I Scream for...Frozen Yogurt

With an Amazon gift card burning a hole in my pocket, I treated myself to a post-Christmas present in my favorite color. Nope, not a new sweater.

 

I've wanted an ice cream maker for years, it seems. During an Austin summer, I could eat ice cream every day. This summer, maybe I will.

I tested out the machine by making a batch of blueberry cheesecake frozen yogurt. I used soy yogurt, vegan cream cheese, vanilla, and stevia. During the last few minutes, I stirred in a ton of blueberries and a handful of oats (the "crust" of my imaginary cheesecake.)

 

I don't want to post a recipe yet because this was just a test. The result was tasty, creamy soft-serve. It was totally fine for a first attempt. The only issue was that we didn't eat it all (crazy, I know), and when I put the leftover fro-yo in the freezer, it froze into a solid block. I'm not sure what ingredient store-bought ice creams contain to keep it from freezing like that, but I'd like to figure it out and make a recipe that's more freezer-stable, so you don't have to eat the whole batch in one sitting. I just ordered a book called The Vegan Scoop, so hopefully that will help.

Lucky Day

Over the weekend we were out for a family stroll, and I stopped to take pictures of Jackson and Olivia in front of this mural. 

 

 

 

This is a very popular mural. Every time I pass by it, there are tourists posing in front of it, film students shooting a scene, or a couple having their engagement photos taken. When I finally came across it when it was deserted, I felt like it was my lucky day.

 

And it really was. As we continued our walk, we spotted a $50 bill on the ground! I immediately felt bad for the poor soul who lost it. But, after looking around to see if anyone had dropped it, we realized there was nobody in our vicinity. We were cutting through an empty parking lot. So, there was nothing left to do except celebrate our good fortune!

 

My good luck continued at home, as I tried out three new recipes from The 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe, and they were all phenomenal. So far I've been very impressed with this cookbook.

 

Spanish Rice, with olives and capers. This would be perfect in a wrap with some veggies and salsa, or as a side with any Mexican dish.

 

 

Chickpeas and Roasted Garlic...did you know it's possible to roast two heads of garlic in ten minutes? Neither did I, until I came across this recipe. Now, you do have to peel all of the cloves first. That actually might have taken longer than my traditional method of roasting the bulbs whole for 45 minutes, then squeezing the roasted cloves out of their peels. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I don't really care for peeling garlic. I typically reach for the giant Costco jar of minced garlic rather than buying fresh. Oh well. It was worth it in this case. There's nothing better than the smell of garlic roasting in the oven, and it made this chickpea salad special.

 

 

Paprika Tofu...yes, there are slabs of marinated tofu hiding under that beautiful rainbow assortment of roasted veggies. You season both the tofu and the veggies with smoked paprika and pop it in the oven, couldn't be easier or more delicious.

 

This dinner was a hit with all four of us, and that is rare! Jackson and Olivia seem to be polar opposites these days, with their taste preferences. It's almost guaranteed that if Jackson likes a certain dish, Olivia will turn up her nose at it, and vice versa. Hearing them both request seconds, I felt like it was a lucky day, indeed.

 

 

Our Guest, Ozzy Owl

This weekend, Jackson brought home a furry little friend from school.

 

 

Last year he had some great adventures with Molly Monkey and he was excited to do the same with his pre-k class mascot, Ozzy Owl.

 

First we took Ozzy to the playground.

 

 

Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream at Paleteria La Selva. We love their huge selection of paletas (popsicles). It's a bit out of the way for us, but it happened to be right down the street from the playground we had visited. So of course we had to pop in for a treat!

 

Jackson chose strawberry.

 

Olivia went with mango.

 

And I had pistachio.

 

In the evening, we contined to take advantage of the beautiful weather and had dinner at Phil's Icehouse. The kids love Phil's for its playground.

 

I love Phil's for its awesome veggie burgers and mix of sweet potato and regular fries.

 

Thanks for visiting us, Ozzy! Hope you had fun!

 

Swim Class

Jackson has been taking swim lessons for the past few months. Tony usually takes him while I go to yoga, but tonight I went as well so I could see how he is progressing. We have nearly come to the end of his class. It was awesome to see all the new skills he has learned. He loves to be in the water and we want him to feel confident and safe. 

