This Week’s Top Five {Giveaway}

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{1} Dates with old friends

A doctor friend from Buffalo came into the city for an interview so we gave him the quick New York experience – hand-pulled noodles from Xi’an Famous Foods eaten picnic-style in Bryant Park.

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I got the spicy hot oil noodles, extra spicy, and they were brutal and delicious.  Then we walked 10 blocks down to The Ginger Man to drink all of the beers.

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The Ninkasi Noir was the best, a super roasty coffee milk stout.  We also had mead!

My bff from 2nd grade lives here in Brooklyn, and this week her mom (aka my part-time mom my whole childhood) was visiting.

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Not only did I get to catch up with good people, we ate delicious bibimbap.

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We went to Dobeki, a Korean bbq spot in Williamsburg.

{2} Yogurt bowls

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Pumpkin featured heavily, of course.

{3} Taco salad

We made homemade Chipotle bowls.  Not to worry though, we also ate Chipotle!

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Sweet romaine base + sauteed onions and peppers + ground turkey sauteed with shallots, garlic, lime, and spices + cheese and sour cream.  Plus an assortment of pumpkin flavored beverages.

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They were very good!

{4} Nonni’s new seasonal biscotti

Nonni’s sent me a very exciting box, featuring their (new)holiday biscotti flavors.

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Please note: I was given these samples, plus another set of samples for a lucky reader, free of charge to review.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

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New Seasonal Flavors:

  • Nonni’s Caramel Apple Biscotti are made with delicious apples, a blend of brown sugar and cinnamon, filled with caramel and delicately dipped in gourmet white icing.
  • Nonni’s Cranberry Cioccolati are made with sweet cranberries and delicately dipped in rich dark chocolate.

Seasonal Returning Favorites:

  • Nonni’s Pumpkin Spice Biscotti are made with real pumpkin, a blend of robust spices and delicately dipped in gourmet cinnamon icing.
  • Nonni’s Gingerbread Biscotti are made with real molasses, premium spices and delicately dipped in white icing.

I had Caramel Apple with an iced white chocolate coffee.

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Pumpkin Spice with pumpkin applesauce and an iced coffee.  <– I realize a pumpkin spice latte would have been on theme here but I’ve finally accepted that I think PSLs are disgusting.

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Gingerbread with a maple latte.

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And Cranberry Cioccolati with a hot chocolate.

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I loooooooooved them.  I’ve sampled Nonni’s stuff in the past and they really make the best biscotti I’ve ever had.  The texture is perfect, I am always expecting crumbly and hard and am pleasantly surprised by how easy they are to bite into.  I don’t think I could identify pumpkin and gingerbread in a blind taste-test, but they were yummy regardless and I was glad that they weren’t overly spicy.  The caramel apple was my favorite, it had pockets of chewy apple bits and caramel!  The icing on all of them was great, not too sweet and a nice complement to the rest of the bar.

{5} A giveaway!

Nonni’s said I could share the love with you guys.  One lucky (USA-based) reader will receive a box with all four holiday flavors.  To enter to win – simply leave a comment on this post telling me which flavor you are most interested in.  Comments must be received by midnight on Tuesday, October 27th.

***Update – Annamarie won the giveaway.  She has already been contacted.  Better luck next time 🙂

Last Week/End’s Best Eats {Pumpkin Beer Galore}

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I have just not had the blogging bug lately.  I’ve been eating yummy foods (duh!) and making some great new recipes but recently I have not been able to make myself sit down and write.  This week I have a Redux post due so you’ll be hearing from me at least once.  And below is a quick round-up of the very best bites from last week…

Pumpkin beers.

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I totally get why Kath is obsessed with Schlafly, it’s amazing.  The Leaf Pile was pretty fantastic too.

Yogurt bowls.

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More pumpkin.  That orange thing that looks like a mini pumpkin is a persimmon.

Lobster rolls.

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Luke’s never fails.  I took a girlfriend for her very first cold lobster roll and it was love at first bite.

Brooklyn Bagel.

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Coconut bagel with pumpkin cream cheese.

Pizza.

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TJ’s whole wheat crust topped with bbq sauce, tons of sautéed onions and mushrooms, and two kinds of mozzarella.

Tamarind candy from home.

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Perfectly sweet and sour.  When I was a little girl I rode horses and we could pick tamarind pods from our saddles and snack our way through Pony Club so the flavor makes me very nostalgic.

