this past week we took a trip up to beautiful san antonio- and we're officially in love! the city is architecturally interesting and historically rich like new york city, but quainter, with charm more reminiscent of new orleans. however instead of the french-quarter style the city is accented with a mexican-texan blend, and a very friendly population. it's difficult to explain, but SO cool. we're already trying to come up with a reason to move a few hours north.

we spent a few days wandering around the riverwalk (awesome!), and meandered over to the alamo. first off, dont ask me why but i always kind of assumed the alamo was out in a field somewhere... a bit like the grand canyon or hoover dam or yosemite national park where you have to drive out into the middle of nowhere to see these great landmarks.

it's totally not.

this priceless piece of american history is just chilling out in the middle of the city across from a 'ripley's believe it or not' museum, next to the post office in an area appropriately dubbed the "alamo plaza." crazy, but awesome right? people running errands or walking to work or lunch just pass on by it each day.

now i must admit, normally i don't get real jazzed over touring historical monuments. however, after living on the border for about a year, seeing the site where texans fought for independence from mexico was really powerful, and helps lend some historical perspective to the cultural influences of the rio grande valley. as i told j, while i know texas has been claimed by the united states for quite some time now, it still feels a bit like the portion from san antonio on south is culturally up for grabs between america and mexico.

what i loved so much about san antonio is that it seems to be the best blend of both worlds.

^ we stumbled across priests at saint fernado having their photos taken. this has to be good luck or something, right?

^ this is an epically long story but we found some hand-painted pottery for my mom.

^ we took an afternoon to stroll through la villita, a historical arts village chock full of little folksy shops, a couple churches and restaurants.

^ sip was just a block away from our hotel and already feels like our regular coffee shop. they make a soy chai latte that is damn impressive (starbucks better watch it!)

^ i have been searching for one of these blankets for months, and found these super cheap. trip made!

j enjoying his coffee in his new hoodie. i think he enjoyed being incognitio for a few days.

^ our first meal was at an irish pub on the riverwalk called "durty nellys". j was drawn to it wondering if it was anything like his favorite college hangout by the same name, we ran into an irish tourist and talked to her a little about my family's history in county clare. she asked where in clare...i had no idea. but it was still cool.

^ we couldn't have asked for a better location for our hotel. right on the riverwalk a block from a couple coffee shops.

^ water taxis on the riverwalk. we spent pretty much two full days just wandering up and down it, working up appetites for the restaurants we passed.

we'll be back san antonio!

-l
made to border

ever since we discovered our local breadsmith carries pre-made pizza dough, it's been appearing pretty regularly on our weekly menu. i was psyched to discover that the dough can be used for more than just pizza! these knots are a perfect side to salads, pasta, etc.

| ingredients |

1 pound refrigerated store-made pizza dough
1 large garlic clove (can sub garlic powder)
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated

| method |

mince a large clove of garlic and place in a small bowl. add salt and mash into garlic. add the olive oil, stir and set aside. finely chop the parsley and grate the parmesan. combine in another small bowl and set aside.

preheat oven to 400 ° F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

place dough on a floured cutting board. lightly flour the top of the dough and roll out into a 10-inch by 10-inch square. using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough in half down the middle. starting 2 inches from the top, cut from side to side. make another cut from side to side 2 inches below that. continue until you have 10 pieces that are 5 inches x 2 inches.

lightly flour an area on your work surface and with each piece lightly dip both sides of the dough into the flour and then tie into a knot, stretching and you tie and tightening lightly. (if your pieces look too stubby you can roll them out a little more individually before tying.) place your knots on the prepared baking sheet and continue until you have made all your knots.

bake for 18-20 minutes, or until very browned and hollow sounding when tapped. remove from oven and immediately brush with garlic oil and sprinkle with the parmesan/parsley mixture.

*knots can be made ahead and re-heated by placing in a 400° oven for 4 or 5 minutes.

-l
made to border