Top Ten Loves Before Valentine’s

Here are the past week’s top ten eats –

{1} This breakfast.

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Cashew date granola bar, grapes, and string cheese.

{2}  And also this breakfast.  Cold brew.

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Plus a Ruby Frost apple (<– crisp and juicy!).

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And rice cakes.

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My co-worker brought in rice cakes and candy for the Chinese new year.

{3} Raspberry cinnamon lassi and a pretzel roll.

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An unconventional snack combo but a good one.

{4} Strawberry vanilla smoothie.  Adam and I shared, I didn’t actually finish a Big Gulp of smoothie.

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Inspired by my lassi, I added a big shake of cinnamon.

{5} Killer yogurt bowl.

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Fage pineapple yogurt topped with chia seeds, toasted walnuts, blueberries, and Luxardo cherries.

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Why am I not putting cherries on top of everything I eat??

{6} Cafeteria salad bar.  Toppings included cheese, olives, and white beans.  With a side of tortellini salad.

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I totally ate pizza the other 3 days.

{7} Super leftovers soup.

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Whenever we make extras of a dish that would go well in soup, we toss them into the freezer for an easy dinner at a later date.

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The bag included bok choy, shallots, red pepper, and shredded chicken, the broth was TJ’s miso ginger, and we had a Tupperware of orecchiette pasta in the fridge from the night before.

{8} Sandwich #1, Bareburger date.  Plus fries.

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My turkey burger was loaded with pimento cheese, spinach, tomato, pickles, mayo, and mustard.

{9} Sandwich #2, Thai chicken crunch.

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Toasted bread with tons of melty peanut butter, Sriracha-mayo chicken salad, and pickled cucumber and carrot.

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Served with roasted green beans.

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The sandwiches were quick to assemble and very tasty and fun.

{10} Valentine’s-themed love, because I’m a sucker for anything limited edition.

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I bought a Starbucks molten chocolate latte the first day they came out, because of course I did (only available until February 14th).  It was freaking delicious.

{bonus} A mid-week date with Adam!  We both had Thursday off and we spent the day in Manhattan.  We ate giant sundaes at Serendipity 3 and took a frigid but fabulous 4 mile walk in the 17 degree weather.

Aaaaand now I work all weekend.  Think warm thoughts for me, please!

Salads, Berries, And Chocolate – Post Blizzard Eats

Fun fact about how old I feel – I spent an hour digging out my car on Sunday and it took until midweek before I could get up from my chair without audibly groaning.  This was my first year (ever!  I grew up on an island) having to do it and now I totally understand why so many people have heart attacks each winter.

daytime eats

The LIRR was still closed on Monday but thankfully Adam was around to drive me to work.  Silver lining – I spent extra time with the husband and we got to eat doughnuts for breakfast.

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I got an iced latte and a black sesame cream doughseed.

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Tuesday was much less exciting, coffee with vanilla almond milk and a piñata apple (Let’s be real though, I’m always excited about coffee!).

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And coffee with fat-free sweetened condensed milk in it is downright thrilling.  Plus a protein bar and a pear.

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More SCM love and more strawberry seltzer.

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Speaking of strawberry, this week’s tea – white strawberry.  This was a particularly pretty blend.

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The most exciting breakfast of all involved halo halo.  Plus cereal and chia seeds.  I’m still not sure if my Filipino coworker was impressed or horrified that I was putting it on plain Greek yogurt!

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I packed a couple homemade “instant” oatmeal bowls this week.  Rolled oats, nonfat milk powder, brown sugar, chia seeds, and pecans, mixed with hot water at work.  One day was freeze-dried raspberries with a peach on the side.

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The other was strawberries with a tangelo.

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I also brought in brownies!  I made a double batch of milk crumbs (from Milk Bar) and dumped them in my favorite brownie batter along with some caramel chocolate chips.  They got rave reviews from my coworkers.

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And apparently I missed them when they were gone because one day I bought chocolate cookies and an iced coffee for a train-ride snack.

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Lunches also included a slice of ridiculously overcooked veggie pizza.

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And a delicious salad topped with falafel and giant scoops of tzatziki and tabbouleh.

