Left My Heart In Montana

I’m missing a lot of photos this week but the meals I do have to share were off the charts good.

lunch

Mostly I did lunches from the cafeteria this week, like a tasty broccoli and cheese baked potato whose cell-phone photo was an absolute horror.  Packed lunches featured a great fruit salad – Cara Cara Orange, strawberries, and 3 varieties of pluot.

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With plain yogurt and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

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Fresh mint in sparkling water is my jam.  This “mojito” rocked our socks off.

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We’ve kept the dessert every day thing going.  One morning Adam took me to work and we tried the doughnuts at Elsie’s Parlor.  I got the Confettura Di Fichi – filled with fig jam and topped with mascarpone and toasted almonds.

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I loved the idea of this, especially because the fig jam and mascarpone were delicious, but the texture was terrible, way too dense.  If I thought of it was a muffin it was great, but as a doughnut I ate half and we moved on to a tried and true.

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Now that’s a doughnut!  My peaches and crème doughseed had just the right balance of fluff and chew.  Plus it was perfectly tangy and sweet.

Vegan ice cream from Sky Ice.

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Thai iced coffee and Thai young coconut went great together.

Ice cream from Oddfellows.

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S’mores with amazing caramelized white chocolate with toasted almond.

Guava-cheese empanadas.

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Enjoyed with Ruth Reichl’s novel, which I read in a day and a half and enjoyed even more than her memoir.  She is such a good story-teller and her food writing makes your mouth water.

dinner

Leftover Korilla knock-off bowls were still yummy.

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I stir-fried mine with eggs to make up for the missing one on top.

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Also I kind of burnt the life out of it, but this was still good.

It was fitting that I put this dinner on my heart plate because I loved-loved-loved it.

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A tiny roasted pile of every single okra I could find at the stores this weekend.

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Plus I snacked on this for extra veggies.

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Toasted ciabatta sandwich with turkey, turkey bacon, Colby jack, and Smart Balance.

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The cheese was extra-thin sliced and it melted to perfection.

We checked out Bushwick’s Montana’s Trail House and our best meal of the week ended up being the best meal of the year!

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Adorable décor, amazing service, and freshly made food – most of it local – with well-balanced flavors.

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Captain Stormalong – Standard Heartcut White Whiskey, Campari, Demerara & Topped with Downeast Cider.

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Riff Randell – Vodka, Krupnikas Honey Liqueur, Contratto Aperitif, Luxardo Maraschino, Acid Phosphate, Sparkling Wine.  This was the best drink we’ve ever had.  It was like drinking pure honey but in an amazing way.  Similar to a great honey meade I had in SF.

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We started with the charred green beans – which were topped with browned garlic and soft-cooked eggs and served on top of housemade ricotta.  This was the best dish of the year, the lemony ricotta was fantastic with the drippy eggs and charred greens.

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Then we shared the dinosaur kale salad – with feta, roasted carrots, and kale that was grown in the restaurant’s rooftop garden!

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And the fried chicken with honey butter and housemade hot sauce.  Best fried chicken ever; super juicy and every bite had a whiff of honey.

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Dessert – aka the course I saw on Instagram that made me move this restaurant to my “must-eat” list – was banana bread s’mores.  <– squee!

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Also they brought us complimentary shots with our bill because we’d been raving about every bite we took.  Love.  NYC people – get yourself to Bushwick, you won’t regret it!

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?

It’s The Weekend And I’m Not Crabby

That title is a play on words referencing a tasty casserole I made this week, but real talk – I was super cranky this week and I only have a few snippets to share…

breakfast

Coffee and a watermelon Greek yogurt.

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I was hoping that the cafeteria would have fresh watermelon on hand to pair with it but honestly that flavor is pretty delicious on its own.

Iced Americano with skim milk and a splash of half and half.

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I asked for Americano with “light water” which seems to be my perfect order; mostly espresso without being just espresso.

Cherries and a cheese stick.

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Yum!

lunch

Tropical chia pudding.

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Chia seeds soaked in canned coconut milk with honey and vanilla bean paste with a smashed banana stirred in the next day.

