Vacation Part 1/3

We’re on vacation!  Friday through next Sunday Adam and I have 10 glorious days off together!!  We’re spending time in New Orleans and next weekend we’re doing a staycation in the city.

You can tell we’re in vacation-mode because we ate 90% of our meals out of the house and with drinks and dessert and have been purchasing all of the coffees.

Espresso at Variety.

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New Orleans cold brew at Blue Bottle.

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Espresso at Mixtape.

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Iced coffee and a chocolate croissant at L’imprimerie.

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Drinking chocolate at Devocion.

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Dinner at Sally Roots.  Booze face.

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I got jerk chicken ramen!  Chicken broth, yummy jerk chicken, noodles, fish cakes, bamboo, spinach, and wood ear mushroom.

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We did dessert at Guadalupe Inn.  Drinks with meh chocolate tres leche cakes and churros stuffed with fabulous goat milk caramel.

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Best brunch of the year at Rider.  Safe Word of the Day and Covet Thy Neighbor’s Drink.

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The Cure = crispy rice and lentil cakes, duck confit, cilantro, hoisin, sriracha, and poached egg.  Adam had lox and fries, a combo you didn’t know how much you needed.

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Dessert at Odd Fellows.  Crème brulee and banofee ice creams with brown butter cake crumbs on top.

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Pretty damn good brunch at Forrest Point.  This drink was named “Fancy Pants,” Flor de Cana, Wild Turkey, Pedro Ximenez sherry, pineapple, lemon, Lapsang Souchong, star anise, cinnamon, and demerara sugar!

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Chilaquiles!

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Skillet s’mores with Fernet.

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I did manage to make some dinners at home – chicken enchilada casserole.  I loosely followed this recipe from Jo Cooks, with brown rice and the addition of green chilis.  With roasted zucchini on the side and chips for dipping.

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Other things that are making me happy… this assortment of cola-flavored goodies.  The gum was great the seltzer was too plain.

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We found (freshly made) coquito at a bar in Bushwick!  It tastes like coconut eggnog and joy.

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The Body Shop sent me this sweet holiday gift.  Fantastic eyeshadow and delightful smelling things.  FYI – they are offering a bunch of gift sets that will contribute to rainforest conservation, I recommend everything strawberry.

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Happiest thing of all?  I’m on vacation!

Palm Seed Fun

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.

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

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

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

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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.

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Other snacks included apples we picked ourselves.

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

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

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

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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.

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I’m off to go start my day off!

Apple Picking Outing

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.

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

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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.

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

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

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

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New candy bar for dessert.

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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.

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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.

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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?

Similar To Cake By The Ocean

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I’m mashing last weekend’s post into this week’s – and we’ve done a lot of good eating! – so I had to filter down to only the most delicious things.  Here are the best bites from the top five categories…

{1} all the coffee!

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We ordered The Unicorn at Box Kite, obviously.

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We went to Birch Coffee and loved it so much that we went back at the end of the day to buy a bag of beans.

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Then went back again a few days later for another latte!

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Locally roasted coffee that comes in cups with trees on them is just too exciting.  And there were birch trees etched into the sidewalk out front!

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{2} protein-packed salads

Beans, eggs, and lots of fish.  At Whole Foods – spring mix with tangerine vinaigrette / salmon / two kinds of bean salads / parmesan / and a hard-boiled egg.

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At the cafeteria – romaine with blue cheese / veggies / corn / kidney beans / cheddar / egg.  Plus my coworker brought me a giant piece of baked salmon and I tossed that on top too.

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At the cafeteria when I worked last Sunday and pickings were getting slim – I did the best I could with fried fish and a steamed vegetable mix.

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It wasn’t bad, but I did buy a train snack that night.

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{3} killer sandwiches

Breakfast: egg and cheese on a croissant with turkey bacon.

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Lunch: do taquitos count as sandwiches?  I’m including them either way, because this lunch was too good not to share.  Tortaria knocked our socks off.  Adam and I split a platter with mahi and cauliflower (and pork for him).  Plus spicy fries and tons of guacamole.  And a tamarind agua fresca.

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The sauces sitting on the tables – green salsa, blended salsa, and something creamy and smoky – were astonishingly good.  And that ridiculous quantity of food (why include chips and fries in the same deal?!) cost less than twenty dollars.

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Dinner: cod bahn mi at a new Vietnamese/taco spot in Park Slope.

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Don’t question it, the combo worked, I went with a girlfriend who got tacos and we were both very pleased.

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{4} sweet stuff

Cake by the ocean.  Cookies by the Hudson.  We got giant chocolate chip walnut cookies from Levain and enjoyed them in Riverside Park.

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Tropical smoothie at home.  Frozen mango and soursop with guava paste and vanilla almond milk.

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Ben & Jerry’s Empower-Mint flavor is yummy and it supports an important cause.

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Siggi’s yogurt with berries and shredded halvah.

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Birthday cake croissant from Union Fare.  It’s topped with ground sprinkle dust and filled with sprinkle-studded pastry cream!

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It was also just one of the best croissant we’ve ever tasted.

