Austin's Park

In lieu of a party this year, we celebrated Olivia's birthday at Austin's Park.  She and Jackson were a little excited to say the least.

We arrived right when they opened, on a chilly Sunday. It was awesome because hardly anyone else was there, so there were no lines for any of the rides.

Olivia was not quite tall enough for some rides, like the bumper boats. We will just have to go back next year after she grows a bit more!

She made up for it by riding her favorite rides over and over. And over!

First rollercoaster ride!

Lunch break/shark attack!

Austin's Park has an all-you-can-eat pizza and salad buffet. The salad bar had a pretty good range of offerings; I didn't go hungry.

Jackson came soooo close to reaching the top of the rock wall. 

After lunch we headed back outside for some mini golf.

"OK Mama, that's enough pictures, let's go ride some more rides!"

A great day of family fun. For dinner I made the Veganomicon French dip sandwiches with au jus. Our favorite meal.

Sand and Sandwiches

Today Olivia requested a visit to the dino pits at the nature and science center. It was a beautiful day, so I thought that was a great idea.

As we trekked along the wooded trail, we stopped to notice all the colorful flowers in bloom. I loved these tiny purple berries, although I'm not sure what they are called. So vibrant.

Olivia played archaeologist, digging for buried "dinosaur bones" buried beneath the sand.

I am really trying to soak in this last year of having my baby girl at home with me every day, before she goes off to kindergarten next year.

For dinner I made my very favorite meal, the Vietnamese Seitan Baguette with Savory Broth Dip from Veganomicon. I served them on kaiser rolls instead of baguette. So much love for this spicy sandwich.

Midway Lunch

Awhile back, I took Jackson and Olivia to check out the Midway food trailer court. A carnival-esque sign greeted us.

Inside the gates, we were met by a suspicious-looking sasquatch. What were you doing behind that bush, Bigfoot?

Decorations hanging from trees added to the carnival atmosphere.

I had a portabello mushroom bahn mi from Dock and Roll Diner, accessorized with grilled onions, guacamole, hoisin sauce, and cotija cheese. It was served hot and toasty (I've had experiences with lukewarm trailer food so I appreciate this detail) and the portabellos were perfectly done, not rubbery.

I was kind of bummed out that half of the ten food trailers were closed the day we went. I guess Mondays aren't optimal for sampling trailer food. Yet, I ended up with a satisfying lunch that I probably wouldn't have chosen if there were more options (I'd been eyeing the tapas trailer, but it was closed.) So there you go.

Since the closing of NATY, Midway is currently the only food trailer court in Austin with a playscape. Happy kiddos.

Cooking Twice in One Day

Today Olivia, looking fierce in her boots and new romper, was my shopping buddy after we dropped Jackson off at school.

We just had to pick up a few staples, and also re-stock our incense drawer. We had run completely out. Noooo!  We got our usual Nag Champa and Triloka, and I also tried some "Tara Healing Incense" that is supposed to relieve stress and anxiety. But I actually got stressed out trying to light them because they were so crumbly! Ha! Won't be buying that brand again.

I tend towards snacky lunches during the week, but Tony said he wanted to come home for lunch and eat something healthy, so I made chimichurri tofu from Viva Vegan!, served over roasted butternut squash.

Then for dinner, I made the bahn mi sandwiches with savory dipping sauce from Veganomicon. I don't usually cook two actual meals in one day but it was worth it for these sandwiches. Love them so much.

To drink, I made a pitcher of Arnold Palmers - half lemonade, half tea, but in this case I used green mint tea. I am obsessed with mint tea lately! So refreshing.

Rainy Day Entertainment

Another gloomy day with rain in the forecast. We've had a lot of those this spring. Not that I'm complaining! We need it. And although entertaining the kids is a more of a challenge when playgrounds and splash pads are off the table, I think I'm up to it.

We had to venture out to H-E-B and do our weekly grocery shopping. Jackson and Olivia are getting to that age where they find grocery shopping to be, shall we say, not incredibly exciting. Buddy Bucks make it slightly more tolerable.

Came home and prepped tofu for dinner. I made Matthew's Delicious Tofu from The Garden of Vegan. My favorite way to prepare tofu for use in sandwiches.

Dinner was Vietnamese Seitan Baguettes with Savory Broth Dip from Veganomicon. My favorite meal ever. I changed it up this time, using the tofu in place of seitan. Along with the usual cucumber, cilantro, Veganaise, and sriracha, I also threw on some red bell pepper and red onion slices.

After dinner we turned the bathroom into a spa, as I treated the kids (and myself) to a foot scrub. This recipe is also found in The Garden of Vegan. Sarah Kramer's second cookbook came out about ten years ago and it's been sitting on my shelf, collecting dust, neglected in favor of shiny new cookbooks. Recently I was looking through it and I remembered how great it is. It's just so darn comprehensive! In addition to breakfast recipes, there are tons of smoothies and juices. There's a chapter on lunch-box friendly foods and even a bunch of recipes you can make in your microwave. And, in the back, there's a cool section on homemade bath items, such as this foot scrub, made with oats and cornmeal. The green food coloring was my addition, to enhance the kid appeal.

Elizabeth Street Cafe

Although my Mother's Day was low-key, the rest of the weekend was quite exciting! First, Tony and I went to see one of our favorite bands, Titus Andronicus, on Friday night.

They were awesome and totally babysitter-worthy!

Then, on Saturday, we visited the AMOA-Arthouse to see an exhibit that I felt would appeal to the kids, Pinaree Sanpitak's Temporary Insanity. Her beanbag chair-esque sculptures filled the second-floor gallery. We walked among them.

