Heart of Texas Winery: Stonewall

The spirit of the Texas is one of independence and integrity. This spirit is embodied not only in each Texas town, but in each Texas winery as well.

Yum Runnerz was lucky enough to explore some of the Texas wine country this past Friday. We just picked up Pedernales Cellars and will be representing their new Stonewall line.

Right around the corner from Johnson City and just west of Fredericksburg, lies the little town of Stonewall, Texas. Although it doesn’t hold much within its bounds, Pedernales Cellars furnishes the small town. The winery describes itself as “distinctly hill country.” Making the drive out there, I’d say so.

Throughout the beautiful hills, one will find this 15-year family-run business that prides itself on skillfully working with the Texas soil and climate to provide exceptional wines. Even the tasting room presents pictures of many family members doing various things on the vineyard, such as picking grapes.

This three-generation family has recently branched off from their normal brand and created the Stonewall line, which Yum Runnerz represents.

This line includes a Viognier, which has a clean and crisp taste with notes of floral and a taste of citrus and tropical fruit also. This wine is great paired with warm goat cheese with roasted garlic and herbs.

The Stonewall Merlot is a soft, but opulent red wine with ripe blackberry, plum and vanilla flavors. The demand for this Merlot has been strong and the winery is working to meet this influx.

The Stonewall Muscat is also available as a perfect dessert wine with notes of passion fruit, grapefruit, and a light perfume. Couple this Muscat with a hazelnut crème brulee for a strong ending to any meal.

The company is also arranging to release a Tempranillo with the Stonewall line. This Spanish red wine will carry the tastes of cherries and coffee with a rich mineral finish.

Overall, if you’re looking for a Texas wine with affordable prices to add to your store, restaurant, or even your life, Yum Runnerz will connect you with this truly unique line.

For more information, contact Yum Runnerz at foodiemccoy@gmail.com or go to our Web site at www.yumrunnerz.com.

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/.

Local Spread

Yesterday, I cruised on over to a town hall meeting at East Side Show Room, where Representative Eddie Rodriguez so graciously was there to listen. Many small farmers joined and spoke of their troubles with government policy and the population’s resistance to the local movement.

It was an eye-opening experience to witness some of the best farmers in Texas, which provide the healthiest food out there, encountering misfortune and inconvenience from all sides.

This brings me to two points: the Food Inc. Revolution and my own mission as a local food broker.

Food Inc. has exposed the inhumane conditions of factory farms, the environmental impact of transporting our food, and the horrors of the food we eat. The movie has shed light onto the importance of supporting your local community by purchasing local food. It gave a voice to those sickened by food-borne illnesses and, most importantly, the movie offers ways to change the system and Americans’ eating habits.

This brings me to my own mission here in Austin. I’m so thankful to live in a city which can be considered the “hub” for supporting local and organic food. This is why my foodie tendencies brought me to become a local food broker and create Yum Runnerz. I want to help artisans creating the healthiest food in the world with tender love and care to establish themselves and sell their food. I want to spread the gospel of the local movement to all willing ears through education and awareness.

I also want to help consumers understand that season changes will alter menu offerings and that paying a higher premium for local food is important not only for your body, but for your environmental surroundings. This does not mean that the food should be so expensive that the lower-income population is alienated and driven to buy fast food. It means that if supply and demand increase, the price should naturally fall and allow local food to become more accessible to those willing to buy it. Most of all, I want to spread my passion for healthy food.

Within the next couple of weeks, I will buy a few hens and attempt to create a garden and a compost pile for my backyard. This is my simple step toward change. What’s yours?

For more information about Yum Runnerz visit www.yumrunnerz.com or email me at foodiemccoy@gmail.com.

Knock Knock- It's Fall's Fresh Produce

Eating local is beneficial for many reasons: it is fresher and healthier, it allows us to support our local economy, it keeps us in touch with the seasons, etc. Most importantly, local food just plain tastes better! To eat a fruit or vegetable that has been picked at the height of its ripeness for fantastic flavoring and then delivered to you is a much different experience than buying produce that is weeks old in a grocery store.

This week, as the farmers are gearing up for Fall, Yum Runnerz has local produce available from Fredericksburg and Lavaca County.We have Louisiana shallots ready for order. For those of you who don’t like onions, this is milder and perfect for adding flavor to a bland meal.

If you are looking to spice up your dishes, we have orange and yellow banana peppers, as well as Serrano, jalapeno and bell peppers.

Zucchini, yellow squash, and large pickling cucumbers are also ready for purchasing literally from the farm to your table! All you fancy foodies will loooove the squash blossoms we have. They are perfect for decorating any meal by stuffing the blossom and frying it.

Last night, I used the fresh yellow squash and zucchini, pictured, to make a delicious soup. As the weather is transitioning into Fall, the colors and taste made it a perfect seasonal dinner dish.

For more information on buying local products, contact Dana McCoy at foodiemccoy@gmail.com.

Peggy Sue’s Debut: Goat Cheese with Style

Reaping the benefits of my job, I received cheese samples yesterday! Not just any cheese, but delicious and locally-made feta goat cheese and chevre, more commonly known as plain goat cheese. The cheese comes from a farm in East Texas and, most importantly, comes from the milk of some extra friendly goats, a few of which go by the names Peggy Sue and Penny Lane. All of the cheeses from this farm are made with a vegetarian-friendly rennet alternative and are prized for being exceptionally creamy. If you desire the taste of pure, unadulterated cheese, Peggy Sue has truly delivered!

