Comfort Food

It hasn't all been coconut water-and-kale smoothies.

This pregnancy has been all about carbs. I sneak in all of the good stuff, too -- berries, bananas, water, walnuts, sardines, salmon, spinach, beans, grassfed beef, dried apricots, daily prenatal vitamins, etc. -- but at every turn, I crave the least necessary section of the food pyramid. Well, it's not a pyramid these days, but I digress.

Here are just a few examples of my carb consumption these last few weeks. I've highlighted the health benefits of each to prove that, despite the indulgences, I remain a conscientious expectant mother:

Surprisingly, my pizza intake has been moderate, despite a weekly craving for the stuff. One of the few I've had during the past 9 months is featured here with pepperoni and mushrooms. (Mushrooms = vegetable, tomato sauce = fruit. And cheese. Good for baby. Calcium, etc.)


Then there's Mike's amazing, 10-minute pressure-cooker risotto, shown here with oven-roasted asparagus and generous amounts of parm. (Veggie and cheese.)


Dark chocolate is also good for you, so I took this cast iron skillet brownies recipe and used dark chips instead of milk chocolate chips. And then there's 3% milk, DHA eggs, and natural sugars.) I highly recommend this recipe, but ignore the suggested cook time and check your brownies early. Mine were done (a little dryer than I would have liked) in about 22 minutes, even though the recipe called for 35 minutes.)


You can't neglect the classics. Especially in your third trimester. A PG&J at 36+ weeks pregnant tastes like a Monte Cristo. Besides, check out all the good stuff here. Bread: organic. PB: organic and chockful of protein. J: fruit. (Not shown: glass of cold 2% milk.)


And finally ... whole grain toast. So good for you. Even when you dip it into homemade beer cheese soup, I suspect. Our soup was laden with celery, onions and 2% milk instead of half-and-half. Practically Weight-Watchers friendly.

Coco Kale smoothie

"It looks like split pea soup."

That's what I overheard one woman telling her friend when the guy behind the Whole Foods juice bar yelled out my name and set down my smoothie.

The Coco Kale is the perfect compromise for those of us who want the nutrients of a wheatgrass shot but the flavor of a fruit smoothie. The base is coconut water and fresh apple juice, and the only other ingredients are mango, strawberry, kale and ginger.

This is a weekly treat for me, and for the baby -- though I was enjoying this long before he came along. It tastes good, it makes me feel good, and I don't mind spending the $6 as it's usually a complete lunch (if I pair with a slice of whole grain toast and some peanut butter that are always on hand at hte office). I hope my little peanut likes this smoothie in the womb as much as I like it outside.

(As a bonus, it makes me feel a little better about what I had for breakfast.)

Pepperoni soup + peanut butter Rice Krispie treats

I joined Melanie for lunch a couple of Fridays ago, doing my small part to 'assist' with her latest food review project for the local weekly: a round-up of Austin soups. (Coming out soon! Will post a link here.)

We met at the swank, still-new-to-me Second Bar + Kitchen for their pepperoni soup, which touts San Marzano tomatoes, along with mozzarella and garlic croutons. (The "croutons" were extremely generous in size, and the perfect vehicle for hoisting spoonfuls of this chunky splendidness into my mouth.)


I don't know what I was expecting from a $6 pepperoni soup -- some watery tomato goop with sliced rounds of oily pepperoni floating about -- but this "Why has no one done this before?" treat tastes just like pizza in a bowl, good pizza, right down to the lovely cap of melted, oozing cheese. The pepperoni pieces were cube-shaped, and while they were tasty, I'd suggest the folks at Second call up the folks at Enoteca and ask what kind of pork product they're putting on their Calabrese pizza. *That* stuff is the best version of pepperoni I've ever had. (Pictures of that pizza coming in future post.)

Melanie and I decided to skip an actual lunch portion (we'd shared an order of blistered shishito peppers prior to the soup), and we went straight to dessert. We split the chocolate brioche bread pudding and the peanut butter rice krispie treats, topped with a smooth layer of semi-salted peanut brittle.

The bread pudding was solid. But the peanut butter rice krispie bites? Those were Last Meal material. At $2.50 for two "bites", I'd happily buy 5 orders, take them home, and eat them all alone when no one else was looking. I'm sad we didn't take a picture of these little treats, but this just means I'll have to go back. And soon.

2012: The Year of the Cheesecake?

