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I’m a sucker for free magazines with recipes

2012
01.01

I am a sucker for free magazines. Even when they are terrible, I will still pick up a copy to peruse on the off-chance that something new and novel will hit me in the brainpan. Most of the time I’m disappointed, because you get what you pay for, right? But I keep picking them up, because I am an eternal optimist.

So today I was shocked and surprised to find some recipes in the latest installment of My H-E-B Texas Life that I might actually make.

I know, wtf?

Of course, H-E-B’s “recipes” usually involve a) purchasing lots of H-E-B branded products and b) very little actual cooking, so I wouldn’t make these recipes exactly as described, but I think they’ve got potential. For instance, their Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Greens recipe is a variation on a dish I make fairly often, because microwaving spaghetti squash is dead simple, and replacing high-carb pasta with low-carb spaghetti squash is awesome. (FYI: 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti squash equals approximately 4 grams of net carbohydrates, according to About.com.)

Another one I am tempted to try (replacing the pasta with spaghetti squash, methinks) is the Calico Pasta Dinner recipe. The ingredients call for sweet potato, sour cream and feta cheese crumbles, garlic, fresh basil, sun-dried tomato strips, roasted red and yellow peppers, pasta and salt and pepper. Since they’re microwaving the sweet potato and using prepared ingredients for most of the rest of the ingredients, this is a 15-minute recipe and sounds delicious. It’s also visually appealing with all those colorful ingredients.

Calico Pasta Dinner (image via My H-E-B Texas Life magazine)

Finally, I would also try the Mahi Mahi Dinner in a Bag, which is an easy version of a classic French cooking technique called en papillote. You throw all your fish and veggies into a parchment paper bag, cook it in a super-hot oven (400F) for 25 minutes, et voila! A tasty baked dinner that didn’t require much more effort than preheating the oven. Since you can replace the mahi mahi with any type of fish you prefer, you could make a variety of different meals, depending on whatever captures your fancy or fits your budget.

So yes, for once my free magazine trolling has paid off. Grab these recipes from My H-E-B Texas Life’s January 2012 issue at your local H-E-B or online and make ‘em your own.

Tags: , , , , Category Groceries, Recipes |

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Austin homebrews for the holidays

2011
12.31

Ok, I know I said I’d see you next year in my last post, but as this post concerns a holiday gift that I was late in picking up, I’ve got one more before 2012.

Witness: Homebrewed beer.

My lovely employers, Justine and David of WriteByNight, got all their employees a six-pack of homebrewed beer for Xmas (writers + alcohol = FTW, duh!), and since I just picked mine up this afternoon I decided to bust them out to celebrate a) the New Year a bit early and b) the crazy-warm winter weather we’re having today (it’s currently 73; no wonder people get sucked into moving to Austin).

My favorite, by far, was the Russian Imperial Stout. Described on the label as “dark and bold, flavored with cinnamon coffee and vanilla beans,” I would describe this beer as “alcoholic coffee.” I got some of the vanilla, not much of the cinnamon, and a definite taste of the coffee. As my sister’s t-shirt used to say, “Beer: It’s not just for breakfast.”

Also included in the assortment were:

  • Blueberry Cider – which, oddly, didn’t taste at all like cider to me (a shame, as I really dig a good hard cider)
  • Saison – described as “light, sweet and slightly spicy, brewed with orange peel and coriander” (much enjoyed by Celebrity Intern)
  • Oktoberfest – “sweet and malty, classic German style lager”
  • Blonde Ale – also enjoyed by Celebrity Intern for being “clean and light, easy to drink, pairs well with many foods”
  • Chai Amber – “dark amber beer, rich with chai spice” (it certainly smelled and tasted chai-like, but Celebrity Intern said it bothered his stomach)

Here are some snaps:

The source of these magical homebrews remains shrouded in mystery, so if you want to try a little homebrewing as your New Year’s resolution, check out Austin Homebrew Supply over at 9129 Metric Blvd. They’ve got everything you need to brew your own beer or cork your own wine, plus they offer classes on how to do it up right. Dare I say “It’s the gift that keeps on giving”?

I dare.

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Austin to Boston box contents (caution: may cause cravings)

2011
12.23

OMG! My Austin-to-Boston (#atxbos) box came in the mail yesterday, just as I was heading out to do some much-needed Xmas laundry, and I was thrilled by the contents. Lena, you came up with an amazing assortment, and I was very impressed by your wrapping skills. You rock!

Check it out:

Salty Sweets by Christie Matheson, ATK Menu Cookbook, and a copy of Edible Boston

This may sound crazy, but... I think Edible Boston might even be better than Edible Austin!

Lovely smelling Drippy Hippie soap - I smelled it before I even opened the box!

