Wordless Wednesday: Springy Woods

For more WW, click here.

Carrot Oatmeal Whoopie Pies with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Tags

baking, carrot, coconut, cream cheese, Easter, easy, oatmeal, recipes, soft cookies, whoopie pies

A little over a week ago, my roommates and I ate at a new restaurant not far from our East Side abode: Hillside Farmacy. As one may guess from the name, they use locally-sourced ingredients (except for, say, the oysters), which seems to be an excellent trend among Austin eateries. Oh, and speaking of trendy, so were the waitstaff along with most of the customers. I never feel cool enough in this town, especially during SXSW days.

During the brief wait for a table, we ogled what was housed in the bakery case. The presence of macarons will never not excite me, plus there were pastries, cupcakes, chocolates, mini tarts, and what looked to be carrot cake whoopie pies. These all come from local bakeries.

After our tasty sandwiches, Maddie and I decided to split a macaron (rose) because she had never had one, and one of the whoopie pies since they looked/sounded good and were recommended by the waitress. The tasty not-so-little cookie sandwich inspired me to make some myself!

Wordless Wednesday: A river runs through it…

Tags

Guadalupe, Kerrville, river, Texas

…”it” being Kerrville, TX.

For more WW, click here.

Of Bouncy Castles and Castle Cakes

Tags

birthday, cakes, castle

This past Sunday was originally going to turn me into a big ball of stress as I was to help with Rachel’s baby shower (1 – 3pm) and my niece’s 3rd birthday party (3 – 5pm). However, Rachel’s baby, Jackson, was born last Tuesday, about three weeks before he was due! Thanks again for all of the great freezable food suggestions, by the way. I ended up  making batches of freezer burritos and scones, but then decided that cleaning their house would be an even more helpful thing to do since I had a key and all. Both mama and baby are fine, thankfully!

My sister was really relieved that I then had the whole weekend to help her with Natalie’s birthday! Each party so far has had a theme with elaborate (for us) cakes. With Natty’s love of princesses, this year’s theme was obvious. A castle cake was to be made!

Wordless Wednesday: Austin Icon

Tags

Austin, Leslie Cochran

Leslie Cochran on 6th at the end of September 2009

For more WW, click here.

Help! What are your freezer-friendly favorites?

Tags

cooking

Hey, hey, hey...look who's got a bun in the oven!

Rachel and Josh’s kid will be here soon! Sooner than predicted actually, so I need to start whipping up some dishes for their freezer, stat. This experience will be interesting as I’ll be cooking with meat for the first time since November 2009! gulp.

So, help me out, omnivores: do any of you have favorite recipes or suggestions to share? You know, casserole-type dishes? Please link to them in the comments!

Some possible contenders right now include my dad’s meatloaf and/or my grandma’s chicken ‘n dumplings (remember my vegefied version?). mmm…

Wordless Wednesday: Dalek in Spring

Tags

dalek, Doctor Who, spring

(Thanks, Maddie!)

For more WW, click here.

Where to eat in Austin: Take it from the local food bloggers!

Tags

AFBA, atxfood, atxfoodguide, Austin, Austin Food Blogger Alliance, sxsw, sxswfood

It’s amazing how fit this city is because one thing is certain: Austinites are obsessed with food! With new restaurants and food trucks (oh, so many food trucks) popping up every which way, it can get very overwhelming, even for someone who lives here. Where do you start if you’ve never even been to Austin?

Not surprisingly, there is a large community of bloggers here who keep up with the food scene, and they have compiled a comprehensive guide to help you out! Looking for coffee and breakfast tacos? Need to find a vegan-friendly place in East Austin? In the mood for, I don’t know…Persian?! Well, your new friend is the 2012 Austin City Guide! If you’re indecisive and need some help narrowing down ideas, check out the survey results of the Austin Food Blogger Favorites.

Cappuccino (Patika Coffee), Crispy Green Beans (Contigo), Cauliflower Gratin (Contigo), Egg Salad Tartine (Blue Dahlia)

Spicy Purple and Sweet Potato Gratin with Coconut Milk

Tags

chipotle, coconut milk, cooking, dairy-free, easy, gluten-free, healthy, kale, paleo, recipe, shallots, vegan, vegetarian

If I could go back in time to just last year, I would thank myself for one thing: coconut. I spent all my life hating it, but after putting myself through a year of trying it repeatedly, it’s quickly high-tailing it to my list of favorite things. I keep reminiscing about a recent coconut margarita, and have you experienced coconut ice cream? If not, change that ASAP.

Always seeking out new things to try, one of the most recent adventures involved the purple potato via a curry. Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to pair it with sweet potatoes. This may mostly be for aesthetic purposes because, come on, you know one of the main reasons you visit food blogs is for the food porn. However, the purple spuds are actually little antioxidant powerhouses which I thought would make an awesome duo with their also nutritious orange cousins.