Palm Seed Fun

by Emily

This post is running a little late because I am too – I have the day off! Working last Sunday earned me a long weekend today. It’s actually an extra-long weekend because I’m off Monday as well, I’m going to Ohio tomorrow to visit my grandma. Today, I’m going to have some fun with Adam and Webster.

Highlights from this week…

I didn’t snap any iced coffee photos this week, but I promise it was consumed in substantial quantities. There’s a chance I stayed up far too late watching Road Rules on YouTube one night. <– not worth the exhaustion, that show spent way more time on relationship drama than I had remembered.

Apple oatmeal, with an Asian pear.

My Filipino coworker brought me in some palm seeds and I bought them to good use. Chia pudding with palm seeds and banana.

Yogurt with palm seeds, Luxardo cherries, Cherrios, and an orange.

Another treat from the Philippines, polvoron, or powdered milk candy. They were fantastic, crumbly and milky in such a pleasing way.

More candy, Justin’s peanut butter cups (I’m still obsessed with these) and a milk popping candy. Sparkling water and diet coke are two of my favorite things and when you drink them together – as in at the same time, not in the same cup – they both taste even better.

Other snacks included apples we picked ourselves.

And the best microwave popcorn we’ve ever popped. This tasted almost as good as stove-popped.

We kept dinners super simple this week. Leftover smoked trout casserole, eaten cold out of the pan.

Salmon salad sandwiches – canned salmon with mayo, mustard, and pickle relish – on toasted TJ’s quinoa bread.

My most complicated night involved potato vareniki which cook in about 5 minutes. Tossed with shredded rotisserie chicken / sautéed celery / garlic kale / and a sauce made of cream cheese and chicken stock.

I’m off to go start my day off!

12Sep2016

Apple Picking Outing

by Emily

I had to go into work on Sunday but Adam and I fit a weekend’s worth of fun into Saturday. We drove two hours upstate to Twin Star Orchards for an afternoon of apple picking.

We did a complimentary cider tasting first. And enjoyed a wood-fired pizza – with fancy mushrooms and truffle oil – for lunch.

We came home with fewer than 10 apples (they actually just let us take our bag for free!) because we don’t have any grand baking plans, but had a great time walking around the orchard.

Date night was a new sushi spot in Great Neck. We split seaweed salad and edamame to start.

I got a meh veggie roll and a fantastic spicy crab roll for dinner.

They were out of the mackerel Adam wanted so they gave us free red bean ice cream with our bill.

New candy bar for dessert.

The popping candy didn’t have much get up and go but the milk flavored cream was very pleasing.

New take on an old casserole. I made smoked trout noodle casserole.

I loosely followed Martha’s recipe for the sauce. With whole-wheat rotini pasta, tons of sautéed mushrooms and chopped celery, smoked trout, and dill and smoked paprika. Topped with smoked gouda and crushed sour cream and onion potato chips.

Served with a new (to us) beer, coconut caramel chocolate brown ale. I don’t usually drink ales but this was unique enough to hold my interest, at least for 3/4 of the bottle.

What’s new with you?

10Sep2016

It’s Apple Month!

by Emily

Can I show off my apple-themed haul?? I’m quite excited about it.

And fittingly, we are driving upstate to go apple picking this afternoon.

So far the gum has been my favorite, though I haven’t tried any of the ciders yet. I went out for drinks with a friend last night and had a regular (red apple) Angry Orchard that was unpleasantly sweet so I’m hoping green apple has some tartness to it.

Apple pie bar and a Gala apple.

Caramel apple bar with green apple sparkling water and some honey peanut butter. With an Asian pear.

Caramel apple pie cheesecake from work.

I did eat a few things that weren’t apple-flavored. Like a giant plate of buffalo chicken pizza! With salads from the Whole Food’s bar, Caesar, kale, and corn.

Blueberry cheesecake smoothie. Frozen berries, vanilla almond milk, cream cheese, and lemon syrup.

Green bean dinner bowl. This turned out way better than I was expecting, especially because the green beans were a bag of fresh beans that got tossed into the freezer last week when they started getting old. They would have been too mushy roasted, but were perfect with an egg on top.

Sautéed green beans tossed with turkey bacon, mustard, and lemon juice // pan toasted whole-wheat panko // fried egg // smoked paprika.

Everyone go eat an apple!

5Sep2016

Semi-Vacation

by Emily

Adam has been on vacation for the past two weeks which means that, even though I’ve been at work most of the days, it feels like I’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks. Nice! Husband time is the best and getting to see him immediately before and after work (versus him going in while I’m asleep and coming home after dinner is made) is better than any white sand beach.

I mostly spent the past week making googly eyes at Adam. But also, per usual, we walked and ate a ton when I wasn’t busy at work. Here were the top ten eats for the week/end…

{1} Caramel coffee at home.

{2} Coconut coffee from Konditori.

{3} Brunch at Colonie. Duck hash for two.

With aioli, a poached egg, and the best fried potatoes.

{4} Drinks at Grand Army.