Whoopie Monster mini Whoopie Pie (a Boston tradition)

Gingerbread cookies (there's a snowman behind the tree) from Jack's Cookie Jar

Q's Nuts in Chocolate Hazelnut and Rosemary Sea Salt Almonds

A trio of jams and jellies

Deborah's Spreadable Fruit, which Lena says is a great addition to meat glazes or on top of baked Brie (ooh!)

Doves & Figs Chocolate Cranberry Jam by Robin Cohen of Boston Brunchers

Stir It Up Cuisine's Caribbean Pepper Jelly, featuring my husband's fave - fiery Scotch Bonnet Peppers!

A big bucket of Lena's homemade cabarnet-infused fudge!

If your stomach isn’t growling for some of these sweet and savory treats right about now, you’re obviously crazy. I’ll have to get Lena’s recipe for that fudge, because I’ve already eaten a bunch of it, and it’s super decadent and delicious. It takes a fellow Midwestern gal to understand the true meaning of Christmas is actually fudge!

Here are links to all the products featured, in case you want to try them out for yourself:

Plus, don’t forget to check out Boston Brunchers and Lena’s contributions to the ATK blog! Happy holidays, and I’ll see you Shoestringers and AFBA-ers in 2012.

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Holiday gifts for the Austin broke-ass

2011
12.20

In a last-ditch effort to ease our annoyance with all things Xmas gift-y, we’ve been avoiding the annual round-ups of “helpful” holiday crap you can mindlessly buy for your loved ones. After all, who wants to show people how much you “really care” by getting them the exact same thing every other hipster in Austin picked out of the newspaper’s line-up?

But then we thought: why not make our OWN list?

That’s right, it’s a Shoestring Austin Round-Up with weird Austin-themed recommendations for broke-asses by broke-asses. You won’t see anything over $20 on this list, and you can bet your sweet patootie that anything included is totally tongue-in-cheek. Enjoy our goofy, inexpeez ideas while you’re surfing for “serious” recommendations. After all, ’tis the season for weird gifts like frankincense (a smelly incense that keeps mosquitos at bay) and myrrh (an embalming oil that’s apparently also great for lowering LDL cholesterol) when all you really wanted was a bit of gold to pay the rent!

“Legalize Armadillos” t-shirt from Sharing Machine

If you don’t know Drew Toothpaste and Natalie Dee, you’ve clearly been living your life entirely too much in the real world. These web humorists sell t-shirts and other miscellaneous items to keep their free webcomics running. Their “Legalize Armadillos” shirt lends a nice Austin touch, even though it’s actually the product of a couple of Ohio residents’ awesomely warped minds. With the slogan “Legalize Armadillos: Regulate and tax them for revenue,” and a graphic of a cop watching over two rambunctious armadillos preparing to street fight, how can you go wrong?

$18 at SharingMachine.com.

Neti Pot

If you’ve lived in Austin long enough, you know all about the dreaded Cedar Fever. To add to the holiday hell, this snot-filled disease always seems to strike around Xmas, hooray! Give your loved one a little something that shows you care – a nice nasal irrigation system, aka Neti Pot. Just beware of the brain-eating amoeba and remember to clean the hell out of the thing every day.

$8 at Amazon.

99-cent (or free) ebooks

Even the most broke-ass of broke-asses can afford to take a chance on a new author at the mega-low price of 99-cents a pop. So here’s a quick list of ebooks that’ll prick up your spirits (and maybe your libido as well):

  • Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama: The unabridged audio edition of this book, read by Martin Sheen and produced by Audible.com, is FREE at Amazon until December 20. If you can’t dig the spirit of Christmas, you can dig the Dalai Lama, whose message of peace and love extends all year-round.
  • Maynard Soloman Proves Santa Claus is Real! by Benjamin Sobieck: As described on Amazon, “Maynard Soloman, a crusty and cranky private investigator, needs a Christmas miracle. Bill collectors want to repossess his beloved RV. In order to keep his home on wheels, he’ll need to do the impossible: Prove the existence of Santa Claus. It won’t be easy for the old detective. An odd Minnesota church, a drunk hound dog and an angry thief with a baseball bat stand in his way. And are those reindeer hooves on the RV roof? This hilarious off-beat short story is perfect for fans of crime fiction, quirky Christmas stories and razor-sharp humor. BONUS: Includes ‘Maynard Soloman’s Guide to Milk and Cookies.’”
  • Where to Get Laid in Montreal by Laura Roberts: “A cheeky how-to cum tour guide to the Sin City of the North, excerpted from Roberts’ forthcoming novel, Naked Montreal.” (Added bonus: sign up HERE for a free sample from the novel!)
  • Sharing by Miracle Jones: “After being abducted from a home for at-risk youth in the middle of the night by a twisted, murderous creature called an Indrik, a young girl named Charlotte with a talent for survival is taken (along with five other children) to an empty desert where it never becomes night and all the sand flows like water into a bottomless hole in the ground. First book of ‘The Fold.’ Followed by ‘Shifting.’” (Bonus: This one’s 100% FREE.)
  • And if all else fails, be sure to check Amazon’s Top 100 Free list for free ebooks to download. The list changes on an hourly basis, depending on “sales” (i.e. downloads, since they’re free), and you can usually find at least one or two titles that’ll tickle your fancy.

