WIAW

Though technically not correct.  Just reflecting on some of the yummy stuff  I've had recently.  Lots of new stuff for me!

• Ethiopian Millet, Mushroom Tibs and Sauteed Collards. From the amazing Isa.  Let me warn you that the mushrooms were SUPER spicy! Even for this spice loving chick.  There are a bajillion spices in this dish, but I absolutely loved it!  Made it again already and pulled the curry powder.  Just as yum with some heat, but that simple fix made it something I will definitely be making regularly - COMFORT food!!
• Larabar Sale!!!! New flavors for me including Lemon?!. And the cookie dough. Craaazy good.
• Sweet and Spicy Dates!  It's not too late to hop on board the Meatless Monday A-Z train! Go check out Heather's blog for more Date recipes!  Next week is edamame!
• Salad with hummus for dressing - not new, but always seems like an indulgence.
• Tuscan Kale Soup
• Artichoke!! with some leftover Ethiopian millet.  What an adventure to clean one of these lovelies!
• Green Tea Kombucha. I am still getting use to green tea.  Liked this one - clean, refreshing, and it makes me feel good about myself!
• Fro-yo!!  I may be the last person on the earth that had not had fro-yo. Well at least in my suburb.  A new Smart Cow store opened at the beginning of summer, the only fro-yo place around, and you would have thought there was money at the bottom of each cup.  Its has been PACKED.  And our girlies have been pleading with us to go.  I had a vanilla bean with sea salt caramel pretzel,  (aka fro-yo crack) and strawberries - oh my yum! and I am addicted!
• Falafel, another Isa recipe. It was my first try making homemade falafel.   They were great - but seriously I think I would eat anything chickpea based - addicting!
• Gala Apple Salad with Shittake Vinagrette, Feta and Almonds - oh joy!

One fine weekend

Hope all you had a  great mother's day with your kids and/or your momma's. As for this crew we headed to the big city of Milwaukee for some friend and family face time.


Even though hubby and I both grew up in the Mil, we acted like complete tourists this weekend and found out that our city has changed since we lived there.  Like the public market that now stands where the distributor buildings, and all their chaos, use to be is now filled with lovely shops and yummy eateries. 

On Friday our dear friends took hubby and I out for dinner.  Their awesome kids (teenagers now) volunteered to entertain our kids at their house and throw a pizza and dance party.  The kiddos thought they were so awesome.

 We spent Saturday in a small suburb.  The small surrounding towns have stepped it up a notch and added beautiful walkways and revitalized their Main Streets.  Now there are quaint antique shops, retro cafes, artist galleries, and cute little cupcake, coffee and chocolate shops.  Yum!  We did a little shopping and a bit of tasting.  Best of all their farmer's market runs adjacent to this active little river. So beautiful.

But the high point of the trip was a stop at this well known place.  Yes.  For reals.

I know for many of you it's an everyday stop.  But for me, the nearest one is two hours away.  And never seems to be high on the agenda when we usually make trips down to see friends and family.  So it was one of my Mother's Day wishes to add it to the itinerary! My very first visit!  I KNOW! I can hear your collective gasps of shock.

Just as I suspected the salad and food bar's were aMAzing!  I nabbed a bit of this while we were there...sooo good! I could eat there every day!  So many options and variations to put together. Wow!

Also scored a bit of this that I've seen bloggers raving about...also a thumbs up, although hubby didn't appreciate it much..he thought it tasted like grass, lol!  I told him it must be the hibiscus, ha!

My exhilaration must have been contagious, 'cause soon hubby was also mesmerized.  He joined me in filling our basket with all kinds of elusive goodies to try out.  He even started strategizing how we could incorporate stops here just so we could hit up the food bars.  Yay!

It was a good weekend.  Before heading home we had to stop at the old renovated water pump station alongside the lakefront, aka Alterra, for some much needed caffeine sipping by the water.  It was a gorgeous day, so we let the kids kick off their shoes and play catch me if you can with the waves.

Oh yes, a happy mother's day weekend indeed.