Happy Hour at La Condesa

S and I went out for date night last night. We went into town a bit early to dodge traffic, and I finished working at a coffeeshop. The shop just so happened to sell Love Puppies Brownies, which I have to say is a strange name for a baked good. We grabbed one for dessert and then hit La Condesa (@lacondesaaustin) for happy hour/dinner. Man was it good. We grabbed a table on the balcony and nestled on a pleasant Austin sidestreet tucked away from the hustle and bustle. I ordered the hanger steak and a mojito, and S got the tortilla soup and a chicken taquito. Overall it was a great date and great food.

Next on the list: El Naranjo which we have heard rave reviews about

Tomatoes are growing!

raised bed

planted in the Earthbox

planted in a 14” pot

I planted two tomatoes in my Earthbox at the beginning of April. I had the box for a year but hadn’t been hit with the reality that I could grow my own vegetables at home. This year was different. Maybe it’s that we live near so many great farmers markets and near great local food vendors. Good, real food, is in the DNA of this city.

So, I decided to go to Natural Gardener here in town, and I picked up a cherry tomato plant, and a celebrity tomato plant. Then, my mother-in-law gave me one of her heirloom plants that she grew from seed. I decided to plant the celebrity plant in a 14” pot and put the other two tomatoes in the Earthbox. [The Earthbox comes with fertilizer that you need and a watering "pipe" if you will, that puts water into a reservoir at the bottom of the container, that the plants pull from when they are thirsty.]

So, a month into my gardening, I have several tomatoes growing and looking healthy. I am somewhat surprised that I have had such good results from my pot, considering I hadn’t done it before and wasn’t sure if the plant would have enough room to grow.

We also filled in our raised garden bed in the backyard this weekend. I built a 4′x4′ bed of 8” tall boards, topped off with some rich Hill Country Soil from Natural Gardener. In the bed we planted red bell peppers, green bell peppers, jalapenos, and more tomatoes.

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La Condesa

Taken with Hipstamatic @ La Condesa in Austin, TX.

Michael Pollan, Big Food vs. Big Insurance – NYTimes.com

That’s why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry.

via nytimes.com

I have only skimmed the beginning so far, but plan to read the entire thing. I completely agree with this statement though.

Whole Foods Exec Slams Health Care Reform

Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat.

via tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com

Going to Austin this weekend.
Sarah is running a 10K in Round Rock.
Hoping the new house has made some progress.
Looking forward to good food and good weather.
Jealous of all the fun things going on in ATX w/out me.
I will enjoy them soon.

What’s Wrong with What We Eat | Mark Bittman

via markbittman.com

This video gives a great summary of his book ‘Food Matters’ which I am currently reading. I can’t believe some of the things I am reading in the book, talking about how animals are raised, which we end up eating. Not necessarily focusing on the conditions, but how they aren’t raised the way they were intended to be, and then turned into consumer meat.

P. Terry's

P. Terry’s

Hoping to go here this weekend in Austin. I hear the burgers are awesome – and I will always go for a great burger. Here’s what P. Terry’s has to say about themselves:

The whole idea for opening a hamburger stand actually started as a reaction to reading the book Fast Food Nation. We were appalled by the direction the food service industry had taken. We decided that if we ever had the opportunity to start our own burger place, we’d do things the way they should be done. But it’s not just about the food. We wanted to change the way things are cooked, the ingredients, the way customers are treated, and the level of care given to employees.

eat food. not too much. mostly plants.

eat food. not too much. mostly plants.
Michael Polan

This quote describes my dinner last night: Chicken & Vegetable Soup w/ Israeli Couscous. Surprisingly though, I really enjoyed it.

Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not

Popularizing such choices may not be as marketable as creating a logo that says “organic.” But when Americans have had their fill of “value-added” and overprocessed food, perhaps they can begin producing and consuming more food that treats animals and the land as if they mattered. Some of that food will be organic, and hooray for that. Meanwhile, they should remember that the word itself is not synonymous with “safe,” “healthy,” “fair” or even necessarily “good.”

Eating Food That’s Better for You, Organic or Not – NYTimes.com