Lemon Lavender

Today was a hot one. We wanted to be indoors, so we went to the children's museum. Jackson did a bit of building.

Olivia did a bit of painting.

Then we went out to the courtyard fountain and it went downhill from there. All the kids were climbing into the fountain and getting completely soaked. Of course this looked like great fun to Jackson and Olivia. On a hot day who can resist? Since I did not bring a change of clothes, we could not go back inside to continue playing. So, I let them splash around in the fountain for awhile, then we headed home. Note to self, always bring a change of clothes.

For dinner I made the 40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli from Appetite for Reduction, with red lentils and naan.

A special treat just because: lemon lavender bundt cake. It was inspired by a similar cake I had at the Steeping Room a long time ago. Nothing says summer like a bright burst of lemon goodness, and I am really into culinary lavender at the moment. It was a lovely cake and did not last long.

Zoodles!

Today we made our first glorious splash pad outing of the summer. 

Blaster cannons, look out!

Waterfalls are awesome!

And for dinner, I made my first zoodles! Zucchini noodles, y'all. I bought this spiralizer. Although there are models that cost 3x as much, it does a fine job. I topped the zoodles with tomatoes and fresh pesto made with basil from the garden. I thought the zoodles were just as filling as pasta, and more fun to make. Looking forward to spiralizing some cucumbers and carrots next!

4th of July

We spend July 4th weekend up in Oklahoma. We were just in time for the grand opening of the new water park in Shawnee.

It was just what we needed to get the kids out of my mother in law's house for a few hours and let them get their sillies out.

Tony and I got in too. I don't understand parents who don't get in the water. I am not just going to sit there and sweat for several hours. I'm getting in.

We had a low key holiday, hanging around the house. Jackson and Olivia got to meet their cousins from California for the first time. They just happened to be visiting at the same time as us. 

One evening, my mother-in-law volunteered to watch the kids so Tony and I could have a date night in the city. Believe it or not we passed up getting Chinese fast food from a convenience store.

We had heard good things about The Mule and it did not let us down. Their specialty cocktails are all variations on the Moscow Mule. I had the Okie Mule, made with hibiscus syrup, vodka, ginger beer, and lime. It was amazing. I wish I was drinking one (or three) now.

My handsome husband.

We started with the craziest stuffed mushrooms either of us had ever encountered. They were loaded with cashew cheeze, grilled jalapenos, barbecue sauce, and guac.  Hot and gooey and amazing.

I had the Herbivore sandwich with cashew cheeze, beets, mushrooms, tomato pesto, onions, jalapenos, and avocado. That is a lot of ingredients to pile onto a sandwich and I was impressed. The vegan side of the day was quinoa with butternut squash and pecans. It was sweet like something you would eat for breakfast, kind of an odd pairing but it worked.

My other handsome gentleman, always ready for a road trip.

Inchin's Round Two

I so enjoyed my first dining experience at Inchin's Bamboo Garden that I soon returned to sample some more of their extensive vegan menu.

We had the Chinese Bhel appetizer, crispy noodles in a sweet chili mixture. It was rich and very spicy.

Good thing I had a Kingfisher standing by.

For my entree I had the Cauliflower Manchurian, cauliflower florets in a sweet garlic sauce. This was also rich due to the cauliflower being breaded and deep-fried. It was really good! Tony ordered something similar and he says Inchin's is too rich for him. I wouldn't order this dish all the time, but they do have lighter items on the menu as well.

Floor play: Legos.

Floor play: Connect Four.

Red Poppy Fest

Here's an outing that I never got around to posting, back in April. Time flies, my goodness. The Red Poppy Festival is held in Georgetown each spring.  We strolled around with my parents.

I like downtown Georgetown.

 It has an old-timey town square with cool buildings.

We stopped to look at the arts and crafts booths. The ones where the artists were demonstrating their work were the most interesting.

But the real reason we go is all the free inflatable rides for the kids. 

After they bounced and jumped to their heart's content, we had lunch at Chuy's. I ordered my usual, veggie enchilada with giant salad. They were out of enchilada sauce, so I was able to sub a guacamole soft taco.

Patio cat!

Two-Fer

Last Sunday was Father's Day and also our 13-year wedding anniversary. Lucky #13!

We enjoyed a patio beer at ABGB, then I made some chili. I will forever and always use the Appetite for Reduction chili recipe, it is the ultimate chili. I sub lentils for the beans.

I also baked some sweet potato tater tots and made some cheezy sauce (also from Appetite for Reduction) so that we could assemble...drumroll...chili cheese tots! OK, I thought this was an appropriately manly Father's Day meal, but I was also super excited about it myself. I had never had chili cheese tots before. They were pretty darn good.

After stuffing ourselves, we spent the evening at an inflatable play center, letting the kids run out their energy while we chilled at a table.

Groceries

I like seeing other people's grocery hauls occasionally, so I figured I would post mine. Not all the groceries I bought this week, just the fun stuff I guess.

Four pounds of strawberries! Oh, Costco. You know my children's hearts.

Freaky Siamese twin strawberry!

Jackson was ready to tear into the strawberries, but we had some blueberries and watermelon in the fridge that needed to be finished off first. 

Other Costco goodies include green olives, maple syrup, smoked almonds, and chia fruit/veggie pouches.

Next stop, Natural Grocers: cashew butter, almond butter, Earth Balance, sunflower seed crackers, red lentils, medjool dates, spelt flour, and oat flour.

We also popped into the Indian market to get some spices: whole fenugreek, whole coriander, cardamom powder, cardamom seeds, kalonji (nigella), and ajwain. I was making Ethiopian food, not Indian, but the two cuisines share many spices in common and I was able to find everything I needed even though there is no African market here in Austin.

After putting groceries away, a little baking happened. I made a big batch of granola (from 1000 Vegan Recipes) for Tony to take to work in the mornings. Homemade is so much cheaper than buying it at the work cafeteria!

I also made Apple Spice Hemp Muffins from Dreena Burton's newest, Plant-Powered Families. I can already tell that I will treasure this cookbook as much as I do all her others. She feeds her family the way I want to feed my family, you know? These muffins will be Jackson and Olivia's breakfasts this week.

Hope you have an awesome day!