Buffalove

by Emily

This weekend some friends and I traveled (many hours!) back to Buffalo for a quick visit. It was fantabulous! We got lucky with good weather, caught up with great friends, and hit up almost every place that we’d been missing. We didn’t take even a single group photo because apparently we’re old, but a good time was had by all.

I didn’t get any people pictures and I didn’t take many food shots either. Here are a few things I did capture…

Mike’s sandwich – a toasted bagel with cheese, cream cheese, and a fried egg – at SPoT Coffee.

Plus we got coffee there every morning because it was roasty and delicious. Clearly I can get amazing coffee in NYC but SPoT is still one of the main places I miss.

Green juice at Ashker’s.

Spinach, kale, cucumber, pineapple, and mint.

Drinks at Blue Monk which now offers 5 oz pours.

Shown is a very tasty Downeast Cider.

Crepes at Sweetness 7.

Mine was topped with syrup and a fried egg.

Hot bar at Wegman’s, of course.

We actually went to Wegman’s twice!

We also went to the Co-op, walked up and down Elmwood Ave, and did a round of lemon drop shots for my upcoming birthday ♥

13Jul2015

I’d Have To Say April 25th

by Emily

This was the most boring week of the month (July includes my trip to Maryland, a trip to Buffalo, a visit from my parents, and my 30th birthday!) but Adam and I kept things fun with lots of little dates. Honestly, I have more fun going to the grocery store with my husband than I would have doing almost anything with someone else, so grabbing donuts before work with him is pretty thrilling.

breakfast

Breakfast note 1 – I stuck with a coffee combo that worked: Dark Roast Community Coffee with skim milk and fat-free half and half. The coffee bag says to use 2 Tbsp grounds to 6 oz water and I use 3 Tbsp and my crappy coffee machine and it comes out perfect for my tastes.

Breakfast note 2 – the GoMacro bars in this post are another former freebie. The flavors I had this week were my new favorites, they had a lot more texture than the previous ones I tried.

Coffee, cinnamon applesauce, and GoMacro apples + walnuts (morning harvest). They should have just called this flavor “apple pie” because that’s what it tasted like.

An aprium – apricot-plum hybrid like a pluot but more apricot than plum – and GoMacro sesame butter + dates (sweet revival). Sesame butter is a bit sweeter than other nut butters naturally; I’m having a hard time explaining the flavor of sesame butter but it is what this bar tastes like.

Doughnut Plant date before work. The fresh lavender flower flavor was tasty but the yeasted doughnut was too big for me for breakfast, I’ll have to stick to the cake varieties unless another really fun flavor pops up. Adam had the chocolate chip cookie special and was basically swooning.

Freeze-dried Fuji apple slices and GoMaco granola and coconut (balanced goodness). The oats gave this a great consistency.

That pop of pink is a new notebook from Target. I’m obsessed. I also bought a new day planner.

lunch

I was all about the sandwiches this week. Caprese sandwich from the cafeteria. Tomato, basil, mozzarella, and spinach.

The plainest sandwich ever, also from the cafeteria. Turkey, cheese, and mayo on a white roll. I didn’t even have a fruit, vegetable, or whole grain on the side. I badly sunburned my knees last weekend, long story, and I was feeling a little under the weather that day.

Starbuck’s Thai-style peanut chicken wrap. I was impressed with this, all of the fancy new foods looks pretty good.

Lunch date at La Bagel Delight. We spit a poppy seed bagel with lox and dill cream cheese.

On Friday I did get back to my yogurt bowl roots. 2% Lingonberry & Strawberry Siggi’s with chopped aprium and pluot and KIND peanut butter granola.

Kids, that granola is ridiculous – somehow it tastes like cookie dough?!

snack

Saturday – July 11th or 7/11 – was 7-11 Day so I got a free small slurpee. Sour Patch watermelon and Coke were amazing together. Also, I eat my fair share of sugar but half of a small slurpee kind of makes me want to die so I’m horrified by the existence of that extra-large cup.

Guava cheese empanada. I will be so sad if this food truck moves away from my LIRR station.

Ice cream date. We got raw egg topped with salted caramel, sesame honeycomb, and Luxardo cherries.

Morganstern’s ice cream is indescribably chewy, it is truly some of the best I’ve ever tasted. And I cannot get over those cherries.

Have you seen this cute iced drink promotion at Starbucks yet? Those ice cube stickers kill me.

Maple latte. With a sky-blue straw that made me so happy!

