Dinner And Dialogue At An Urban Farm #BlogHerFood

Way back in June when I was in Austin for BlogHer Food, I was invited to a private dinner at Springdale Farm hosted by the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.  Springdale Farm is a family operated urban farm located 3 miles from the State capital in Austin, TX.  Our dinner was as fresh as they come, farm to table --- picked just a few hours before we sat down to eat.  Glenn Foore, owner and farmer of Springdale Farm gave us a tour and discussed why he has committed to growing produce and creating a sustainable future for his family and community.

Celebrity Chef Danny Boome led the discussion on factory vs. family farming, genetically modified crops, animal welfare and the use of pesticides and fertilizers.  We got to dine and discuss these hot topics with farmers, cattle ranchers and CommonGround volunteers.

Owner and farmer of Springdale Farm, Glenn Foore

That's asparagus!  I know, right?

Chef Danny Boome

I happened to look up as I was going in for my first bite and saw someone on the farm staff pick fresh greens and it hit me.  My salad was literally farm to table fresh.

Tomato Gazpacho - loved it!

Sweet Potato Salad - this was phenomenal.  I could not get enough!

So bummed I can't remember what this was... (Could it be collard greens?)

Pork and beef tenderloin.  I can't tell you how simple yet sophisticated the preparation and flavors were, you had to be there.  So delicate and moist.  Mmm!!!

Strawberry Spoon Cake - this was phenomenal too, it came out warm and perfect in every way.  I cleaned up the dish with no shame whatsoever.


I wanted to add that Chris and I are like the majority of the US population.  We enjoy fast food, make semi-homemade meals and eat out at restaurants....  Yes we care about our health and the future of our children - we do our part to learn more but shouldn't be faulted for our food choices.  It is a complete lifestyle change and we aren't committed to making those changes right now so please respect our family on my blog.  With that said, I really enjoyed talking with ranchers and farmers about food.  If I had the time and money, I'm positive we would eat sustainable food everyday.    

The closest urban farm and restaurant for us is Park Ave. Dining in Stanton.  It is one of my absolute favorite restaurants.  Do you know where your local urban farm is?

You can follow the conversation about how food is grown and raised at fooddialogues.com

$10 Meal In My New Ninja Kitchen Cooking System

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.  All thoughts are my own.


To break in my brand spanking new Ninja Kitchen Cooking System I gave myself an initial budget of $10.  I am crazy busy these days and making a good home cooked meal is still a priority.  I roamed the aisles of Walmart for inspiration and finally decided on beef stew meat (1 lb. package for $4).  I honestly didn't know what to pair it with because I didn't want to make the usual beef stew.  I wanted something flavorful and different.  I went for Oikos Greek Yogurt Dips (French Onion $3).  And it had to have potatoes but I wanted special occasion potatoes - you know, the type of potatoes you splurge on!  I was able to find Melissa's Produce Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes ($3)!

This is what you do, turn your cooking system on Stovetop High - add a pound of beef stew meat and a cup of Oikos Greek Yogurt Dip, cover and let cook for about 20 minutes, stir a couple times to even the meat out.  Change your cooking system to Slow Cook High - add half a bag of baby dutch yellow potatoes and cook for 2 hours.  It was yummy.  The only thing I would've done different is served it on top of rice and maybe added fresh chives.  THREE INGREDIENTS and done in 2+ hours!

I especially love my Ninja during Summer - it generates no outside heat and it is so easy to clean.  I've used it already 6 times and it is safe to say that I absolutely love it.  LOVE.

It Happened To Me: I Got On The #ATXPartyPlane

I'm always a couple hours early for a flight.  I do this for a few reasons but mainly because the security line can be a cold bitch.  Once I get past her, I like to get settled in a chair at my gate and just people watch.  I was half awake, looking at my phone at 6am when I saw actor Wilson Cruz scope out a chair and plop his butt down 20 feet across from me.  I figured cool, he's on my flight.  And about 10 minutes later, I saw a camera crew and more celebrities.  I'm extremely bad with names and faces.  Beyonce could be sitting next to me and I would be oblivious.  I had to imdb Wilson Cruz.  

