Taking on the monster

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I hate smoothies. And I really don't like salads. As a vegetarian I feel they are being forced on me and I'm nothing if not contrary. I usually prefer my vegetables roasted or cooked in pasta and my fruits baked into some sort of cobbler.
But, I kept reading about these green monster thingies. People getting lots of energy, something I desperately need.  So I checked out the Green Monster Movement site and I was hooked.

This is day 3 for me of having them every day.  The first day I had two cups of coffee.  The second day I had one. Today I had none and skipped the usual headache that goes along with that.

Classic Green Monster 

Yield: 1 serving/2 cups

• 1 cup almond milk, or milk of choice
• 1 ripe banana, preferably peeled + frozen
• 2 handfuls organic spinach
• 1 tbsp chia seeds OR 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1 tbsp nut butter (here I used Dark Chocolate Almond Butter)
• 1-3 Ice cubes

I made a few substitutions.

I'm not into soy milk either (it goes along with the no salad thing) so I subsitute yogurt instead.

I have also added mint, basil, watercress, one kale leaf, pear, peach, and apple (skins on).  I didn't have nut butter so I used peanuts, some coconut oil and some honey.   I found I liked a little extra sea salt on top at the end.  I also don't use any ice.  The yogurt gives it enough texture.

We have all tried them.  Me and my husband love them.  Nandini won't touch it and Avinash will mindlessly sip it while watching TV.

I will let you know how it goes.  I feel like I could have three of these a day right now, but I don't want to overdo it and get sick of it.  The taste does linger in my mind though.

Have you tried this? Is it just another fad? (Please say no!)

Peaches, peaches.

 Found some Texas peaches at Central Market this week. 

So pretty.  I almost hesitate to cut them up and make cobbler.

Except I never hesitate to make cobbler.  Tonight we are watching opera in the park, so making it in muffin tins for better picnic portability.
 
And, in a strange turn of events I'm actually cooking dinner as well.  Having a huge bunch of wild ramps doesn't hurt either.

I remember trying wild ramps from the union square farmer's market like ten years ago and loving them.  Every spring I would impatiently anticipate their delicious arrival.  Never found them in Houston.  Until now.  You can imagine how excited I was to finally get some again.  Hence all the picture taking.

Browning the white bits in butter to toss in quinoa pasta with the green tops. 

What is a boy supposed to do while Mom is doing all this cooking.  Glitter, stamps and some leftover tags on the kitchen table did the trick.  The ABC tag is my hands down favorite. Now I just need to vacuum glitter off, like, the whole house.

Oxheart

Even though I really enjoyed my family day at home on my birthday I didn't mind it one bit when Ryan made us reservations the day after for a new restaurant downtown Houston.  And, they vegetarian menu didn't hurt either.  Apparently Oxheart refers to a type of cabbage or something. 

 We had squash three ways in soup, it was a little under-seasoned and watery.  The brioche buns and grilled spring onions were the best part.  You cut the onion in half and roll up one leaf at a time on your fork like pasta.  Crispy green stems and the almost creamy white center together in one bite.  Then roasted potatoes on top of swiss chard sauce.  Not as good as mine by a long shot.  Then sunchoke semifreddo.  About as good as it sounds.  I love having so many vegetarian options in one place, but it will take a while for us to go back.

Gratuitous bokeh shot of the porch lights outside.

The check arrived on a branch.  So, then we had the pleasure of working out the appropriate Portlandia sketch that would go along with this.

Day in the Life --- 2012

I just started project life and saw that Ali was doing a day in the life project.  I was wondering why I should do something like this.  But, even with project life there are so many little stories to tell, things that I love, am frustrated by, am thankful for and want to remember.  I had a running commentary going through my head all day yesterday and I guess that is what writing is about. 

Heisenberg tells us that by measuring or observing something we inherently change it.  Does this statement about nanoparticles apply to everday life?  I feel it does, but it doesn't have to follow that it is changed for the worse. 