Tonight, I will cook a Grecian-inspired meal with the feta cheese. First, I will roast one red bell pepper. After it cools, I will peel the skin, slice it in half, and sandwich a few slices of the feta cheese into the middle. I will then drizzle olive oil onto it and put it back into the oven. The result: a sweet and salty, but still soft and creamy, perfect compliment to my Mediterranean chicken salad. Delicious.

If you would like to taste any of Penny Lane’s cheese, email me at foodiemccoy@gmail.com.

Med Chefs, Here’s Your Answer

Mediterranean Cuisine: Healthy Living with Gusto

For the past two weeks I’ve been toting around Greece on a food excursion specifically aimed at “research and development.” Or, more importantly, guileless pleasure! My vacation took me to the heart of an ancient culture, walked me through the statuesque lands surrounding the Mediterranean, and showed me a way of life that includes, simply stated, a lot of good food.

Coincidentally, I recently picked up a Mediterranean line that provides an endless list of diverse Mediterranean ingredients, distinctive antipasti, more olives than one can imagine, and some of the world’s finest vinegars, mustards, and oils.

Many of this line’s products can be easily incorporated into unique recipes and innovative meals, or served singly.

The exceptional antipasti available include a varied selection of peppers, artichokes and more. For example, roasted Florina peppers, feta-stuffed Kardoula peppers, and stuffed cherry peppers are purchasable. Italian Pomodoraccio tomatoes are also available; they are hand-picked and have unrivaled natural sweetness.

Artichokes are known to be a fine addition to any antipasti platter. This line provides anything from artichokes marinated in oils, brine and herbs, or long stem artichokes whole or sliced.

This line has the perfect Med spread for any recipe. Gigandes beans grown on the mountain slopes of Northern Greece are available to add flavor to any pasta or salad, or served as hummus.

Olive oil is essential to a healthy diet. Olive oil from Crete, on the other hand, is essential to an amazing dish. The origins of this Grecian olive oil speak to its exceptional quality and taste.
This company is dedicated to providing only the finest olives from the Mediterranean’s best groves. These olives are never labeled simply as green or black, but represent the important and distinctive characteristics of their geographic location. A myriad of high quality olives are accessible: Mt. Athos Green Stuffed Olives w/ Feta Cheese/Blue Cheese/ Citrus/ Garlic/ Toasted Almonds, Greek Olive Mix, Kalamata, Cracked Green. And the list continues…

Samples are always available upon request.

Happy and healthy cooking comes from the heart, or the Mediterranean. In the last 20 years, the Mediterranean diet has gained popularity as a compliment to healthy living. According to the Journal of American Medicine, after a 10-year study it was found that adherence to a Mediterranean diet and healthful lifestyle was associated with more than a 50% lowering of early death rates.

The diet is comprised of foods rich in natural ingredients and with abundant health benefits. This Mediterranean line supplements a lifestyle of healthy eating, enjoyment, and simplicity.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato once said, “Knowledge is the food of the soul.” Sorry Plato, but I’m convinced that food is the knowledge of the soul. One must know their love of food in order to feel a love of life.

For more information contact me at foodiemccoy@gmail.com.

For more information on Yum Runnerz, visit www.yumrunnerz.com.

A local lovely snack to POP into your mouth!

When I first started Yum Runnerz food brokering services I began with a local company in Kyle, TX. A good friend of mine referred them to me and the rest has become history.
Lone Star Kettle Corn is their name and they have mastered the art of KETTLE CORN. Before Yum Runnerz you could find them at any local festival, children's sporting events near the Kyle area and at the Motley Menagerie Tea Room in Kyle. Lone Star Kettle Corn has a secret ingredient that makes their Kettle corn different than any other Kettle out there.
The first week Yum Runnerz had them in Thom's Market, New Flower, Fresh plus grocery, and Royal Blue. These puppies couldn't stay on the shelves. With a shorter shelf life due to the natural ingredients and fresh popped nature of this decadent treat they are now becoming a staple at most stores around Austin. Today they can be found;
1. ALL ROYAL BLUE STORES downtown
2. NEW FLOWER BEE CAVES
3. GREENLING
4. Starting August 2, 2010 CALLAHAN'S
So if you are headed downtown for some shopping or to visit a friend in those newly designed condos stop into Royal and for under $4.00 you brought your appetizer for the party.
If your headed to Llano, Hamilton pool or Lake Travis stop by the New Flower in Bee Caves and grab an afternoon swimming snack or a road trip snack for under $4.00.
If you are too lazy to leave the house due to this lovely humidity, sign up on Greenling and have them deliver fresh natural Kettle corn to your door.
Better yet, driving through East Austin to the airport and back? Stop at that great little General Store Callahans and pick up a treat to go!
Supporting a local company who has passion behind the product and controls the quality of each kernel you pop into your mouth is a real treat. This town is made for this snack and this snack is made for this town!
Ladies forget the portion control on this one, the flavor alone makes it uncontrollable.
Enjoy and thanks for buying local!