Morning Mischief

This morning I filled up the kids' pool and let them splash around. This satisfied them briefly, but then one of them...or maybe it was a team effort...decided that the optimal place for sand isn't actually the sand table, like we have always assumed, but the pool.

It was a messy job.

At least they don't mind being hosed off when it's time to come inside.

We got our second CSA box this week. Right now we are signed up for every other week, and that seems to work. Here's what we received: basil, sweet potato greens, arugula, okra, butternut squash, eggplant, bitter melon, summer squash, zucchini, purple bell peppers, beets, red onions, pattypan squash, and assorted hot and sweet peppers. The arugula, bitter melon, and beets were all new additions this week.  I have no idea what to do with bitter melon -- if you have any suggestions, please send them along! 

I roasted the butternut squash along with a couple of heads of garlic, then pureed the squash and garlic with some vegetable broth for a rich, creamy pasta sauce. I topped the rigatoni with some fresh chopped sage.

On the side, a simple arugula salad dressed with lemon and olive oil. Jackson found the arugula a little too spicy for his taste, but Olivia liked it. I love how they are being exposed to new veggies through the CSA.

 The pasta was a hit with both mischievous children.

Super Saturday

Most mornings, I get up before my kids and quickly eat my little bowl of cereal in peace. I say quickly because I only ever get ten or fifteen minutes to myself, before Jackson or Olivia wanders downstairs asking for milk, gummy vitamins, and cereal of their own.  Now that Jackson has outgrown his daily naps, I treasure those short moments of early morning quiet even more.

But some mornings, I wake up inspired to go into the kitchen and cook up a big mess o' food for my family. Saturday was one of those days. I started with a tofu scramble with broccoli, carrot, onion and red pepper thrown in.

I also made blueberry pancakes, with half whole wheat pastry flour and half spelt flour. I love blueberry pancakes!

I also roasted some potatoes.

Jackson and Olivia brought their big appetites.

After fueling up with a good breakfast, we headed to the mall to buy the kids some new sneakers. Of course we had to stop for a turn on the carousel.

We stopped by the play area, too, for a rocket ride.

I had a coupon for Yankee Candle, so I picked up a few items. I always have some sort of candle or incense burning in my home.

When we got home, we only wanted a light dinner. We had garden tomatoes and basil with buffalo mozzarella on baguette slices. Our tomato plants are slowing their production. We are still getting a lot of cherry tomatoes, but not many big tomatoes.

Later, we stood in line at Casey's, the nondescript little shack that produces the wonderful shaved ice dessert known as the New Orleans snowball.

The kids chose banana flavor.

I went with something slightly more exotic -- orchid vanilla cream. The guy who made my snowball correctly informed me that it tastes like Lucky Charms. Yum!

How was your weekend?

North Austin Trailer Yard

For lunch today, I took the kids to the North Austin Trailer Yard. Austin is known for its hundreds of food trailers, but most of them are located in central, south, or east Austin. So it's nice to have this new trailer yard up in our neck of the woods.

I love that they have a fenced-in playground for the little ones.

I ordered a veggie banh mi from Snarky's, loaded with sauteed mushrooms, carrots, onions, and a spicy chili sauce. I would've liked it more if I could've added tofu, but the flavors were good.

The kids split a grilled cheese sandwich and some chips. Honestly, they weren't too interested in the food when there was playing to be done.

Do you like banh mi? The Veganomicon banh mi with 5-spice dipping sauce is my favorite recipe of all time. I like having the opportunity to try others and see how they stack up.

Habana

Today we had lunch at a Cuban place in South Austin called Habana. One of the best things about Habana is the little cabana huts that dot the front lawn of the restaurant. If you can snag a free cabana, do it. It's fun to eat in your own private little hut. If you can ignore the traffic zooming by on South Congress, you may be able to imagine yourself dining in a tropical island paradise.

Another best thing about Habana is the drinks. "Mojitos?" asks the nice lady in the mural. Yes, please.

Summer = mojitos. Always.

And the final best thing about Habana would be the food. We started with mariquitas -- thinly sliced fried plantain chips. They are typically served with a meat-based sauce (the red sauce you see below) but you can request a vegetarian sauce and they will bring out a garlicky, citrusy, completely addictive green mojo sauce.

I ordered the Vegetariano Salteado -- "red and green bell peppers, onions, broccoli florets, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots and Cuban spices sauteed with dry wine and fresh garlic." The vegetables were highly seasoned and cooked to perfection, with some bite still left to them. 