Brunch at Thirsty Koala.

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Australian coffee = an iced latte with a scoop of ice cream.  I also got a stack of Jaffles.

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“The Bergs” had cheddar, manchego, goats cheese, fruit chutney on sourdough.

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Aka an insanely gooey grilled cheese.  Yet another Astoria spot we now love.

It is weird for me to be taciturn, hopefully I’ll have more to say in a few days!

Weekend Wrap-Up

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I know this post is running a bit late but it was a damn good weekend that was worth blogging.  We drank, we brunched, we explored – all of the important stuff!  Here are the highlights…

breakfast

7-11 iced coffee and a protein bar.

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Starbucks iced coffee and a doughnut.

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Doughnut Plant‘s pumpkin doughseed is a plain doughnut with pumpkin cream filling and super spicy cinnamon icing.  It was interesting.

The best breakfast of all was spread out to include some city time.  We got coffee in DUMBO.

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Took the train in to the LES and walked two miles west.

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To the gorgeous Brookfield place.

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Where we headed to famed Black Seed Bagels.

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Poppy with honey butter for me.  It was wildly disappointing – no chew.  But then we spent way too much money on candy at Le District.

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And after a quick train ride we had a great walk back to the car through Cobble Hill.  We got so lucky with the weather.

lunch

Yogurt bowl at work.

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Pumpkin Noosa with a TJ’s pumpkin bar and a snap dragon(!!) apple.

Yogurt bowl at home.

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Plain Fage with maple syrup, red grapes, granola, chia seeds, and maple pumpkin seeds.

The day I skipped the yogurt bowl I went big – lunch at Miriam in Park Slope.

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I had Burekas, or puffed pastry pocket stuffed with feta & olives, served with poached eggs, labneh cheese, Israeli salad and tahini sauce.  Everything was amazing, super fresh and flavorful.  We want to go back for dinner immediately.

With ridiculously giant froyo bowls for dessert.

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All of the toppings.

dinner

{Friday} Dinner appetizer – Kale chips.

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Dinner drink – Rogue Pumpkin Savior, best pumpkin beer so far this season!

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Dinner – roasted veggie fall forest gnome food.

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Browned mushrooms // shredded chicken // turkey bacon // shredded Brussels sprouts // roasted butternut squash // baby spinach // pecans.

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We make some iteration of this dish every fall, it’s one of our favorites.

{Saturday} Dinner appetizer – Shrimp, crab, salmon, and tofu skin fritters from Laverne.

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Dinner drink – yummy root beer beer.

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Dinner – turkey sandwich, red grapes, and fantastic seaweed salad.

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{Sunday} Dinner, drinks, and appetizer were all wrapped up in one – I had beer with chips and dip… while watching bad tv… in bed.  It was fabulous.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

This Week’s Top Five…

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Eats

{1} My coffee combo.

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Grady’s is the best.

{2} This yogurt bowl.

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Siggi’s pumpkin / giant red grapes / TJ’s pumpkin o’s, chia seeds, and maple sea salt pumpkin seeds.  With a persimmon on the side.

{3} An old-school turkey sandwich.  Applegate Farms smoked turkey with mayo, sharp cheddar, and caramelized onions on a brioche bun.

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Plus chips and grapes.

{4} Pumpkin pie smoothie.

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Pumpkin puree, plain Fage, almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup.  We both loved these!

{5} Nacho night.

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Chips with low-fat Mexican cheese blend, roasted broccoli, and ground turkey sautéed with onions and red pepper.

Obsessions

{1} Movie I’m oddly excited for: The Krampus.

I am really not a horror movie girl but something about a Christmas horror movie appeals to me, probably the fact that Adam Scott is in it!

{2} TV show I can’t wait to start: Supernatural.

Season 11 started the same day that season 10 finally released on Netflix so our entire plan for this weekend is season 10.  If we catch up we can watch the latest season as it airs.

{3} TV shows that continue to rock our world: our line up from last year is still solid.

Chicago PD, Rick and Morty, Fresh off the Boat, and The Middle all started off their seasons quite strongly.  We’re also loving Longmire’s Netflix debut.  Rosewood, on the other hand, was un-freaking-watchable.

{4} Book I need to buy: Mindy Kaling’s Why Not Me?

I read Is Everyone Hanging out without Me? in about a day and reread it a day later so I know I’m going to love her newest book.

{5} Song I’m playing on repeat:” Jump Into the Fog” – The Wombats.

