Out and About Austin-Liberty Kitchen

The Hubs and I have gotten into a BAD eating out habit.   (Which in turn makes me HAVE to go to the gym -elliptical and bike only right now.)  Anyway, Liberty Kitchen was where we turned for our latest fix.  Here's what we had...

Smoked Salmon Salad-yeah I know, boring but I gotta make compromises.  Besides, this one has bacon...one of the best ways to make a salad taste good!  (It had a little too much dressing for me, but I usually order dressing on the side anyway.)

Gumbo-The Hubs will almost always go for the gumbo.  Fried oysters included.

Burnt Marshmallow Shake-so worth the compromise!

So now I'm headed to the gym...

J.

Blogging Via My iPad...the First Post

My computer is not functioning right now so I'm blogging for the first time from my iPad, an experiment.  Not sure what the diagnosis is, but I'm not in a financial place to find out or buy a new one right now...moving forward...

So, I don't really bake (you may have seen my pumpkin pie video...that's it,) therefore I'm pretty limited in the dessert area.  But one thing I will make is an easy fruit parfait with home made whipped cream, which is perfect for summer...

mmmmm....

So come on, enjoy a few calories with me...

Here's what you'll need:

1) Hand mixer

2) Heavy whipping cream

3) Vanilla (I love the Mexican variety)

4) Fruit and berries of your choice

5) Sweetener of some kind, powder sugar works well, this is what I had on hand

The only thing not in the picture is a large glass bowl which I have in the fridge.  Using a cold bowl makes the process go faster and the cream splatters at first and then expands as you mix air into it so a larger bowl is a wise choice.

Pour your cream, vanilla and sweetener into the cold large bowl and hold the mixer on high to it for about 4-5 minutes.  You'll get nice fluffy peaks when it's ready.  I also adjust any flavor at this point, more vanilla or sweetener, maybe nothing if you like it.  ( I would like to try adding peppermint extract for hot chocolate.)

Then begin layering fruit and whipped cream into the bowl...super easy!

Yeah, I suppose I could be healthier and use yogurt but hey, I was gonna eat the baked goods anyway.

(PS- wait till you see what can be done with the leftover whipped cream!  In process now...)

So what do you do when your computer is a quitter?

J.

Out And About In Austin

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES J. A DULL GIRL.

So, even though I had mountains of housework to do I decided to enjoy myself for just a little while before I dug into the cleaning.
And first things first, eating was in order...


The BF and I went Kome' a Japanese restaurant, which was  packed for a Saturday!  I had the Sushi Lunch and it was so good!  The unagi was perfectly crispy around the edges...mmmm....(He doesn't like sushi so I rarely get to eat it...he had Ramen.)

Afterwards I dropped him off at home and I headed out to get some coconut water (I can't get enough of it!) and hit the Goodwill next door to the market.  (Which was also packed!)  I tried on a few things but didn't really find too much except for these clutches...

I love how all the colors look together!
Well I couldn't/didn't buy all three but I sure did think about it. Anyway, I think I had envisioned having Goodwill to myself that day, (this particular location isn't very busy during the week,) and wasn't in the mood to share so I made my purchases and went home...so which did I buy?

 
I love the texture and weave!  I couldn't say no!
Ok, and I bought this one too...


It barely holds anything, so I can't drag too much around with me!

I was very productive after my jaunt around town.  I've always been the kind of person who thinks that if I don't go to or do some work, then I don't get to have fun. Perhaps that means I need to balance my life out a little bit better...Have fun first, then work!
J.

Austin Afternoon

I found myself with plenty to do today but no desire to do any of it.  Instead, the BF and I got out butts out of bed and explored some things that we had been hearing about but hadn't yet tried...

We started out at this local deli on campus,



I rarely make it down to the campus area, the usual bad parking if you can even find any, etc, but it being Saturday made it a little easier.  I had the "Quick Lunch Special" with a 1/2 turkey pesto sandwich and pasta salad.  The sandwich had cucumbers and sprouts...mmm...

Afterwards, we went to Antonelli's Cheese Shop and picked up 3 cheeses...

 
 Clockwise from top left:
Moses Sleeper, a brie like creamy cheese
Kunik, Extra extra creamy...need I say more?
Brick, surprisingly soft and buttery
We also picked up 2 different types of salami.  I like cheese (a lot) but I'm not really very knowledgeable about it.  You definitely go for the experience, you get to sample almost everything in the shop.

Then we stopped at Drink.Well. a new joint in our old neighborhood and enjoyed an afternoon beverage...


  The BF declared that he would be here every night if we still lived there...good thing we moved.
But I did have a yummy house made twinkie.
Our last stop was in.gredients, a zero waste, package free grocery store. 


For the most part, everything is sold in bulk and not only are you are expected to bring your own bags but plastic or glass resealable containers for things such as cereal, flour, even laundry soap.  It's a very small selection but you can buy as little or as much as you need.  We picked up the baguette and milk as well as some local tea tree soap.

And now the salami and cheese is gone and my laundry is still all over my dining room table...well, it was almost a completely magical day...
J.

Me And My Big Ideas

I have one last holiday party left with my family at my house on Friday. And me being me, I like having an "activity," during these get togethers, especially when it comes to having my nephew around and keeping him occupied. This time around I decided that a cookie decorating project would be fun and festive that not only a 7 year old would like but adults as well, or at least my sister J4.

Perhaps I was sort of adoring the cute gingerbread man kit I received as a Christmas gift and was suckered in by the idea, but let me just say this...I do not bake. At all. Well, I have a pumpkin pie recipe and I can do a traditional Toll House cookie, both of which work for so many occasions, what more do I need? (I can cook ok, no worries, I won't starve.) J4, on the other hand, is an excellent baker and lives near by...anything requiring more than these 2 options go directly to her. However, this being my party, I was also obliged to bake the gingerbread men in advance, so store bought mix it was...

It seems so easy, how could it go wrong? Let's just say a lesson was learned...

Looks pretty good, right? Except it was a very sticky gooey mess and I couldn't scoop them up without misshaping (and sometimes losing,) heads and limbs. Needless to say it was a complete mess and the lesson learned here is when the package says lightly flour it really means you need at least a good cup. This was how the first batch looked...

Ok, there was one good one in there but what's up with the top right corner? The Gingerblob Man? Thankfully I caught on and my final batch looks like this...

Much better! (I hope decorating will be much more fun than the baking part.)

J.

Holiday Humor

Happy Easter, or Sunday, whichever you prefer.

I snapped quick pics of these funny chocolate bars, so sorry for the quality...



This one is my favorite!

Enjoy your day!
J.

Spring Colors

I'm not sure what my recent photos are really saying....

Either I need more pastels in my closet or...

A sugar rush!

Perhaps both?

Hope your day is as sweet!

Enjoy!

J.

Yummy

I spent a good part of my day decorating cookies with my sister J4 for my nephew's preschool class...

It took a lot longer than expected but it was fun and the outcome was very cute. (Clearly we are not professionals...)

Actually, it was a rainy yuck day and after getting stuck in a traffic jam, it was nice to sit around and have some sisterly bonding time.

These are some of my nephew's creations.

And it was decided that the lips probably were not appropriate for preschool, but they tasted yummy! (Sorry for the blurry pics!)

Anyone making special "love" preparations of their own?

J.