The best round included this Under the Sea – Batavia Arrak agricole rum, navy-strength rum, absinthe, cinnamon, coconut, lime, and blue curacao.

{5} Fruity beers at home.

We recently discovered that we adore New Belgium and their watermelon lime ale did not disappoint.

{6} Key lime pie.

Adam explored the North Fork one day – and loved it – and brought me home some of the best pie.

{7} Mamey ice cream.

I made a sundae with maple peanut butter, granola, and sprinkles.

{8} Ice cream with apple cider caramel. Ample Hills is celebrating Roald Dahl this month.

Enjoyed September 1st to celebrate the first day of Apple Month.

{9} Buffalo chicken quinoa bowls.

I stirred sautéed onion, carrots, and celery into quinoa and topped it with fancy blue cheese and buffalo chicken dip.

{10} Seafood extravaganza at Littleneck. We shared lobster and crab rolls.

The very best dish of the night was this charred broccolini.

With anchovy, lemon, and chili flakes.

{bonus} Dinner at Oiji. I didn’t take a single picture but Adam and I enjoyed one of our favorite meals of all time there. Among other things, we had a transcendent mushroom salad and honey butter chips that blew our minds.

29Aug2016

Road Trip Adventure

by Emily

Two of our favorite people recently moved out of Brooklyn for Traverse City, MI and our last three days were spent on an epic journey road tripping to their gorgeous wedding. We spent two full days in the car and only one day in Michigan but it was totally worth it to see one of my oldest childhood friends get married.

We were a bit worried about the 30+ hours we had to spend driving but it honestly ended up flying by. We had my fully-stocked i-pod, a funny book on tape, and brand new scenery outside our windows. Plus we are stupid in love with each other and probably could have just talked for 28 hours (I definitely fell asleep towards the end!) and had a good time.

Five out of six meals Friday and Sunday were eaten in our car, mostly junk food. Here were a few of the culinary highpoints…

Apples with peanut butter.

Carrots and dip.

Not one, but two, marshmallow flavored lattes!!

Cola gummies.

This total throwback.

The gas station cashier got such a kick over how excited we were to find Surge. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t taste as good as I thought it did as a kid.

We ate very well in Traverse City too. Breakaway for coffees.

Espresso that actually happened to be roasted in Brooklyn!

Lunch and drinks at Rare Bird Brewery.

Adam and I split macaroni and cheese with roasted duck and salad with roasted beets and spiced pepitas.

The food was good but the drinks were better, I had a locally brewed ale that tasted like key lime pie! Plus an apple sour beer.

Ice cream at Moomers.

White chocolate Oreo and black cherry. We actually had this twice in one day because our friends did an ice cream cake for the wedding.

Late bar food dinner at Workshop Brewery our first night in town.

Nachos with beans and ancho chicken.

I’m off to spend the day with my husband!

26Aug2016

Four Day Week Top Five

by Emily

I’m not at work today! Or tomorrow, or the next day, or the next!! Even better, I get to spend every second of the next four days with my husband, who just came back from a trip out of town.

Nothing is as exciting as this long weekend, but here are five foods from the week that were thrilling in their own right…

{1} Compartés bars. They are crazy expensive but I am completely obsessed.

The Salty Malty bar was one of the best chocolates I’ve ever eaten.

{2} Taco salad.

Romaine, carrots, chopped tomato and onion, corn, cheddar, salsa, sour cream, olives, and hard-boiled eggs.

{3} Junky fast-food style chicken wrap from the cafeteria.

Totally delicious and definitely not nutritious; this is why I mostly pack my lunches for work even though I eat for free in the cafeteria – the salad bar is available but nine times out of ten I’m going to pass it up for something I can eat with fries.

{4} A product review from Sonoma Syrups, whose goods contain no perservatives or artificial flavors or colors. The syrups can be used in alcoholic drinks and baking, but no one is surprised that I tried them out in iced coffee. Sea Salt Caramel isn’t quite as robust as a scoop of dulce de leche, but it definitely made a better coffee than the Starbucks’ caramel macchiato.

The Vanilla Hazelnut was tasty too. A 2 Tbsp serving of the syrups has </100 calories and is strong enough to flavor a 10 ounce cup of dark coffee.

And Meyer Lemon was yummy enough that I didn’t even wish this iced tea was coffee!

Heads up PSL addicts, they do have a pumpkin spice syrup.

{5} Meze meal. I met a girlfriend for drinks and dinner mid-week.

I ordered spanakopita, smoked cremini mushrooms, and hummus with warm chickpeas and hard-boiled eggs. The spanakpita was meh (we both thought it tasted like something you’d buy frozen at Trader Joe’s) but the hummus was great.

Enjoy your weekend!

24Aug2016

Three Day Weekend Staycation

by Emily

Not only was I off last Friday for a three-day weekend, but Adam started a 2-week vacation and was free to hang out with me all three days as well! We had originally thought about taking a trip to Boston but the hotel situation was prohibitively expensive and we live in the best city on Earth so it made more sense to do a staycation instead. Basically we had a three day long date! We walked and ate and repeated until we were sunburnt, stuffed, and smiling.

