Lobster, And Marrow, And Boba, Oh My!

by Emily

The past three days were the best of 2013, and I have so much to say. We ended every day so exhausted/satisfied/full and blogging just felt like an impossible feat. But how can I not blog two of my favorite meals in Buffalo? I may not get to say as much as I’d like, but at least this post will help put my memories all in one place. If I had to state the theme of this post succinctly, it would be – I really, deeply, emphatically love good food.

This weekend we were lucky enough to have a visit from some of my Maryland family, my aunt and one cousin. They are some of the best people I know and I loved getting to share and explore Buffalo with them.

On the way to the airport, I drank a Zico Chocolate Coconut Water,

and split a Cascadian Farm Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bar with the husband.

When we got home I put out a little meze spread for lunch.

Cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber with pink salt, baby carrots, Wegman’s roasted garlic hummus, and tamari almonds.

My plate, x2:

I also ate the bread ends off of a loaf I sliced up to make Adam a sandwich.

I need to do raw veggie spreads more often; this was a very satisfying lunch.

We took a wander down Elmwood to show the fam where I work and play, and stopped at Ashker’s for wonderfully velvety espresso.

With skim milk and sugar.

Then we were off to the falls!

We lucked out with the perfect weather – cold enough to scare away the crowds but warm enough that you could really take your time to appreciate Mother Nature.

Speaking of Mothers, that’s where we had dinner!

Mother’s restaurant is 10 steps from our old apartment but we never made it a priority because we thought it was steak house. The menu was mostly meat, but that didn’t keep me from having an absolutely fantastic meal.

Bread with salted butter.

Glass of wine, a Chablis that I enjoyed far more than I was expecting to.

Salad.

My picture quality went downhill at this point but the quality of food kept shooting up.

For an appetizer we all split the gnocchi.

Potato gnocchi with portobello, lump crab, peas, and a white truffle sauce.

My portion, x2.

All of those components are great on their own but together they became something amazing. Best gnocchi I’ve ever had; it was pillowy beyond my wildest dreams.

For my entrée: “sautéed red snapper fillet with gulf shrimp, mushrooms, artichokes, scallions, lemon butter sauce, and microgreen salad.

It also came with asparagus and perfectly roasted potatoes.

The dish was wonderful and the portion was gigantic (Adam actually ate the other half of my fish for dinner tonight!). Certainly a meal worth going back for.

But the best bites I took were actually from the husband’s dish.

The black (squid ink) pasta I could live without, but the scallops – like the gnocchi – were the best I’ve ever had. They were cooked to perfection, with a nice crust and creamy middle. Adam must love me a whole lot to have given me as many bites as he did!

– . – . – I need to stop and do some foreshadowing here: the meal at Mother’s was not even the best meal of their visit!

Monday morning my aunt and I walked Webster to The Spot for some coffees. The baristas gave me a gorgeous drink and were super sweet about the dog in my arms.

Tall skim latte, to go.

Back at home, I had a big bowl of Cascadian Farms Berry Cobbler Granola with fresh blackberries and homemade vanilla cashew milk.

While it clearly couldn’t compete with our dinners, this meal was pretty flipping good. I’m thinking that the cashew milk may be worth the effort after all.

The weather had shifted back to winter by that point so we spent our afternoon walking around the mall. My aunt bought me a couple of new work pieces at Old Navy – – can you believe I start school next week?!

You have to do self-serve froyo when you’re at the mall. I did a small amount of plain tart and coconut yogurt, a medium amount of fresh fruit, and tons of popping boba.

Is it sick that both bubble tea and self-serve froyo make an appearance on my “must have” list for next year’s move?

For dinner, we met the husband at Seabar.

I could talk about how fun the decor is, but when the food is this awesome, who really cares?

I got a spicy bloody mary to drink.

I know keep saying this, but seriously – best blood mary I’ve ever had!

It came loaded with Tabasco, Franks, and Sriracha.

My impetus for dragging everyone to Seabar was simple – “Bourdain’s Last Meal.”

Marrow, foie gras torchon, (and pork belly which I requested come on a separate plate), and toasted bread for spreading.

***This post is far too long already for me to go into my food philosophy. In short – yes, I ate marrow and yes, I still won’t eat read meat. If you would like me to post more about it just ask and I gladly will.

