Fun With Your Food

My weekend was both eventful and lazy.  I got to watch USA ALMOST kick Brazil’s booty in soccer for the FIFA finals. That game reminded me of padres baseball games while in San Diego.  No matter what, they always lose. They could be up 3 runs in the last inning and still lose it. *Le sigh*  A valiant effort on the US’s part though, high fives all around.

How does a person end up with 2 bunches of cilantro and 2 bunches of green onions?  I have no idea but it happened to me this week.  Thus, this Hispanic inspired polenta was borne. I made the polenta according to the package and added a lot of garlic, green onion, cilantro, fresh corn and salt.  Pot was looking a little too mono-colored for my tastes and I decided that right before I ate, I would throw in additional color/flavor hence the tomatoes and avocados.  I only used 1/2 a cup of corn grits but this yields at least 3 meals worth of food.  This batch of polenta is a little to wet to let set up then fry.  Next time I’ll use a little less water and fry them.  Frying will make a better presentation and texture.

 


I nom’d on a red lead lettuce salad on the side.  Ingredients: lettuce, a very ripe nectarine, shredded carrot and chopped almonds.  The salad was simple compared to all the bold flavors in the polenta. 


I’ve hit the ground running this week.  It’s only Tuesday and I can’t even admit how many hours I’ve spent at the office.  but… IT’S A 4 DAY WORK WEEK!!   Then I’m swept off to Taipei to visit a friend and see the world in general (can’t wait)


Teddy



At school we make a sandwich called the DLT (dulse lettuce tomato) and it’s always new students favorite recipe.  This is similar. I fried some dulse (which gives a salty, bacon-like taste to any dish) and tempeh, schmeared
the inside of the pita with mustard and avocado then topped everything off with some nice organic spring salad mix.



I’m showing my Trader Joe’s LOVE!  If you’re a CA to Austin transplant like myself, you probably miss Trader Joe’s just as much as I do.  These crackers are some of my favorite.  I’ve heard there are similar crackers at grocery stores around town but they’re SO much more expensive than my Trader Joes Everything Crackers. While I was home over the weekend I picked up some snacks for the plane ride back to Austin.  You’ll probably see a couple of  TJ’s items sneaking into my posts.  I bet these will be gone by the end of the week.  They’re so munch-able and go well with sandwiches (better than chips IMO).

Teddy

Hi everyone,

I’m updating/adding my blogroll here.  If you want to be added comment here.  I’ll be making a run through of all my fav blogs tonight (after class! I swear I’m not allow to sleep)

Talk with you soon!

What a weekend eh?! Hope yours was a fast-paced and fun as mine.  I went home to Southern California to be in a wedding and visit with friends and family.  It’s been about 6 months since I last flew home.  Three days really isn’t enough time to see everyone and do everything (especially when there’s a wedding involved).  I have things that are “must do’s” every time I fly back. Eating at my favorite thai place is high on that “must do” list.  That was checked off the list within 3 hours of my landing. The rest of that night was spent in a food coma.

There’s only a 2 hour time difference between Austin and SoCal but those two hours mean that I woke up at 530AM my first day there.  Being up that early and with nothing else to do  I threw a load of laundry in the wash and watched the free HBO weekend on TV for a while haha. “Must do” number 2: go to H&M. I went a little crazy at H&M b/c they’re having a $15-$20 dress sale. I got FOUR dresses but spent less than $75.

After the early morning shopping, it was wedding time until 10 that night. Somehow I was convinced to go out after the wedding as well- hell, I already knew I’d be tired this week, might as well go big.  Saturday my family came to visit.  We had a feast! Cheeses, fruit, veggie pigs in a blanket, bananas caramelized with sugar and more.  I ate myself silly all day then headed out at night with more friends.  We ended up at a brewery in downtown long beach (HOW did I miss pictures of this??) Needless to say, another late night.

Sunday/Father’s day I suggested we eat breakfast by the beach (seeing the beach is another “must do”) followed by a walk along the water to watch that weekend’s surf competition.  By noon on Sunday  I was getting ready for the airport, sand still on my feet.  I wish I had more time at home but it was a fantastic weekend!

Teddy

Saturday was the Tasty Touring south Austin trailer tour and while I had a chance to meet up with the crew, I didn’t order any food. Lucky for me, the next day Cara mentioned that she wanted to try one of the trailers I’d been eying since it opened earlier this year- A Mighty Cone.  Mighty Cone is off of South Congress.  You can’t miss it! It’s the dirt lot with about 5 other trailers and a slew of picnic tables with umbrellas.

I choose the veggie slider with fries. For a slider, this was a pretty TALL burger.  I’m not sure what they put in the patties. They definitely seemed home made (it wasn’t the normal, amy’s or boca patty for sure). By all appearances they looked dry.  After one bite I found they were anything but.

My favorite part about the fries was the homemade ketchup they were served with.