Bat Ring

Ever see those Franzetti bat jewelry ads and think “Somebody’s gotta do better than $95 for a bat ring”? Well guess what: somebody has. Actually, a lot of somebodies have! And they’re all on Etsy. Personally, we’re fans of this Gothic Art Nouveau Design Glass Ring by KasketKustoms (an L.A. company), but feel free to poke around and find a favorite of your own.

$15 at Etsy.

Got a suggestion for an inexpensive Austin-themed holiday gift that’ll make someone’s day? Hit us up in the comments section, or tweet us @ShoestringATX!

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Win a holiday party with the Rebeccammendations Dine Out In contest

2011
12.14

While I was thinking of keeping this all to myself, because I love winning prizes (and especially FOOD prizes), I’m getting into the holiday spirit of giving and decided to share.

Rebecca Otis of The Rebeccammendations is running an awesome holiday contest on her blog. The winner gets a party catered by Dine Out In, a local delivery service that brings meals for Austin restaurants straight to your door.

That’s a sweet $250 deal, baby!

TO ENTER:

Hit up Rebecca with the details of a holiday party you’d like to throw between now and January 1, 2012. You’ve gotta invite at least 3 people, or it’s not a party (you know, “two’s company, three’s a crowd…”?). Include any theme, musical selections, decorations and whatnot that will make your event stand out, plus the types of people you’ll invite (friends, family, co-workers, etc.) and what food you’ll serve, along with the date of your party and the address where you’ll host it (unless, of course, it’s at your house, in which case you don’t need to reveal).

Send allllll of that to Rebecca at Rebeccammendations@gmail.com by this Friday, December 16 at 6 PM, along with:

Your First and Last Name, Phone #, City and Zip (+ Twitter handles, blog and website URLs if you have them) and up to 5 sentences explaining why you want to win.

You must also use the subject line “It’s Party Time with Eat Out In!”

(Yes, these directions are kind of long. Quit your bitching: That’s what you’ve gotta do to win free food, bro!)

The winner will be announced on Monday, December 19 via email and social media, and Rebecca will post pictures from your shindig on her blog.

BONUS POINTS:

As an extra, added bonus, if you retweet Rebecca’s blog post about the contest (or Like her Facebook post about it) she’s going to donate $100 to the Austin Children’s Shelter. Dude, that’s like FREE MONEY you can donate to a good cause and look like a hero in the process. No-brainer: just do it.

You’ve only got until Friday at 6 PM to knock my super-awesome New Year’s Eve party idea off its pedestal, so get crackin’!

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Austin to Boston holiday swap

2011
12.14

The Austin Food Bloggers Alliance is doing an “Austin to Boston” swap, so I’ve been thinking about local products that are non-perishable and delicious to include in my box.

I want to keep my box’s contents a surprise for my buddy in Beantown, Lena (who is a social media intern for America’s Test Kitchen—how cool is that?!), but in the meantime, here’s a link to a pretty darn comprehensive list of local products from Edible Austin for you Buy Local types. They’ve got everything from fresh baked goods to prepared foods to wine, plus pretty much everything in between.

If I can snag a copy of the Winter issue of the magazine, I’m definitely going to include one in my package. I’m also thinking of including some of my favorite receipes, one of which Lena may already be familiar with, since it’s an ATK original: Beef Chili with Bacon and Black Beans. Just made a big pot of this the other day, yum!

Happy snacking!

Tags: , , , , , , Category AFBA, Groceries, Restaurants |

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Show me where your noms at!

2011
11.22

This has absolutely nothing to do with Austin, but it does have everything to do with awesome. And food. Enjoy, and then… tell us where YOUR noms at!

P.S. These two are totally rockin’ the No Frills grocery store in Toronto. Why doesn’t Austin have one of these? Or at least a sweet-ass Aldi or Cub Foods, where bagging your own groceries is not only encouraged but required to save buckazoids? Obviously Austin can’t handle the sweet, sweet deals. And if we’re not getting a Trader Joe’s until 2013, then I’m straight-up moving. Y’heard!

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WriteByNight self-publishing classes for cheap-asses

2011
10.04

WriteByNight is an awesome Austin-based literary salon and writing workshop. In case you’ve never heard of them, here’s a clue: they’re not your mama’s writing center.