We stayed in Austin for our last childless New Year's Eve together, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I rang in the new year with only one other person (my husband). A couple of minutes til midnight, we paused our movie to step outside, check out the neighborhood fireworks and kiss on our front porch. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Earlier in the evening, we'd gone to two separate NYE parties, and we prepared to have a couple of friends over as midnight approached. Sick kids and busy schedules got in the way, and only Melanie stopped by for a bit to say hello and share some of the cheesecake I'd made that afternoon.

The cheesecake was inspired by Mike's friend Jen, who posted on Facebook before the new year that she was making her annual eggnog cheesecake.* Intrigued, I went to Google and found a few recipes. I picked this one -- probably because it was less involved than others, and I had nearly every ingredient at home, save the two whopping pounds of cream cheese, gingersnap cookies and eggnog. (I nabbed the last bag of gingersnap cookies at our neighborhood Target, a sure sign that I was meant to make this cake.)

This was my first cheesecake ever, not counting the no-bake crap I made in my twenties and perhaps one or two fuzzy attempts (also in my twenties) with a springform pan that I accidentally left in the home of an ex.

So I'm counting this as my first, and I'm happy to say I was pleased with the results. A couple of minor lessons were learned, but overall, there's little I'd change. I hope to make another one in the coming weeks ... before the baby comes, or maybe while on maternity leave as I try finding ways to kill time during my three months off. I'm sure to have tons of energy and endless hours to just putter around the house, bake cheesecakes, and watch The Wire from start to finish.**

The best thing about this cheesecake was that it lasted three days and was shared with exactly one dozen friends over the course of those three days. (I was so delighted when Jodi asked me where we'd purchased it! And even after she tasted it, she seemed impressed it was homemade.)

It was so much fun to share this massive hunk o' cake with so many. It felt like a Hannukah miracle, this giant cheesecake that lasted for days. But it's probably because you really don't need much of this at all. It's sweet and creamy ... but oh so dense.


After Mike and I sent Melanie home with a slice for her hubby on New Year's Eve, we had two more rounds of friends visit us for cheesecake and coffee in the first two days of the new year.

Sitting around our dining table in the middle of the day as friends came in and out, making fresh batches of coffee in the French Press, not looking at the clock or playing with my iPhone or thinking about to-do lists ... well, it was the absolute perfect start to our 2012. If we're lucky, the rest of the year will feel just as cozy and sweet.


*I can see why this cheesecake is an annual tradition for Jen!
**sarcasm

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

I had a half-can's worth of pumpkin puree to use up after making muffins last week, so I googled pumpkin pancakes and came across this recipe from one of my favorite sites (as you can see by the blog roll on the left).

I loved being able to use whole wheat flour and was able to make my own little blend of pumpkin spice mix - cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg - to throw into the mix. I didn't have cake flour on hand, but AP flour seemed to work just fine for the other 1/3 of the flour mix. I also had no buttermilk but made my own substitute - a handy little trick I learned from my brilliant sister-in-law when she and her kiddos came to stay with us for our wedding.

These pancakes were the perfect dinner for one -- hubby had a boys' night out, and I was craving sweets after a spinach-kale-apple juice smoothie earlier in the day from my favorite juice bar.

I highly recommend this recipe. (And I recommend a cast iron skillet and real butter!) Next time, I'm going to throw some chopped pecans into the batter -- if I can afford them!

I'm Still Here ...! Makin' Muffins

It's been a busy few weeks, and I realize I didn't post at all in October.

I could blame our honeymoon in Argentina (expect a post on that trip soon!), but mostly, I just haven't been the mood to cook, grill, bake.

I have, however, been in the mood to eat.

When we got back from 10 days in the southern hemisphere, it took a few days to get over our colds and get my groove back ... and even longer to get to the store for some groceries. (Though the day we arrived, my sister picked us up at the aiport, deposited us at home, and promptly went to the nearest grocery store. She purchased the ingredients for -- and then cooked us -- a lentil-spinach soup, and filled our fruit bowl with fresh fruits after hearing our cries, that went something like this: "No more meat! No more pasta! Detox! Detox!")

I've finally been to the store, I've cooked a few meals (nothing noteworthy) and I've caught up on emails, caught up with friends, caught up at work, and caught up on the shows I missed while we were away (namely, the premiere of The Walking Dead, Season 2, which I've been eagerly anticipating for about 11 months).

Two days ago, when the calendar struck November, it occurred to me that fall had arrived -- hey, I'm in Texas; fall takes its time -- and I was ready to smell the smells of the season. In my own kitchen, not via the interwebs.