Cafeteria sandwich.

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Tuna salad on multigrain with veggies and muenster.

Cafeteria Inception-style salad.

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Greens with oil and balsamic vinegar topped with shredded cheddar and cucumber and carrot salads.

snack

Self-explanatory…

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Most of our snacks revolved around our homemade no-churn vanilla bean ice cream. <— have you commented on the cookbook giveaway post yet??

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Topped with melted dulce de leche and Valencia peanut butter.

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And whirled into ridiculous milk shakes with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

dinner

Last night we went on a date to the mall to buy Adam sneakers and me bras and underwear because apparently we have a serious case of the olds.  We did keep things young and fresh by getting a fancy dinner at the food court.

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That’s “Drunken Noodles” from the new Thai spot, I guess.  The veggies were tasty (there were amazing pieces of eggplant) but it was a pretty poor representation of the dish.

The rest of our nights centered around this Cheesy Crab Pasta Bake.

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You see the creeper in that photo?  That’s how you know it’s good!

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Cheesy Crab Pasta Bake; serves 6-8

  • 8 oz dry bow-tie pasta
  • 1 Tbsp salted butter
  • 1 heaping Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar
  • 4 oz shredded pepperjack
  • 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 4 sliced green onions (green and white parts)
  • (2) 6 oz cans crab meat, drained and picked through if needed
  • 3 oz crab seasoned chips, crushed
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prep an 8×8 inch casserole dish with baking spray.
  2. Cook al dente pasta according to manufacture’s instructions then rinse and set aside.
  3. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Whisk flour into butter to form a roux and cook 1-2 more minutes until it has slightly darkened.  Whisk milk into roux and cook 3-4 more minutes until thickened, stirring out any lumps as needed.  Working in batches, stir cheeses into sauce.
  4. Reduce heat to low and stir Old Bay, fish sauce, lemon, and garlic into sauce.
  5. Remove pan from heat and stir in pasta, green onions, and crab, tossing until mixture is well-combined.  Pour into prepared casserole dish and top evenly with crushed chips.
  6. Bake 23 – 25 minutes.

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Served with spinach salad with champagne vinaigrette, pepitas, and roasted broccoli.

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Have a great weekend!

Williamsburg To Washington Square Park

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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

Honey sesame soy milk box.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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With roasted green beans on the side.

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

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

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

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

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

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I loved them!

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

Seoul Food Style

We got to spend time with several Buffalo friends, we went on some great walks, the puppy seems to be feeling a little better, and all in all it was a great weekend.  I’m missing a few shots, but here are most of my favorite eats…

breakfast

Giant iced coffee, always.

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That one has fat-free sweetened condensed milk and skim milk.  The SCM is leftover from a failed recipe trial, but Vietnamese-ish iced coffees are better than hot fudge root beer float popsicles (good in theory but I can’t make it work!) any day.

I tried the milk bread from TOUS les JOUR.

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Nice and vanilla-bean-y.

Another day, another coffee.

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I asked Starbucks to put the marshmallow whipped cream and milk chocolate from the S’mores Frappuccino into my skim latte and they happily delivered.  The taste was good but I was unbelievably ill by the halfway mark, I cannot even imagine drinking a full Frappuccino.

Plus Adam and I split a Pulsin’ maple peanut bar.

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It was vegan and made with pea protein and the nutrition stats were pretty good – 12 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber with 11 grams of sugar.  Not a bad breakfast for a busy morning of errands.

lunch

Lunch in Koreatown.  I set my mouth on fire with a kimchi bun and cooled it down with a (pink!) Harmless Harvest coconut water.

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Afterwards we shared dessert at Grace Street, our new favorite snow spot.

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We shared a machta latte.

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And a black sesame shaved ice with scm, boba, and mini marshmallows.

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Between the tapioca balls and the partially frozen marshmallows, this had so much chew!

“Dinner” for lunch.  We almost never cook a full meal in the daytime so this felt pretty fancy.