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{5} hearty homemade dinners

Spanish flavors reigned supreme on the home front this week.  Tomato garlic crock pot chicken served with brown rice tossed with garlic, tomato paste, raisins, and chopped olives.  Plus roasted broccoli.

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I also made fantastic enchiladas.

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Whole Foods’ roasted garlic green chile enchilada sauce costs a ridiculous $4+ per can and it is soooo good.  Our filling was ground turkey breast cooked with TJ’s vegan chorizo and tons of roasted yellow squash and zucchini.  Plus cheese galore.

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Five For Ten

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I worked all last weekend so I didn’t take the time to blog.  Good news – that means I have tomorrow off with a three day weekend!  Here were the top five eats for the last ten days…

{1} Oatmeal for lunch

Prepackaged with vanilla almond butter and citrus on the side.

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And a homemade mix with chia seeds and sliced almonds.

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With fresh strawberries stirred in and melty cookie butter on top.  P.S. Cookie butter probably should have gotten its own bullet point!

{2} The last of the Tahini Granola in yogurt bowls

With plain Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries and blackberries.

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I need to make a 2nd batch of granola asap, it made the last two weeks of lunches an absolute delight.  I’m going to give myself a lower sugar week with Heritage Flakes first though.

{3} Epic sandwiches

The cafeteria-assembled breakfast sandwiches were particularly epic but this turkey ‘which from home was nothing to sneeze at.

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TJ’s quinoa bread with turkey and cheddar.  I put the chips inside the sandwich for some needed crunch.

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Cinnamon-raisin toast with smashed hard-boiled egg, veggie sausage, and Greek yogurt cream cheese.

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Egg and cheese croissantwich.

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I’ve decided I don’t eat egg sandwiches often enough, a gap in my culinary habits that desperately needs to be filled.

{4} Starbucks’ s’mores bar

Holy crap this was good!

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I swear the graham cracker layer has coffee in it.

{5} Mexican-flavors dinners

Deconstructed tacos, aka taco filling bowls scooped with tortilla chips.

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Shredded chicken, sautéed orange bell peppers and onion, cheese, plain Greek yogurt, and fresh cilantro.  Plus brussels sprouts that I roasted with taco seasoning. <– so good

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Another night we made chicken and zucchini enchiladas.

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I don’t know why I never make enchiladas, these were so easy!

{Bonus} Near misses – don’t try this at home

These two seemed like they’d be great and instead were total let downs.  I did not want a 2nd bite of this cookie dough bar.

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And we were expecting to love Bunsmith, they have a cookie butter bun for god sake.  And a boozy banana milk and spice cocktail.

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Mega meh.  The veggies in our bowls came out of a can and there was entirely too much rice.  We’ll have to stay loyal to Bao Haus.  In fact, it’s on the agenda for the three-day weekend!

{The Best} St. Thomas Visit 2016

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Adam and I started our two-week vacation off right with an incredible visit home to see my parents and soak up some sun.  For the first time since college I managed to have the dates line up so that I could make it for Carnival*!  We also went to St. John*, The Baths*, the beach, and got to spend time with old friends.  It was pretty much the perfect trip.

* I took way too many pictures so all of the items starred above are going to have to be their own posts over the rest of the week

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Speaking of too many pictures, I’m limiting this post to the highlights.  Here are some of our favorites from home…

The best hosts – my parents.  In addition to driving us all over the place, ironing my dresses, playing board games even though Adam always throws a fit, and just being generally amazing, they cooked us Adam’s favorite meal and my favorite dessert.  Bill Clinton’s Enchiladas.

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And key lime pie.

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Which meant there was leftover pie for me to eat on top of Greek yogurt.  <– the best thing ever

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I always serve it with flax so it’s basically a health food.

The best breakfast – Barefoot Buddha.

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I got an iced Vietnamese latte and the sandwich I ate on my wedding day, aka the Bigfood Bagel sandwich: egg frittata, smoked turkey, turkey bacon, cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, tomato-onion coulis, and fresh spinach.

The best brunch – The Grille Room at Mahogany Run. My (extra-spicy) Bloody Mary came topped with a stuffed olive, banana pepper, and shrimp!

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I also had a really top-notch chopped salad with shrimp and chipotle-ranch among other yummy things.  And then every singe person at the table ordered a vodka + soda and all was right with the world.

The best coffee – Bad Ass at Yacht Haven.

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My triple non-fat iced latte was perfectly roasty good.

The best pizza – Island Time Pub.  Pro tip – start with a salad, they are gigantic and two-three people can share one.

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Adam and I got a pie with artichoke, Kalamata olives, and roasted garlic.

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Plus their drink menu is on point.

The best johnny cake – served at the window on the Waterfront by The Greenhouse, with cheese.

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Caribbean johnny cake (versus the cornmeal version found in the American south) is slightly sweet, unleavened fried bread.  It is delicious in general and freaking mind-blowing when served with cheese.

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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!

I’d Have To Say April 25th

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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That cookie was totally not homemade.

dinner

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

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Best meal of the week.

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

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Served with a caprese-style salad on the side.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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

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Plus a great salad.

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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?