Vegetarian Medley

Four weeks ago, after a particularly heavy gorge-fest weekend of eating out, eating in, eating heavy, eating whenever...we decided to lay off the meat for a week and see what happened. This presented a really huge challenge for me, because I'm responsible for the meals around here and keeping it interesting, tasty, and healthy. Most of my recipes centered around a meat product. Roasted Pork Tenderloin. Chicken Tikka Masala. Tequila Lime Chicken. Ground Beef Taco Wreath. You get the gist.

We're entering our fifth week of vegetarianism and I do have to say I feel great. All over! It's definitely an adjustment - we are both very ritualistic people. Which doesn't mean we're scared to try new things - we do try new restaurants all the time. But, when we go to a restaurant we've been to before, there is a 84% chance that we'll order the same thing we've ordered before. We're quality junkies and if something has worked in the past, it'll work in the future or by damned we'll be disappointed. Now, those stand-by dishes are off the radar. At Chuy's that means our chicken enchiladas become spinach/mushroom enchiladas. At Guero's it means we actually liked what we ate this time. At Outback...well, we'll just leave that off the list because our dear friends invited us to go and we ended up both having steaks - and regretting it later with stomach aches.

Rather than trying to build an immediate cadre of no-meat recipes in the house, I've been opting for buying lots of produce, some good veggie staples (black beans, noodles, rice, etc.) and then making it up as we go along. Here's a couple interesting examples...

Grilled Asparagus with Angel Hair Pasta and Garlic Toast





Yellow Squash and Mushroom Tacos



Me showing off some local multi-grain tortillas



Rice and Sauteed Veggies



This is essentially fancier version of the mixture I made for the tacos...it didn't turn out too well but that's because I used Lawry's Seasoned Salt and the flavor totally clashed

I saw my entire immediate family this week - on a bittersweet occasion - my dear grandma passed away and so I was off to Southern Utah. I will really, really miss her and her beautiful voice, smile, and humor. We both share a passion for travel and I am just happy to know that she's off running around in space somewhere, not bound to difficult joints from her body. Or cooking up a storm...one dish I make that comes from her is the Arnold's Family Cranberry Salad, which is made on Thanksgiving and Christmas. EVERYONE loves this dish.

After the funeral, a sweet neighbor of my grandparents released their doves in a symbol of hope, peace, renewal and freedom for my Grandma. It was so beautiful.



Tschüß!

Back in Austin

I love Austin. I was seriously missing some home time -- I loved my trip and had a fantastic time...but there is nothing like coming home, cooking some good grub, and getting ready to watch "Dancing with the Stars." It was sad to leave this morning, but I feel like this trip was the right amount of time and I accomplished all that I wanted to: spend some quality time with Mom and Dad, hang with my brothers and their families, see the new doggie, spend some time with Ryan's parents, and then have a brunch outing (courtesy of my friend Ann and her husband -- Ann used to be my boss but will always be a fantastic friend).

Yesterday was a blast -- family dinner, a Sunday staple, and there was singing, gaming, eating, laughing, caking (?), and simply a lot of fun. We also got to do some family pictures...although we're missing the older three siblings and their family -- this is the core family that make up my High School and College memories.



My flight was fairly early, so I had a quick start to the day -- but my energy peaked on the plane and I did four Deutsch lessons and feel like I made some great progress. Now, I'm cooking turkey filet minions, roasted carrots, a salad, Pilz Knödel, und Drei Pfeffer Soße. I'm a nut! (Ich bin ein Nuße! Okay, that's not quite right...)

If you would like to see the photo album of the trip, then...

2007-11: Salt Lake City

Tschüß!!!

Arriving and Surprises

I'm in my old room in my parent's house. Strange! Last time I came back I stayed with Ryan's parents, since my parent's house was full of other siblings. The flight was fine, Dad picked me up and we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was very good -- it's always good. Not as good as I remembered it, but I suppose my tastes have changed a bit.

While waiting for a table, I hear "Scott??" from behind me and low-and-behold Lia is standing there. Holy shit, I could not believe it. We had JUST arrived there, I hadn't been in Utah for more than 20 minutes. It was so great to see her! We had a brief chat together, saw her incredibly beautiful girls, and then their table was ready. I didn't really announce to many that I was coming and it's such a short trip, I don't know if I will be able to see her. But, I am hoping that I don't stay away too long next time.

Going to Utah

After packing in too many hours into too few days, I'm heading to Utah for a visit. I haven't been back since July 2005 and really owed my parents this visit. I haven't seen them since April 2006 (I think?) so it's been far too long. I am looking forward to it because I won't have the ghost of living there messing with my head like it did last time. This visit is just for them and that's all I'm going to focus on.

Last night, we went on 'date night' to The Woodland...I love a good meatloaf and theirs was awesome. Ryan had the porkchop. We sat on barstools and brushed feet. :)