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food the weekly texan

the weekly texan :: torchy’s tacos

24 April 2013 – 08:25

I feel like I never really had a grasp of living life in Austin until I started dating someone that also lives in Austin. Because I’m vegan I’m not the most adventurous eater-outer, which means there are tons of yummy things in town that I just haven’t experienced yet. But when I started dating Charlie I ended up eating more tacos in two months than I’ve probably ever eaten collectively in my life until I met him.

In the Chicago suburbs tacos aren’t really a go-out-to-eat-them kind of food. You either go through the pain of making them yourself or get crappy ones at Taco Bell. Downtown has more authentic Mexican places to get tacos but they rarely use vegetarian beans or do cool stuff like deep fry portobello mushrooms and avocados. (Also I haven’t lived in the Chicago area for nearly ten years, so that stuff may exist now and I’ve missed it!)

I’ve discovered that tacos are a quintessential Austin food. Highly customizable, highly variable, small enough to eat while walking/talking. They’re a social food. And Torchy’s has very quickly become one of my favorite places to get them.

I pretty much got that silly InstaFood app just for taking pictures of Torchy’s Tacos. Somehow I’m not sick of them yet; the only options that are almost vegan are the Fried Avocado and The Independent (hint: get them without the carrot stuff, 3x tastier).

The Fried Avocado is probably my favorite, sans cheese and sauce. I’m guessing they’d be fine with substituting different sauces but ordering vegan is already fussy and I get self-conscious about it sometimes. Charlie always goes for the Fried Avocado. And chips and salsa, of course. I love that they put out sliced lemons and limes for drinks so I can have my favorite drink ever, Diet Coke with lime.

We mostly go to Torchy’s North (620), because his place is in West Austin. But I have gotten plenty of tacos from Torchy’s UT and Spicewood Springs locations. I think the Spicewood Springs spot has the best vibe. The last time we went there was the Louisville/Wichita St. game. And there were plenty of perfectly positioned flatscreens to watch the game. Lovely.

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So what is “The Weekly Texan”? I’m hoping this will become a weekly feature on the blog that talks about different Austin things, though I have a feeling it will be mostly about food! But now that I’m out and about in town more I want to share some Austin stuff with my readers and friends, many of whom I know do not live here. I hope you enjoy!

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things I like

this week’s faves

8 February 2013 – 09:49

thisweeksfaves

5. Modcloth will definitely be dominating this list this week! Their new arrivals are all incredible. Like these “A Night to Remember Flats” in Butterflies:

I love spring because spring = flats. Bright, fun flats!

4. I love the color combination of this scarf:

This “Love and Lighthearted Scarf” comes in a few colors, but this one with olive and pink is definitely my favorite!

3. Dear god. Raspberry lemon cheesecake cookies? Vegan ones?!

Guess what I’m baking tonight…

2. I like owls…

1. My current dress obsession:

It’s called the “Zagging Rights Dress” and I need it in my life. I might as well sign my next paycheck away to Modcloth. ilu

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in the kitchen

in the kitchen :: white bean salad

20 May 2012 – 13:16

Now that summer is approaching (faster than I remember here in Texas, which means it’ll be a hot summer) I’m shifting into no-cook recipes. Or, more accurately, cold-served dishes. Pasta salad is a staple meal of mine because it packs up well for lunches, but I’m starting to branch out. Yesterday I made myself a really tasty white bean salad. White beans are a bit fatty, but have lots of protein, which makes them a nice stand-alone dish.

White Bean Salad
serves 8

2 cans of white beans, drained but not rinsed
1/2 of a small red onion, chopped
lemon juice
4 tsp of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
1 tsp summer herb blend
salt and pepper to taste

  • Chop up the onion and squeeze a little lemon juice over it and let it sit while you get together the rest of the ingredients. It helps take the edge off the onion.
  • Combine all ingredients into a dish. It’s ready to eat right away, but tastes best if you let it chill in your icebox for a few hours.

(yum!)

ek

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in the kitchen

in the kitchen :: late night baking

6 May 2012 – 23:54

Sometimes you get bored and you want to bake. And then you think about how to add peanut butter to things, because peanut butter is delicious. And then you end up with peanut butter and chocolate striped banana bread (PBCBB).

I used this recipe, but added in a 1/2 cup of peanut butter (super chunky!) to the wet ingredients. If I make this again I’ll probably add another tbsp or two of soy milk; this batch came out a bit crumbly. But super delicious. Like a Reece’s Piece in quick bread form.

ek

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in the kitchen

this week in the kitchen

3 May 2012 – 12:05

I bake 2-3 things every week; I can’t cook fancy stuff to save my life but I can bake a mean quick bread. I end up making banana bread about twice a month when I just can’t manage to eat all the bananas I buy at the store. I went back to my new go-to recipe but this time made them into color blocked muffins.

I’ve also been trying out a new cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I was feeling bummed out so I flipped through the book until I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for. Peanut Butter Cupcakes it was! My first batch (not shown) was with creamy peanut butter, and eating them was like biting into a big happy mouthful of peanut butter. Today’s batch is with super chunky peanut butter and a chocolate ganache topping.

I brought these into the shop for a co-workers birthday, and they were a big hit!

yummmmmmmmmmm

ek

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