Acadian Family Farms' Produce

This past weekend at the Barton Creek Farmer’s Market, I visited Acadian Family Farms, whom Yum Runnerz has been representing throughout the summer and into the fall and that most of you already know because you’ve purchased produce from them.

Acadian Farms is located in Lavaca County and run by a family dedicated to growing the most flavorful and beautiful vegetables. With over 20 years in growing experience, Acadian Farms grows great vegetables and is growing in popularity also.

I used the plenty of vegetables that I received from Acadian to create many different meals for the weekend. I first created a basic marinara sauce using Acadian purple basil, stewed whole tomatoes, garlic, onion, and red wine. I used this marinara to make eggplant lasagna, with eggplant from Acadian of course. The next dish consisted of eggplant topped with the marinara and goat cheese (from Blue Heron Farms), and baked in cast iron. I served it with cibatta bread and it literally melted in my mouth. The baked eggplant tasted terrific with the added sweetness from the purple basil and creaminess from the goat cheese.

I also prepared a cantaloupe, red onion, and walnut salad using Acadian arugula with raspberry vinaigrette. This sweet and spicy dish was a perfect end-of-summer salad to eat on the patio in the beautiful weather.

I made a white bean hummus with Acadian eggplant. The dish had the texture of a hummus and a nice blend of flavors of roasted red pepper, roasted eggplant, the white bean, and paprika.

I grilled Louisiana shallots and ate them with a steak. The shallots had a perfect light onion flavor, but grilling them made them crisp to where I even wanted to eat the stocks because they were so good!

I used Acadian turnip greens and turnips to cook with white truffle mustard (from Spicewood Food Co.) Turnips already have a distinct flavor, but adding the mustard pulled all the flavors together for a fantastic side to grilled lobster tails.

As you can see, my husband and I ate well this weekend. Tonight I’ll be serving the eggplant lasagna paired with a Caesar salad using Acadian’s red leaf lettuce. Yummm.

For more information on Yum Runnerz or Acadian Family Farms, contact me at foodiemccoy@gmail.com or visit my Web site at http://www.yumrunnerz.com/.