I'd stumbled across this recipe, and immediately bookmarked it. For the rest of the day, no matter how many other seasonal recipes I came across, it was this one that I kept going back to. It looked so easy.

And it was.

I've got very little to add ... though I'll note that I made regular-sized muffins and not minis, and my cook time was about 16-17 minutes at 350 degrees.

Next time, I want to try a cream cheese icing, or perhaps a glaze with orange zest and juice (and zest in the muffin mix, too).

For my first attempt, I followed the recipe closely but tried to up the health factor just a little. I swapped some white sugar for brown, some AP flour for whole wheat ... and I didn't have pumpkin spice, so I threw in a couple of pinches of allspice and nutmeg along with the cinnamon).

Overall, I was very pleased with the dense, moist muffin it yielded in return.




1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated white)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I didn't have, so I added two pinches of nutmeg and two pinches of allspice)
1/4 tsp ground ginger (I skipped this)
1/4 tsp cinnamon (I did this)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup AP and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
About 1 tbsp turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top (I did this)
About 1/2 tsp extra cinnamon for sprinkling on top (I skipped this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and generously grease up your muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk everything but the flour. Then slowly incorporate the flour.

Sprinkle tops of batter with a bit of turbinado sugar (and/or cinnamon, or add a glaze later) and bake in a preheated oven for about 14-18 minutes, or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean.

(Did I mention my favorite thing about this recipe? ONE BOWL, BABY.)

A Limited Palette

It's not that I'm having all of these crazy aversions to food, with the exception of chicken (ick!) and fresh herbs (too ... fresh).

It's just that things don't really SOUND very good. (Thai is perhaps the one type of food I can stomach - and actually crave - and I'm having Thai twice per week.)

For lunch today, I went to our local H-E-B grocery chain to shop for a Meals On Wheels client and took advantage of the trip, as I often do, to pick a few things for myself. But I wandered the aisles in vain, unable to come up with anything that sounded remotely appealing.

Except the carb-y stuff. I wanted it all ... the biscuits, tortillas, buttermilk pancakes (the microwavable kind for the office--yikes!), toaster waffles, toaster struedel, donuts, croissants and just plain white bread to slather with butter.

I settled on whole wheat raisin bread, low-fat cream cheese and a few kinds of fruit.


Lunch has never been less sexy.

Cravings vs. Brain-Boosting Foods

I haven't blogged in exactly seven weeks.

I've been pregnant for all of them, plus another five.

The last few weeks have passed me by. I'm tired, I'm nauseous. I have heartburn and indigestion. I love crackers and lemonade. I hate cilantro. And the smell of our kitchen bugs me no matter how hard I clean it. Which isn't very hard, because I'm not too fond of the smell of cleaning stuff these days, either.

My meals have mostly consisted of some form of carb with some form of cheese or protien. I have to gag down most vegetables but, fortunately, fruit still tastes great and I snack on plenty of it at work and at home.

I'm trying like mad to eat brain-boosting foods - I go through at least one can of sardines a week at work, and walnuts are an almost daily snack.


But most days, all I want is a grilled cheese sandwich. Or a slice of pizza. Plain cheese pizza. Light on the sauce. A foldable, New York-style slice.

I'm headed into the second trimester later this week, and I look forward to eating cilantro (berp) again soon. (Though I may never eat chicken again, and I don't find that idea tragic by any means.)

But for now, I'll take a quesadilla, please. Hold everything but the cheese and tortilla.

What's in my fridge?

Addie Broyles was kind enough to spotlight my fridge a couple of weeks ago.

And I'm such a lame food blogger that posting a link on my own blog didn't even occur to me until now.

And yes, I really am obsessed with Hal's Hot Love.

And yes, the whole thing really is one big ad for Shanita's Salsitas.

And yes, you really should get your hands on some of her salsitas. Immediately.*

*If you don't know HOW to get your hands on some, and you live in Austin, and you write a food blog .... I've got a way you can try some, for free, and even walk away with a couple of jars. Leave a comment with your blog link and I'll send you details about a launch party on July 31st!

Salmon + asparagus + grill

I go back and forth on salmon and asparagus. Is it a perfect pairing, or a cliche?

Last night's dinner has me leaning toward the former.

We just got back from a long weekend out of town to see Mike's family in Tucson, and I'd encouraged the cat sitter to clear out the veggie drawer and the fruit bowl to share with her family. So when we got back into town, our fridge was a mess of condiments, nearly expired milk, cheeses and little else.