I took a girlfriend to Nunu so I could try that spicy beer again. And I forgot to write down the name for a 2nd time. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did when it was paired with chocolate; a full pint by itself was a bit much to get through.

A chocolate chip cookie and a GoMacro cherries + berries (sunny uplift). I was expecting to hate that flavor but it was actually yummy, the cherries were nice and tart and it had some oat texture.

That cookie was totally not homemade.

dinner

My family sent me home from Solomon’s with some of my uncle’s amazing crab cakes.

Best meal of the week.

We sautéed the crab in a mix of melted butter and evoo.

Served with a caprese-style salad on the side.

Red and green lettuce mix dressed with truffle salt, evoo, and balsamic vinegar and topped with Kumato tomato and mozzarella.

Date night in the Lower East Side. We got bowls at Korilla and they were so freaking good! Sticky rice, gojuchang chicken, red kimchi, cucumber kimchi, monterey jack cheese, and a fried egg. Plus Korean bbq and hot sauces. My mouth was on fire and I was in heaven.

We cooled down at Snowdays. Black sesame shaved ice with sweetened condense milk, mochi, and Fruity Pebbles.

We had parked in DUMBO so we got to walk home over the bridge. It was so hot and sticky but still super fun.

Another day, another bowl, this time a Chipotle date on our couch.

I got salad with peppers and onions, chicken, mild salsa, green salsa, sour cream, and cheese. Plus chips and a giant diet coke on the side. We go to Chipotle so often that the counter staff recognizes us, which is the most embarrassing thing on earth, but we can’t stop!

The opposite of date night, I made this dinner by myself while Adam worked a 30 hour shift.

My Cheesy Eggplant Bake with diced yellow onion and light Havarti added in so I could use up some leftovers.

Plus a great salad.

Red and green lettuce // dressed with lavender salt, evoo, honey, and balsamic vinegar // topped with sweet and spicy pecans, dried bing cherries, and chia seeds.

Any other drink freebie deals I should know about for this summer?

6Jul2015

July Fourth 2015 At Solomen’s

by Emily

I had an absolutely amazing Independence Day with my family down on the river. It was a complete joy to catch up with my loved ones! My cousins both brought a ton of their college friends down with them so we had a bustling, entertaining crowd.

I was way too busy to take good pictures, but my aunt and uncle are both fantastic cooks and we ate like Kings all weekend. Think crab cakes, cheese plates, bourbon slushies, and key lime pie. 90% of what passed my lips was either crab, booze, or fresh-picked berries so you know I had a great time!

P.S. I was so freaking brave and I ate my first-ever soft-shell crab this weekend in Adam’s honor.

30Jun2015

Random Ruminations

by Emily

giveaway winner {congrats!}

And the cookbook giveaway winner is… Brittney. Brittney, e-mail me with your mailing info so you can enjoy making your ice creams!

{yummy} weekend eats

Friday breakfast: Americano with milk, string cheese, and an Enzo Bar from Lola Granola.

The bar was amazing; honey, vanilla, and cinnamon oats.

Saturday was a similar deal: Clif dark chocolate peanut butter bar with a clover brew of Starbuck’s Italian roast.

Friday’s dinner – the only dinner I managed to photograph – was boring but good.

Spinach salad with pepitas and roasted green beans dressed with evoo, honey, and lavender salt.

Toasted sourdough turkey sandwich with pepperjack and strawberry jam.

Spicy and sweet always makes the best sandwich.

Stumptown cold brew and fresh cherries for an afternoon snack.

We spotted this Sour Patch slurpee and bought one immediately. It was sour! Neither of us wanted more than a few sips but it was fun to try.

We did a similar maneuver the next day with frozen yogurt.

The salted chocolate chip cookie dough was fantastic! I topped mine with cookie dough (duh!), blondie, mochi, and Nutella.

We ventured into Astoria on Sunday; Sugar Freak for a Louisiana brunch.

That’s a “swamp juice” and it was exactly as disgusting as you’d expect. Maybe even more so actually, you guys know how much I love things that are over the top sweet and even I couldn’t bring myself to take a third sip.

I got a grilled chicken Po’Boy to eat. That, I could finish!

The side salad came with pecan vinaigrette that was the best part of the meal.

Afterwards we stopped by Kinship for coffees like we were just the coolest.

Two thumbs up for the cold brew, Stumptown again.

random facts {about me}

We were glad to have a low-key, boring weekend because 3 out of 4 in July include major plans (including my 30th birthday).

I am so excited about the SCOTUS marriage equality ruling. I got all teary-eyed on the train reading the news. This is definitely the proudest moment America has had so far this decade.