Trying marrow has been on my life list for years and it was like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. I totally concur with its description as “the world’s best butter.” We all shared the appetizer but I will totally cop to eating a lion’s share of the marrow. Also, I spread marrow between two toasts and ate it like a small, ridiculously decadent sandwich.

And then I closed my eyes and swooned.

Actually, I spent most of the meal with my eyes closed tight, straining to help my taste buds make the most of every flavor. I hate to knock my favorite place in Brooklyn off of the top, but this meal was the best I’ve ever eaten.

My family raved about their sushi – inventive combos composed of incredibly fresh fish – but my entrée was by far the best plate at the table.

“Lobster Ramen – Handmade Noodles, Lobster Broth Poached Egg, Shiitakes, Pickled Vegetable”

None of us could get over the texture of the lobster and the noodles were out of this world. Also, the pickled vegetables were nothing to frown at, but they were hard to focus on with poached lobster sitting at the table. When I took my first bite of homemade noodle with egg yolk broken on top I was pretty sure I would die of happiness.

And I haven’t even mentioned the broth yet. I shared many bites and was more than generous with my lobster claws, all while threatening everyone not to spill a drop. Then when all that was left was broth, I sucked it up with my straw! I regret nothing.

I ate a dark chocolate peanut butter santa when we got home.

And I collapsed into bed, basically drunk on marrow.

This morning we pulled ourselves out of our food comas and drove over to East Aurora. I know I don’t actually live in EA, but I always want to bring visitors to Taste.

I had the Santa’s Sleigh with skim milk.

A peppermint tea latte with white chocolate and a hint of coconut. It was delicious!

We were just admiring the cool industrial vibe when… I dropped my camera on the concrete floor. Please note – I stayed amazing calm, but if my memory card had broken too and I’d lost the pictures for this post I definitely would have cried.

I’m going to end my blogging here, because I just can’t see tacking cell phone photos on the end of this lengthy post.

Broken cameras be damned, we had a nice day. I managed to get buffalo wings into my aunt and cousin before they had to head to the airport. I had a good day of work. Adam and I shared a Dole Whip at the mall. And many (many) hours later, I have a new camera. So tomorrow, we can start all over again.

What/where was your best meal? Have you ever tasted something so good you had to shut your eyes?

5Jan2013

On The Goal

by Emily

I stayed up way too late last night waiting for Adam to get home, but that didn’t stop me from crossing not one, but two items off of my birthday goal list. See, who needs New Year’s resolutions?

But first, I made us a fancy weekend breakfast.

Actually, first I put Uggs (and a fleece I found in the dirty clothes section of Adam’s suitcase) over my pj’s to go out to Starbucks to buy Adam a coffee.

I’m a ~~frumpy~~ good wife.

After the public embarrassment, I made us eggnog french toast.

Two slices of whole wheat bread soaked in 1 large egg + 1 white, a big pour of eggnog (~1/2 cup?), 1 tsp of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. After a quick visit to a hot skillet greased with butter, I topped my slice with berries.

And maple syrup.

Delish! I wish eggnog was a year-round treat so I could make this french toast again.

My iced coffee was from my fridge, not The Spot, but I like to reuse my cups.

1 cup of Chameleon Cold Brew with a lot of Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and a little of sweetened almond and cashew cream.

The cup was okay but the cream was disgusting and the rest of the carton went straight to the trash.

Also in the garbage? This honey basil seed drink.

The frog egg texture worked for us, but the flavor did not.

My to-go lunch was much more successful.

A riff on the black-eyed pea salad I want to eat for the rest of my life; black beans with chopped green pepper, pineapple salsa, and the last of the Kerrygold Vintage Cheddar.

Not as good as the original, but still worth eating. And it helped me achieve one of my birthday goals…

First on the list? Building a snowman!

This was my 2nd snowman ever. And my first was a inches-tall affair, decorated with buttons that were subsequently stolen, when I was three years old and in the states for a funeral; so I’m not sure that counts.

We used green pepper pieces from my lunch for eyes.

2nd achievement unlocked? A trip to the Buffalo Museum of Science.

It seemed like the perfect museum to attend with a small child, but Adam and I were ready to go well within an hour. I’m glad I went, but I never want to go back.

I got some produce into the afternoon in the form of juice.

Kale, spinach, carrot, and apple. It was tasty but sadly light on the greens.

Dinner was popcorn at a movie! A cheddar and caramel mix from a specialty shop in the mall.

