Lunch at in.gredients

Today we met friends for lunch at in.gredients. Their deli serves all local foods. I'm sorry, I didn't catch what businesses these items were from, but they were all delish. Jackson had a veggie panini, and Olivia and I shared some mushroom-onion pizza and an apple crumb muffin.

in.gredients is staffed by young hipsters and you'd think they might be opposed to a posse of loud little kids showing up to run wild, but we've always felt welcome. There's even a little playscape for the kids to chill after their meal. I think the owners really want it to be a hangout for everyone, families included.

Miss Olivia does not care to have her reading interrupted, even for a picture.

Cauliflower Couscous Bowl

Today I took the kids to the mall to buy some hand soaps. I didn't find what I wanted, but it was still a worthwhile trip for Jackson and Olivia, since they got to ride the merry-go-round.

Monkey on a monkey!

Lunch was thrown together from various leftovers, but it turned out so good that I want to share the recipe with you! Trust me, it really does taste much more appealing than it looks.

Cauliflower Couscous Bowl
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup Israeli couscous
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup hummus (store-bought or make your own)
1/4 tsp. salt
lemon slices

Roast the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the couscous and 1 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Combine cauliflower, couscous, carrot, hummus, and salt in a bowl. Divide into two servings. Serve with lemon slices for squeezing over it.

Bullock Texas State History Museum

Today the kids and I checked out the Bullock Texas State History Museum. Before we even entered the museum, we were wowed by the giant Texas star out front.

An immigrant naturalization ceremony was scheduled for that afternoon, so various nations' flags decorated the entrance.

This isn't a children's museum, so I worried that Jackson and Olivia might be bored. Although there aren't many interactive activities (there are a few trivia games and such, but they're geared for older visitors), the kids still found plenty to grab their attention. They loved the astronaut stuff.

Cool space suit! Jackson said, "I've worn one of those."

The kids also had fun "loading" this huge cannon and exclaiming, "Ready, aim, fire!"

I thought this display of old postcards from all over the state was pretty neat.

For dinner I made the Kale-slaw with Curried Almond Dressing from Let Them Eat Vegan. I love a salad that has a ton of different flavors going on, and you certainly get that here, with kale, apple, carrots, almonds,  currants (my sub for dried cranberries) and creamy dressing.

I served the slaw with "Spicoli" Burgers, from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. They're packed with crunchy hempseeds and are slightly crumbly, yet very moist. The recipe made ten, so I now have some in the freezer for another meal.

11 Years

Tony and I celebrated our 11th anniversary with dinner for two at Corazon. Our actual anniversary occurred during Tony's trip to Japan. When he returned, I was more than ready for a child-free night out. I love the kiddos but two weeks of solo parenting duty was a lot to handle. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the parents who do it every day!

We started off with chips and dark, roasted salsa.

Fancy guacamole sprinkled with cotija cheese.

I'm loving sangria swirls this summer. This one was super strong!

Potato-corn sope with wild mushrooms. A sope is a savory cake, in this case made from cornmeal and potato. It was topped with a light, spongy goat cheese custard and sauteed mushrooms, and dressed with tamarind sauce, crema, and tomatillo salsa. I loved this mix of textures and flavors, especially the sweet and sour tamarind sauce. Not your typical Tex-Mex ingredient.

Basking in the glow of our love and 105 degree heat!

Grandad's Visit

My dad was in town over the weekend. He and my mom are getting ready to become permanent residents of Texas, all the way from Detroit. He came out to do some final repairs on the house before they move in. Since my dad is really into history, we took him to Pioneer Farms, one of those places where costumed interpreters pretend they are living in the 1800's. 

Lots of old buggies and carriages. Some to be climbed on, some not.

Olivia checking out a cotton gin.

One of the interpreters, explaining old-timey cooking techniques.

Jackson and Olivia's favorite part was feeding grass to the chickens.

We saw a one-month-old donkey, awww.

Petting the mama donkey.

Because it was a hot day, Pioneer Farms was a bit of a ghost town. But sometimes it's nice to have a place all to yourselves, especially with small children, because then no one cares if they are running all over the place.

For dinner, Grandad wanted pizza, so we tried out Austin Terrier, a Boston terrier-themed restaurant. The patio is dog-friendly, of course. But Monster isn't exactly restaurant-friendly, so we left him at home.

