

In Season: Daikon Radish and Asparagus

April 13th, 2012
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Daikon radish

Here are a few unique items that will be included in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares…

Daikon Radish.

Most often found in Asian grocery stores, the Daikon radish looks like a large, white carrot, though it has the flavor of a radish. It is used as a food herb in Asian herbal medicine. Both the tuber and the seeds are used medicinally.

Its uses are many, treating such problems as cough and asthma, low energy, and yeast infections. Daikon also treats many digestive issues, including nausea, irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, and heartburn.

Try these recipes…

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Asparagus | photo: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

Asparagus.

Another spring favorite is asparagus!  The fleshy green spears of asparagus are both succulent and tender and have been considered a delicacy since ancient times. This highly prized vegetable arrives with the coming of spring, when its shoots break through the soil and reach their 6-8 inch harvest length. In California the first crops are picked as early as February, however, their season generally is considered to run from April through May. The growing season in the Midwest and East extends through July.

As a result of its very strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrient composition, we would definitely expect to see a food like asparagus showing up as a risk reducer for certain cancers.

Try these recipes…

Spring Produce In Full Swing!

April 5th, 2012
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Here are some of the produce items planned* to be in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares…there are many more items, but this is just a sampling!

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

Spinach & Lettuce. * LOCAL

We’ll continue to have the amazingly fresh spinach from Morrison Organic Farm as well as a new crop of various lettuces.

Recipe ideas…

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Fennel

Fennel.

We always get questions about what this item is when we include it in the produce shares!  Fennel is one of our favorite veggies, but a more uncommon one.  You can eat the white bulb raw – it’s super crunchy and tastes like licorice.  Just cut off the thick green stems and peel off a layer of the white bulb and take a bite!  Italians like to eat it this way as an appetizer before a meal to get the digestion flowing.

Recipe Ideas…

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Cilantro.

Cilantro is featured in dishes cooked everywhere from Spain to Mexico, the Middle East to South America. The fresh leaves are often sprinkled on top of dishes, and the root is used in Thailand to give that distinctly powerful flavor to local dishes. You may already know that cilantro is one of the main ingredients in the salsa at your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Cilantro, also known as coriander, has a distinct aroma due to its concentrated essential oils. It’s also a powerful natural cleansing agent. Cilantro has been effectively used to help remove heavy metals and other toxic agents from the body.

Recipe Ideas…

Carrot and Cilantro Soup | CountryLiving.com

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Dill.

Dill is a unique plant in that both its leaves and seeds are used as a seasoning. Dill’s green leaves are wispy and fernlike and have a soft, sweet taste.

Recipe ideas…

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Blood Oranges.

Storage tips: To keep these ruby gems fresh longer, choose refrigeration over the fruit bowl―they’ll only last only a couple of days at room temperature, but up to two weeks in the fridge.

How to eat them: Blood oranges are best eaten fresh―out of hand, or in salads, salsas, or marmalades. If you’re following a recipe you may be asked to section the fruit. To do so, peel the orange, cut between the white membranes to expose the flesh, and remove the sections (for more juice, squeeze the leftover membranes).

Recipe ideas…

Featured In This Weekend’s Shares: Local Spinach & Turnips / Strawberries / Japanese Sweet Potatoes

March 8th, 2012
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Here are some of the produce items planned* to be in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares…there are many more items, but this is just a sampling!

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

Jacky & Cindy Morrison at Urban Acres "Meet Your Farmer Day" on Feb. 18th

Spinach. * LOCAL

Our friends Jacky & Cindy Morrison from Morrison Organic Farm planted it just for us!  How ’bout that for special?  It’s pretty amazing spinach, too.  Very thick and flavorful!

Recipe ideas…

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Purple Top Turnips. * LOCAL

Another lovely offering from Morrison Organic Farm.  If you were ever traumatized as a child by being forced to “eat your turnips,” we urge you to give them another chance!