Bonus:  I’ve had ODB’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” stuck in my head all week.  <– don’t play it if you’re at work!

Hello, Pumpkin Month!!

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It’s possible that I have a pumpkin purchasing problem…

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Just maybe, though the pumpkin spice chap stick does make it seem pretty likely!  Also I’ve eaten something pumpkin flavored at least once a day for the past four days.  And October First I had something pumpkin at every single meal.

breakfast

Pumpkin spice latte.

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I kind of hated it.  I thought the spice was really overwhelming and I ordered my drink with 1/2 of the flavor pumps (plus an extra espresso shot and caramel drizzle on top) so I can’t even imagine a full-strength PSL.

Iced coffee with chocolate milk.

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With a yummy GoMacro bar.

Pumpkin cheesecake doughnut from Dunkin.

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Yuck city.  These beverages were more my jam.

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Sometimes we get a fountain soda when we go to the store.  Sometimes we got to Starbucks for clover brews.  And some magical days I get diet soda and an iced coffee and basically float through the grocery store in excitement.

Café Grumpy makes us anything but grumpy.

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Adam’s flat white was better than my macchiato, especially once I clumsily oversugared it.

lunch

Chobani Flip with my last orchard apple and a TJ’s pumpkin cereal bar.

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Plus dessert from the giant bag of Russian candies a (now former) coworker delivered me to say thank you for her retirement gift.

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Plus I scarfed roasted broccoli with TJ’s Sriracha ranch the minute I got home because apparently this lunch didn’t fill me up at all.

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The next day I ate practically the same meal and was full all afternoon.

Thank you 14 grams of protein in my Siggi.

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With TJ’s pumpkin o’s and a honeycrisp.

Dinner leftovers – pasta and veggies.  This photo is of Adam’s plate because I ate my (smaller) serving out of the Tupperware.

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With TJ’s chocolate pumpkins for dessert.

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We liked the orange ones and were lukewarm on the rest.  Washed down with an alcoholic root beer that was freaking life changing.

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Best root beer (boozy or not) either of us have ever tasted.

We had a phenomenal brunch at LIC Market.

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I had the duck hash!  Crisp potatoes, red onion, peppers, dried cherries, and pine nuts with two fried eggs.

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I love duck so flipping much.  And this was the best iteration of the meat I’ve had yet.  We gave the meal as a whole a 9.5/10.

We got up and out of the house to make it to brunch crazy early and then we had the entire afternoon for fun stuff, mostly more eating and lots of drinking.  Grand Central Terminal is Adam’s favorite spot in the city so we spent the morning window shopping there while sipping iced coffee with homemade chocolate syrup from Irving Farms.

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Plus Jacques Torres Chocolate handed us samples of fantastic hot chocolate.

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I will be back for a full-size cup once the weather gets a bit colder.

Then we wandered down Lexington Ave to Ginger Man to check out their seventy draft beer options.

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Clearly flights were the only way to go.  Our sour line-up was amazing.  The pub had a great vibe, we will definitely be bringing all city visitors there.

dinner

Pumpkin pasta for the first night of October.

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Rachael Ray’s recipe with whole wheat shells for penne, basil for sage, chicken breakfast sausage for sweet Italian sausage, and swiss/gruyere for parmesan.

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It was tasty, even the dog got a little bowl with extra pumpkin puree.

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The humans had roasted veggies on the side.

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Trader Joe’s seasoned brussels sprouts and broccoli and cauliflower with smoked paprika.

We drove to Queens in the rain for dinner at Burnside Biscuit.

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Worth it.  Check how fancy my julep was.

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Dinner was pimento mac and cheese with a side of shaved collards.

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We went to Gossip Coffee for a “nightcap.”

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Gorgeous space serving delicious, roasty cold-brew.  And they had rice pudding.

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We shared Oreo and cheesecake, both of which were fantastic.

Crab fried rice.

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Yum!  Adam would say that stir-frying is the cooking technique I’m best at.  This dish was wonderful.  Leftover brown jasmine rice with garlic, ginger, rice vinegar and fish sauce / peas, mini heirloom tomatoes, sweet red pepper, onion, and basil / eggs and canned crab meat.

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This was the first time I’ve used tomato or basil in fried rice at home and both were welcome additions.

Burger night to finish the weekend.

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Spinach salad with Sriracha ranch, maple rosemary roasted sunflower seeds, and roasted baby zucchini.

