Category: FOOD!!!

What You’re Doing

I’ve just gotten through the halfway point through Spring Break 2008 and I have to report that it’s been very productive and fun!

I started out by going to an SPHS Girl’s Soccer game on Saturday morning. They played against Westwood at The Palace and after a slow start, did alright. Final score, tie 1-1.

On Sunday, I built my garden:

I can’t wait to eat my own veggies. I have 8 varieties of peppers, 2 types of tomatoes, some Japanese eggplant, arugula, fennel, sage, Greek oregano, cilantro, rosemary, green onion and garlic. Next to the garden box, you’ll see my compost pile. I’m feeling more and more organic every day!!

Thanks to Monica for her help in putting my garden together. That soil was HEAVY and I couldn’t have hauled and mixed it all up without her. After we were done gardening, we went to her friend Jeff’s for a BBQ. Yummy!!

Monday, I spent some time with my mom. We went to my favorite Chinese restaurant Hunan in South Austin for some noodles. I rarely get down there for them but when I do, OMG, they are magnificent!!

I’ve cleared out more of the garage and put more stuff in the “to be sold” stack. (no picture of the garage, sorry) I’ve laid out and have a nice little bit of lobster coloring that will quickly turn to tan. (no picture of tan lines, either)

On Tuesday night, we went out to go see Boombox, ATX. As always, it was a good concert.

Before we headed to Lucky Lounge for Boombox, we went to Whiskey Bar so I could try their creme brulee martini. She set the glass on fire. Very cool trick, I tell ya!

Yes, it was Tuesday night but with all the SXSW activities going on, I didn’t know if we would get even close to the bar!!

LOL

However, the guy who is too much a Longhorn fan was somewhere out there that night.

But we had a good time, as we always do!

Video Blog + Cooking

My friend Naomi sent me this link today. I think once marching band is over and the video camera & tripod can come home, I’ll have to give it a whirl. Stay tuned!

The good champagne

Our Father’s Day celebration was nice. Last Mother’s Day, I announced that instead of going out to eat, I’d like to have everyone over and cook for Father’s Day. At that time, I had no idea what I wanted to cook but knew that we’d be able to really take our time and enjoy ourselves. Also, my mom had a nice bottle of champagne we all wanted to get into so I figured it would be the best time since we’d all be together, but without the restrictions of restaurants and TABC rules about bringing in champagne (or any alcohol) from home. I decided I wanted to grill so I marinated some chicken (don’t ask me for the recipe – I honestly threw stuff together. Thank goodness it was tasty.) and had that with sausage and lots of veggies.

I have always loved champagne. I think my sister and I get that from my mother. After we had the bottle of Chartogne-Taillet, we (of course) were still wanting some more champagne. I have several different bottles of champagne chilled here but most are less expensive brands and they’re just okay in taste. Without a thought, I pulled out a bottle of Veuve Clicquot to share with my family and friends. It’s not the most expensive champagne available but it’s good stuff. In fact, we all enjoyed the Veuve better than the Chartogne.

Granted, Father’s Day is a very special occasion. It calls for the good stuff. But honestly, unless I’m mixing the champagne with something (like Central Market brand blood orange Italian soda), I’m always going to reach for the good stuff when I’m sharing with friends or family. Why when I have more bottles to go around of the less expensive stuff? Because when you’re drinking champagne, it should always feel like a celebration. A celebration always deserves the good champagne.

Pasta Salad

I don’t actually measure anything when I make this pasta salad. I pretty much cook the pasta and cut the veggies so they’re proportionate to the amount of pasta. Here are the ingredients:

Curly, colored pasta Garden Rotini
Carrots
Cucumber
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Kosher Dill Pickles
Ham
Turkey
Zesty Italian Dressing

After I cook and drain the pasta, I dump the pasta in an ice bath to stop it from cooking any further. This also lets me combine all the ingredients as soon as I’m done with the pasta. As the pasta is cooking, I cut all the veggies and the ham & turkey in bite sized pieces. Once the pasta is chilled and everything is cut to size, I alternate layers of veggies to pasta in a bowl to help when I need to mix it. When it’s all layered, I pour the Italian dressing over and carefully mix it all together. Let sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before chilling. Serve cool.

I’ll post a picture later since I made it today. 😀

—————————UPDATE—————————–
Here are the pictures: