2011 May 01

Saturday started off a bit groggily thanks to only 2 hours of slumber from the super fun royal wedding celebration day.

But, it also started off with total deliciousness thanks to brunch at the Flying Biscuit.

Hubby and I decided to try the brie appetizer.

It wasn’t exactly what I expected. I’ve had brie wrapped in puff pastry and baked before, but this one was doused with a sweet, creamy sauce and topped with raspberry sauce and peaches. It was pretty good, but I like my pastry flaky and dry. It’s a texture thing.

Hubby and I also split the High Flyer breakfast. Can you believe this photo shows a half portion!?

After brunch, hubby and I swung by the farmers market. We decided to not get any veggies since I’m going out of town this coming week, but I did pick up one thing – a sweet banana pepper seedling!

We have one square left in our square foot garden, and this banana pepper will fit perfectly.

We also took a moment to talk to our vendor about possibly signing up for a CSA. I’ve never done a CSA before, but I have done the home-delivery of organic produce. We did ok with the delivery, but it was sometimes challenging cooking with the veggies we were less familiar with or cooking them at all during our busiest weeks. Of course, I also actually liked the challenge of cooking with unfamiliar ingredients and having a reason to eat in. So, we’re still thinking about the CSA.

I planted the seedling as soon as I got home.

And while I was in the garden, I plucked some swiss chard leaves for lunch.

We don’t have much in the fridge right now, so I just pan-fried some Canadian bacon, re-baked a rye bagel, and sauteed the swiss chard.

Have you ever had garden-fresh swiss chard? It’s unbelievable! Try it!

After running some errands in house, it was time to get ready for a couple special events!

Reader question: What do you think about CSAs? Any tips or words of advice?

{ 19 comments }

Ok, so we didn’t have a royal-themed brunch after our very-royal slumber party, but we did continue the festivities (and enjoying our day off) with a lovely brunch al fresco.

We hit up Cafe Monte, a local French restaurant. I know, I know…what’s up with me and the French stuff when we’re celebrating the royal wedding, but it’s just where we felt like going.

The weather was perfect for outdoor eating.

We started with a cheese platter. This is actually the first time I’ve ordered a cheese platter at a restaurant. I never order these because as a general guideline when eating at restaurants, I try to order things that I can’t make at home. I feel like anyone can cut a few slices of cheese and stick it on a plate. But, today, with hardly any plans for the rest of the day, we felt like snacking and taking our time. And cheese, especially at a French restaurant, sounded good.

I was glad we did end up ordering that cheese platter.

The plate had:

French baguette
grapes
candied walnuts
gouda
brie
a sweet walnut cheese
and another creamy cheese – not sure what it was

Everything was delicious. And what I learned was…although you can make a cheese platter at home, sometimes it’s worth ordering something so simple to learn about new cheeses you like or even just to enjoy the flavors with friends at a special brunch.

I also learned that the best way to eat the walnut cheese was to place some of the cheese on a piece of baguette and top it with a piece of candied walnut. Yum!

Since we were at a French restaurant, I decided to order the French onion soup.

As expected, it was really tasty.

And Erica and I split the French dip. I loved the real roasted beef (not deli meat) and the gooey cheese on top. The pommes frite were pretty tasty, too.

My dessert – a cafe au lait. Perfection in the form of frothed milk. It was so nice sitting back, enjoying the weather and the company, and just relaxing.

And before I move on, I must mention that the service at Cafe Monte was impeccable. Definitely go there if you want to be taken care of well.