Doggie Kiss on the wall. -- I suddenly felt inspiration for Monster's Halloween costume.

We started with a trio of fries -- sweet potato, paprika-dusted, and truffle parmesan. They were served with spicy sriracha ketchup and garlic aioli. They were all tasty, but the truffle parmesan were outstanding.

The kids' cheese pizza...which went mostly untouched! My dad ordered a pepperoni pizza for himself, and suddenly my kids were insisting that they looooove pepperoni...even though they'd never eaten it before in their lives! Ha! 

I had an apple and blue cheese salad, with dried cranberries, walnuts, and vinaigrette. It was huge, and I ate it all.

We'll be back...gotta support a restaurant that loves Bostons as much as we do! But no pepperoni, kids!

Tony Returns!

Tony recently spent two weeks in Japan. He traveled there for work and then spent some additional days sightseeing. He visited Okinawa, Osaka, Kyoto, and Okinawa, returning to us with slight jet-lag and only good things to say about the country. I think he would move us there if the offer came up! I'm quite jealous, but I'm traveling vicariously through all his pictures.

Olivia dressed up to go pick Daddy up from the airport, but the excitement (or was it the long car ride?) got to her.

As Tony unpacked his bags, gifts and souvenirs made their way into our hands. This temple incense smells amazing.

Solid perfume from Lush in Tokyo. Smells like honey, and apparently the name translates as "March of the Honeybees."

Habanero snacks. I haven't opened the bag yet, though, so who knows how spicy they actually are. I just like the evil little pepper dude on the package.

Banana holder...you know, to keep your banana from getting bruised...what did you think it was?

Napkins and tissues are hard to come by in Tokyo...in restaurants, you are given a hot towel to wipe your hands, not a napkin. Instead of handing out flyers, some bars and clubs hand out little packets of tissue to entice you to visit them.

Green tea hard candy, and fruit candy.

Samurai swords!

Everything has a face on it, Tony told me. I wasn't sure what he meant, so he brought me an example.

Chopsticks for everyone! Jackson and Olivia practiced by eating edamame, one by one. They're pretty good at it!

While traveling in Japan, Tony ate sushi every day, and developed an appreciation for miso soup at breakfast. I will post more about his food adventures and our attempts to recreate them. However, he came home with a craving for two American foods: Tex-Mex and pizza. So those were his first meals back home.

Abuelos is a chain, but we've always enjoyed it. They start you with a trio of salsas. The green salsa is super sweet; it has pineapple juice in it.

Sangria swirl, yes please.

Avocado enchiladas with ranchera sauce. Papas and steamed veggies on the side.

For pizza, we chose Mellow Mushroom. Adventurous toppings, lots of veggie/vegan options, and awesome chewy crust. Although, it's little pricey compared to other, just-as-good Austin pizza options. 

We started out with a Greek salad to share.

You can do a half-and-half specialty pizza, so that's what we did. The half on the left is Thai Dye -- curry tofu, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, basil, and Thai sweet chili oil. The other half is the Magical Mystery Tour with portabella mushrooms, pesto, spinach, feta, and jalapenos.  I preferred this half. I've enjoyed other Thai pizzas, but this one was a little too oily for my liking. The mushroom-pesto combination was great, however. And that crust! A good crust is my favorite part of a pizza.

Have you ever visited Japan? 

Elisabet Ney Museum

Recently I took Jackson and Olivia to check out the Elisabet Ney Museum. Ney was a European sculptor who moved to Austin in the late 19th century. Her studio was turned into a museum after her death. It looks like a tiny castle.

There's a lot of sunlight shining in on the statues and it almost makes them look as if they're glowing.

This makes me think I would have liked Elisabet Ney.

The grounds seemed like they would be helpful for finding artistic inspiration.

Since there was a little family festival going on, we were able to see sculptors at work.

Then Jackson and Olivia got to try their hand. Jackson loved this experience. At home, he now asks for his Play-doh and "sculpture tools" (a spoon and knife).

We stopped at Wheatsville on the way home and picked up some popcorn tofu po'boys. The buffalo tofu sandwich is topped with vegan blue cheese dressing.

And then there's the traditional one, with red onions, sprouts, and cashew tamari dressing.

This morning, Olivia is reliving her baby years.