Friday: we took the train to the new-ish Hudson Yards Station.

Walked around Chelsea and got coffees at the up and coming Chelsea Terminal Warehouse. Walked along the Highline.

Walked through Greenwich Village. Watched the sunset at Chelsea Piers.

Saturday: we drove into Dumbo. Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Took the free ferry to Ikea and spent an hour playing design a dream home (we did not have a couples fight, probably because all we needed to purchase was Swedish gummy candy from the bulk bins).

Spent the afternoon exploring Red Hook.

Sunday: we stopped for coffees in Floral Park. Got brunch in Park Slope. Walked a bit in Carrol Gardens.

Ate nachos in bed and watched NCIS.

I had to be choosy or this post would be ~~too long~~ even longer because we stopped at at least ten different spots for coffees and ice creams alone, but her were were the culinary highlights…

Cold brew from Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Aussie iced coffee from Bluestone Lane.

It was boiling hot all weekend and we drank about a million beverages, including an ultra-hydrating product sample – coconut water from Harmless Harvest.

They sent me some free product coupons and cute cups in exchange for this post.

Harmless Harvest is my favorite coconut water anyway – the company is Fair for Life certified, the flavor is sweet and not “gaggy” like some brands can be, and the bottles are often pink*! – so I happily accepted. *Per the company – “Coconut water is clear when bottled but contains a variety of antioxidants which can turn pink once they interact with sunlight.”

I was told to include a photo of myself enjoying the coconut water and while I tried pick a picture Adam was busy guzzling down my drink, so clearly Harmless Harvest gets a thumbs up from him as well!

Adobo-ritos with chicken and kimchi fried rice from 2nd City. We also had really fantastic calamansi lime jello shots.

Our first time at Dominique Ansel. I thought the pastry was meh but we also tried the burrata soft serve (with balsamic caramel and a macerated strawberry) and it was mind-blowing.

Black sesame cream mochi. We also picked up some cola gummies!

Seafood lunch at Brooklyn Crab. We got beers and view.

Simple but wonderful salad to start, bibb lettuce with sweet and spicy pepitas and a maple goat cheese vinaigrette.

I got a blue crab roll with Old Bay mayo.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie, finally, I have wanted to go here since our original move to Brooklyn.

The swingle – aka key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate! – did not disappoint.

Brunch at Bricolage.

Bloody Mary.

I got the vegetarian crepe with king oyster and maitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, and fried eggs. Served rolled up in lettuce leaves with fresh mint and a spicy sauce.

Coke float soft-serve at Milk Bar.

Only two more days until the next weekend – this one’s going to be a four day doozy!

19Aug2016

Time Crunch

by Emily

Remember when I said seven days of work in a row wouldn’t be too bad? I’m old now. I am tired. I don’t have a ton to share because 2/4 dinners this week were Chipotle. And I only cooked one of the two non-Chipotle nights, the other we walked the dog to get milkshakes and then I got into bed the minute we got home at 7:30, fully dressed.

Coffee, obviously. Starbucks pro tip – order the cold brew “with room, no water” so you can ensure it doesn’t get too diluted behind the counter. I put milk in my coffee anyway so I’d rather temper the concentrate strength myself.

With almonds.

I’m still dying over the Grady’s Cold Brew with fat-free half & half and milk.

My lunches this week were centered around a generous box of freeze-dried fruits samples from Crunchies. The products are vegan, gluten-free, and kosher, and they contain no added sugars or flavorings, just fruits that have undergone a low-pressure drying process. Bonus – Crunchies sources the fruits directly from the farmers who grow them.

the free products were my only compensation for this post, all my own opinions, blah blah

We buy a lot of freeze-dried fruit because Adam often packs it for work so we were excited to try some new options.

Lows – raspberry. Too seedy and sour/bitter. To be fair, I don’t like any of the freeze-dried raspberries I’ve tried and I don’t love fresh raspberries.

High – everything else! These were the best freeze-dried fruits we’ve tasted. The strawberries weren’t too sweet or sour – no mouth pucker, the banana flavor was super strong, the grapes were sweet and a bit chewy, as were the pineapples. 10/10.

I enjoyed the fruits in yogurt bowls for lunch (I took half the bag and Adam took the other half with him). Plain Siggi’s, strawberry banana, Nonni’s dark chocolate banana.

0% Fage, raspberries, pom seeds, maple peanut butter.

Vanilla yogurt, grapes, pom seeds.

2% Fage, pineapple, coconut butter.

And here’s my only dinner photo, turkey and eggs.

Ground turkey sautéed with celery, evoo, tomato paste, Sriracha, brown sugar, and fish sauce. Topped with soft scrambled eggs. I made Adam a similar but less spicy dish for breakfast when he got home from work and he loved it.

Now I have a three-day weekend!

Eating Chalk

Author Archives: Emily

Palm Seed Fun

Apple Picking Outing

It’s Apple Month!

Semi-Vacation

Road Trip Adventure

Four Day Week Top Five

Three Day Weekend Staycation

Time Crunch

the free products were my only compensation for this post, all my own opinions, blah blah