I really wanted this one,

but Adam and I shared (3-1, my favor) this size instead.

We saw “Parental Guidance” and thought that the snacks were better than the show. Also, I’m very sad to report that we saw “This Is 40” on our anniversary and hated it. Jude Apatow, I so want to love you! Apparently we are not quite ready for kids?

What was the worst movie (or best!) you’ve seen recently?

3Jan2013

3 > 2

by Emily

I am working my way through a migraine and I want to hurry to bed with a magazine. An episode of “30 Rock” may or may not happen first though…

Yesterday was the worst day of the year (hardy har; see what I did there? it’s not really hyperbole because there have only been three days). I was cranky and out-of-control-hungry all day long and the only things I managed to do were stuff my face and sulk. I vowed that the 3rd would be better than the 2nd, and even with my migraine today was a good day. Woop.

I did start with a good breakfast.

1 serving of Cascadian Farm Berry Cobbler Granola topped with 2 handfuls of blueberries and blackberries, a sprinkle of toasted coconut, and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

This is the breakfast that’s grrrrrrreat!

I brought my 2nd aloe drink from Aloic to work with me.

Super refreshing.

For lunch I packed some old beans. They were jolly good. <– are you slapping your knee yet? 3/4 cup black-eyed peas with a big handful of chopped green pepper, a small handful of smoked almonds, and 1 oz-ish chopped Kerrygold vintage cheddar; seasoned with salt and a few dashes of green Tabasco.

The mix of flavors and textures in this quick salad was so tasty and satisfying. Definitely a dish I need to recreate when I’m packing lunches for my big girl job for the rest of ~~the year~~ my life.

*no photograph available* I ate at least 10 mini candy canes during my shift and gave myself the worst sore throat. It was a slow day and I didn’t get much sleep so sugar was the only way I could stay awake. Terrible.

And I’m just now realizing that the massive sugar intake is probably what led to my migraine. Goddamnit.

I was already starting to feel off when I headed home from work so I picked up a slice of Buffalo chicken pizza for dinner.

With blue cheese, plus a mound of baby carrots from home.

I really could have split that giant slice with Adam (that is in fact 1 Zetti’s slice cut in half, not two normal-size slices) but he’s not here and I have no self-control so I ate the whole thing!

I’m also going to eat this packet of Artisana Cacao Bliss for dessert.

I’ll have to let you know how it is in the morning. I tried to heat it up a little and took things too far so now I’m waiting for it to resolidify.

Hope everyone has a good night!

1Jan2013

Hello, 2013

by Emily

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great first day. I started my year the best way possible – a long morning in bed with my husband and dog and an afternoon spent cleaning every trace of 2012 away from the apartment. He vacuumed and put away Christmas decorations and I organized and put away the Christmas presents. I also did some electronics cleaning; my cell phone, bookmarks, and google reader are sparkling. I even cleaned up my desktop.

Tomorrow I just have to organize my school stuff from last semester. I’ve got to start getting ready for the next (last!) semester; I go back to school in 20 days!

We started our day with smoothies for a late breakfast.

For two: 1.5 cups Silk Soy, 1.5 frozen bananas, 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, and 1 Tbsp coconut oil went into the blender.

It was yummy! I got the coconut oil idea from Jenna Marbles and I think it was a good addition.

Lunch came in snack plate form. Roasted green beans.

And a sweet plate.

Sliced honeycrisp,

smoked almonds,

and the last cherry cheesecake brownie.

The mouthfuls with almond and brownie were great. I am not going to post the brownie recipe because it is cobbled together from a few sources but I am working on something similar that should be amazing.

I also had a small coffee – with lots of skim milk and vanilla sugar – when we went to Wegmans in the afternoon.

We may have made a grocery trip, but dinner was still pieced together from random things left in the fridge. Thankfully, it ended up being delicious.

Cornmeal crusted tofu.

I marinated pieces of 3/4 of a block of extra-firm tofu in Stubbs BBQ sauce all afternoon and then tossed the pieces in cornmeal (aka raw polenta) and corn starch and sautéed them in a bit of canola oil. We loved them, the crust was perfection! I dipped mine in honey.

Roasted asparagus.

With cooking spray, salt, and a bit of lemon.

Lucky quinoa salad.

I cooked 1/2 cup of quinoa, tossed it with 1 cup of canned black-eyed peas {for New Year’s luck!}, the leftover bbq sauce from the tofu, and some chopped green pepper. It was like a quick and dirty hoppin’ john.