I snuck out of work a lil' early to hit my favorite grocery store, on a mission for healthy, detoxifying foods. (We've both put on a bit of weight since the wedding, and we are thankfully both on the same page about knocking the pounds off, focusing on smaller portions while still making good food.)

At the checkout line, I have this habit of looking down at my groceries and trying to determine how a stranger would judge me if they were to pick through my items. I decided they'd be impressed at the colorful array of fruits and veggies -- and they'd wonder why I'm so overweight if I'm shopping like that.

I took the My Fit Foods approach to my shopping -- buying my proteins in reasonable, pre-cut portions (4-5 oz for me, 5-6 oz for him) and made sure we not only had fruits and vegetables on hand, but a precious few starchy treats (Magic Pop! and whole grain English muffins).

I admit it. Last night's meal would have been just as good without the homemade lemon aioli, which we made for a potluck tonight but decided to sample early.

Still, I went to bed with a slightly grumbly stomach after a salad lunch, an aqua fitness class and this healthy, no-carbs dinner. The scale this morning didn't disappoint.


Salmon, slathered in stone ground mustard. Asparagus with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Both cooked on the grill. Paired with the last bits of roasted tomatoes purchased during a big community garden tomato sale.

House Pizzeria

I'd been craving House Pizzeria for weeks.

I resisted temptation last month, when we drove right past House but decided to go home and make our own pizza with the veggies we had on hand. But ever since I wrote about their potato and goat cheese pizza in my post for Dalia and Hussein's visit, I couldn't get House off my mind.

After a quick stop at a fundraiser and a happy hour for our friend Monica at Opa! Coffee & Wine Bar, Mike and I headed over to House.

The "Noble" was one of the House house specials that evening. When I saw what was on it -- pork belly, goat cheese, arugula and dates -- I decided the goat cheese and potato would have to wait.

The "Noble" was as good as I expected. Sweet and savory came together beautifully on a pizza dough that somehow manages to be chewy and crispy at the same time. I *love* the House crust! Even the burnt bits.

Where I Eat (Or: Recommendations for our Visiting Friends)

My childhood friend Dalia and her honey Hussein are coming to town for 4th of July weekend, and when Hussein asked me to send him a list of my favorite restaurants, I told him I’d write up a post for their trip instead of sending him a numbered list.

My picks have to be stellar for many reasons. First off, Hussein is a chef. In fact, he just got promoted to head chef at an incredible restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona called Zinc Bistro. The upscale, French-inspired bistro was featured on the Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” for their French onion soup, and I was lucky enough to try it last year -– along with several other mouth-watering Zinc menu items –- and can report back that it is indeed one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, too. I never did a blog post on Zinc because the restaurant is dimly lit and my pictures were total crap. But I digress.

Hu-Hu, as he is affectionately known, specifically asked me for my top 5 breakfast, lunch and dinner spots.

I think I’ve nailed them down – with a couple of happy hour spots and the like thrown in good measure -- but I’d appreciate any additional comments in the comments section.

I’m secretly – okay, openly and loudly – hoping these two will eventually pack it up and move to Austin. Hu-Hu is a huge Longhorn fan despite never having actually lived in Texas, and Dalia and I grew up together, five hours’ south of here, so I continue to insist she needs to move back closer to home.

Hussein and Dalia are aware that Austin has a great food scene, but Hussein hasn’t spent much time here. So we’ve got to show him just how much Austin has to offer. I’m thinking these suggestions will help:

Breakfast/Brunch

Counter Café/24 Diner. There are so many reasons to go to Counter Café – or 24 Diner just a few doors down when the wait’s too long at the teeny, tiny counter that once housed my friend Reid’s unforgettable, irreplaceable slider joint. Counter Café has won best burger accolades -- #2 in the state, says Texas Monthly. -- but for breakfast, their ginormous, fluffy blueberry pancake won the hearts of my mom and my grandmother (and me!) on a recent visit. And you’ve never had anything like their pimento cheese sandwich. Next door at 24 Diner, I love their budget-friendly breakfast scramble. It’s a smaller portion of their regular breakfast scramble (but still plenty of food!). With a cup of coffee and nice tip, it’s a great under-$10 breakfast. Others go to 24 Diner for righteous burgers – rightly so, as they rival their award-winning neighbor – and for their chicken and waffles.

