7 For 7

Long time no blog!  Here were 7 highlights from the past 7 days…

{1} This chocolate chip cookie dough chia bar is quite tasty.  With a pinata apple.

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{2} We finally went to Paradox Pastry and now it’s my new favorite place.  The nutella hand pie and birthday cake macaron we shared were out of this world delicious and I wanted to try pretty much every item on the menu.

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{3} We went on a crepe date at The Flat.

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Shredded chicken with brie and local Jams by Daniel.

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The Owl Man = milk chocolate, cinnamon, and marshmallow fluff.

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{4} My mom sent some Rothschild Farms raspberry honey mustard dip in my stocking this year and it’s like snacking on my childhood.  Pretzels for dipping are nonnegotiable but baby carrots aren’t bad either.

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{5} Dinner bowl #1 – Stir-fried cauliflower rice (with soy sauce, rice vinegar, cashews, and eggs) with Trader Joe’s Mandarin orange chicken-less morsels.

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{6} Dinner bowl #2 – Broccoli rice and shredded carrots stir-fried with zhoug sauce // honey garlic chicken thighs – thighs, garlic, honey, and soy sauce put in the crock pot on low for 8 hours // bok choy sauteed in some extra sauce // a fried egg.

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{7} My cousin introduced us to Peter Chang’s.  We had sweet glutinous rice cakes and I had numbing shredded duck.  Szechuan chili is such a fun spice sensation.

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I hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Hot, Hot, Hot

There is no condiment I find as essential as hot sauce (fyi – I normally like to keep an open Cholula in the mix as well!),

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so when Moore’s Marinades offered to send me some samples from their new hot sauce line I jumped at the opportunity.

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We loved them both, even Adam who is a bit heat adverse.  The sauces brought a lot of flavor with the spice.  I prefer a hot sauce that I can take a taste of without running for a glass of milk (think Sriracha in terms of heat intensity).

With the Harissa Hot Sauce I made a smoky harissa turkey chili.

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Ground turkey / olive oil / sweet onion / celery / bell pepper / poblano pepper / salt, pepper, smoked paprika / liquid smoke / harissa hot sauce / white beans / crushed tomato.  Topped with cheddar.

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On the side, I made dumb bread! <– from scratch!

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With the Spicy Mustard Hot Sauce I made hot honey mustard chicken nuggets.

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Homemade baked chicken nuggets (chicken chunks / dipped in flour / then egg / then breadcrumbs) tossed in the tastiest sauce I’ve ever made – honey, spicy mustard hot sauce, mustard, butter.

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Perfect Perfect Bar

Five things from the weekend!

{1} Iced coffee and a mocha chip perfect bar.  <– I am seriously mad at myself that it took me so long to discover how fantastic these bars are!

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{2} Plain Greek yogurt with caramel sauce and candied walnuts.

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{3} Leftover buffalo chicken pasta casserole, smothered in zhoug sauce.

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{4} Whole Foods pizza – bbq chicken and Greek pesto.

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{5} Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter cups are darn good.  I typically don’t like any kind of cups except for Justin’s but I would buy these again.

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Send Nood(le)s

Dinners this week were all about the pastabilities!  <– I’m done now, I swear

Homemade shrimp Pad Thai.

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Buffalo chicken baked pasta.  With ground chicken sauteed with buffalo sauce / riced cauliflower / celery and yellow onion / and sweet red cheddar, smoked cheddar, and blue stilton!

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Pasta pie.  A mix of TJ’s squid ink spaghetti and zucchini noodles baked with parsley, triple cream brie, and eggs, plus some panko on top.

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Snack attack.  The Chobani Gimmies line is still rocking my face off.

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img_3297Do I have enough liquids within reach to get me through dinner prep?  Sadly I found the milk stout to be too sweet for my tastes, but the can was just adorable.

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Thai iced tea win.  The tea drops were super easy/quick to use and the packets of sweetened condensed milk make my heart happy.img_3216img_3226Yogurt with sumo mandarin, honey mango, and candied walnuts.img_3258A “tasting plate” success – chicken nuggets, cheese, and baby carrots.img_3251

 

Double Bacon Cheese Beyond Burgers

My trip home last weekend was perfect and we survived “Winter Storm Gia” this weekend… 2019 is looking like my year.

Highlights from week 2 include…

Iced coffee with black walnut extract and sweet cream creamer.

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Stumptown cold brew coffee box.

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Who knew that Perfect Bars were so freaking delicious?!  This peanut butter chocolate chip one was basically cookie dough.

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Stonyfield chocolate yogurt pouch (7/10), a Kiku apple (8/10), and a chocolate peanut butter filled Clif bar (9.5/10).

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I brought these yummy coconut candies back from St. Thomas.

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Shiner S’more is officially my new favorite beer.

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Guzzled while assembling everything but the kitchen sink cookies with caramel, kettle chips, toffee bits, caramel chips, and chocolate chips.

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This quickie packaged foods dinner was sooo good.  Chicken and cheese pupusas + bbq chicken chips + roasted broccoli + Trader Joe’s Zhoug sauce.

