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Showing posts from April, 2014

Paleo Bento 3

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Time really has gotten away from me so I've been trying to get my cooking in where I can. I have been seeing quite a few recipes calling for "kelp noodles" recently in my news reader so it's really this weird ingredient that managed to get me off my butt to cook. I landed on this sesame almond butter kelp noodle. It's very similar to the thai peanut soba noodles I prepared in the past except for the use of kelp noodles. Kelp noodles are a very curious ingredient, they are made of (surprise!) kelp or seaweed and containing about 10 calories for 12 ounces. The noodles are clear and look somewhat like glass noodles used in Chap Che except not nearly as elastic, when eating them they have a distinct "snap" and crunch to them (like a rubber band at breaking point). There is no flavor so they take on the flavors of whatever dish you might prepare. They can be used right out of the package without any sort of cooking (I do rinse them just in case) but I

NIB: Barley Swine

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We recently took a weekend to explore south Austin and we had such a fabulous dinner that I couldn't help post it. Barley Swine is a small restaurant south of the river, it sits about 50 (my wife counted) and has been quite a hotspot over the past few years. The chef/owner started out with Odd Duck trailer and ultimately opened brick and mortar restaurants, first Barley Swine and later Odd Duck. It seems when Odd Duck opened Barley Swine converted to a nightly prix fixe menu. They offer a wine/beer pairing to accompany each course (which I highly recommend). Above is a picture of the amuse bouche of a sea urchin lettuce wrap with fried buckwheat groats. It was a lovely blend of textures (crunchy and creamy) it was paired with a sparkling wine which offset the richness of the uni. Our favorite (and first) dish of the evening was this red snapper with strawberry ponzu with toasted quinoa. The pickled abalone mushroom with trout roe and green gaspacho was delicious, the fried ka