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Roasted broccoli with truffle salt,

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and “Cooking Light’s” Farro with Honey-Garlic Roasted Tomatoes.

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We added chopped turkey bacon and rotisserie chicken to the farro to make it a little more substantial.  Also I skipped the thyme (the bacon made up for the flavor), used fat-free feta, and subbed sherry for sherry vinegar.

snack

21st Amendment brews at the Gotham West Market.

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The market space was gorgeous and we want to go back for ramen and/or tacos soon but guys, holy crap, we paid $17 for two cans of beer!!!  At least, after a lot of walking along the piers, they were refreshing.

Can cookies at Schmackary’s become an every weekend tradition?

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This time we split a giant, chewy funfetti cookie topped with cream cheese frosting and tons of sprinkles.

We’ve been loving fruit-infused water lately; having a big jug in the fridge makes me much more likely to pour a glass.

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This week was lime and mint and last week was mint and grapefruit, which was even better.

Corn was popped.

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Enjoyed while Netflixing approximately eight billion old episodes of “Criminal Minds.”

A girlfriend and I had planned on going to Rice to Riches ever since the first summer we moved here and Monday the time was finally right.  I got a cookie cream rice pudding with mocha crumbles.  We both liked the pudding but thought it would be more enjoyable served in a bowl instead of a trough.

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My fancy cup was a skim cortado from Happy Bones, so that was fun.  And we took a great walk across the Williamsburg Bridge.

dinner

Our friends’ adorable baby girl just turned one and they invited us to her Doljanchi, a Korean 1st birthday party tradition.

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The buffet was great,

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but the best thing ever was getting to catch up with all of the med school friends (and their babies!) that we’ve been missing.

Saturday night we had an absolutely amazing dinner at The Marshal, a Hell’s Kitchen farm-to-table spot that focuses on seasonal, local goodies.  Bonus – the waitstaff are all insanely cute!

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I got an Earl’s Tea to drink – chilled Earl Grey Tea, Peace Vodka, Catskills Provisions raw honey, lemon, and orange cream bitters.

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We started with scallops – bourbon planked herb crusted Massachusetts jumbo scallops with caramelized lemon and assorted local herbs.

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And Arcadian Pastures deviled eggs – ramps-infused yolks, micro-wasabi, and crispy duck prosciutto.

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None of the appetizers really knocked our socks off (good but not the best ever) but the duck prosciutto was definitely smoky and amazing.

Our meals, on the other hand, were mind-blowing.  Adam got a bacon-wrapped pork loin that he loved so much he didn’t speak for the rest of the meal and I did a trio of farm sides.

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Roasted Bulich Farm snow while mushrooms, herb butter, Upstate white wine // Sautéed Lancaster Farm dandelion greens, red pepper flakes, grapeseed oil, Finger Lakes white wine // Satur Farms sweet potato and kale au gratin.  The gratin was out of this word; it was so rich I couldn’t even finish it.

We were too stuffed to do more than pick at dessert, but we couldn’t skip it!

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Bittersweet chilled chocolate fudge in NYC honey with honey comb, bee pollen, and Blue Marble vanilla ice cream.

The Lower East Side has always been my Manhattan haunt of choice, but lately Hells Kitchen has been rocking our socks off!  NYC readers, what’s your favorite neighborhood?

Easter And Onward

This post feels long, and I am le tired, so I will try to be less loquacious than usual.

Very chatty sidenote – how great are some of the words that describe how much a person does or does not talk??  Loquacious.  Taciturn.  Verbose.  Gabby.  Love them!

Real talk though: I somehow caught a springtime cold and I am cranky and sniffling and need to go to bed.  I know I’ve wasted 60+ words on an intro, but I’ll try to let the pictures speak for themselves as much as possible.

breakfast

Vanilla iced coffee with vanilla milk.

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Smoothie #1 – strawberry mint.  Chocolate mint soy milk, frozen strawberries, and plain Greek yogurt.

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Smoothie #2 – blueberry bliss.  Frozen blueberries and dates with plain almond milk, plain Greek yogurt, and a little honey.