For dessert we opened up the chocolate cream biscuit cookies we bought at Vineeta.

One serving each and I’m excited to eat the last three tomorrow. They were quite good.

How’d you spend the first day of 2013?

31Dec2012

See You Next Year!

by Emily

Last night we made cheesecake brownies with the cherry gourmet sauce my grandma sent us for Christmas.

Yum! I had several but my camera was charging at that point. Plus a huge bowl of popcorn {with melted butter, for the win}. We stayed up past 2am so there was plenty of time to eat. Our sleep habits are ridiculous. I know I said I wasn’t making any resolutions, but in 2013 I am going to have to mature up my sleep schedule.

Of course, I overslept this morning and I didn’t pack food. I have to start packing food for work because buying breakfast and lunch is a huge waste of money. Both were good though. A cheddar basil scone.

And some waldorf chicken salad.

I also bought a grande caramel macchiato from Spot but I forgot to photograph it.

I wanted Thai food as my last meal of 2012 and Thai Orchid Cafe delivered.

Pad Kee Mao, aka Drunken Noodles, ordered Thai spicy. In contrast with last night, this was the best plate of food I’ve been served in forever.

Perfection!

Followed by a brownie with ice cream for dessert.

…plus another brownie; they are so flipping good!

We are going to watch a few more episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” and then I hope to turn in early. I know most people like to party on New Year’s Eve but my goal is always to be in bed before the ball drops.

I assume you’re all reading this tomorrow morning; what’d you do for New Year’s Eve?

30Dec2012

A Meal That Should Have Been Put Out To Pasture

by Emily

Goodbye, Sunday; and hello, work week. More importantly, soon it’s goodbye, 2012! And that first sentence was especially unimportant because I worked today and only have two shifts during the actual week; go figure.

This day got off to a great start and then rapidly went downhill. Sometimes that happens. And I plan on doing some baking to cheer us up as soon I hit publish.

On a good note, check out this awesome box of new flavors that Cascadian Farm sent me to sample –

I guess they heard my incessant raving about how good their Dark Chocolate Almond Granola is 😉 I ended up trying both products today, since I have no self-control when it comes to trying new things. Both products (plus the Crunchy Bars in Peanut Butter and Oats & Cocoa) will be available in January of 2013.

Granola with yogurt for breakfast.

I ate a big bowl of the Cascadian Farm Organic Berry Cobbler Granola on top of Wegman’s low-fat vanilla maple yogurt.

The granola was marvelous; I might like it even more than the dark chocolate almond! It was sweet without being too sweet and crunchy without being tooth-breaking. The light isn’t tricking you either, it actually is pink! Even the bites without dried fruit leave you with a lovely taste of berry cobbler. Adam ate a big bowl too and said that the granola held up nicely in milk. He reported that he found it to be delicious, with a good amount of clumps.

The bar I ate as my snack at work.

The Cascadian Farm Organic Crunchy Oats & Honey Granola Bar gets the same review as the granola.

I loved it! And did a little bit of incessant raving this very afternoon as I tried to tell the husband how good my snack was. It had exactly the texture I’m looking for in a crunchy granola bar and crumbled nicely. And the oats had this amazing aftertaste of honey. I wish I had a better food critic’s vocabulary because I don’t really have the words to describe how good the honey flavor was. I’m going to go with – round, clover, and authentic (vs. honey flavoring). Does that make sense?

And I can now report that both the granola and the bar did a good job of keeping me full. The only other thing I needed to eat before the end of my 4 o’clock shift was this handful of hard candy that I was using as a cough drop.

Also delicious, by the way. They were milk coffee candies I found in an Asian market in Philly and I wish I had bought another bag-full.

My Cascadian Farm goodies kept me full through work, but by the time my shift was over I was starving. Adam picked me up from work and we headed to an early dinner at DeFlippo’s with a Living Social deal.

Fun right? Nope, it sucked. Like super sucked; sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked. I was served the worst plate of food I’ve ever had in my life. But on a positive note, it was so terrible that it was actually funny, so at least we got a good laugh out of the deal. P.S. The lighting is that bad in the rest of the pictures.

Caesar salad that was swimming in dressing and cheese and randomly came topped with tomatoes.

Cold bread with even colder butter.

Shrimp cocktail appetizer that Adam and I split.