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Turkey burgers on TJ’s brioche buns with mayo, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and tons of caramelized onions.

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These were the best burgers I’ve ever made/eaten.  The crunchy bacon and sweet onions totally made this.  We got our pumpkin in for dessert.

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Pumpkin pie and cookies and cream yogurt with Nutella, sprinkles, and chocolate candy toppings.  A sweet way to end the weekend.

Are you going ga-ga orange gourd this month?  Any pumpkin must-haves I haven’t done yet?

Goodbye, Apple Month

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Can you believe that it is already October?!  Time has felt like it is flying ever since we moved back to the city but this year in particular is booking it.  Never mind the fact that I am somehow 30 years old even though I still feel like high school was maybe six years ago tops.

breakfast

I kept this week’s coffee combo simple –

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I wanted to be able to get a good feel for this stuff –

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This was the perfect month to review* Rigoni di Asiago’s Dolcedì sweetener because it is made of apples!  10 kilograms of organic apples go into 1 kilogram of Dolcedì.

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The liquid sweetener is USDA certified organic, gluten-free, vegan, and kosher, and can be used in the same ways you would use table sugar (1 teaspoon of Dolcedì would substitute for 1 teaspoon of sugar, a 1:1 ratio) in hot and cold drinks.  It has 15 calories per Tbsp (table sugar has 15 per teaspoon).  You can also use it in baking but I haven’t tried that yet.

The liquid is sweet but flavorless so it really doesn’t alter the taste of your drink – unlike honey and agave – and I found that it quickly dissolved completely into solution in my iced coffee.  I don’t typically sweeten my drinks but when I do I would definitely use the Dolcedì again in the future.

Along with my sweetened coffees I had bars

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and orchard apples.

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We were not impressed with the scant variety available for apple picking but these ended up being some of the best apples any of the four of us have ever eaten.

lunch

Plain yogurt with blueberries and pomegranate, sea salt caramel apple granola and chia seeds, and an apple on the side.

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Plus I brought in turtle pretzel magic bars for my coworkers and I totally snagged one for after lunch.

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The other days I stuck with THIS for dessert –

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Omg.

Kodiak flapjack on the go and TJ’s freeze-dried Fuji apple slices.

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I hated the pancake cup – it was like choking down raw batter – but those apples are amazing.  I shared a taste with two coworkers who said they were the best they’ve ever had.

Plain Siggi’s with blueberries, strawberry preserves, and caramel apple granola and chia seeds.

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The caramel apple chia combo has rocked my world this month, though I have had to start carrying floss in my purse to deal with errant seeds.

“dinner”

Dinners this week were exceedingly weak.  Apparently our busy weekend of walking wore us out because Adam and I have been unbelievably tired.  Like on Monday we got into bed at 7:30 pm tired.  And then on Tuesday we took a nap before bed.  I guess maybe I do feel thirty!

Monday I ate a Starbucks chicken Santa Fe sandwich on the train.

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It was good, and thank goodness because when I got home I ate this strawberry Cow Tail under the covers.

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Hence “dinners.”

Tuesday I at least legitimately included some vegetables in my snack-based dinner.  Carrots with hummus.

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Several rounds of pretzels with string cheese.

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And roasted green beans.

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This was actually a pretty balanced meal.

And Wednesday I cooked a grown-up dinner.

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Can you call heating up a package of TJ’s Palak Paneer cooking?

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I had to make the brown jasmine rice and roasted zucchini we served it with so I’m counting it.

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With a dollop of goat’s milk yogurt on top.  And my final La Brea Bakery review* on the side – flatbread.

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They were all good but this was our favorite bread so far.  It had that perfect naan texture, fluffy yet chewy.  And the flatbread includes sprouted whole wheat flour (along with white flour) which made the flavor just a bit more interesting.  A+.

P.S. Now it’s October it is finally Pumpkin Month!!!

*These products were provided to me free of charge to review.  I was not provided any additional compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Apple Month Warmth

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Adam and I are trying to use every last bit of warmth from the summer and we spent the weekend doing city things and walking our hearts out.  Also eating dessert daily, a habit that we reeeeally need to put the kibosh on once we’re hibernating through winter.

Saturday we took the train into the city and walked 30+ blocks up through Central Park.

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We went to a few spots in the park that we hadn’t ever seen before, which was fun.  But the way back to the train we did take the straight route down Lexington/Madison Ave because Central Park’s “Ramble” is very fittingly named.

