I was a bit under the weather last week, nothing too bad, mostly a lot of coughing and headaches, but I just didn’t have it in me on Thursday to blog a recap.  I was not too sick, however, to eat a bunch of yummy stuff that’s worth sharing.  Last Monday through Sunday, here are the highlights*…

*highlights within the highlights, I obviously drank more coffee than this

coffee

Caramel-flavored Chameleon Cold Brew!  With half & half.  I adore CCB, it’s so smooth.

Served one day with citrus seltzer and a sumo mandarin.

This wins for my all-time preferred citrus, it is sweet and firm, and there are seeds but they are big enough to pop out easily.

oatmeal

In homemade instant bowls for work (just add hot water!).

Rolled oats, chia seeds, dry milk powder, freeze-dried raspberries, and toasted walnuts.

And smoothies.

Vanilla almond milk + chia seeds + oats + frozen banana + brown sugar + cocoa powder.

old-school-style cafeteria lunches

Sliced turkey and cheese with a less than healthy “veggie” side.

My school didn’t actually have a cafeteria (I graduated in a class of <40 and we had iguanas running the halls) but this is how I imagined the lunches would have been.

pepperoni-ish pizza

Oh. My. God.  We sliced up a TJ’s turkey summer sausage and put it on the best homemade pizza we’ve ever had.

Usually I try to overdo it with pizza – lots of veggies, too much cheese – and the crust ends up soggy, but this was a crispy masterpiece.  With a simple side salad.

sugar

Haribo salty licorice.

Cake pop flavored gum.  There are sprinkles in it!

We finished this month’s Skoshbox the day it came.

Tj’s dark chocolate mini cookies.

These hearts were way better than I was expecting; usually I don’t buy boxed cookies because I’m a pretty great cookie baker myself but there is no way I could make chocolate shortbread this crunchy.

fancy booze in Brooklyn

Adam met me after work for a fantastic Friday night date in Boerum Hill.  We started at Grand Army for cocktail hour.

My Alabaster Cavern – blended scotch, Lustau East India Solera, cinnamon, lime, coconut, pineapple, and bitters – tasted like a fancy painkiller.  We liked the space and the vibe (they have a penciled drawing of ET as Mr. T on the wall) and will definitely be back.

The drink menu at Colonie was no slouch either.  My Empire State Sour was American whiskey, NY apples, lemon, egg white, baked apple bitters, and cinnamon.

Best drink of 2016.  That line of cinnamon stayed in place on top of the egg foam and made every sip smell delectable.

We shared two wonderful, duck-based dishes. Cavatelli with duck ham, béchamel, and soldier beans.

And wheatberries, mushrooms, and arugula with a duck egg on top.

I know the pictures are hard to see, but those black bits?  Were crispy mushrooms.  I don’t know how to describe the flavor (truffle? earthy?) but they were the single best thing I’ve ever tasted.

dinner bowls

I did not watch the game yesterday, but I have been eating some delicious bowls of dinner.  All but one include broccoli because apparently it’s our favorite.

We made a variation of our black-eyed pea mix.  Roasted broccoli, edamame, gochujang, smoked almonds, and cheddar.

A super bowl on Sunday.  Orecchiette with roasted mushroom and baby zucchini, tossed with browned butter and Italian four cheese blend, topped with a sprinkle of smoked paprika.  Served on a bed of roasted green beans.

Best bowl of the week – farro with ginger, garlic, lemon, gochujang, evoo, and salt and pepper / mackerel with stone ground mustard and a bit of mayo / roasted broccoli / toasted walnuts.

This was technically a lunch bowl.  The cafeteria had a baked potato bar.

I swear there was a potato underneath all of that cheese and broccoli.

dog love

I feel like Webster’s adorable mug hasn’t been on the blog much lately, but I have been snapping pictures of him for Instagram.  These are some of the best ones:

Related – a girlfriend surprised me with this darling dachshund scarf.

Here’s to a great week!