Frisco’s. Home to the best biscuits, sausage and gravy this side of the Mississippi. Or at least in Austin. Also, the original owner, Harry Akin, was the first on the Austin restaurant scene to hire black staff and integrate Frisco’s.

Curra’s. Oaxacan coffee is the best mug in south Austin. Great breakfast tacos and chilaquiles. Everything about this place screams "south Austin" - in a good way.

Stubb’s Gospel brunch. Okay, this isn’t the best brunch food in town, but it’s damn tasty for a buffet. They have big silver trays filled with bottomless crispy bacon and the creamiest grits you can find in Austin. And then there’s the LIVE GOSPEL CHOIR to which you can shake your groove thing after you’ve had seven slices of bacon. Unfortunately, Stubb’s ‘indoor’ seating is not all too well ventilated to begin with, but nearing noon in early July it just might not be worth it. Sad face.

Cuban Sandwich Café. The best café con leche in town. Cuban breakfast plate for $5.50 includes eggs, ham or bacon, fries and baguette made in-house. Breakfast tacos and pastries abound. (Cream cheese and guava croissant is my favorite, but Mike likes to mix it up and try something new with each visit.) They’ll be featured on The Food Network later this summer. The owner, Enrique, is a Cuban-born former resident of Miami who keeps his place clean and his prices low. Oh, and it’s in my ‘hood!

Lunch

Franklin Barbecue. This should be on the breakfast list, because you have to get to Franklin early if you want to eat there. But don’t take my word for it. See what Hitler has to say. The bride & groom at the best Austin wedding of 2011 (after my own, of course) were kind enough to feed us all Franklin’s. I am still grateful.

Torchy’s. Sure, there are far more authentic tacos to be had in this town. But my pals are coming from Arizona and Dalia is from south Texas. These people know authentic tacos, but they’ve never had a Brushfire. If they decide they want authentic, our neighborhood strip mall tacos will more than suffice.

Frank. Fancy hot dogs. Fancy bloody marys. Fancy coffee. Yes, coffee. They have a couple of talented baristas who will serve you some of the best lattes and cortaditos in town. (Oh, and Dalia doesn’t eat pork, but not to fret – most of their dogs are 100% beef and there’s a veggie dog on the menu as well.) I’m looking forward to trying their corn cup -- grilled corn served off the cob with chili mayonesa, lime juice, cilantro and cotija cheese. I used to make this all the time with Valentina hot sauce.

Blue Dahlia/Haddington’s/Foodheads three-way. My friend Dalia will appreciate the name of the first recommendation, but all of these picks get points for Austin-y ambience and fresh, fun twists on regular ol’ sandwiches. I’d probably choose Blue Dahlia over Haddington’s and Foodheads for the pretty factor. The place is just freaking adorable. But I love the patio most, and the patio at Blue Dahlia and outdoor seating at Foodheads will likely be too hot to handle come 4th of July weekend. So I gotta go with Haddington’s. My gourmet grilled cheese with sundried tomatoes was good enough to try re-creating at home, but through most of my meal, I was eyeing my sister-in-law’s fish and chips. I’m going back for those.

Koriente: Dalia and Hu-Hu are health-conscious, so I’m trying to balance things out a bit with this suggestion. Koriente is awesome for about a million reasons. Their sweet potato noodles and mixmix bibimbop are reasons #2 and #3. But my #1 reason for loving this family-run restaurant is this message painted at the back entrance to this downtown gem.

Happy Hour

Fino. Sangrias, bee stings, fried anchovy olives, blistered Padron peppers with sea salt, Mediterranean-inspired patio and menu. I got to attend a food blogger happy hour there long before I had my own blog. I went in Jodi's place (fortunately for me, she had to work late and offered me her spot in exchange for this post). Fino doubles as a favorite Happy Hour and favorite brunch pick, in my book.

Contigo. I haven’t blogged about this one yet, despite two visits, but you can trust Jodi. I’ve sampled many of their menu items since we’ve gone with a group that is willing to share. Nothing has disappointed, but the fried potatoes & pigs ears and ox tongue slider are OMG-musts. It’s going to be hot as balls July 4th weekend, and while the patio is seriously cool – the weather may not be. Dalia is even more heat intolerant than I am. Contigo may have to wait for a future visit.

Dinner

Uchiko. Just go there. Trust us. And by “us,” I mean every Austinite who has been there.