As we made our way through, the sculptures began interacting with us. They wiggled, bounced, hummed, and gurgled. Jackson and Olivia wondered what was inside them and why they were communicating with us. Olivia guessed that perhaps they were dinosaur eggs and the baby dinosaurs were trying to hatch.

Finally, we had lunch at my new favorite Austin restaurant, Elizabeth Street Cafe. It's adorable, like a French cafe (not that I've been to France, but I imagine). The small dining space is light and open and airy. The decor is super-cute, with lot of attention to detail. 

I ordered a jasmine green iced tea. I love its strong floral flavor. Also, I want a set of those water glasses!

My lemongrass tofu and mushroom bahn mi was perfection. I loved the contrast between the crisp, cool cucumber, radish, and carrots, and the hot sauteed tofu and mushrooms. The crusty French bread was wonderful, too, which is not surprising since Elizabeth St. is also a boulangerie (French bakery.)

Tony had the tofu and mushroom bun, a deconstructed vermicelli noodle bowl with cucumbers, carrots, basil, jalapenos, and vegan fish sauce. I have to try this next time!

Jackson also ordered a noodle bowl, a kid-sized version with tofu. He is always excited to get to use chopsticks.

Olivia had a little bowl of mixed berries, banana, granola, and yogurt, sprinkled with mint.

I had to order a dessert, knowing it would be gorgeous. I went with the strawberry napoleon, served with guava jam and edible flowers. Almost too pretty to eat!

While Tony and I shared the pastry, Jackson and Olivia munched on chocolate-rose macarons. I must learn to make macarons, I simply must. A thin layer of buttercream is sandwiched between two almond cookies that are crispy and chewy at the same time, and practically melt in your mouth.

We ordered a couple more macarons to take home, and our sweet server brought them in a tiny pink and white takeout carton. See what I mean about the attention to detail, and the cuteness?

Must return soon!

Dinners Out

My parents were in town all last week. Since they are omnivores and "need" meat with most of their meals, we dine out a lot whenever they visit. But they do have a liking for my minestrone. The recipe is from The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook by Jack Bishop.

One night, we tried out the new spring menu at Kerbey Lane. I was so excited to see a tofu banh mi on their seasonal menu, and it did not disappoint! Banh mi sandwiches really seem to be catching on these days. There's even an all-banh mi restaurant in South Austin that I'll have to try soon.

Jackson and Olivia had chocolate chip pancakes. Can't go wrong with chocolate chips, especially if you are three or four years old.

There are not a lot of Tex-Mex options in Detroit, where my parents live, so they always want to visit Chuy's when they're in Austin. I had the salad and enchilada combo -- a veggie enchilada paired with a giant house salad, with creamy jalapeno dressing.

More home-cooked meals coming up this week, for sure.

April Roundup

The month of April has flown by! We have been busy, busy, busy. Here are some meals I didn't get around to posting at the time.

From Vegan with a Vengeance, BBQ Pomegranate Tofu with Coconut Rice.

I didn't feel like the coconut rice added anything, since the subtle coconut flavor was drowned out by the bold flavors of the BBQ sauce. It was fine, but next time I would just use brown rice. The rice recipe makes a lot. I only needed half of it to eat with the BBQ tofu. We made rice pudding out of the leftovers.

The BBQ tofu, baking in its sauce. You might think it looks like there is too much sauce, since you can barely see the triangles of tofu in there. But this sauce is so fantastic, you will be glad there's a ton of it.

Pomegranate molasses was a new thing for me. It's like a syrup. Not sweet like pancake syrup, though. Kind of sour. It sure does make a delicious BBQ sauce.

One afternoon, we ate an early dinner at Shady Grove, known for its huge outdoor dining area that's shaded by pretty pecan trees. I love a good patio, so this restaurant would be a favorite of mine, if only their food wasn't consistently mediocre.

I ordered a frozen margarita swirled with sangria. Instead I got one that was swirled with a too-sweet strawberry syrup. The server kind of mumbled something about their margarita machine being broken and that was how they were coming out. It was really sickeningly sweet.

Our server was not really on the ball. We never got the basket of chips and salsa we ordered as an appetizer, and then my veggie burger came out without the fries that I ordered. Maybe he was actually trying to do me favor by omitting the fries., because when he brought them later, they were overcooked. The veggie burger was perfectly fine. I was just hoping for a better overall experience. I don't think we will return.

I always have mixed feelings about posting negative reviews of restaurants, but sometimes I feel like, "Why am I paying for this meal when I could do better at home?" That's not me bragging -- I'm certainly not a chef, and that is my whole point. When I go out to eat, I want something as good or better than what I can make in my own kitchen.

I would love it if a restaurant offered this dish -- it's a "Deconstructed Banh Mi" salad from Robin Robertson's Quick-Fix Vegan. I love all the flavors of a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich -- marinated tofu, shredded cabbage, scallions, cilantro, ginger, crusty baguette -- and they are all represented in this lovely salad. I will say that for me, it wasn't a quick fix -- it took almost an hour to prepare because there were a lot of veggies to cut/shred, as well as the tofu to saute and the baguette to cut up and slather with Veganaise. But it was worth the effort.

Finally, teriyaki burgers. These were inspired by a recipe in Peas and Thank You but I used frozen veggie burgers rather than making my own. I used Gardenburger Asian veggie patties, which are spicy and awesome. I topped them with Veganaise, teriyaki sauce, and pineapple chunks. So good! If you are bored with regular old lettuce and tomato on your veggie burgers, try this! We had Alexia sweet potato fries on the side.

So long, April! May, I hope you are awesome.