All I knew was that I'd seen some of them on my tv over the years.  There was excitement and confusion.  Excitement with them.  Confusion between us.  I asked the guy next to me what was going on - he said he didn't know.  The man with two kids across us asked what was going on - we told him we didn't know.  All these 90s tv stars.  Was I on an episode of Punk'd?  What was going down?  I tweeted and a friend replied that I must be on the #ATXPartyPlane.  The what?  All of a sudden I was excited.  I was excited to be heading to Austin for BlogHer Food but now was extra special - like hitting the content lottery.  What could possibly happen on this flight!?!

When it was time to board, if you know how Southwest works - when you check-in online or at the airport, you are put in groups A-C and numerically 1-60.  I was group B so when group A was called, I just went to hang out in front.  Lacey Chabert was next to me and I dorked out and asked her, "Hey you were in Mean Girls" and we had an awkward conversation but she was super nice.  She totally could've boarded earlier but a lot of the celebrities waited till their group and number boarded.  I walked on and was handed a Southwest Live at 35 water bottle.  When I found a seat, I found a sleeping mask and Kind bar inside the water bottle.  One of my row mates was a writer and the other a musician.  The writer was going to the ATX Television Festival and had no idea she would get on our special plane either.  She was loving the whole experience.  When we were in the air and situated at cruising altitude, someone from Southwest announced 75% of the plane was en-route to ATX Television Festival and the rest of us just got lucky.  She promised there would be a Live at 35 performance by Teddy Geiger.  We were served nuts by actresses Arielle Kebbel from Vampire Diaries and Lacey Chabert of Party of Five.  And then the actor in front of us decided to turn around and have a full on conversation with my row.  Lucas Neff from Raising Hope.  And then he spilled ginger ale on my foot, my bag and the writer beside me's foot.  It was funny and awkward, he offered to wipe us down, I said no but I think Abby (the writer) might have wanted it.  So yeah...  

And then this filming happened.  You can see me at :14 and :34 trying hard not to be in the shot.  Ha!


I wish I was better with names and faces because Quinn and James Novak from Scandal were on the flight!  FAIL!  Because I felt weird by taking pictures of celebrities I didn't know - I found these fun links to show you what went down on the ATX Party Plane!
Season 2: ATX & Southwest Party Plane
Welcome Aboard the Party Plane!

Judge Me By My Fresh Business Cards From Minted

Business cards are serious business.  I'm not going to lie, I totally judge people by their business cards - it is a representation of who they are.  I'm only kidding, I won't judge you!!!  I do love a good business card though.  They get priority seating in my collection!  Minted has been on my radar because they have the freshest designs by indie-designers!  When you choose to personalize a design, it displays the designer's information and other designs made exclusively for Minted.  Personalizing was EASY!  I just chose the design I wanted, quantity, paper and clicked personalize --- then you click on the text to change your greeting, font, color and size!  If I can do it, you can do it.  There is also an option to upload your own image.

By shopping at Minted, you support independent designers.  Designers submit and collaborate, you vote, and Minted sells the winning designs.  There are 43 countries represented in Minted's designer community.  6% of net sales goes directly to the designers.  Minted offers 230 business card designs and I would take all of them if I could.  I had a hard time choosing my favorites and still second guessing myself!  Help me choose my next business card for when I attend BlogHer Food in June!          

Just For Entertainment by Lehan Veenker

Vintage Massage by Aspacia Henspetter

Friendly Type by Jana Volfova

I chose to customize the Vintage Streamer design by Wondercloud Design.  What do you think?  I love it!

Disclosure:  I am receiving business cards from Minted in exchange for this post.  All thoughts are my own and not influenced by Minted.