Foreign & Domestic. Since Uchiko is a little out of our budget these days – saving for late honeymoon in Argentina! – we will hopefully cement our plans for dinner at this Hyde Park spot on their first night in town. My recent hanger steak with fried orzo was memorable, and I wanted to swim in my friend David’s bowl of homemade pasta – but the crispy lamb ribs dusted with sumac and za’atar? If the Food Network asks, I’d say it’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate. On this next visit, I’m getting my own plate of ribs.* Not sharing. Nope. I don’t care if you drove here from Arizona and this is your first Austin experience, guys. Get your own ribs. Love you. Mean it. (Side note: The owner of F&D caught some flak earlier this year for an interview with Eater, and I personally think he came across a bit jerky. I'm not alone. I mean, the guy insulted Thomas Keller (not to mention every brand of Austinite to be found south of the river) -- and my friends know I publicly stalk Thomas Keller. I have dedicated evenings to him. Still, as long as Ned Elliot hasn't murdered anyone, I'm going to continue to support his endeavor with many future purchases of crispy lamb ribs.)

Barley Swine/Odd Duck + Gordough’s. Barley Swine is the air-conditioned, grown-up iteration of the Odd Duck Farm to Trailer concept that knocked my socks off a couple of years ago with its grilled duck wings and pork belly sliders. Even the asparagus was elevated to levels I’ve yet to achieve in my kitchen. So given that we’re all on budgets, I’d suggest Odd Duck for a taste of Barley Swine. And I’d suggest Odd Duck because it’s next to Gordough’s. Gordough’s is a ridiculous, divine, indulgent, do-NOT-mention-Weight-Watcher-points star of the Austin trailer food scene. I’ve heard too many people say too many things about how it’s just too much. Too ridiculous, too divine, too indulgent. “They’re just so big!” “Ugh, I can’t eat one of those things. So sweet!” And to them I say, get the hell over yourself and take a few friends. Get a coupla donuts and split them up. No one’s forcing the whole thing down your throat. Now, if you’re on a diet (as I should be) or you just don’t like donuts (get off my blog NOW), I get it. But if you like donuts and if you like sharing with your friends, give this place a try, enjoy every bite and don’t beat yourself up over it, for crying out loud.

Asia Café. This isn’t New York City, and our version of Chintatown is nothing to write home about if you just moved here from New York (or, say, China). But we’ve got some solid options for Asian fare in our town – and Mike and I (and many of our pals) are keen on the mapo tofu, fried rice, noodles, salt and pepper shrimp, water spinach, baby bok choy and various other offerings at Asia Café. (To be fair, Asia Café is not exactly in our town. It’s a twenty-minute drive from our house. Worth the carbon footprint.)

House/Homeslice/Little Deli. I realize I’m cheating with these multiple picks, but the fact is, there are so many good options within any given category. And for me, pizza deserves not only its own category but its own post. This will have to do for now. For me, each of these picks makes the list because they offer both respectable, delectable crusts and fresh inventive toppings. (Note: Eastside Pies wins the Most Inventive, but they are almost exclusively a delivery pizza place.) House and Homeslice are probably better choices for Austin newcomers; Little Deli is a family-friendly neighborhood joint, and I’d confidently recommend it to locals with children. (If you aren't sure what to order, the House goat cheese and potato pizza was the bomb! A minor complaint, as evidence in this picture not even taken by me is that their crust shows up with a few burnt spots most of the time. For some, however, this is a good thng.)

Midnight snack

Chi’Lantro. Everyone will tell you to hit up Kerbey Lane or Magnolia (blech and blech) while you’re in Austin for late-night grub. Thankfully, 24 Diner (see above) is there for those of us who have been here too long to be impressed with mediocre food and bad service. There are others, too, but when you just want a little snack go find the Chi’Lantro truck and get yourself some Sriracha-soaked kimchi fries. I’ve yet to have these fries at the trailer, but my kimchi-fry obsessed friend Johnny Rollerfeet had more than a half-dozen varieties available for us at his birthday gathering recently, and let’s just say you don’t have to be hungry to enjoy the hell out of these smothered papas. You can find ‘em downtown, super duper late – 3AM? I haven’t seen 3AM in a decade! – and I can’t think of anything better for soaking up booze.

Sweet treats

Cake & Spoon. Austin’s downtown farmer’s market holds many treats – hello, Bola breakfast pizza and Dai Due biscuits and sausage! – but for someone who doesn’t live here and can’t take the goods home, I recommend picking up a key lime or chocolate hazelnut tart from the Cake & Spoon folks. They did our wedding groom’s tarts in lieu of a groom’s cake. I can’t say enough about these tarts, from the flavorful fillings to the thick, crumbly crusts. So much goodness in such a little package. Cupcakes are jealous.