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I have an unhealthy obsession with the “Asian” section of Wegman’s hot bar.

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We made insanely, over-the-top, decadent double cheese burgers with Beyond Burger patties.

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Two patties on a brioche bun with mayo, turkey bacon, and smoked cheddar slices.  Plus kettle chips and veggies from the Whole Foods’ hot bar – curry caulilini and roasted rainbow carrots, mushrooms, and root vegetables.

img_3144Then later in the week we did a similar thing with Boca Chick’n patties.

 

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We made killer sheet pan hash browns.  Potato, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, olive oil, smoked paprika, green onion, turkey bacon, and red, yellow, and orange bell pepper.

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Topped with Zhoug and fried eggs.

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Hello, 2019

Highlights from the new year…

The 454 Horse Power coffee from Kicking Horse is roasty and smooth.

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I bought these Chobani Gimmies products because I’m a marketer’s dream but I ended up being shocked by just how much I loved them.  Marshmallow yogurt!!

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Chewy things.  Cow Tales are one of my favorites and the honey nougat from Trader Joe’s wasn’t bad either.

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This No Resolutions IPA from Bronx Brewery was very on the nose for January 1st drinking.

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We made crock butter butter chicken.  I loosely followed this recipe except that I used chicken thighs, added tomato paste, and used way less butter.  Served on top of a blend of cauliflower rice and broccoli rice.

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We finally tried the Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and now I totally get the hype.  Served with swiss chard, lemon brown butter sauce, and 2 fried eggs on top.

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P.S. I’ll be taking a blog break through the weekend.  My uncle passed away over the holidays and I’m heading home for a few days to be with family.

Goodbye, 2018

We finished out 2018 with some fun – a three-day weekend anniversary trip to NYC!

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Favorite Friday activity = Checking out the holiday decorations at Chelsea Market.

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Favorite Saturday activity = Meeting up with friends for lunch + dinner and a long walk through Brooklyn in between (Park Slope,  Gowanus, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Dumbo).

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Favorite coffee = Birthday cake iced latte at Milk Bar.

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Favorite breakfast = Croissants at Cafe D’Avignon in Dekalb Market Hall.  They are the best in the city and we’re obsessed.  The coffee isn’t bad either.

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Favorite lunch = Ramen at Chuko.  I had the sesame garlic ramen with woodear mushroom, spicy mustard greens, and scallions topped with poached egg, fried tofu, and garlic chili oil.

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Favorite drink = Frozen Painkiller at Ramona.

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Favorite dinner = Oxomoco.  We told the waitress to stop us if ordered too much – she didn’t but I’m not mad!  The tamarind orange margarita was good.

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The Rosita – mezcal, sherry, grapefruit, and hibiscus – was even better.

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The caesar salad with wood fired romaine and cotija masa crunch was the best I’ve ever had.

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Masa fried cauliflower with black mole, butternut squash crema, pepitas, and oregano.

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Charred carrot tamal with green garlic and hoja santa mole.

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Tlayuda Oxomoco – camote, quesillo, pipian, pomegranate, and brown butter. <– Adam’s favorite dish of the night

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Chicken al pastor tacos with grilled pineapple, crispy skin, and salsa morita.

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We powered through two desserts because we knew they’d be amazing.  Oaxacan chocolate cake with coffee ice cream, cajeta, and walnut crumble and black sesame curd with black sesame crumble and pasionfruit raspado. <– my favorite dish of my life

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Hi, 2019!

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2018 Book List

Despite not making any resolutions, 2018 was a really fantastic year for me in accomplishments – I lost a little weight and scored a snazzy new job!  However, on the one goal I did set – read a least 1 book a month – I fell far short.  In New York I did 95% of my reading during my 2 hour+ plus daily commute and since we moved to Charlottesville I have basically stopped reading.  I desperately need to get back on the bookworm train (figuratively at least!).  So I guess for 2019 I will set one resolution: read at least one book per month.

Here were 201720162015, and 2014‘s lists.

And here is 2018 {in chronological order;  F = fiction, NF = nonfiction, and M = memoir} –

  1. Furiously Happy; a funny book about horrible things – Jenny Lawson  (m)
  2. The Children of Willesden Lane; a true story of hope and survival during World War II – Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen  (nf)
  3. Life Sentences – Laura Lippman  (f)
  4. Look at You Now; my journey from shame to strength – Liz Pryor  (m)
  5. Fresh off the Boat – Eddie Huang  (m)
  6. After I’m Gone – Laura Lippman  (f)
  7. The Hue and Cry at Our House; a year remembered – Benjamin Taylor  (m)
  8. An Abbreviated Life – Ariel Leve  (m)
  9. Break in Case of Emergency – Jessica Winter  (f)
  10. One Day We’ll All be Dead and None of This Will Matter – Scaachi Koul  (m)
  11. The Most Dangerous Thing – Laura Lippman  (f)
  12. I’d Know You Anywhere – Laura Lippman  (f)
  13. Uncommon Type, Some Stories – Tom Hanks  (f)
  14. Look for Me – Lisa Gardner  (f)