Fun in Houston

Eden's Mamere and Pawpaw kept her last weekend and Thomas and I got farther out of East Texas than we had since Eden's birth- a whole 2.5 hours! It was a weekend all about food and shopping. We hit up Ikea, the Galleria, and Central Market; fueling ourselves in between at Nikko Nikko's (greek), some organic coffee shop place on Westheimer, Indonesia Grill, and La Madeline's. We even managed to get in a little education at the Natural Museum of Science where there was an exhibit on the Jewish roots of Christianity. It focused on providing context for the culture that was just before, during and after Jesus' time in and around Jerusalem. This was the most important time we shared together. Thomas is getting more and more serious about pursuing further education and possibly teaching old testament history. It's really important for me to share in that part of his life and I have a LOT of catching up to do. We had tons of fun with him playing teacher and me student (as always :) ).


Central Market provided wonderful treats for us foodies. Here's a list of some of our spoils:
* Gorgonzola Raviola
* Gnocchi (which Kroger in Nac is actually carrying now)
* Lemon artichoke pesto - used on the gnocchi
* Raw Hazelnuts
* Ciao Bella Bacio Gelato - a favorite memory from Italy, this is seriously the best ice cream ever
* Edamame
* Frozen cubed sweet potatos
* Naan
* Korma and Tikka Masala Sauces
* Five Spice Powder and Garam Masala Spice
* Peach Amaretto Jam - already used to make Jam Cookies - see picture above
* Blood Orange Juice - another favorite of ours from our Italy trip
* Black Pepper and some kind of aged cheddar - both fantastic
* Golden raspberries - same flavor but less tart- awesome

So I used the lemon artichoke pesto and gnocchi last night for a quick, delicious dinner. I cooked a few chicken tenders in a skillet with the fantastic Pecan Oil Thomas got me for Valentine's Day, and then sliced them into smaller pieces. I cooked the gnocchi in boiling water, removed them - reserving the water and adding to it asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces. Everything went into a big bowl and was tossed with the pesto and was served with a salad.