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I made another batch of Community Coffee French Roast, this time in our coffee machine.  Traditional/hot brewing did make this a little bitter, but it was still quite drinkable.  Especially with skim milk and a splash of toasted marshmallow coffee syrup or a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar.

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lunch

Subs with the in-laws for Easter.  With chips and hard-boiled Easter eggs.

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Coffee Chobani with Cocoa Coconut Renola and a Cara Cara.  I am very picky about my coffee yogurts and this stuff was on point.

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A half turkey sandwich from the cafeteria with seaweed salad and Easter candy delivered by a coworker.

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I apparently don’t have a photo to speak for itself, but another day I packed a sandwich from home.  An epic sandwich.  Sweet cheddar and extra-sharp cheddar on a toasted English muffin.  Swoon.

This mix was random, but it worked – spicy Thai chili tuna salad, brown sugar and sea salt seaweed, and a Cara Cara.

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snack

Coconut water for rehydration.

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These chips are amazing.

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Coffee, always.

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The husband and I are both obsessed with these two dessert items.

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Plain Greek yogurt with butterscotch peanut butter and chocolate-covered cocoa nibs

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I made How Sweet Eat’s Brown Butter Oatmeal Chunk Cookies for a birthday at work and they received rave reviews.  I subbed vanilla bean paste for cinnamon, subbed dark chocolate chips for chocolate chunks, and made much smaller cookies (for a yield of 40 cookies versus her 15), and I recommend all three changes if you make a batch of your own.

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I’m including two non-edibles that fed my soul.  The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman was like a grown-up version of Francesca Lia Block’s stuff.  It was hard to put down; I read on the train and one night I had to sit in my car in the parking lot for twenty minutes to keep reading.

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This lip-balm smells like my dreams.

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dinner

Easter dinner.

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Dessert was angel food cake layered with a yummy Cool Whip + vanilla pudding mix + shredded pineapple concoction.

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An easy, amazing soup.  I cooked shell pasta in chicken broth then dumped in sautéed chopped bok choy and green onions, shredded cooked chicken breast, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  My bowl was drizzled with sweet chili oil as well.  Adam absolutely raved about this dish.

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I turned the rest of my never-ending marinara sauce into a bastardized version of Jenna’s Channa Masala.  On top of brown rice and roasted broccoli.  Topped with plain Greek yogurt and sweet chili oil.

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Safe Catch sent me a can of their wild skipjack tuna.

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Please note: I was sent this product free of charge to review.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Seafood is a great thing to include in your diet.  It is a lean protein, a good source of iron, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that seafood contains mercury, it may not be a good idea to consume it daily, and some varieties are safer than others.  Canned tuna, for example, I have to tell my pregnant patients to limit to </ once per week.  Safe Catch is a new, mercury tested, tuna brand that enforces a strict limit on the amount of mercury allowable in the fish that go into its products (their standards are 90% stricter than the FDA’s mercury safety limit of 1.0 parts per million).  Also important – the fish is caught exclusively with pole and line from managed stocks.

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I wanted to be able to really taste the tuna – we give it two thumbs up – so I made it into a super simple tuna salad.

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Served on a challah roll with a side of roasted broccoli.

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Last night was my sickest, and the husband worked overnight, so I made a(n incredibly tasty!) frozen meal from Trader Joe’s and called it a night.  I also ate a bowl of cereal in bed.

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There were entirely too many photos of my hands in this post.

“It’s A Miracle!”

Who else has obsessively binge-watched their way though the entire first season of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” already?  We finished the whole thing over the weekend.  We loved it!  I’m considering a rewatch.  I hate the two trial episodes – I thought they were god-awful, truly some of the worst television I’ve ever seen – but I adored everything preceding them.  The 10 second concept makes my life.  Unsurprisingly, this is another smart and funny win from Tina Fey.

The theme song has permanently ear-wormed its way into my brain.

Related, LisaBorn Round was amazing!

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I read it on the train and then would sit in my car in the parking lot for at least 20 minutes each night to keep reading.  I’m pretty sure Bruni should be giving TED Talks for all would-be crash dieters, emotional eaters, and aspiring journalists.

breakfast

I did the chocolate milk and iced coffee combo two days in a row.