For dinner I made a recipe from American Vegan Kitchen, Tempting Tofu Dippers with Pineapple-Pomegranate Dipping Sauce. We love these crispy little tofu tenders and their sweet and sour sauce.

We also had a quinoa salad with tomato and feta, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil, baba ganoush with smoked paprika, and pita bread.

Off to the park to enjoy a sunny, warm afternoon!

Appetite for Awesome Food

After the "holiday indulgence" (i.e. constantly stuffing food in my face) of November and December, January is a time to scale it down a bit. But, I refuse to exist on iceberg lettuce and yogurt. Here a couple of this week's dinners, both from Appetite for Reduction.

Classic Black Bean & Veggie Chili. This is my new go-to chili recipe. The flavor is spot-on and I love that it contains way more vegetables than your standard chili. Hello, corn, carrots, green pepper and zucchini! Get in my tummy now. As I'm allergic to black beans, I substituted chickpeas. The Fresh Corn & Scallion Cornbread was a perfect accompaniment.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower & Spinach. Again, amazing flavor. Making your own sauce instead of using store-bought makes all the difference, and it takes only a few seconds to stir garlic and spices into a can of crushed tomatoes.

 

The spinach goes in raw, absorbs the sauce while the lasagna cooks, and turns all velvety and yum.

Blackberries are certainly light and healthy, as well as being cheap this time of year. Which makes a certain little girl very happy!

Spicy and Sweet

On Saturday we had lunch at PhoNatic, a Vietnamese cafe. We started out with a couple of appetizers. The veggie eggrolls with sweet chili dipping sauce were deep-fried perfection. I could have made a meal out of them.

The crispy salt and pepper tofu had a nice texture, but could have benefited from a dipping sauce. I dipped it in the sauce that came with the eggrolls.

You'll find a multitude of pho cafes in North Austin but, as far as I know, PhoNatic is the only one that offers a vegan pho -- the Pho Chay.

I'm really pleased that there is a non-meat option. However, the broth was lacking the complex depth of flavor one looks for in pho broth. I use anise, ginger, and other spices to attain that rich flavor when I make pho at home. PhoNatic's version basically tasted like vegetable broth with a little sriracha stirred in. 

It was fun to use the little plate of add-ins that was served with the soup -- basil, lime, sliced jalapeno, and sprouts. There's also a self-serve fixins bar where you can grab additional toppings such as scallions, cilantro, soy sauce, and plum sauce.

After lunch, Tony took the Jackson and Olivia to run some errands, giving me a couple hours of precious me-time. That evening, to repay the favor, I took the kids for ice cream so Tony could watch football in peace. We headed to Sweet Ritual, the awesome little vegan ice cream parlor.

The kids had vanilla cones with gummy bears.

I had a butterscotch shake. I love butterscotch! The shake was perfectly blended and delicious, with a caramel, almost coffee flavor to it. 

First they gave me a makeover. Now, face masks! Exfoliation is so important.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year!

We had a very tame New Year's Eve, hanging out with the kids. I tried out some recipes from The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of Europe, which I received for Christmas. So far, I am really enjoying this cookbook.

For an appetizer, I made "EscarNo," a vegan take on the classic French escargot, which features snails. I'm not sure why anyone would want to eat snails, vegan or no. Mushrooms are substituted in this recipe, filled with diced shallots and sauteed in a rich, buttery wine sauce. They tasted like super-decadent stuffed mushrooms.

I also made Creamy Chickpea Soup, or revithia as it's known in Greece. I like how half the chickpeas are pureed, and half are left whole. It gives the soup a nice texture. I like my soups to have big flavor and this one certainly delivered, kicked up with plenty of lemon juice and balsamic.

Well, I don't do resolutions, so I'll leave you with some pictures of my New Year's makeover, courtesy of Jackson and Olivia. Jackson said I looked "like an angel." I personally would substitute "juggalo" for "angel" in that description, but you know what they say -- beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The make-up artists.

This color will really highlight mommy's cheekbones undereye circles.

"Hold still and let me get this lipstick juuuuust right."

"Mommy so pretty!"