*How much for one rib?

Meat

Memorial Day weekend in my south Texas hometown. Dinner for 11 - with leftovers galore! - on my dad's awesome Argentinian grill.


(See, I told you it hasn't been all carbs.)

Carbalicious

My diet is a bit more balanced than this blog would indicate, I assure you, but the only pictures I've managed to snap lately have been home-cooked and carb-heavy.

Last week, we found ourselves with a huge bunch of water spinach from the Asian grocery store, and rather than do the usual saute, Mike suggested a pesto with sunflower seeds (the only nut we had at home besides almonds) and a little basil from our herb garden.

I loved using our spinach that way, even though it wasn't the best pesto I've ever had.

(And, no, those aren't the largest sunflower seeds on Earth; we used mini farfalle pasta.)

The next day, we had a bunch of pesto left that I couldn't let go to waste, but I didn't want the same dish twice. (I have a problem with this. I'll gladly eat dinner leftovers for lunch, but I don't like to eat the same dinner twice when it's so easy to 'repurpose' the same foods.) So, what to do with that pesto?

I was reading "Blood, Bones & Butter" for one of my book clubs, and I must have seen the word ravioli among the pages, because I stopped for ricotta on the way home from work and asked Mike to make pasta dough. Ta-da! Spinach-ricotta ravioli.

And last night, after wrapping up an Austin weekend for the books -- checking out a new(ish) spinoff of our favorite Chinese restaurant, a movie we could both agree on, a new water sport, my first bike ride in a decade, a Saturday afternoon BBQ, dim sum brunch on Sunday with friends, a return to a new neighborhood spot with more friends, and a trip to Barton Springs for a book club gathering -- I was craving carbs. Again. Specifically, I was craving pizza. (Even though I didn't swim, my appetite grew exponentially in two short hours at Barton Springs.)

We were dropping off friends who'd joined us at the Springs and who live dangerously close to House Pizzeria. House is definitely in my Top 3 for Austin pizza. We were tempted, but Mike pointed out we had plenty of veggies at home and I knew we'd be able to find an easy, no-rise dough recipe on the interwebs. (My dad's crust is my latest go-to, but we were hungry and just didn't have the patience to wait on rising dough.)

Motivated by hunger (and happy to be saving the $20 while using up some of the veggies in our fridge), we turned out a roasted eggplant and zucchini pizza on thin crust in under an hour. He sauteed, I kneaded. It was a really good call.


I'm planning to break this carb kick with Hebrew National dogs (Saturday BBQ leftovers) and asparagrus on the grill tonight, a fajita potluck tomorrow and short ribs with our lovely friends (and conveniently close neighbors) on Thursday.

And then there will be Friday.

Friday, we have reservations for Austin's only five-star restaurant. It's the one-year anniversary of the day Mike proposed and the eve of my 38th birthday.

If I could only schedule my workouts the way I schedule meals.

Dutch baby

Ever since I tore into my first Dutch baby at a north Austin strip mall eatery, it soared to the top of my Favorite Brunch Foods Of All Time list. That was a few months ago, when Mike and I were half-moved into our new home and decided to take a break amid the hubbub and treat ourselves to a fuel-filled breakfast.

We haven't made it back to the Original Pancake House -- and now we might not have to.

Our first attempt at a homemade Dutch baby was surprisingly delectable, and we didn't even use whole milk! (Side note: Are there many childless adults out there who keep a regular supply of whole milk in their fridge?)

Mike did all of the work on this one, but I still wanted to capture this steering wheel of a pancake in all its glory. The final product, once it's puffed in the oven and then collapses on itself within moments of coming out, is delicious on its own but most popularly paired with a healthy squirt of fresh lemon juice and sprinkling of confectioner's sugar.

Oh, baby, was it good.

Bahn Mi

My first banh mi experience occurred at an impromptu lunch this week with the hubby, who was looking for a lunch companion via Facebook, forgetting that I regularly stalk him via social networking.

After strong-arming him into lunch, we agreed to meet in north Austin's Chinatown at Lily Sandwich. It's an unassuming little shop, not terribly clean but certainly not dirty enough to sound any alarms.

It's possible I couldn't really distinguish the three different types of "meat" in my sandwich. But I loved the fresh cilantro, pickled carrots and cucumber, and their crunchy-soft baguette. I also loved the budget-friendly price ($3.25) and getting to see Mike for one of our rare lunches together.