Randomly, this was delicious. I don’t know how DeFlippo’s pulled it off – my guess is that microwaving the rest of the meal gave them time to shine with the appetizer! – but this was some great shrimp cocktail. The shrimp had good texture and tasted very fresh. They were served with enough cocktail sauce that you could actually dip each shrimp and the sauce was tasty as well. Overall the dish was yummy; it was a very good deal for the price.

And then came my meal.

French fries were inexplicably offered alongside my “Italian” “food.”

These actually weren’t bad and I ended up eating most of them in desperate hunger.

“Eggplant parmigiana” {strong emphasis on the quotation marks} that was the single worst dish I’ve ever been served.

The dish could not have more clearly been bought frozen. They must have tried to fry it at some point, because the eggplant had sopped up an astonishing amount of oil. The makeup was 80% breadcrumb, 10% cheese, 5% sauce, and 5% eggplant. It was terrifically bad. I made myself eat away a corner so as not to be rude, and when I made Adam taste a bite I laughed so hard I almost cried. <– he called it abhorrent.

We got milkshakes on the way home.

Peppermint swirl for me!

And now I’m off to make brownies.

Have you ever had a meal so bad it was actually funny?

26Dec2012

Our New Christmas Traditions

by Emily

Happy holidays, from our family to yours!

We spent the last two days making memories and building our own traditions. We missed our family like crazy, but other than it was one of our best Christmas days ever. It helped that most of our new family traditions involved eating lots of tasty food!

One event I hope not to turn into a tradition was December 23rd’s 3 am grocery trip. We had a slight misstep with the baking I did for my co-workers’ Christmas gifts. One of my pies burnt to a crisp and I had to go buy a replacement gift in the middle of the night. Also, we ate the salvageable half of the burnt pie… at 3 am.

I made my Hello Dolly Pies and they were delicious. I hope everyone liked them!

We exchanged gifts at our company holiday breakfast.

Our bosses took us out for a delicious meal at Mythos. I had never been there before but I’m still sure that what I ordered was the best thing on the menu. A burrito with turkey, eggs, potatoes and cheddar, smothered in hollandaise.

It came with berries and Greek yogurt on the side and everything was delicious. I ate half and brought the rest to Adam who loved it as well.

We ran a few errands when Adam picked me up from breakfast and we ended up going on an adventure. Vineeta International Market has been hiding under my nose on Grant for months!

We had a grand time wandering around and came home with lots of goodies.

Including the Thumbs Up cola we shared.

Then we trimmed the tree.

We couldn’t buy a big tree because the dog is a monster but we enjoyed this little magical grow tree I bought Adam for Hanukkah.

And then we had pie.

Gaaah; can this be a yearly tradition? That pie is so fricking good.

So was the eggnog seltzer I sipped on all day.

I had a salad for lunch.

Romaine with peanut sauce, buckwheat groats, chopped honeycrisp, and cheddar.

Plus the last of the sugar-plum candies.

We did pizza for dinner.

Why mess with our usual traditions?

Then we stayed up late watching “How I Met Your Mother.” We’ve decided that’s our new tv marathon of choice.

This morning (Christmas!!) we slept in late like a couple of old people. It was pretty great. The dog started his morning with sirloin and bacon wet food.

And I started mine with toffee.

Plus a glass of eggnog with nutmeg.

Then we got all fancy with breakfast.

Seriously fancy. Check out we bought at Wegman’s –

Lobster for Christmas breakfast? That can definitely become a tradition! We cooked turkey bacon and then used the skillet to sautéechopped lobster tail in butter. Then we scrambled in egg whites (leftover from the pies, plus one yolk) and baby spinach.

It was quite good. And lunch was a winner as well.

We used this Christmas tree pasta that my co-worker gave me.

I sautéed sliced mushroom, chopped red peppers, and baby spinach in butter and evoo. Then I tossed in pasta, a big dollop of Nayo, and a huge handful of shredded cheese.

Ridiculous good.

And the bowl Cannoli ice cream I had next was even better.

Ben and Jerry just keep getting it right.

For dinner we went over to our friends’ house for a party. We brought over a good dip, and terrible chips for everyone to try.

The White Chocolate Peppermint Pringle’s looked so nasty that there was no way Adam and I could pass up the experience of trying them for a measly $2. Pro tip – freaking terrible, aka totally worth the money to try.

My dinner plate.