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nighttime eats

Adam had to take me home from work on Monday too – my train didn’t start running until the absolute last second on Tuesday morning – which meant we got to do a dinner date as well.  The streets were still crazy so we decided to eat wherever we could park.  We found a spot next to… Ramen Yebisu.

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I got the veggie miso ramen with shitake mushroom, scallion, onion, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, and kelp.  With an egg on top.  It was good, but just couldn’t compare with the epic ramen they serve up the road at Chuko.

I went out on Thursday too.  I met up with friends for drinks and dinner after work.  Drinks were bourbon, lemonade, and iced tea slushies at Pork Slope.  Dinner was obscenely cheesy sandwiches at Melt Kraft.

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I got the Melter Skelter (<– ha!), raclette cheese, pickled green tomatoes, jalapeño, bbq chips, and watercress.

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So good.  The pickled tomatoes were a really nice contrast to the rich cheese and chips are always a good sandwich topping.

Another night, Adam ate leftovers and I ate a guava cheese empanada on the train.  We sat together for our salad course though.

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Arugula with sweet and spicy pecans, chia seeds, and golden raisins, dressed with lavender honey, evoo, balsamic, and lavender salt.

Plus we shared new gummies.

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My salad was spicy sweet and these were sour sweet.

I did manage to cook one real meal.  I put chicken breasts in the crockpot in the morning along with a jar of salsa and tons of chopped bell peppers and onion – plus a little bit of salt and evoo – and came home to this –

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Served with TJ’s Cuban black beans and tons of cheese on top.

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We have really been loving the crockpot this winter, all of our best chicken has come out of it.

One more day of work and then I’m spending my weekend being low-key and boring, running errands and catching up on tv.

Last Week’s Top Five

{1} Coffee, always.

Highlights include Starbucks while I grocery shopped last Monday.  The coffee was only ok, but getting to leisurely sip and shop on a weekday? Fabulous.

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Even better – a triple nonfat iced latte from the Stumptown in the Ace Hotel.

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It’s a neat spot and the espresso is fabulous, I highly recommend making a stop if you’re near Penn Station.

{2} Ramen with some of my favorite people

My Maryland aunt and cousin came into town for a quick visit and I met them at the train and needed to provide food, warmth, and NYC awesomeness – enter Chelsea Market for Ramen at Mok Bar.

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I got the ginger chicken ramen (Roasted ginger chicken broth, pulled chicken, cucumber and garlic chive kimchi) with an egg on top and we shared a few varieties of kimchi on the side.

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They are used to the cold, and are a walking family too, so they were totally down with a chilly 2+ mile stroll through Chelsea/LES to meet Adam.

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Including a stop at Sokerbit!

{3} Dinner at The Vandal

The Vandal is a new (ginormous) restaurant in the Bowery.  The menu is a mix of “street food” from a myriad of cultures and the décor is graffiti-style art on every wall.  There’s a coffee cart in the dining room and a bar in the basement.  It’s a fun spot.  My aunt has a family friend who is involved in the opening.

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Highlight of the night – my cousin was trying to describe who Chris Santos was to Adam just as Chris Santos walked up to our table to say hello.  It was hilarious and he was very sweet and friendly.

We shared everything so we could all taste lots of drinks and dishes.  The drinks menu is divided into Bright, Spiced, and Barrel-Aged and we ordered one from each section plus a yummy bottle of Spanish wine.

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My drink was the best, The Intervention = Gentleman Jack whiskey, plum, Aperol, lemon, and Spanish bitters.

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We ordered a few meat dishes that I didn’t eat.  Plus shrimp arepas with purple slaw and chipotle cream and cauliflower with picada sauce, olives, and hazelnuts.

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Wild mushroom pizza with caramelized onion.

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And brussels sprouts elote.

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All of the dishes were fantastic but the pizza (recommended by Chris Santos himself!) and cauliflower were everyone’s favorite.  It was a wonderful night.

{4} Americanized Halo Halo

My sweet Filipino coworker knows I’m in love with palm seeds and she brought me in giant jars of palm seeds and halo halo topping (boiled, sweetened mix of beans, coconut, jackfruit, etc).

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I’ve been putting it on pretty much everything, including this ridiculous sundae.

