Weekend Eats and Treats

The weekend is almost here but, before I forget, we had some great food last weekend! 

Friday night, it was just me and the kiddos. I made a quick pasta with basil pesto and cherry tomatoes. The garden has been going crazy with all the rain we've had this summer, it's wonderful! I made a big batch of pesto and froze it in ice cube trays, so I can pop out the amount I need. I topped the fettucine with a few shreds of pecorino romano cheese. Pecorino romano is so salty and has such a big flavor -- it's great if you're trying to watch your fat intake but want the richness of cheese, because you only need a tiny bit.

We got our grocery shopping done, then we stopped by the Capital City Bakery trailer for cupcakes. The kids had vanilla with sprinkles, and I had a black forest cupcake -- chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and cherries. Delicious, vegan cupcakes -- a perfect little treat after a week of eating light.

Saturday morning, we had to drop off Tony's car for some maintenance. While we waited to pick it up, we had brunch at Kerbey Lane. I ordered the vegan breakfast platter, which came with raspberry pancakes, tofu scramble, and vegan sausage patties. The tofu scramble was spicy and came covered in chopped tomato and scallions. The pancakes, although they didn't really taste like raspberry or have any visible raspberry pieces in them, were fine. The sausage patties were overcooked, hard and chewy. This has happened before, so I will probably find something else to order next time I eat breakfast there.

Tony ordered the migas. I may try them some time, so I thought I would take a picture. I've never been much of an egg eater, but the urge does strike me once or twice a year. He enjoyed these.

That afternoon, a couple of my friends were running a craft booth at the North Austin Trailer Yard, so we stopped by for a visit. While we were there, we checked out a trailer food competition, part of the Go Texan Restaurant Roundup. Each of the food trailers on the lot was offering free samples of a special dish made from local ingredients. You could try them all and vote on your favorite dish.

 

We were still pretty full from breakfast, so we only got one sample, but it was quite a sample. It was actually a full-sized pecan pie sundae from The Yogurt Experience, made with Texas pecans. It took a lot of restraint to just take one bite and allow Jackson and Olivia to finish off the rest -- it was so good! They loved it. Now I know where to take them next time they deserve a Friday night treat!

On Sunday, I cooked a sort of multicultural dinner. I made a couple of Ethiopian dishes from Appetite for Reduction -- Y'abesha Gomen (gingery collard greens) and Mushroom Tibs. I rounded out the meal with curried lentils and garlic naan bread. A light and healthy meal to make up for the weekend's excesses, but also a spicy and satisfying feast!