Their baguette was so fresh, we bought a few loaves (made in-house) to take to a friend's house for dinner later that evening -- and I'm pretty sure I'll be asking Mike to bring some home on a semi-regular basis as Lily isn't far from his office.


Side note: One Yelp reviewer mentioned that the guy taking their bubble tea order tried to gyp them out of a couple of bucks. The same thing happened to us, and my guess is that their bubble tea guy is the same guy who made our sandwiches. We ordered two sandwiches at $3.25 each, plus a can of soda. I figured that would come to no more than $8-$9, yet the man behind the counter simply said "Ten dollars." After a couple of minutes - we stood watching while he made our sandwiches - another guy rang us up with an actual calculator. Even with a last-minute egg roll thrown into our order, our real total came to just under $9. So, sure, the sandwich maker was trying to make a couple extra bucks off of us. Not cool, sandwich guy. But I'll keep going back, and I'll just call him out on his erroneous math if it happens again.

Balance

Carbs for breakfast -- croissants and cafe con leche at our favorite little Cuban cafe. Carbs and veggies for dinner - popcorn and goat cheese salad at my favorite movie theater.

I was clearly in need of some fruit and dairy at lunch to balance out the day:


Summer's arrived in Austin, Texas.

Garee curry

Last night after work and a 40-minute walk around the neighborhood with the boxing octopus and her youngest, I pulled some broccoli and shitake mushrooms out of the fridge and stared at them for a few minutes trying to figure out how to prepare them before they went bad.

Roasting broccoli is one of my favorite methods, but that wasn't going to work for the mushrooms. I could saute them both together, but that didn't sound very good and I wasn't sure what spices I'd use and what I'd pair them with.

I eventually landed at soup (it's still technically spring in Austin, right?), and then realized we were fresh out of veggie or chicken broth. So I went to the pantry, where I was reminded that we had 9 jars of assorted curry pastes and a couple of cans of coconut milk from recent cooking classes at Thai Fresh , which incidentally sells various quality Thai ingredients in their adorable south Austin restaurant for at-home cookin'.

I've always loved my garee curry the traditional way - with chunks of chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions, served wtih enough rice to soak up all of the spicy, creamy goodness that's left at the bottom of the bowl. And I've always had three local favorite spots for garee -- Thai Fresh, Madam Mam's and Titaya's. (Titaya's holds a sweeter spot in my heart as it's also the site of my first date with the man who would become my husband.)

Still, I'm happy to say, after last night's attempt at garee - made with broccoli, mushrooms and onions, sans rice and other carbs - my new favorite local spot for garee curry is my own kitchen.

No-knead bread

I could not resist cutting a slice off this no-knead loaf after 30 minutes of cooling, even though the recipe urges you to wait an hour.

Oh, don't look at me like that. It was 11:00pm, and I needed to get in bed.

I slathered my first warm slice with some room temperature butter, which I like to leave out on the counter despite my hubby's mocking and judgment. This morning, I slathered another slice with butter and some blackberry cobbler filling we're still picking on from a not-so-recent potluck. (We made a lousy blackberry cobbler in the slow cooker and couldn't bear to throw away the fresh fruit filling.)


I'm so glad Stella has been experimenting with no-knead recipes for long enough that she was able to recommend her favorite. Sparing me from the testing.

This bread was phenomenal. Is phenomenal. I hope to make fresh loaves a regular thing.

I went the plain route on my first loaf because I wanted to see exactly what this bread tasted like all on its own. But I plan to play with my bread in the future. Next up: rosemary and sea salt. Down the line: sundried tomatoes? cheddar and jalapenos? whole wheat flour? rolled oats?

I don't know about man, but this woman could do just fine on this bread alone. Especially if paired with some salami and soft cheese ....

Taste the Love

My friend Shanita recently launched a homemade salsa biz. She's in the process of getting all of her licenses and whatnot in order, but she's already selling salsas through word of mouth, Facebook, out of the trunk of her Volvo station wagon and parties hosted by friends (like yours truly).

She makes several kinds of salsa (four staples and a range of seasonal salsas), but my love, my obsession, is the Hal's Hot Love - a creamy, garlicky roasted jalapeno salsa that I just can't get enough of. I often build my meals around Hal's.

You would, too, if you had two (ok, three) jars in your fridge. (Four if you count the one I keep at the office!)