Recipe ideas…

Another great way to eat turnips?  Steam them until tender and eat with butter and sea salt.  Simple.  Delicious.

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California Strawberries.

It’s the beginning of strawberry season (the peak is in April), and these berries are so bright and juicy!  Add them to smoothies or muffins or salads or pancakes, make sauces with them, or just eat them whole.  Luckily, strawberries also go very well with spinach (see above)!

Recipe ideas…

Strawberry Shortcake Stacked Pancakes | ohsheglows.com

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Japanese Sweet Potatoes

They’re baaaack…for now!  To us, Japanese Sweet Potatoes are much sweeter than a regular orange sweet potato.  Store them loose in a cool drawer or cupboard for up to a few weeks.

Recipe ideas:

Enjoy the LOCAL Bounty This Weekend From Brenham, TX and Cleburne, TX

February 9th, 2012
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We told you more local produce was coming soon!  Here are some of the LOCAL produce items planned* to be in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares.  There are many more items in your share, but this is just a feature of the local ones.

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

*To keep your produce fresher longer, check out these produce storage tips.

Cabbage ~ Home Sweet Farm in Brenham, TX

Recipe ideas…

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Russian Red Kale ~ Home Sweet Farm in Brenham, TX

Russian Red kale is thick, juicy and chewy. Match this kale with grilled sausages, pork or turkey. You can also match Russian Red with grains, roots, dried fruits and nuts.  You only want to eat the leaves, which will be chewy.  The stems will be too thick to eat.

Here’s how to prepare Russian Red: strip out the mature stems, no amount of cooking will soften them. Hold the lower leaf base up in one hand and pull the stem downward with the other. Simply strip away the leaf. Be sure to rinse the leaf pieces.

Blanch Russian Red in salted water, drain then sauté. Sauté this kale in olive or nut oil, butter, bacon, or pancetta. You can season with olives, garlic, chilli, cumin, caraway, fennel, anise, or toasted sesame oil. If you want a stronger flavor, braise Russian Red in stock. Cook until tender, but remember this kale is not going to melt in your mouth like curly kale.

Recipe Ideas…

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Broccoli Crowns – Home Sweet Farm in Brenham, TX

Store broccoli unwashed in an open plastic bag in the refrigerator. Fresh broccoli will keep up to 10 days.  This broccoli will be super fresh and tender!  You’ll be able to distinguish it from California broccoli because the local broccoli will be just individual crowns.  California broccoli will be rubber-banded and bundled.

Try these recipes…

Or one of our favorite simple ways to cook broccoli: sautée onions and broccoli in a pan with coconut oil or butter until softened.  Add sliced chicken breast or ground beef and cook, then season with salt, pepper, and garlic.   YUM.

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Purple Top Turnips ~ Morrison Organic Farm in Cleburne, TX

If you were ever traumatized as a child by being forced to “eat your turnips,” we urge you to give them another chance!

Recipe ideas…

Another great way to eat turnips?  Steam them until tender and eat with butter and sea salt.  Simple.  Delicious.

* * *

Mustard Greens – ~ Morrison Organic Farm in Cleburne, TX

The cholesterol-lowering ability of steamed mustard greens is second only to steamed collard greens and steamed kale in a recent study of cruciferous vegetables and their ability to bind bile acids in the digestive tract.   No matter how much time you have (or don’t have), it’s easy to add some zesty mustard greens to the dinner table.

Recipe ideas:

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Red Radishes - ~ Morrison Organic Farm in Cleburne, TX

Radishes and radish leaves are an excellent source of vitamin C. Globe radishes are a very good source of the trace mineral molybdenum and a good source of folic acid and potassium.  The radish belongs to the brassica group of vegetables, which include cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. Numerous studies suggest that brassica vegetables are protective against cancers of the lungs and alimentary tract.  Score!

Want some incredibly tasty ideas for how to enjoy those beautiful fresh radishes?  (Warning, you might become addicted to the radish sandwich!)

Recipe ideas…