Everywhere in the OC takes 15 minutes: a freeway fieldtrip

 Yesterday we went to the OC as the first stop on our "Summer of Culture" mission. After paying respects to dearly departed family members we headed over to find the seabirds truck. Next stop was the Orange County Museum of Art. I should have reseached a bit more as I would have learned how small the OCMA collection is. It ended up being the buffer between eating stops instead of the main event. Luckily we love to eat, so it wasn't too big of a problem. Plus, I found my new favorite thing at Native Foods.
Here's a rundown:

My niece and I with the seabirds truck

 

That's a beer battered avocado taco in my hand. Jealous?



My sister with her lemon cupcake and my niece being her silly self.



We couldn't take many photos inside so this is us outside OCMA.



Native Foods Super Italian Meatball Sub

  

It is indeed super!





Your turn to take a bite.

 

All gone.



Don't worry, there is a vanilla cupcake too.





I remembered the hammock behind the restaurant and climbed in.



Do you like my fine vegan footwear?



If not, here is a more appealing view from the hammock.





A real live "love" seat. Enjoy!







return of the mac

I think this adapted recipe is taking the place of my first favorite vegan mac and cheese. I've made it four or five times since its Thanksgiving debut. That's almost once a month, right? Even though it's not as greasy or fatty as regular mac and cheese, I still feel like it could be a bit healthier. The recipe suggests adding spinach or green beans, but I decided to use broccoli instead since that is how they do it at Native Foods. Even though this recipe does not resemble theirs at all, I wanted to pretend I was as awesome as Chef Tanya for a few minutes.

We had the re-revised mac and cheese with boca chick'n sammiches on everything bagel thins with vegenaise and american tofutti slices. My sister bought the bagel thins about a week ago. They're not doing it for me at all, yet I am okay with the sandwich thins. Maybe because smashed bread is easier to get used to than a deflated bagel? Anyhow, we all loved the mac and I did not get to take a shot of it until it was half gone since unbeknownst to me, my camera battery died. I must have killed it taking video and pictures of Penny with her ball last week.

ketchup

Here is what you didn't miss in the past week:

Monday- My 32nd birthday! I did not end up wearing my summer dress because I did not have a sweater that matched it and cannot go strapless to work. Instead I wore a cowl neck top and denim pencil skirt to show off my hard work and the Tiffany necklace my sister got me (the Elsa Peretti bean one, haha!). I had lunch with friends from work and had dinner with my sister, niece and sister's boyfriend. We were disappointed the Mother's menu had changed so much but went to Native Foods and pigged out. I had a really lovely coconut cupcake.

Tuesday-blah

Wednesday- My parents took me to dinner @ cheesecake factory and I had a delicious Manhattan. The servers also sang to me, so cute!

Thursday- We met up with a friend to celebrate her birthday, but I was still celebrating my own. Two more Manhattans and my first super girly dressed up night of going out. It was fun, will have to do more of that.

Friday-Saturday were a blur of heat and grossness. We watched Night at the Museum 2, which was expectedly more corny for the kids but overall I liked it. I also started a great book about the most famous brothel in America- the Everleigh Club (which is where we got the slang expression "getting laid", it is short for getting Everleighed).

Sunday: I babysat again, played way too much I-Spy and watched Princess Protection for about the fourth time in three weeks. I made "Bitchin' Breakfast Burritos" from Skinny Bitch... and they were indeed bitchin'. Even my pickiest eater asked if she could have it for breakfast and lunch the next day. Were it not for having to leave some for my sister, they would not have survived beyond today. If she doesn't have a burrito tonight I am taking the rest tomorrow, bwahaha.



Yesterday: My dad helped me put together a canopy so that Penny can have it made in the shade. It turned out great. She loves it, I just hope she doesn't start chewing on the pvc pipe. I'd like to think she is over most of her puppy behaviors, but who knows.



I've been trying to cook a bit more but spend less time in the kitchen. I want to cook more often but I need to keep it simpler sometimes, especially now that it is too hot to be in the kitchen. Tonight I am making Quinoa Salad with Mango and Black Beans from Veganomicon. I finally used my super cute cookbook holder I bought a few years ago from a school fundraiser. My mom helped me round up the produce and I am afraid she grabbed Italian parsley instead of cilantro (oops) which I didn't notice until I was almost done with the salad(double oops). Another mishap is that I could not find grapeseed oil at either store I went to this afternoon, one healthy and one regular. I am using canola instead and hoping the red wine vinegar, cilantro and scallions will overpower it. I left it alone overnight to get acquainted so the jury is still out. I'll have to double check everything before I start prep next time.




p.s. this should have been posted last night but awesome cable did not allow, thanks!