lifestyle Archives | Page 13 of 127

Summer Soup

September 16, 2014 by Kristin

After a weekend filled with the cloudiest, coldest weather Austin has seen in months, I couldn’t stop thinking about soup. And not just any soup, but a soup I consider making often {but haven’t} since its conception in July of 2012. How can time be passing so quickly??

Since creating this recipe, a couple things of changed. For one, I’m eating a heck of a lot more meat {so I added chicken}! I’d blame that on living in Texas if I hadn’t spent most of my Dallas year as a vegetarian. And second, the FoodFash kitch has become way gluten-free. I must say that I prefer this soup with udon noodles, but if you’re cooking without gluten, then this rice spaghetti is a more-than-fine substitute.

Original FoodFash recipe.

Array

We Won A Trip To Italy!

August 27, 2014 by Kristin

Wow, where to begin! Earlier this year, I saw a post on Facebook advertising a “win a trip to Italy” contest hosted by DaVinci Wine. I clicked on it, had fun filling out an application that allowed me to share my favorite vacation stories, submitted various pictures/videos/blog posts, and went on my way. A few weeks later, a random NY number popped up on my phone and I answered {thinking it was a supplier for work}.

What a surprise to find out that what I expected to be a work call was actually someone calling to notify me that I had been selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2014 DaVinci Wine Storyteller Experience! The rest of the call went something like “Oh my goodness, thank you! …oh, the winners are selected by voting?”. I should have been completely excited, but the memory of another Italy contest came rushing back and the feeling of coming in dead last clouded my excitement.

I pushed the negativity aside and began promoting the contest in a way that I hoped would attract support without annoying friends, family, and followers {my ultimate contest promoting fear}.

The contest ended on July 31st. How five-ish weeks had come and gone, I was uncertain. I had plenty to focus on though, with the opening of a new restaurant. I knew the announcement of contest winners would sneak up on me just the same.

On August 1st, I rushed home after work to change into yoga clothes and make a quick return at Free People before heading to class. As I was mid-return, my phone rang and another unknown NY number appeared on the screen. My heart pounded. Would they really be calling me this soon to let me know I didn’t win?

They wouldn’t. They had good news. And before I even had a moment to wonder how the contest would turn out, I knew the outcome. I squealed and looked around, wishing I could share my excitement with someone, anyone but the sales clerk processing my return. I held it in, bypassed yoga out of fear that my heart would explode from happiness {it felt possible}, and made the appropriate calls.

Now that flights have been booked, draft itineraries have been sent out, and the formal announcement has been made on the DaVinci Wine website, I am so thrilled to shout off the social media rooftops how much I appreciate everyone who voted {or wished they could have found the time to vote}! I can’t wait to spend SEVEN days in Italy with DaVinci Wine, Jennifer {travel writer}, Celeste {photographer}, and Karen {food blogger}!

I head out in just a few weeks. On September 19th, I fly from Austin to Florence, where I will have a day and change to myself before meeting up with the group. There is a wonderfully curated itinerary from September 21st through 27th that I can’t wait to share with you once finalized – stay tuned!

{thank you!}

Summertime Chillin’ & Grillin’

July 14, 2014 by Kristin

Growing up with a veggie mom, grilling wasn’t a thing. Even when I’d satisfy infrequent meat cravings at my grandma’s house, she was more of a skillet cook than a grill master. A lifetime of little-to-no experience with propane or charcoal left me a grilling novice, at best.

So when I saw that the Austin Food Blogger’s Alliance post a grilling how-to event with the Texas Beef Council, I couldn’t have been more on board. Right away, Tiffany {pictured above} provided helpful tips for safe {and delicious} grilling.

We learned about the 4-4-4 rule for determining the correct grill heat: holding 4 fingertips, 4 inches above the grill, for 4 seconds. If you have to remove your fingers before 4 seconds then the grill is too hot, longer than 4 seconds and the grill isn’t hot enough.

And we learned the proper way to test the temperature of the meat – sticking the thermometer into the side of the cut until the notch on the thermometer passes through the meat. Luckily Tiffany sent us home with a meat thermometer, because the candy thermometer I’ve been using has no such notch. Oops!

My grilling partners, Megan and Beverly, stacked the charcoal {a double row of 6 by 6}, lit each of the four corners, and then used the 4-4-4 rule to test the temperature. And while the flame was doing its thing, we had a lesson on seasoning and cuts of beef

We were asked our favorite cut before Tiffany went through each one, describing their flavor, fat content, and best use. I am also a novice beef eater, so a filet was my cut of choice for any and every occasion. I kept this to myself as the crowd scoffed at the use of a filet in stir fry {FoodFash filet stir fry recipe here}.

We seasoned our assigned beef cut with salt, pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika and then placed on the grill until the thermometer read 138. After everyone’s cuts had time to rest {did ya know this allows the temp to rise and keeps the juices in?}, the Texas Beef Council team sliced all of them up and set aside a bunch of grilled veggies for us to try.

After all was said and done {and stuffed}, I re-confirmed my like of filet, but discovered that I’d be open to a NY strip or flat iron as well.

A big thank you to the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance {and my grilling partners} for such a lovely afternoon – I’ll certainly be of the first to sign up for the next one!

Milwaukee Adventures

May 20, 2014 by Kristin

My new favorite thing is combining out of town wedding weekends with mom/daughter trips. Last June, we adventured to Sonoma for Ryan’s wedding weekend. And this past weekend, we met in Milwaukee for Steph’s wedding.

Immediately after dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we headed to the Milwaukee Public Market, where I remembered having a big ol’ lobster during a previous visit. We ordered St. Paul Fish Company’s lobster dinner as well as two of every oyster variety on the menu. Our favorites: Blue Point, Karheen Pass, Charles Island – permanently added to the memory bank.

After a much needed nap {6 am flight!}, we were off to Ardent for dinner. Finding this somewhat hidden gem on the James Beard “best new restaurant” nominee list led to some sky-high expectations, but it was apparent that Ardent was up for the challenge.

We ordered almost everything on the menu: escargot {pictured above}, salt roasted celeriac {mom’s favorite}, milk pan au lait, beef tartare {my favorite, pictured above}, beef with turnip greens, the parsnip dessert, and a bottle of red. The mom-daughter-duo was in agreement that this was one of the best meals either of us had ever experienced. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, our server delivered two macarons {that we “cheers’ed} and a wrapped breakfast bread for the next morning with the most adorable note. The entire night was to a tee!

Saturday day was filled with site-seeing and cheese browsing.

And then I was off to Steph and Jon’s wedding at the Pier Wisconsin. So. Beautiful. The entire night was filled with happy tears, laughter, old friends and new.

And on our last day, the mission was brunch. We walked a seemingly hefty hike to Blue Jacket, another place on which I had done some mini research.

We learned that Milwaukee bloody marys are served with a beer shooter {Austin bloody marys should follow suit}.

And the biggest lesson of all, Southerners aren’t the only folks capable of making perfect grits. Andouille sausage, brussels sprouts, pickled asparagus, and a slow egg – the combination that topped these smoky, cheese grits was phenomenal.

This trip was the perfect combination of quality time and quality food. The only thing I would have done differently is snap a few shots with my mama, who is unpictured in this post!

« Previous Page