Ahh, weekends. I love you.
(click on image for more descriptions)
Ahh, weekends. I love you.
(click on image for more descriptions)
Goodbye Spring Break, you gave me a much needed rest. Of course, I wish I could’ve done more. The last few days were filled with good eats at City Hall’s Farmer’s Market, visiting local shops for the first time, cooking, and visiting friends. Not bad at all!
My parents and siblings’ Spring Break trip to SCAD was delayed a few days, so we squeezed in a visit to the rodeo Saturday afternoon. Beautiful weather, great food (except my sister’s pizza on a stick), and plenty of people watching…
Houston. Please drive better. We had a scare Saturday morning: an impatient car abruptly moved right into our lane, driving us off the road, up over the curb, onto the sidewalk. And the driver didn’t even notice! Thankfully, we ended up with only dented hubcaps and no injuries—a blessing, but nonetheless, it was a little hard to shake off.
After a trip to Kaboom Books where I got to visit the owners’ sweet dog, the rest of the weekend was nice and relaxing: a good game of darts at my cousin’s birthday, tidying up the house, brunch at Shade, dinner for my mom’s birthday where forwent the traditional cake and instead shared mini desserts and pastries, working on personal projects, hunting for treasures at the Texas Art Asylum*, and catching a matinee of The Adjustment Bureau (3.5/5 stars: great cast, but maybe a bit anticlimactic).
* For you teachers, it’s less than a year old, but they have plans to open up another store down the road where teachers can grab bags of stuff for a few bucks.
Next weekend will be super busy with my kids’ big art contest of the year, and BJ will be flying to Seattle for his mom’s 60th birthday. Pictures from the past week so far…
Also… delicious brunch from Shade in our neighborhood (I keep thinking of their fresh pastries platter), celebratory coal-fired pizza with siblings at Grimaldi’s, and caipirinhas at Oporto
Mark Bittman, aka the Minimalist, drops some serious science in his Food Manifesto for the Future at the NYT. He uses the word “sane” a lot when he’s driven to talk about these things, which underscores the fact of the matter: that the way we eat, end to end, farm to table, is insane.
His points start with the government, which has, let’s be honest, been asleep at the wheel at best, in the pocket of industry at worst. So he wants us all to tell them to
The gist: close Washington’s wallet to the bad stuff, then fork out the ensuing savings for the good stuff. In short, sanity. If only Bittman and Pollan could be installed as decision makers somewhere high up in our government, we’d not only eat better, but we’d also need fewer trips to the doctor. Until then, thank heavens for Obamacare. For now we can only do our part, in the kitchen and the market, and maybe at the ballot box.
Luckily, here in Houston, we have a fair amount of farmers’ markets available to us. For locals, here’s a list:
– B
We had a full winter break with a lot of family in town, meals at different houses, and plenty of cute kids to keep us entertained—especially this butterball. Now, I can’t help but wake up feeling anxious + grumpy about the work I have yet to do before heading back to school. It’s something I have to work on. Before I start my (hopefully productive) day, here are a few pictures of what we’ve been up to lately.
Filling up on AKA Sushi and flipping through the 3×3 Illustration annual (which made a great present for the little sis). ¶ Lunch and bold beverages at Empire Cafe. ¶ Leftover pie from our pre-New Year house party. We should call it the Old Year Party. Certainly we’ve never had so many people, and “bacon candy,” at our place. ¶ Visiting Kaboom Books and chatting with their owners, where we scored Area for 12 bucks. Also, falling in love with their dogs: a charming pair of Hungarian pointers a/k/a Viszlas. ¶ Finally cleared the moving boxes out of the living room and found a place for my new Lena Corwin pillow from Jackie(!). ¶ Visited the antique shop across Empire Cafe and bought two super-sturdy school (say that 3x) chairs originally from Dayton I.S.D.
I’m squeezing in some cooking time during this break, because I need a lot of practice! Lately, I’ve been going to Orangette for recipes and each dish I’ve tried has been a keeper. Last night we made Pasta with Hashed Brussels Sprouts and Pine Nuts, using whole wheat pasta and adding minced garlic at the end. This morning, I made a third batch of the chocolate chip cookies, but I finally got the recipe right. The previous two times, I mixed teaspoons with tablespoons so there was more salt + baking soda + baking powder. (Can’t even claim that as a rookie mistake.) Although the other batches tasted pretty good, these cookies were so much better with just the right amount of crisp around the edges.
It’s been a long week, but I’m looking forward to getting some rest before returning to school. In between work, commutes, and all the busy stuff we’ve found some time to visit Igby (btw, she’s not that obedient: her eyes are fixed on my cookie), finally put up curtains and organize our place, indulge in yummy chocolate chip pancakes from Max’s Wine Dive, get hooked on Gossip Girl (I heart Blair), and drink lots of sparkling cider!
Thank you, internet.