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Toasted almond gelato, halo halo, sweetened condensed milk, frosted flakes, and rainbow sprinkles.  I didn’t have shaved ice but otherwise it was pretty close to the real deal!

{5} Blizzard bowls

I didn’t do the best job of stocking up on food before the storm and we spent most of the weekend eating chicken nuggets.  I did manage to get it together for one healthy (yummy) meal.

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Steam/sautéed shredded green cabbage and shredded chicken cooked in peanut sauce, topped with fried shallots and fresh cilantro.  Shredded cabbage is so quick and easy, I need to remember to use it more often.

I hope all my East Coast readers are staying warm and safe!

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It’s All Greek To Me!

My four-day workweek helped ease me back into real life after vacation.  I was also assisted by copious amounts of sugar, coffee, and alcohol.  And thanks to the holiday, next week is short too, wahoo!

daytime eats

Cereal and milk coffee.

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Coffee, Fiber One bar, Pink Lady apple.

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Latte and a tangelo.

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We got to sample some of the new desserts that are going to be sent up to patients on their birthdays.

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And our cafeteria’s brownies are always to die for.

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I don’t even really like brownies but these are terrifically fudgy.

Loaded veggie pizza.

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Cafeteria-assembled Mediterranean salad.  Romaine and ranch topped with marinated cucumbers, taboule, chickpeas, and cheese; plus a falafel, pita chips, hummus, and a pickle.

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Oatmeal with chocolate hazelnut butter and a side of fresh melon.

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This was my first time trying steel cut oats and I really enjoyed them.

nighttime eats

Leftover pineapple turkey chili pulled down from the freezer.

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Topped with pickled jalapeños and apricot stilton.  With buttered toast and a side of baby carrots and hummus.

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I was majorly thanking my past self for saving some chili for a future quickie dinner.

Scrambled eggs made for another easy night.

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Filled with broccoli, cauliflower, shredded chicken breast, and three cheese blend.

Mediterranean salad at home.  My cafeteria version was good but this was the better of the two; the crispy chickpeas took it to the next level.

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Baby romaine with TJ’s feta dressing / roasted zucchini / hard-boiled egg / crispy chickpeas / taboule / and feta cheese.

TJ’s chile relleno with cheesy eggs and buttered toast.

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This was an arbitrary assortment of foods but it worked.

Adam brought me home a giant salted caramel macaron from our favorite spot in Grand Central Station.  He was on an “away” rotation at NYU that ended yesterday so this was the last of the midweek Manhattan treats.

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I paired a cocktail grapefruit with a sticky toffee beer that was only so-so.

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And chocolates (nonpareils and dipped gummy bears) with a Dino S’mores Imperial Stout.

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Never mind the fact that the label is a mouse in a dinosaur costume making a s’more (<– !!!!!), this stout is brewed with graham flour, fluff, vanilla, and cocoa nibs, and it tastes like a freaking toasted marshmallow.  ♥♥♥♥

P.S. Have you seen the Tatum on Tatum episode of Lip Sync Battle?  I laughed so hard I’m pretty sure I scared the neighbors!

Goodbye, 2015

It’s been a good year but I’m ready for 2016!

I still tend to think in terms of school years rather than calendar years, so I don’t usually set new year’s resolutions (though in 2015 I did lose a few pounds and make a major career move, woo-hoo!).  However, for the past 5 years I have made it my mission to read at least 25 books a year.  I’m pretty proud of the 35 I read this year so I included the list at the bottom of this post.

I’m heading to a NYE party tonight and then I’m up early for work on the 1st, so without further adieu, here’s the final wrap-up of the year…

breakfast

A final eggnog iced coffee while I set up my planner for 2016!!

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Otherwise this was the coffee combo for the week –

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With wonderful fruit options, a cocktail grapefruit.

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And a piñata apple.

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Plus tea at work.

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Caramel was yummy, and it smelled delicious.

lunch

I had Monday off – the end of a fabulous four-day weekend – so I got to have a yogurt bowl at home.

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Plain Fage with maple syrup, blackberries, chia seeds, and praline pecan granola.

Oatmeal from home, at work.

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With vanilla almond butter.

