FoodFash

Veggie Tacos

May 27, 2014 by Kristin

Within days of re-evaluating the crazy, meaty diet that has become Austin life norm, I received May’s Primo Picks package from HEB containing ingredients to make vegetarian tacos. It couldn’t have been better timing.

I skeptically read the Neat taco “meat” package, assuming it would not be for me. But with ingredients limited to nuts, beans, and spices, I couldn’t think of a reason not to give it a try. Combined with the HEB Mixla {corn + wheat} tortillas that were also included in the box, I was only a few toppings short of a total taco meal.

I chopped some greens {spinach, avocado, cilantro} and whooped up some homemade chipotle salsa {coming soon}.

And I served up some of the prettiest homemade tacos the FoodFash household had ever seen.

Not only were they pretty, but both Primo Pick products were a huge hit. I loved how the blended tortilla combined the lightness of a corn tortilla with the softness of a wheat tortilla. If I happen to be in a Mexican mood the next time I’m at the market, I’ll {without a doubt} pick up a package.

And the Neat meat substitute was surprisingly good. Using eggs as a base eliminated the odd texture problem that is common among anything faux. Even my roommate {who is meat-substitute-hesitant} went back for seconds, eating a total of four tacos!

As part of the HEB Primo Picks team, I received compensation to sample various Primo Picks products. The opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.

Avocado, Almond & Basil Egg Salad

May 22, 2014 by Kristin

I have a difficult time eating food that has passed its sell by date. Partially because of a slight paranoia that I’ll get sick, but mostly because I don’t understand the concept. Why sell by and not eat by? How many days, exactly, does one have to eat by after a sell by? And an even more confusing, unrelated to this post, question – how many edible days follow the refrigeration of a refrigerate after opening food?

Luckily there’s an easy solution for the half-dozen eggs that are sitting in your fridge on their sell by date. Egg salad. Hard-boil your almost-bad eggs and let them hang out in your fridge {with shells on} for a couple of days until you have time to prep some super delish egg salad.

And then skip the mayo and reach for an avocado as your binder. I used almonds for texture and basil for flavor, but the traditional mix of onions and celery would totally do.

Array

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!

Pan-Seared Radishes & Greens

May 15, 2014 by Kristin

I’ve been trying to make this salad for weeks, but plans kept getting in the way and ingredients continued to go bad. But tonight, I was determined. I walked to Whole Foods {stopping at Anthropologie on the way…} and picked up radishes and spinach.

I hadn’t cooked much with any of the ingredients in this salad. And I had certainly never considered using radish greens or soaking sliced dates in boiling water.

But even though all of the ingredients were unusual for my kitchen, I was excited to see how they all would work together to become my dinner.

It was no surprise that I dug the salty, tart, sweet that came with the nuts, olives, balsamic, and figs. But what was a surprise was how much I enjoyed sautéed radishes and how they did, in fact, taste much like turnips.

Check out one of my favorite turnip recipes here!

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