Morning essentials: coffee and fried eggs.  Two things that make me very happy.  Farm fresh eggs from revival market and locally roasted beans from Java Pura.  Rainbow colored glasses are from Target.  Of course.

Wednesday mornings Avinash has school.  A battle again today (ever since they had to move out of their regular classrooms).  More discussions with his teachers.  Nandini is back to her morning nap schedule.   She very sweetly started sucking her thumb and laid down in her crib without an ounce of protest.  She sleeps when better Avi isn't home and the house quiet. Even better now that we moved her crib into the closet. We live in a loft with no doors and Nandini is a very light sleeper so she needs her own space.  Don't worry, it's a very very large closet.  This also means scrapping time for Mommy.

Just joined the YMCA this month.  Or the library as Avinash calls it.  He usually loves going there to see his 'friends'.  Nandini hates it, but finally had a day with less crying on Tuesday and was good again yesterday.  I peeked in on them before fetching her from childcare and she was sitting in a circle with four others clapping and playing.  Of course her lip started quivering when she saw me approach.  Just to make sure that I remember how unhappy she is without me.  I guess I sort of love that in it's own way.  It is nice to be needed (but also get a break!). 

I made cobbler for lunch, and used up a lot of fruits hanging around the fridge.  Avinash wanted to help and I think so did Nandini by the way she was screaming until I let her sit on the counter with us until I got lunch on the table (spinach tortillas with leftover magic beans).  The cobbler needed a little longer to cook because of all the extra liquid from the extra fruit but was worth the wait. 

Unwinding a bit before afternoon naps, playing while Avi watches the Care Bears Movie.  It is the oooold one from 1985, ie, the one I watched as a child.  I was so happy when I saw it on Netflix streaming and even happier when Avi decided he liked it too.  I thought it might be sappy, but I really enjoyed the songs and all the talk of friendship and feelings.  It is definitely better than Caillou at least!  Love how Nandini's face lights up here when she realizes I am taking her picture.  I think she was most excited about getting the chance to smudge the lens more than anything.
She is so serious when she plays.  She likes the blocks, playing ball and the shape sorter.  Though she doesn't quite get the point.  She keeps showing me how taking off the lid makes it much easier to put the toys inside.  Duh, mommy! 
Avi had a bit of a struggle laying down to nap.  An almost daily fight.  I choose to just ignore his protests while he squirmed on his bed.  After he calmed himself down I sat down beside.  He hugged me and said, 'Mommy? You love me again?' Ugh.  That smarts.  I assured him that I always love him, even if I get mad.  I always love you too.  He is too good.  I rubbed his back until he fell asleep. 

Got my Studio Calico Daydream Believer kit.  Very spring-timey feel to this month.  I scrapped these photos of Nandini in December.  I had printed them out for project life possible filler, but it feels good to do real layouts too.  Love it when the kits spark that inspiration.  The box arrived during naptime which was perfect.  I scrapped while watching old Hindi movies. 
Nandini all refreshed and ready for some pattycake.  She really loves playing and soaks up any one on one attention she can get!

Ryan took the kids to the playground for a little bit.  Me time now equals showering without Avinash or Nandini sitting outside the door trying to break in, ha!  We had a simple dinner of 'stone soup'.  Basically garlic and vegetables cooked in butter, add water.  Simple but so good.  Bathtime is almost always fun for them.  Overheard Avinash talking to his reflection in the faucet too, ha! 'Hi! I'm Avinash...'  Nandini has never been much of a snuggler, but she will nuzzle with you for a second if you're lucky.

Our collection of muppets now sit on Avi's dresser.  I always wanted a muppet babies themed nursery, but could never find enough stuff.  Nandini playing peekaboo with her hoodie towel.  I had left a hindi movie on in the living room and we heard lots of nice hindi songs.  Nandini was very interested in banging along to the music.  We read a Roald Dahl book, The Enormous Crocodile, and played puzzles and things before bed.  We recently moved Avinash's bed and the extra space means they actually have somewhere to play.

And, finally, I checked my email after bedtime and got a bit of scrappy good news.  Getting a layout from Avinash's birthday published in a magazine.

