Tag Archives: texas blueberries

Local This Weekend: Texas Figs & Black-Eyed Peas Are Here!

June 28th, 2012
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We’ll have 100% local Texas produce this weekend! Here are the local items we’re planning* for this weekend’s 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 photos & recipes for you…

Figs

Figs from Gundermann Acres

Figs are high in natural simple sugars, minerals, and fiber. Figs are fairly rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese.

Figs are often recommended to nourish and tone the intestines because they are a very good source of fiber. They are also a good source of potassium, an important consideration in helping to control blood pressure. Figs are among the most highly alkaline foods, making them useful in supporting the proper pH of the body.

You’re probably just going to want to pop these in your mouth and eat them whole…but if you want a recipe, here are a few ideas…

Black-Eyed Peas (Unshelled)

Unshelled black-eyed peas from Morrison Organic Farm

The unique thing is that these peas will come unshelled.  Usually we get them already shelled in a bag, but we thought it would be fun for you to experience the wonderful old-time activity of sittin’ on the porch shellin’ peas!  It’s a wonderful activity to do with family, friends, and even children can help.  You just ain’t Texan if you’ve never shelled a pea.  Read this post on how to shell and eat black-eyed peas – with some great recipe ideas!

Liz harvesting black-eyed peas at Morrison Organic Farm

Okra

So you’ve got lots of local okra to eat…now what?  Here are 5 ways to eat and enjoy it!

Jacky Morrison on the tractor at Morrison Organic Farm

Okra plants at Morrison Organic Farm

Okra fields at Morrison Organic Farm

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

Local This Weekend: Blueberries, Peaches, Tomatoes, Okra & More…

June 21st, 2012
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The Texas produce has been unbelievable, and it just keep comin’!  Here are the local items we’re planning* for this weekend’s 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 Sorrel?

Sorrel is a delightful, leafy green with a tart, lemony flavor.  Use the tender, young leaves in salads, and the larger leaves for soups, stews and sauces. Sorrel also complements goat cheese, eggs and poultry.

Rich in vitamin C, sorrel was valued for centuries for its ability to prevent scurvy, a serious, even life-threatening problem when fresh fruits and vegetables were not available. The English physician Culpeper (1826) recommended sorrel “to cool any inflammation and heat of blood,” “to refresh overspent spirits,” “to quench thirst, and to procure an appetite.”  Pretty cool!

Get sorrel recipes here – both raw and cooked.

5 Ways to Eat Local Okra

So you’ve got lots of local okra to eat…now what?  Here are 5 ways to eat and enjoy it!

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

Think Outside the Muffin: 10 Good Lookin’ Blueberry Recipes from Bon Appétit

June 20th, 2012
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Looking for some creative ways to use your local Texas blueberries?  Thanks to Bon Appétit for putting together this list of 10 Good Lookin’ Blueberry Recipes – other than the standard blueberry muffin!

>> Get the recipes.

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!

Our Team Visits 3 Local Farms – Where Your Food Comes From

June 13th, 2012
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One of the most important things to us at Urban Acres is staying connected with our farmers who provide you with wonderful local, organic produce.  We make farm trips regularly throughout the year to see how our farmers are doing and check the progress on the food they’re growing that we then provide to you, our members and friends.

This past Monday, a team of 5 Urban Acres staffers traveled for 18 hours covering 650 miles across Texas to visit 3 of our farm partners:

  • Caprino Royale in Waco, TX.   Husband and wife team Eric and Karen have the best goat cheese in all of Texas, hands-down.  Their chevre is used in many top-rated restaurants here in Dallas.  When you know every single goat by name, then you know the cheese is made with love!
  • Gundermann Acres in Wharton County, TX.  Thank goodness we found Garrett and Stacie Gundermann – they have already provided amazing produce for our co-op style produce shares this year!  The Gundermanns met in high school and got married in 2009.  Garrett is a 4th generation farmer.  Their farm started with a peach orchard, and the family added other fruits and veggies in the mid-1990s.  Now they grow everything from peppers to peaches to figs to eggplant.
  • Eden Creek Farm in Blooming Grove, TX.  Eden Creek is owned by Steve and Kristine Orth, an incredibly energetic and friendly couple that loves growing and sharing their beautiful herbs, greens, veggies, and delicious peaches and plums.  They also have a menagerie of animals with fun names like Tinkerbell, Wilbur, and Squeaky.

We wanted to give you an inside look.  So here’s a little slideshow.

First stop, Caprino Royale…

On the road at 5am…in the Volkswagen Rabbit where UA first began

Breakfast at Caprino: homemade pound cake with local blueberries, raw goat milk, and Oak Cliff Coffee – MMMMM.

Samantha and Jeff learn a goat-feeding lesson from Karen at Caprino

Our Liz with Eric at Caprino

Love me!

[vimeo 43940718 w=500 h=282]

* * *

Next stop, Gundermann  Acres…

Unconventional setting for our meeting at Gundermann Acres – just how we do business :)

Steven getting a tour from Garrett Gundermann

Hydroponics greenhouse

Our studly Andy

Just a few weeks until these huge, juicy figs make an appearance in your produce share!

Liz experiencing fig yumminess

Andy trying a Gundermann fig

Samantha checking out the bell peppers

Steven chowing down on Gundermann organic sweet corn, straight from the field

Waist-deep in organic sweet corn fields: Liz, Garrett Gundermann, Andy, Samantha

[vimeo 43940719 w=500 h=282]

* * *

Final stop, Eden Creek Farm…

Our team (minus Jeff) with the Orths at Eden Creek Farm in Blooming Grove: Steven, Steve Orth, Kristine Orth, Andy, Liz, Samantha

Eden Creek’s potbellied pigs

[vimeo 43940721 w=500 h=282]

[vimeo 43940720 w=500 h=282]

Ending the trip with a true farm-to-table dinner under the stars with everything coming from the land at Eden Creek Farm

Thank you, Urban Acres farmers, for working in the hot, the cold, the windy, the rainy, for sacrificing so much to provide the best organic food in Texas for our members and friends.  We ♥ you!

Texas Fruit, Sorrel, and More!

June 7th, 2012
2 Replies

The Texas fruit is finally coming in, including those delicious blueberries & tomatoes!  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!

What Is Sorrel?

Sorrel is a delightful, leafy green with a tart, lemony flavor.  Use the tender, young leaves in salads, and the larger leaves for soups, stews and sauces. Sorrel also complements goat cheese, eggs and poultry.

Rich in vitamin C, sorrel was valued for centuries for its ability to prevent scurvy, a serious, even life-threatening problem when fresh fruits and vegetables were not available. The English physician Culpeper (1826) recommended sorrel “to cool any inflammation and heat of blood,” “to refresh overspent spirits,” “to quench thirst, and to procure an appetite.”  Pretty cool!

Get sorrel recipes here – both raw and cooked.

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!