Tag: tacos make my heart sing

CSA Things: All By Myself

Lauren1 Comment

No joke, I was singing that song the other morning and Joey responded with “If you keep singing like that, you will be!”  Rude!  Anyways, what this week’s CSA post title is actually referring to, is the fact that I did the pick up all by myself.  I was half tempted to pull over on the side of the road to take a picture of the field of cows we always pass (because no one was there to stop me!) but decided walking around on the shoulder of a road with a high speed limit probably wasn’t such a good idea.

CSA Pick-Up #7 Included:

  • Lemon Cucumbers
  • Carrots
  • Japanese Eggplant
  • Melon
  • Purple Potatoes
  • Roasted Chilies

What We Cooked:

IMG_4568

IMG_4531

Lemon cucumbers are so cool looking, inside and out!  They’re much more lime green than regular cucumbers and while the flavor is the same, they are way seedier!  If the seedy part of the cucumber grosses you out, this isn’t the fruit for you.  We loved them, however.

IMG_4569

I threw this plate — let’s call it a Greek Sampler — together on Wednesday night.  Except for the roasting of the eggplant and the heating of the pre-made falafel balls, this dinner was super speedy and hands-off, which was great because I was busy icing a red velvet cake for our realtor.  What, that isn’t normal?  Back to dinner.  It turned out to be really fun and really delicious. Maybe the Greek Sampler should be a regular thing around here.

IMG_4574

Truth: I do not like cantaloup.  This is very strange, considering there are very few foods I won’t eat, but I’m just not a fan.  Joey, on the other hand, really likes cantaloup.  We had a choice between the melon and cherry tomatoes (love!) but I decided to be a good girlfriend and go with the cantaloup.  Joey used the melon baller and we had it alongside some Sunday morning pancakes.  I think I ate about 10 melon balls, then decided “yeah, I still hate that stuff.”  The pancakes though!

photo

The roasted chilies and purple potatoes both went into these chorizo tacos.  Um how cool is it that the farm roasted chilies for us?  I was pretty excited.  Also, purple potatoes are just the coolest.  I had the choice between fingerlings and purples.  That choice is just so obvious isn’t it?  These tacos were amazing and pairing them was grilled pineapple is my subtle way of saying “I’m not ready for summer to end!”  P.S. If you’re short on time, do not Google the spelling of chilies/chiles/chilis/chillis/etc.  I just did and I still don’t know the real answer.

photo

Knowing we’d be out for dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday, I threw a big batch of “summer soup” in the crockpot on Sunday so we’d have leftovers during the week.  Yeah, summer soup is a thing.  Actually, I’m just calling it that because it had fresh corn in it and because I’m not ready to talk about anything that follows summer.  I mostly followed this recipe (which I happen to love) and was able to use up our carrots before they got to the flimsy stage.  Aren’t you proud?  Adding frozen okra to soup is the best.

Side Note: Sorry to any readers that these CSA posts are all I seem to be able to pump out lately.  I’m feeling “busy” and semi “uninspired” lately.  Which really just means I can’t seem to think or talk about anything that’s not new house related.  I also know this to be an extremely boring topic for others.  I’ve tested this theory on my sister, so trust me, I know.

Happy Thursday!

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.

IMG_4208

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?

***********************

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?