Sunday we were even further north – The Bronx Zoo.

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That’s a carousal selfie.  We were there from 10 – 4, whew!

breakfast

Giant coffee from 7-11 with Almond Joy creamer.

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The weird photo angle is because my entire desk was papered in protected health information.  Last week was crazy busy at work.  On Thursday I didn’t get more than 5 feet away from my desk until 4:30 pm.

Pb&j with green beans and apple slices.

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With cold brew from Caffeino, a cute coffee spot in Astoria.

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The coffee was roasty and smooth and the shop is right along the drive to our train so you’ll definitely be seeing that cup again.

Cold brew with chocolate milk.

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Meh, to both parts.

lunch

Packed lunch for work.  Chobani cinnamon pear yogurt with pomegranate seeds and Heritage Flakes.

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Plus an apple that I picked myself!  Our orchard haul has been quite tasty.  The yogurt was only ok though, not a flavor I would buy again.

Packed lunch for the zoo.  Turkey sandwiches with carrots and applesauce.

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Plus we bought iced coffee, of course.

A trip to Bluestone Lane’s Upper East Side location – an Austrian coffee spot housed in a gorgeous church.

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We got a flat white and an Aussie iced coffee and both were thick and creamy and amazing.

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And split an avocado smash.

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Yum.  Amazingly, this was the first time either of us had tried avocado toast.

Dessert was a mini sundae from Sprinkles.

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Salted caramel ice cream and marshmallow chocolate cupcake.

dinner

Roasted green beans and French bread baked with Smart Balance and light sharp cheddar.

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Plus the last of the Coco SuperSeedz.

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I wasn’t super hungry because I went to Four &Twenty Blackbirds with a friend after work.

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Salted caramel apple!  With espressos that we were less impressed with than the pie.

Saturday night I made a frittata from Cooking Light.

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It took forever because I added a million vegetables to it and I snacked while I cooked.

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40 minutes later (the directions said 10 minutes!)…

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Frittata stuffed with roasted zucchini, arugula, and browned mushrooms and topped with swiss and gruyere cheese and mini heirloom tomatoes.

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Plus arugula salad dressed in honey, evoo, and lavender salt, with sharp cheddar, pecans, and pomegranate.

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I burnt the bottom of the pie but at least after some careful trimming it was still delicious.

Sunday night we ate Chipotle bowls which I forgot to take a picture of but you’ve seen an embarrassing amount of time before.  With apple ciders.

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And unseasonable froyo.

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Pumpkin pie yogurt with Nutella and crunchy chocolate things.  I think I’m ready for October, cold and all!

Breaking Bread

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I didn’t do a very good job of making real meals this week, and I did an even worse job of photographing the junk I did eat, so this post doesn’t have much meat to it.  <– that’s a food blog pun!  I did receive a very exciting package of product samples that I need to gush about.  Apparently man can live on bread alone…

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La Brea Bakery opened in LA 26 years ago offering six artisanal hearth-baked breads – Sourdough Baguette, Country White Sourdough, Whole Wheat, Normandy Rye, Olive, Rosemary Olive Oil.  In the years since they’ve won numerous awards, opened locations all around the world, and expanded their product line to include a variety of granola and breads (jalopeño cheddar loaf! raisin pecan loaf! garlic naan flatbread!).

I was sent some samples from their Take & Bake line – par-baked breads that you finish in your oven at home.  They are available at grocery stores around the US.  The breads take about 20 minutes to finish baking, and you are supposed to let them cool for 30 minutes before serving, but the whole process is very easy and hands-off.  We put our loaves on a piece of parchment paper right on the oven rack.

I was sent the Plain Naan Flatbread which we have not tried yet.  The flatbreads are kosher and are partially made with whole-wheat flour.

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It is on the meal plan (ha!) for next week so I’ll let you know what we think then.

The French Baguette.  The texture of this bread did not seem to be negatively affected by the freezing at all, the crust was crispy with just enough chew.

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I ate my slices warm from the oven next to a Chipotle salad because I’m fancy like that.

And the Ciabatta Loaf.  This was just fluffy enough to be perfect for toasted cheese sandwiches.

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With smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, and strawberry jam.

All in all we really enjoyed the two loaves we’ve tried so far.  They have a delectable taste and texture and the short ingredient lists make me happy.  We would definitely consider purchasing these on our own.

Please note – I received the bread products free of charge to review.  I was not provided additional compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.