We only have a few old Criminal Minds left and we are pretty devastated about it. But…

Rookie Blues is back!!! My Canadian cop show is the best thing on summer television. I haven’t watched the first episode yet because I’m hoping if I save it for an elliptical session it will lure me back to the gym after a lazy week off.

I finally started reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants and it is just as hilarious and wonderful as I had expected.

I am obsessed with advice columns (Dear Prudence is my favorite!) so I read Dear Abby every morning but I think I need to stop because most of her advice is so terrible that it makes me huffy with anger on my way to work.

Sunday afternoon we went on a date to the Queens County Farm Museum and it was pretty much the best thing ever.

I got to pet the pigs!!! Animals – mostly French Bulldogs and Dachshunds but sometimes pigs – seem to sense my intense, unhealthy love for them and give me lots of petting time. The piggies laid up against the fence so I could really go to town patting their flanks and scratching behind their ears.

Yay! So much fun.

Which farm animal do you most want to cuddle?

22Jun2015

Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

by Emily

Oh my goodness, what a great weekend! Adam and I have been making the most of the summer days, and then some. This weekend we walked around Williamsburg, across the bridge, up to and around Washington Square Park, and back, to the tune of 10+ miles in one afternoon!

When we weren’t moving this weekend, we were eating. Here are some of the highlights…

A fancy-schmancy yogurt bowl. 2% Plum Chobani with two varieties of pluot and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

The cream was part of a homemade ice cream undertaking (look for more details – and a giveaway! – on Wednesday).

Coffee at Sweetleaf, a Rocket Fuel.

Aka cold brew with milk, maple, and chicory. Chicory blended iced coffees are definitely going to play a big role in my summer.

Espresso and macarons at Bakeshop by Woops.

Kids, this place was so freaking cute. And our cookies were amazing, chocolate and lavender chocolate.

Honey sesame soy milk box.

Adam and I tried to split this but the minute I handed it over to him he guzzled the rest of it down!

Cherry Cola Tic-Tacs.

I am incapable of turning down a cherry cola flavored item. Fun fact – the last two photos were not actually taken in front of the same wall, I just seek out brick whenever I have the option for a photo.

Rice bowls at Korilla. Korilla is basically an Asian Chipotle, but it is at least fifteen times more fantastic.

My bowl had sticky rice, the most amazing gochujang marinated chicken, sweet corn and snap peas, cheese, tons of red kimchi, and spicy but sweet Korean BBQ sauce. Adam’s rice had bacon and kimchi in it and we were both swooning.

We tried the new limited-time offerings at Ample Hills.

The pride month flavor was yummy but we had to throw out the sandwich. I think that Ample Hills generally makes the best ice cream on Earth but those soggy cookies were truly inedible.

A cone from Sundaes and Cones.

Lavender and black sesame were both great; those are flavors that could be kind of overwhelming but they were sweet and light yet still identifiable.

A quick red curry at home.

Rice noodles on the bottom // sautéed bok choy, white mushrooms and straw mushrooms, sweet onion and green onion, and sweet red pepper // sprouted tofu cubes roasted with lime, sugar, Sriracha, and liquid smoke // and red curry sauce with lime, light coconut milk, fish sauce, and minced garlic and ginger.

We both typically say that we don’t like red curries but we loved this so we should give the real version another chance.

Sandwich night on my lonesome while Adam was at work.

I toasted sourdough slices in the oven with Smart Balance Light and pepperjack and sharp cheddar cheese then sandwiched them around canola oil mayo and Applegate Smoked Sliced Turkey.

With roasted green beans on the side.

How are green beans – roasted with cooking spray and salt – so flipping buttery?!

Dinner at The Smoke Joint, our new favorite bbq spot.

They have Mother’s Milk at the bar, which wins them points. Adam’s strawberry vanilla bourbon limeade wasn’t bad either.

Their juicy, tender, chopped bbq chicken comes with a side of pickles and spicy cole slaw.

And their smoky collard greens are meatless, so I got to try real bbq collards for the first time in my life.

I loved them!

If this upcoming week is half as good as my weekend I’ll be all set 🙂

15Jun2015

Mary Moon

by Emily

Another great week came to an end. We are looooving summer around these parts. Amazingly, I got myself up and out of bed by 7 am both Saturday and Sunday and you wouldn’t believe how much time I felt like I had free to play. It was great to get everything I wanted to do done – errands and fun stuff – and still make it to bed at a mature adult hour!