What goes better with a burger and fries than ICE CREAM? I’ve lived in Austin for 9 months now and, up until this weekend, I have still yet to try Amy’s Ice Cream.  The shame! The horror! (I know, I know)

Chocolate Guinness ice cream- Who could resist that flavor pairing? Add some chopped banana on top and sistah I am in heaven. The only problem is now that I’ve tried it, I’m going to want it more often than once every 9 months!

This weekend I’m heading home for a wedding.  I can’t wait to see my friends and hit up all my favorite restaurants.  It’s been pretty crazy at work, a break will be much appreciated!

Teddy

What a great weekend.  Friday was Cara’s birthday but before birthday weekend insanity I stopped by Cuatro’s food blogger happy hour.  There were many mini tacos to be tasted but I think there was an unanimous agreement that the green salsa was fantastic.  I’m not sure I’ve ever had fried pickles before but I could definitely see myself sipping on beer and popping a few of these into my mouth on a hot summer day.

Award winning green salsa.

he complimentary cocktail served was the watermelon agua fresca. Bacardi Limón and fresh watermelon juice with a squeeze of lime.  I made sure too browse the menu while there and it  looks like each day of the week has a different Happy Hour special. You can check them out here.

Queso is a quintessential Texan appetizer and I can’t say I’ve really tried any. Lucky for me Cuatro’s has just re-formulated their queso recipe and had it out for us to sample.  I am a fan and I’m going to have to start ordering it more when I go out so I have a basis for comparison.  I’m tempted to go back so I can try their veggie tacos soon (it’s really easy to mess up a veggie taco for some reason).  We’ll see!

Up next, bowling, food in cones and ice cream!

Teddy

Admittedly, I know nothing about Ethiopian food. Enter Aster’s Ethiopian Restaurant.


I’ve officially tried it ONE time now but the one time I’ve tried it, I liked it.  You’re supposed to eat with your hands!  Who doesn’t like that?  Years of eating forks, spoons and chopsticks have made me appreciate eating with my hands immensely.  So called “finger foods” aren’t usually a meal though. Aster’s offered enough finger licking foods for me to have leftovers and be completely satisfied.

The injera bread was great, I need to try and make it on my own.  It’s sort of a crepe but larger and made with Teff flour (giving it a brownish hue).  I’d suggest ordering the vegetarian sampler the first time, deciding what you like best, then ordering the cheaper single items on the menu.  My meal came out to be about 20 bucks after drink and tip- not a wallet breaker by any means.  My favorite part of the sampler was the Fasolia Woott- potato green bean curry goodness. I don’t pretend to know how to say that either.  This is definitely an “order by number place” for me.


If you are looking to try Ethiopian food on a budget Aster’s is known for it’s ridiculously cheap lunch buffet (9.99 all you can eat).  I say live a little and give Aster’s a shot.

Teddy

First thing first.  It is officially HOT.  I know the weather in Austin is warmer than I’m used to but we’ve had weeks of 85+ degree weather, in JUNE. That’s crazy to me. I’m quickly learning that “June gloom” does NOT exist here. The next week is forecast to be in the mid to upper 90’s.  I thought I LOVED the heat but I’m missing being comfortable and walking somewhere for lunch!

On the positive side, I’ve started walking for gelato or ice cream instead.  That ice cream was only outside for less than 5 mins and it liquefied.

Last week (when it was only 90) I took a stroll to LEAF.  I’d heard it was a fantastic lunch spot and didn’t want to miss out on the fun because of a lil heat.  I got the Margherita on the Works salad (fresh mozzarella, basil, cherry tomatoes, olives, and pine nuts + I requested red onion).

Pros:  LEAF buys as many local ingredients as possible.  Exceptional service. Interesting flavor combination. Reasonably priced. Creative control when ordering!

Cons: I feel like I could have made that salad myself.

If you’re close by, I’d try it out. If you’re a mile away, like I am, and walking in the heat of summer, it’s probably better to wait until it cools down a bit (it’s at no fault of the restaurant that I’m a baby about walking that far in the heat!) Next time I think I’ll try to make my own salad for fun instead of ordering of the menu. I bet I could come up with a decent salad for myself

Teddy

Saturday I was invited to Cara’s Godfather Feast.  The idea is you get a bunch of people together, eat/cook Italian food and watch Godfather 1 & 2.   I think Cara did most of the work for for this party but I did my best to step in the kitchen and help out too!

1st course: Bruschetta

Main course: do it yourself baked pasta.  Each person chose what they wanted in their pasta. I kept it simple with marinara, mozzarella and parsley.

You can’t have a Godfather party without the cannoli. Ideally you munch on one during the infamous “leave the gun, take the cannoli” scene.

I brought some experimental banana chocolate chip cookies as well. They’re not Italian but they seemed to go over well anyway.

There was plenty of wine going around- also required.  We didn’t make it to the 2nd Godfather movie and I’d be impressed if anyone did.  After cooking, eating and drinking sitting through one Godfather was accomplishment enough for me.  You can see Cara’s take on the party on her blog too.

Teddy