Run jointly by writers Justine Tal Goldberg and David Duhr, a couple just crazy enough to turn their loft apartment into a public writing space (at least for a few days out of every week), WriteByNight is a full-service writing center as well as a free space for writers to drink some coffee, write a few good lines, or simply chill out with a few like-minded souls. Their “Write Here” open hours are currently Tuesdays from 11 AM to 3 PM, Wednesdays from 4 to 8 PM, and Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM, and you can drop in at any of those times to rock the free wifi or write to your heart’s content.

If you’re looking to learn more about the self-publishing revolution that is currently upon us, you’ll definitely want to check out their new series of classes, starting with Self-Publishing for Profit on October 11 at 6 PM. At just $29 a piece, these classes are a steal of a deal, and discounts are available for those purchasing tickets to all three parts of the series in advance (including Book Design That Gets Buzz and How’d They Do It?: Publishers Share Profitable Pointers). The series is a partnership with TLC Graphics & Narrow Gate Books, and includes information useful to writers at all stages of the self-publishing process.

In addition to their low-budget writing and publishing courses, those looking for more personalized services can also hook up with manuscript consultants and book coaches for fees that are remarkably reasonable for the shoestring budget. (I should know: I work for WBN!) You can request a free consultation by visiting their website at WriteByNight.net and sending them your email address in the form located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

For more infomation about WriteByNight’s services and workshops, please visit WriteByNight.net. You can also drop-in during their open hours at 1305 E. Sixth Street, Suite 4.

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Join Slow Food USA for just $1 – today only!

2011
09.30

This Foodie Friday we’ve got a super important question for y’all: do you like your food slow?

Slow Food USA stands for real food, grown by real people. They’re a great organization that sponsors all kinds of events to raise the bar for organic and sustainably produced food, and to educate consumers on the choices they make every time they pick up their forks (like the upcoming Richardson Farms tour here in Austin). Slow Food is all about real food — not the kind that comes in a box. But they’re also about supporting the farms and farmers that grow your fruits, veggies and even your meats.

In short, their motto is “supporting good, clean and fair food.”

For the month of September, they’ve dropped their usual membership fees of $60 down to a “pay what you can” system, in order to add more voices to their advocacy group. If you can afford to donate $30 or more, you’ll receive a farmers’ market tote made of sustainably-sourced cotton. But even if you can only afford a $1 donation, you can still join!

I just donated a buck myself, to support their good work. Because while living on a Shoestring doesn’t have to suck, it also doesn’t have to mean eating sub-par food.

If you’ve got a buck to spare, I strongly suggest taking advantage of this temporary fee waiver (which ends today!) and joining the Slow Food network. As an added incentive, the first 60 people to donate will receive a free Mark Bittman iPod or iPad app. You can choose from How to Cook Everything (reviewed on our site here) or How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Join the Slow Food movement and stand up for your right to clean, healthy food!

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Free Coffee Day and other freebies

2011
09.29

How’d we miss this? Today is FREE COFFEE DAY and no one told us! Clearly, we’re not getting enough caffeine in our systems. So while you’ve already missed the free 7-11 cuppa joe, you can still snag a freebie from that venerable donut institution, Krispy Kreme, until 10 PM! No purchase necessary, yo. Two locations in Austin at 701 E. Stassney Lane and 12586 Research Boulevard for your dunking pleasure.

In other freebies, enjoy the “Blow-Out Bar” with start-to-finish hair styling at Spruce Aveda Salon from 3 to 6 PM. Add a cut-out of some of the sweet frames from Tortoise & Blonde to your “before” and “after” iPhone shots and you could win a pair of hipster-approved glasses, too!

Once you’re all dolled up, get someplace to go! Tonight is Ladies’ Night at Beauty Bar, with $5 martinis & free manicures starting at 10 PM. “Lonely Man Lonestars” are just $2 for the gents, for equal opportunity drinking.

If cheap drinks aren’t quite enough to whet your whistle, get artsy with Our Eyes Need Art at Spider House for just $5 (or hit the link for a chance to win free tix from Do512). Feast your eyes on artwork from Jade Mandrake, Supreme Pizza Cats, Tara Carr, Zuzu Perkal, Dave Lowell, Niz, Sarah Slam, Eric Timmerman, Lupe Valadez, Tyler Booker, Wake and Jason Ice while watching live graffiti created by Niz, Wake, Jason Ice and Dave Lowell and enjoying the slam poetry stylings of Good Ghost Bill and Zachary Caballero. Rock out with live music by Luis Banuelos, Ejede, DJ Catwalk, Cardinal Cool & the Nuns of Justice and DJ Charlie, or grab some custom t-shirts screen printed by Industry Print Shop.

Free mothalovin’ coffee day! Time to re-fuel.

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