Category Archives: Eat

#SuBruNo: Brunch @ Austin Ale House

SuBruNo (Sunday-Brunch-Nothing) is something that the girl and I came up with because we’ve made a focused effort to only do the following on Sundays: Sunday stuff (like church), Brunch (because breakfast is our favorite meal) and Nothing (because that’s what Sundays are for).

This past weekend we tried out a new brunch spot with one of our close friends down at the Austin Ale House in downtown Austin. It had a cool vibe and was not too busy which we liked. The coffee was good, the service was prompt and their brunch was nice so all-in-all I would have to say it was a solid brunch adventure. I had the steak & eggs since they didn’t have eggs benedict and the girl had their free-range scramble which looked delicious.

Now, all we have to decide is where to this Sunday?

We got there a bit early so we took a nice stroll around the block.

I like a simple menu with not too many choices.

Cool light fixture.

Steak & eggs plus french fries. Tasty.

Two best friends.

roasted brussels sprouts

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We made roasted brussels sprouts the other day. Pat ourselves on the back, these are pretty yummy veggies.

We did the basic cover in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and stick them in a hot oven until they looked good enough to eat.

I am thinking of planting brussels sprouts in our (still imaginary) garden. They are some crazy looking plants. Delicious, but crazy.

a new toy

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I am really nerdy about grocery lists. I plan out our meals for the week and optimize our ingredients. Every week, I make our list and email it to my guy for approval and revisions. I think it is a skill that may come in handy someday, especially once we have a growing family.

I have been anxiously awaiting my new cookbook all week. I am really excited to take my hobby to the next level.

lemon poppyseed muffins

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I am on an ongoing journey to find a muffin recipe that makes those big muffins with the big fat tops on them. I read somewhere that the secret was using yogurt, or something like that to give your muffin some oomph when its baking. I used a recipe similar to this, and added some lemon zest and poppy seeds.

One of the best parts of making muffins or cupcakes is putting the little cupcake liners in the pan. Instantly makes me feel like I am in the kitchen with my ma.

This batter is super thick. I imagine you could maybe put it in a loaf pan and make bread too.

The recipe said it makes 12 muffins. I checked multiple times. So I made only 12 (overflowing) muffins.

I skipped a glaze on top, since its mostly sugar, and we are trying to be a little healthy here.

And here is the huge muffin! Perfect for our Sunday brunch. I don’t think it is my perfect muffin recipe yet, but by george, it sure has a glorious top on it.

granola bars

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It is quite a shame that not all treats are easy to mail. I wish I knew how to send a pie in the mail. It would be the best feeling to know that someone is going to get your pie in the mail at any minute.

I needed a treat to send to all my wedding peeps, but it needed to not be melty, and to hold up for a couple days while it flies across the country. I decided on granola bars. Because they are like the universally eaten treat.

I used this recipe here. It was pretty easy. Basically you mix stuff together.

At this point, you resist the urge to crumble it all up and keep it for yourself.

Chop em up into bars. I got somewhere between 40-50 bars that seemed perfect sized.

I ended up dipping them in chocolate. To be fancy.

I would make these again any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Because people consume more granola on Sunday than other days. I would try making them with some dried fruit and coconut, or mini marshmallows and tiny chocolate chips. Or just tiny m&m’s mixed in. Or just plain.

tomato and basil salad dressing

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Maybe it was the recent long weekend or the longer days, but I feel like time is moving slower lately. We have been enjoying the time by putting more effort into our meals. I even made salad dressing. Salad dressing. Not a baked good.

This salad dressing was basically like salad salsa. It was chopped up tomatoes, basil, and green onion. A little garlic, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and oil. Shake it all up in a jar. We put it on a salad of spring mix, white beans, and red pepper. Fancy, right??

peach crisp and vanilla ice cream

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I usually stick with something apple-y for dessert on the Fourth, but I decided to try peaches this year. I really wanted peach pie at the wedding, but they weren’t in season there yet. So I have had a hankering ever since.

Our air conditioning decided not to work that day. I think it was making a point that it was a holiday. So I tried to get all my baking done in the morning before it got blazing hot. I managed to make a peach crisp and the ice cream base before noon. I called my ma to ask if it was ok that the ice cream never got fluffy enough, and she assured me that it will taste just fine. She is always right.