FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

September #FoodiePenpal

October 1, 2012 by Kristin

Pre-adult days, I loved getting mail. I loved getting mail so much when I was a kiddo that I’d call 1-800 numbers and sign up for whatever they were willing to send. Riding lawnmowers, rolling jewelry bags, whatever infomercials were hot in the early 90s, I was on their catalog mailing list. When my mom got wind of what was happening, she made me call every company and request my name be removed from their list. From that point forward, mail was less exciting.

Until September, when I signed up to be a part of Foodie Penpals. Sending and receiving a box of goodies to/from a virtual friend from across the country is as about exciting as mail can be in the adult world. North Carolina Kristen enthusiastically emailed me right away and I couldn’t have been more anxious to receive her package!

I loved that she put so much thought into her package. In all honesty, I would have been happy with just the package itself. It was so darn cute that all of the great stuff inside was merely a bonus. I snacked right away on almonds and peanuts, put the sauce to work on some halibut, made super delish waffles with the mango slices (recipe up tomorrow), AND decided to host a Sunday night dinner party and make the ham bone and bean soup.

It ended up being the perfect dish to serve to a large group of people on the first cool, fall day in Austin. Everyone cleaned their bowls and told me how yum the soup was. I explained foodie penpals and gave credit to Miss Kristen, who made tonight’s dinner possible. And then I served gator pie and took 150% of the credit for the golden raspberry and strawberry combo.

Thank you Kristen for such a wonderful package!

Filed Under: lifestyle Tagged With: foodiepenpal, september foodie penpals

Old Favorite, New Gadget

September 25, 2012 by Kristin

Poaching eggs the old fashioned way is fun the first time. But, let me just tell ya, it quickly lost its thrill. The patience, the stirring, the messing up. My freakishly successful first attempt was followed by loads of wasted eggs.

When I spotted these silicone egg poachers at World Market, memories of all those wasted eggs flashed through my head. And then I thought… Four bucks for an adorably easy way to waste less, poach more? Sold.

Side note: less than two weeks until I move in with Kara and she realizes how many crazy kitchen gadgets I have.

Dun, dun, dun…

Anywayyyy, the silicone poachers were insanely easy to use, but fairly difficult to clean. The only instructions on the tag were not to grease the poachers; however, I don’t see the harm in doing so in the future. Overall, I think this gadget was worth the four hundred pennies.

Filed Under: lifestyle Tagged With: how to poach eggs, poached eggs, silicone egg poacher, world market

@GrubRestaurant LA

September 21, 2012 by Kristin

Over the years, more and more of my friends have headed West, which makes for both a fun and busy LA vacation.  I was too jet lagged for Baily‘s 90s themed birthday party on Saturday (huge bummer!), but was thrilled to find out that we’d be able to meet for an extended, chat-filled lunch before hopping on the redeye flight to Tampa.

We took the advice of a friend and checked out Grub.  As soon as we walked in, we could tell it was a place you could sit and chat for hours.  The server immediately brought over a lovely little basket filled with pretzels, veggies, and dip, which was both good and bad.  Good because it was so darn cute and satisfied that raging hunger that inevitably hits me the second I step inside a restaurant.  Bad because it fulfilled the raging hunger and allowed Baily and I to do a crazy amount of catching up before even beginning to browse the menu.  Regardless, our waiter was patient with us and I was thankful for that.

Everything on the menu appealed to me in some fashion, but the bold red letters stating “Voted Best Tuna Melt in LA!” lured me in.  The tuna melt was as good as mine and Baily went with the crab cake salad.  The tuna melt had a real tuna patty (no canned stuff here) and tasted like a super hearty, extra comforting grilled cheese sandwich.  The pesto added that touch of herby-ness that I’m always a fan of.  And it was large enough to take home leftovers that were equally as good two-ish hours later.

So, yum food and welcoming atmosphere were totally A+ in my book.  But what ended up being my favorite part of the Grub experience was how social the restaurant was before and after our visit.  We tweeted up a storm and they were genuinely interested in our visit and what we thought of our meals.  It was so smart on their part, so twenty twelve.  I dug it.

Til next time Grub folks!

Filed Under: lifestyle, restaurant reviews Tagged With: california, grub, los angeles, restaurant review

Lobster Fest

September 17, 2012 by Kristin

Hello from Los Angeles!  More specifically, hello from Lobster Fest 2012!  Ariel, Matt, and I decided to venture out from the usual routine and head to The Port and get our feast on.

We stood in carnie lines, smothered our hands with lobster guts, drank icy cold drafts, and soaked in the sunshine.  LA is hotter than Austin right now, if you can believe it, but The Port was breezier than the mainland which made for a solid outdoor day.

Apparently there was a separate line to have someone crack your lobster.  But I took things into my own hands, literally, and made use of my Florida-girl-crab-leg-crackin’ skills.  Skills that were impressive enough for the old couple next to us to reference the Seinfeld “man hands” episode.  Pretty funny stuff…

Hope you all had an equally as lovely Sunday!!

Filed Under: lifestyle, Travel Tagged With: lobster fest, lobster fest 2012, los angeles, sunday funday

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Kristin FoodFash Austin

Hi, I’m Kristin – Austin mom, core memory maker, and retired food blogger. I share kid-friendly vacation itineraries and local adventures that turn ordinary days into stories worth retelling.

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