And this isn't the only vegetarian dish on Habana's menu. There's a version of the Salteado made with tofu, and there's also Quimbobo, an okra stew that I'm dying to try.  I have nothing but praise for a restaurant that specializes in meat-heavy ethnic cuisine, yet makes such a lovely effort to please their vegetarian/vegan guests.

Summer Fun

It's hard to believe August is already here. Last summer seemed to drag on forever, with 83 days of temperatures over 100 degrees. This summer has been much milder and we have been spending as much of it outdoors as we comfortably can.

Jackson and Olivia love their kiddie pool. I find myself wishing I'd bought a slightly bigger one so I could get in and have a soak as well!

Sometimes I don't want to cramp their fun by calling them inside while I cook dinner. Or, I just don't want to turn on the oven! So we end up eating out.

One afternoon we had veggie burgers at Mr. Natural. Now, it makes me sad to say this because Mr. Natural does some things really well (like their dinner cafeteria line and all their vegan Mexican food), but their veggie burger is nothing special, and the fries were too greasy. 

One evening, Tony had to work late, so we headed downtown and got slices of veggie pizza at Whole Foods. We carried our dinner up to the rooftop and ate in the fresh air.

Then we hit the playscape.

How is your summer going?

Cooking for Paleo and Gluten-Free Eaters

My friend Abby recently had a baby, and I wanted to bring her some food. However, in addition to me being vegetarian and not knowing how to cook meat (or having any desire to), Abby has a few dietary restrictions of her own that made cooking for her a bit of a challenge -- albeit a fun one. First, her husband cannot tolerate gluten, so the whole family eats gluten-free. Second, she is on the paleo diet to lose her baby weight.

I didn't know anything about the paleo diet. Apparently, the idea is that you should eat like our caveman ancestors ate -- lots of meat, fruit and veggies, but no grains, legumes, or dairy.  Many of the meal suggestions I came across were heavy on the meat. But, you can find just about anything on the internets, and I was eventually able to find a few recipes that fit the bill of being vegetarian and gluten-free and paleo.

Apple pie bars, to help the nursing mama keep up her energy levels.

Sun-dried tomato broccoli soup...when cooking for an omnivore, vegetable soup is something I often turn to.

Grain-free chocolate chip cookies.

After delivering all the goodies and cuddling with a sweet two-week-old (new baby smell! ahhh!), I came home and fixed a simple dinner. I made the tamarind quinoa from Appetite for Reduction. I love its exotic, sweet/spicy flavor! Gotta remember to bookmark that recipe for sure. I served sauteed garlicky kale on the side.

CSA - Our First Box!

Much to my delight, we've finally joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) program with Johnson's Backyard Garden. We are getting a box every two weeks to start with. Here is the first week's bounty!

I'll break it down -- sweet potato greens, spinach, basil, okra, eggplants, butternut squash, pattypan squash, summer squash, onions, potatoes, hot and sweet peppers, bell peppers, and cucumber.

We started out by slicing some hot peppers on a frozen pizza.

Then I planned my weekly meals based on the veggies we recieved, and went grocery shopping. This is a new method of meal-planning for me, but I think I can get used to it.

One evening I made a lovely Mediterranean feast, full of farm-fresh vegetables.

I made hummus topped with more of those wonderful hot peppers.

I made a pesto quinoa salad using basil, onions, and cucumber, as well as tomatoes from our own garden.

I roasted the eggplants and made some lovely baba ganoush, sprinkled liberally with smoked paprika.

Finally, I sauteed the sweet potato greens with garlic and a pinch of salt.

It was all so good. I'd never eaten sweet potato greens before in my life. That's one benefit of joining a CSA -- getting to try veggies you've never even seen at the supermarket!

Another benefit is that, when you pick up your box, you know everything is fresh, having just been harvested at the farm -- possibly that very morning. Also, it feels good to have my money going to local farmers. Local food is becoming more important to me, as I learn about the necessity of helping the local economy and reducing environmental pollution by cutting down food transportation costs.

I was feeling under the weather today. Tony has passed his summer cold on to me. For some reason, summer colds make me so much  more miserable than winter illnesses. To aid my recuperation, I made one of my all-time favorite comfort food recipes -- the Chard Florentine from Vegan Yum Yum. Except, I used spinach instead of chard, since that's what came in the CSA box.

Are you a CSA member?

Vegan Heritage Press is hosting a giveaway of several of their awesome cookbooks -- check it out!