Tag: Mom

CSA Things: Purple Veggies

LaurenLeave a comment

I almost just wrote “Big ups to my mom for picking up our CSA veggies last week,” then I remembered no one says “big ups” anymore (and never should have!).  But seriously, so thankful my mom could grab our produce for us while I was hanging out with Bruno Mars at Red Rocks.  Just one of the many reasons I don’t know what I’d do without her.

CSA Pick-Up #6 Included:

  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Garlic
  • Cucumber
  • Zucchini
  • Eggplant
  • Bell Peppers

What We Cooked:

I’ll try to be brief — even I’m semi-bored listening to myself go on and on about farm fresh vegetables — but the gist of this week was purple veggies and meals that were almost too pretty to eat (or so I thought at least), and tasted even better.

Heirloom Tomato and Beet Salad

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Although the beets were great (and so colorful!), this salad was just okay and I won’t be making it again.  But those tenderloin filets!

Curried Veggies with Roasted Eggplant & Chickpeas

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Does anyone know what kind of eggplants those are?  And does anyone know how someone could not like eggplant?  Cough, Joey.  I could’ve eaten this roasted eggplant by itself but I’m glad I didn’t because this curry dish was really tasty.   Also, cutest teensy purple bell pepper and eggplant rounds ever.  I may have squealed when I first saw them.  Mini eggplant parm, anyone?

Kale, Mushroom and Sundried Tomato Lasagna Rolls

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I’m so over kale.  Actually, I’m just over washing it and tearing the leaves off the stems.  Annnnd, I’m now realizing how lazy that makes me sound.  Anyways, after slaving away at that kale for a whole 5 minutes, and assembling these lasagna rolls, we had such a good dinner.  Sautéed up that CSA zucchini in some olive oil for a side dish.  Simple but I LOVE it.  I would certainly make this whole meal again.

Garlic, Carrots, Cucs

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While I think the difference between farm fresh and store-bought garlic is kind of subtle, I could tell which was better.  Guess which!  The taste, smell and color is just enhanced.  We used it in all of the above.  What if someone didn’t like garlic?!  In other news, CSA carrots have become the bane of my existence because I can’t for the life of me get to them before they get kind of…flimsy.  I used those flimsy carrots and the cucs in a soba noodle salad with an almond buttery dressing (yum!) and the rest of the cucs were eaten alongside some roasted red pepper sabra, aka the best hummus in all the land.  Did I really just say “cucs” that many times?

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What’s your favorite purple food?  Please don’t say it’s that purple ketchup they used to make.  Remember that?!

Do you like eggplant?

What old sayings do you wish we still used? I wish I could still tell people not to “have a cow.”  What does that even mean?

A Movie in the Park

Lauren5 Comments

It’s my mom’s birthday on Saturday, making this “Birthday Week!”  As in, I fully support and encourage all family and friends to celebrate their birthdays all.week.long.  I mean, it only seems natural that we do so as adults, since birthdays don’t get as much attention as they did when we were kids.  Seems like a fair trade off to me.

I’m always excited for my mom’s birthday as I’m partial to July celebrations (wonder why!…) and especially excited this year because the festivities are right up my alley and because I have some really good birthday surprises up my sleeve (Mom, are you reading this?).  And guess what?  We kicked the celebration off last night with a movie in the park.

IMG_4207I should have known it was going to be a good night when I met my family in Louisville and everyone was on time.  That never happens.  Seriously.  It gave me hope that I can put my dad and my sister back on the guest list for my future wedding (cough they are the family’s biggest punctuality offenders cough).  Also…a line of food trucks!  Be still my heart!

IMG_4205I was kind of taken aback by the amount of trucks that were there — nine I think?? — but finally settled on the street taco truck, Comida.  I have a serious taco weakness.  I kind of underestimated how small these tacos were, hence me only ordering one (chorizo!) plus a side of rice and beans, but that just means more room for sangria and ice cream, right?

IMG_4203My mom and my sister grabbed brisket sandwiches and some amazingly delicious French fries — thick cut and salty, just how I like em — at the BBQ truck and then we all camped out on our picnic blanket with some homemade sangria my mom brought with her.  P.S. Can you see my mom’s new diamond earrings?  She had one fall out of her ear earlier this year, so my dad took her for a replacement and white gold upgrade.  Way to go, Dad!  I swear he was also at the movie, despite the lack of evidence.

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IMG_4209Wine-soaked cherries and peaches, yes please!  Oh look, there’s my dad (kind of…).  Told you he was there too.  We hung out with our sangria while we waited for the sun to set and the movie to start.  They were showing Jurassic Park, which yes, I did just see in the theater, but Jeff Goldblum is so worth re-watching it.  My dad concurred that he is the best part of that movie.

IMG_4206How cool is the inflatable screen?  I had just enough to time grab a double scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough from the Sweet Cow truck to share with the girls just before the movie started…perfection.  About halfway through the movie, we started to feel a few raindrops and the wind picked up and that park cleared out so fast.  We stuck it out though.  We had to see who was going to save them all from the Velociraptors, obviously.

Seriously, a perfect night (albeit kind of chilly, especially for the end of July) with my family.  All that was missing was Joey (he was at his softball game) and maybe a second street taco 😛  The best part?  We get to do it all again on Saturday when we celebrate my mom’s actual birthday with tapas and dinner at the Med (always the Med!) and another movie in another park.

Is it Saturday yet?

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Do your birthday celebrations last longer now than they did when you were a kid?

Have you ever been to a movie in the park?

The food truck craze: yay or nay?