Tons of salad with mashed potato and mac and cheese. With homemade strawberry shortcake for dessert.

I ate about half. Plus a candy cane.

That cane was actually my hook in a candy cane fishing game we played. We went through a series of challenges from Minute to Win It. Hilarious.

Adam and I won! Woot!

We took a long walk to get home and stopped for sushi on the way back.

I had two pieces of inarai (tofu skin) but some amazing fried thing. It was the perfect way to end a great holiday.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

P.S. Here’s a video of Webster opening his Christmas present. You’re welcome.

24Dec2012

Use Your Noggin

by Emily

Hello, hello! The days I’m excited to blog are always the same days I’m utterly exhausted. Go figure. Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors but also a 9+ hour day at work. Instead of posting last night I had a total tantrum and passed out fully dressed… so here is a 2-day recap.

Remember when I said “Saturday was a symphony of holiday flavors”? You know, like five seconds ago. Well, my day went eggnog –> candy cane –> gingerbread; bam!

Nog based overnight oats for breakfast.

I put 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup Silk Soy Nog, and 1 Tbsp chia seeds in the fridge overnight, then Saturday morning I added 1 sliced banana and a big dash of Christmas sprinkles.

So festive and delicious. Also, holy frick, I love chia seeds so much.

My candy cane came in the form of a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar during work.

This is Clif’s best seasonal flavor by far. The bar has the perfect amount of peppermint.

Gingerbread was a cupcake surprise from the husband.

He had an appointment near Fairy Cakes in the afternoon and he brought me home a gingerbread stout cupcake with cream cheese icing.

It was ridiculous good, maybe the best cupcake I’ve ever had! The cake had a great ratio of spice to sweet and was so fluffy and moist. I shared one big bite with Adam but downed the rest with gusto.

The rest of the day’s eats were out of season, but still good. From fall I borrowed an apple and a Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale.

I split the beer with Adam and ate the apple on my own.

I guess nachos are actually appropriate for any season, right?

Adam and I shared a tray, straight from the oven. We topped scoop-style tortilla chips with roasted brocoli and green pepper, Newman’s Own Pineapple Salsa, and Cabot Reserve Aged Cheddar.

We loved them. He was a little iffy on roasted brocoli as a nacho topping but it was delicious. And I was worried about that type of cheese versus a regular cheddar, but that ended up being perfect too. And the pineapple salsa is hands-down the best jarred salsa I’ve ever had.

Blah, blah, blah, and then I started having a fit and had to go to bed. I didn’t get anywhere near enough sleep during the weeks Adam was gone and I’m still really freaking tired.

Sunday was a super hungry day and I ate a ton ~~of crap~~. A brunch of sorts, was low-fat coffee yogurt with honey roasted peanuts and honey,

a few pieces of toffee candy from home,

and several handfuls (about 3 servings or 250 calories worth) of dried turkey.

During work I drank a Starbucks Vanilla Doubleshot.

Working with crowds of Christmas shoppers is exhausting but also really rewarding. Five different people today thanked me effusively for my help and that was a really good feeling. Actually, one super hot guy told another customer that I was fantastic and I about died!

Adam picked me up after work for a fun treat.

Bubble tea from Gin Gin! Best bubble tea I’ve ever had, and I’ve tried a lot. I got a medium red bean milk tea with regular and popping boba (the purple one is Adam’s taro).

We both swooned over how good they were and finished our drinks in the car long before we made it home. And we called my mom on speaker on the drive and drove her crazy scraping through our ice for errant tapiocas!

Dinner was pizza.

And we shared a beer.

We were gearing up for a long night of baking.

I’m giving my co-workers all pies for Christmas and we are not even close to finished still. Sorry, husband!

We made smoothies mid-baking for strength. Frozen strawberries and blackberries blended with So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk.

And I’ve done a little nibbling while we baked.

I have a holiday breakfast with work tomorrow and then I’m spending Christmas Eve on the couch with Adam. I have two days off in a row for the holiday and I am so excited to spend them with my boys!

Did you give any handmade gifts this season?

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: berries

Lobster, And Marrow, And Boba, Oh My!

On The Goal

3 > 2

And I’m just now realizing that the massive sugar intake is probably what led to my migraine. Goddamnit.

Hello, 2013

See You Next Year!

A Meal That Should Have Been Put Out To Pasture

Our New Christmas Traditions

Use Your Noggin