How was your day?

Uchi comes to Houston

{or the story of how we spent Superbowl Sunday}

I love to eat, try new cuisines and flavor combinations. I also love being vegetarian, which makes going out some what of a challenge in Houston.

Things seem to be getting better and better bit by bit. First Pondicheri Cafe started meatless mondays, which I am a tiny bit obsessed with.

Then Revival Market added a new vegetarian sandwich to their menu. (Did my tweet asking for one vegetarian item help? Who knows. I'll take credit for it though if I can.)

And, another Austin transplant restaurant just opened this week. My loving husband wanted to get us reservations for Valentine's Day but accidentally booked it for tonight instead of next Sunday. Ooops. I guess no one really goes out to eat during the Super Bowl, so at least we got a table and didn't have quite so many people to embarrass ourselves in front of with our kids and our own spills all over the place.

So excited to be going there opening week, I had to get a little dolled up in one of my new Jason Wu for Target scores.

Uchi is a sushi place, so the focus is obviously on fish, but there were plenty of options to choose from on the menu. Our waiter was super gracious about us being vegetarian as well in a way that I haven't seen in this city before.  Also, some of the only instagram-worthy food in the city too.

We started out with grilled endamame, which gave Avinash something to do between popping them open, tasting a few 'peas' and decorating the table and floor with the rest. Can you tell I'm rolling my eyes right now just thinking about it? Grilling the endamame was a really unique touch actually, and increased the flavor a lot.

We also had pumpkin tempura that was insane. The pumpkin (kambocha?) was sliced thin and fried to absolute perfection (and makes the rodeo food pale in comparison). Crispy but not greasy.  We may or may not have planned on sharing with the kids and then ended up finishing it up almost entirely ourselves.


Also noteworthy, the sake.  Usually I have no idea what I'm getting when I order one, but the menu had clear descriptions of all the drinks, which is how I chose "Bride of the Fox".  Which also is kinda meant for me because I loved Robin Hood growing up and always wanted a lotus ring like the one he gave Maid Marian in the forest.  We even watched it today after Avi's nap.  Perfect.  Oh yeah, the taste?  Sweet, floral, pear and a little bit of honey.  Ryan and I usually share, but this was not one of those times, ha!  (Again with the not sharing, no wonder Avi doesn't know how).


Panko breaded fried green tomatoes with sesame, spicy ketchup.  Our least favorite dish of the night.  They were crispy to be sure, but lacked seasoning and seemed undercooked somehow.   Even Nandini rejected this one.  (Why do they only want the good stuff?)  She did however love the crispy brussel sprouts topped with lemon aoili.  As did everyone else.  Luckily these were generously portioned and we easily shared.

One of the best bites I've had in a long long time was the Nasu sushi - Japanese eggplant on top of the most perfectly seasoned sushi rice I've ever had.  I could have eaten a huge bowl of it and I don't even like eggplant.


One of the specials was even vegetarian.  It was sunchoke tostones (basically fritters) with garlic sauce, crushed almonds and a special citrus gastrique.  Truly top chef worthy.  Easily compares to our fanciest dinners in New York City (at a much better price too).  Avi really liked this one as well.  I don't think Nandini even got to try any.  We also got Bond rolls, basically avocado sushi wrapped in soy paper.  The dipping sauce was interesting, but nothing compared to the eggplant.


Normally the kids are pretty decent at restaurants, especially Nandini who just happily and quietly eats.  Not today.  I had a wonderful Mommy moment when I had to take her to the bathroom to nurse because I was wearing a dress and then couldn't find anyone to help zip me back up.  Fuuuuun times.  Even I was embarrassed by that one.  One wonders why I am sharing it now??

Once the above arrived however we finally had peace.  Nandini apparently needed to top off her milk with a side of fried milk.  Avi polished off our sorbet.  Both were singing something in the backseat very loudly together on the way home and smiles finally reappeared.

All in all we loved it and will be back many times, preferrably with a babysitter.  Or two.