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Paired with a Special K protein bar both days.

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Not the best bars – for taste or ingredient list – but they were free in the cafeteria and I had some extra morning hunger this week.

Another day I did hot chocolate mix in hot coffee with a lot of milk on top.

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So basically just the lukewarm version of my chocolate milk and coffee.

My breakfast plan for St. Patrick’s Day was a green smoothie.  Then I hit the snooze button and the plan was iced coffee with green dye in my milk.  Then I hit the snooze button five more times and I barely managed to get coffee, ice, and boring plain milk into my cup.

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…and then I also got Starbucks once I got off of the train.

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I usually don’t let myself do two coffees in the morning, but I had stayed in bed until literally 10 minutes before I needed to be in the car so clearly it was a double coffee kind of morning.  And yes, mom, I fixed my hat hair before I saw patients.

lunch

Thankfully the cafeteria totally came through and helped me get some green-theme on St. Paddy’s Day.

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My bagel was topped with pepperjack, sliced turkey, mayo, mustard, and frisee lettuce.  Plus baked onion rings on the side.

Blood orange Fage with Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes and blackberries and a fresh mandarin orange on the side.

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I can’t believe I had only ever eaten canned mandarins up until this year, they are my new favorite citrus.

Tart cherry Noosa with coconut butter, homemade butterscotch peanut butter, and a Pinata apple.

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We are loving the new 4 oz Noosa packs.  Noosa is Adam’s top favorite yogurt – in fact it’s one of his favorite foods in general – but the original packages were a bit too large to enjoy on the go.

Vanilla-caramel yogurt with blackberries and 18 Rabbits caramel apple granola.

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I loved the flavor of the grass-fed yogurt but I’d still be a little nervous about trying it plain.

snack

Popcorn / all-time best Easter candy / beer…

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All good.

A small but gourmet sandwich.

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Toasted whole-wheat with Applegate Farm herb sliced turkey, mayo, and leftover carmelized onions.

Weird pasta salad from the cafeteria.

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Why do they keep putting croutons in pasta??

An Austrian iced coffee.

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Aka coffee (delicious Grady’s cold-brew in this case) with ice, (skim) milk, and (vanilla-caramel) ice cream.

dinner

Asian-style baked shrimp bowls.

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From the bottom up, I filled my casserole with quartered bok choy, sliced wild mushrooms, chopped orange and yellow bell pepper, shrimp, fish sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, canola oil, and Sriracha.  Then I baked it for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.

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Served on top of brown rice cooked in chicken stock.

Leftover bbq salads.

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Spicy, local arugula topped with bbq sauce, cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, caramelized onions, and TJ’s fire-roasted corn cooked with turkey bacon.

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These were some of the best salads we’ve made in months.

The next night I did a 180 from salads and made my grandma’s recipe for an awesomely retro chicken and rice casserole.

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Complete with condensed soups, chow mein noodles, and crushed chips on top.  I swapped half of the rice for shredded cauliflower but otherwise did not healthy it up at all.

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Served with green beans baked with fish sauce, honey, Sriracha, and evoo.

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We ate casserole the next night too.

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And we will probably been eating casserole the next few nights as well!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, good luck getting that song out of your head!

Weekend-Ish

I know I said I was excited for this weekend, but it turned out that I spent 95% of it in bed.  Adam has been really sick and I felt very blah.

I managed to go out on Sunday to get groceries for next week but that was pretty much my only accomplishment.

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We legit ate Chipotle for three meals in a row.

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I’m pretty sure we are those people at the Chipotle now and we can never go back again.

The following was my only main meal that wasn’t a rice bowl –

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Buffalo chicken pizza,

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and leftover kale salad.

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Kale, garlic dressing, avocado, and roasted coconut – it held up very well in the fridge.

Finally, while I was out I got the Crème Brûlée Lindt Bar.

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We were fans.  I’m looking forward to packing the other half in my work lunches.

That’s all she wrote!