another busy weekend!

Saturday morning, I got up bright and early because I had to go down to the vet to buy more cat food -- after that urinary tract infection Oliver had late last fall, he's been on prescription food ever since. Since the vet is only open until noon on Saturdays, I had to hightail it. Dan offered me the car, but I decided to ride my bike -- since the vet is only 2 1/2 miles away, I thought I'd save the gas and save the environment a little bit, too. After my quick errand, I was hungry! Brunch Saturday:

Scrambled eggs this week instead of poached, (covered with salsa, of course,) hashbrowns, kale, and grapefruit. This brunch never seems to get old for us!!

After brunch, we took the light rail down to Minnehaha Park to check out the falls. We've been to the Falls before, but I wanted to figure out how to get there on the train. (We're taking the kids on a field trip to the Falls this week, and I wanted to make sure I knew exactly how to get to the park from the light rail stop.) When we arrived at the Falls, Dan and I discovered we were both hungry again -- so we had lunch at Sea Salt, located in Minnehaha Park. I was worried, since the restaurant is known for their seafood, but lo and behold, there was not one but TWO veggie options on the menu! I debated between the walnut burger and veggie tacos for a long time, and eventually settled on the tacos. Delish! Corn tortillas, black beans, fresh salsa, loads of cilantro, and a spicy corn relish, too. Yum! We finished our meal with an ice cream cone apiece and a quick walk down to the falls before hopping back on the train home.

When we arrived home, Dan's phone was practically ringing off the hook -- his best friend, Ryan, was calling to see what time we would be able to meet up with him and his fiancee, Savaneary, to drive down to the Buddhist temple. Yes, the Buddhist temple! Savaneary is Cambodian, and they had invited us to join them for the Cambodian New Year celebration!! We had a wonderful time checking out the temple, eating Cambodian food (oh, how do I love bubble tea!!) and just hanging out, although it was quite cold and a little bit stormy at times. Pictures at the temple:









We arrived home much later than we had anticipated Saturday night, but we had a wonderful evening!

This morning, I began my day with another quick trip to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, accompanied by Courtney. Guess what I found??

Yes indeed, folks, the first local, pesticide- and herbicide-free rhubarb and asparagus to be had! Woo! I decided to wash, chop, and freeze the rhubarb for later use, but put the asparagus to good use for dinner tonight:

Sweet and Sour Tofu over brown rice, with a side of roasted asparagus, of course.
And what would Sunday dinner be without a stellar dessert??

Blueberry and cranberry cobbler, (both local, but frozen,) with a scoop of vanilla Haagen Daz. (Not our usual ice cream of choice, but Dan ran to the corner store to pick it up while I was cooking -- to quote Dan, "it's not great, but at least it doesn't have corn syrup!" Man after my own heart.)

And, I'll close the weekend with a recipe, because even though my cobbler wasn't quite vegan, it would easily veganize. Recipe:

Combine:
4 cups fruit (chopped/sliced if you use apples, peaches, etc.)
3 to 6 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet/ripe your fruit is
1 1/2 teaspoons flour (unless you use berries, then up the flour to 1 tablespoon)
pinch salt

Pour the fruit mixture into a greased 8- or 9-inch pan.

Combine:
3 3/4 ounces (about 1/2 plus 1/3 cups) flour (I used white whole wheat)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
CUT IN:
3 tablespoons Earth Balance
STIR IN:
6 tablespoons plain yogurt or soy yogurt

Drop the dough on to the fruit by rounded tablespoonfulls. Sprinkle the dough with a ltitle additional sugar if desired. Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees Farenheight for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the fruit is bubbly all the way through. Cool slightly before serving -- serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.