Cafeteria salad bar.

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I made myself a Greek salad with romaine with balsamic, marinated cucumber salad, tzatziki , tabbouleh , and falafel.

dinner

Monday was our 8-year wedding anniversary (we got married on our 5th dating anniversary so it was also our 13th year as a couple)!!  I consider myself the luckiest person alive that I get to spend my life with Adam.  We celebrated with food, of course.  We headed into the city early and got our favorite coffee {Brooklyn Roasting Company},

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and our favorite ice cream {Morganstern’s}.

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We split a scoop of American egg with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate sprinkles.

Then we enjoyed our favorite dinner of the year (maybe my favorite dinner of our marriage!) at Bowery Meat Company.  It was a truly epic meal of several courses whose highlights included roasted cauliflower, foie gras, Spanish wine, and an entire casserole of duck lasagna.  We held hands, and giggled, and were generally disgusting, and I didn’t take a single picture*.  *Other than instagramming the duck lasagna, because how could I not?

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The nights at home, appetizers included delicious leftover buffalo chicken pizza and carrots with hummus.

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I’ve determined that pretty much no matter what I eat for lunch I am frantic with hunger by the time I get home from work so I usually eat something before I try to make dinner.

Tuesday’s dinner didn’t require much time or effort though, because we brought home leftover duck lasagna.  swoon.

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I consider myself a fairly good cook and it is safe to say that I’ve never made a dish that tasted as good as these microwaved leftovers!

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With salads on the side.

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Spinach / lavender salt, lavender honey, evoo / sweet and spicy pecans / golden raisins.

And Wednesday I designed a quick dinner around this (former freebie) Bertolli Asiago Cheese and Artichoke sauce.

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We tossed the sauce with sautéed mushrooms, artichokes, shredded chicken, and orecchiette pasta.  It obviously couldn’t compete with the duck but was still good.

2015’s reading list

They’re listed in chronological order.  F = fiction, NH = nonfiction, and M = memoir.  I bolded the year’s top ten favorites.

  1. Bones Never Lie – Kathy Reichs (f)
  2. I Forget to Remember, A Memoir of Amnesia – Su Meck (m)
  3. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, And Other Small Acts of Liberation – Elizabeth Berg (f)
  4. The Next Queen of Heaven – Gregory Maguire (f)
  5. Fairyland, a Memoir of my Father – Alysia Abbott (m)
  6. Yes, Please – Amy Poehler  (m)
  7. Stiff, The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers – Mary Roach (nf)
  8. Born Round, A Story of Family, Food and a Ferocious Appetite – Fran Bruni (m)
  9. Flesh and Blood – Patricia Cornwell (f)
  10. With or Without You – Domenica Ruta (m)
  11. The Story Sisters – Alice Hoffman (f)
  12. Tender at the Bone – Ruth Reichl (m)
  13. Comfort Me with Apples – Ruth Reichl (m)
  14. Garlic and Saphires – Ruth Reichl (m)
  15. Crash and Burn – Lisa Gardner (f)
  16. Delancey – Molly Wizenberg (m)
  17. Someone is Watching – Joy Fielding (f)
  18. If Only You People Could Follow Directions – Jessica Henry Nelson (m)
  19. Working Stiff – Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner – Judy Melinek M.D. (m)
  20. The Removers – Andrew Meredith (m)
  21. Let the Tornado Come – Rita Zoey Chin (m)
  22. Bossypants – Tina Fey (m)
  23. Unorthodox, The Scandalous Rejection of my Hasidic Roots – Deborah Feldman (m)
  24. The Elegance of the Hedgehog – Muriel Barbery (f)
  25. Delicious – Ruth Feichl (f)
  26. Head Cases, Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath – Michael Paul Mason (nf/m)
  27. Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood – Leah Vincent (m)
  28. Speaking in Bones – Kathy Reichs (f)
  29. My Planet: Finding Humor in the Oddest Places – Mary Roach (m)
  30. Cooked, A Natural History of Transformation – Michael Pollan (nf)
  31. Burn Down the Ground – Kambri Crews (m)
  32. Thinking in Pictures, My Life with Autism – Temple Grandin (m/nf)
  33. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (f) {reread}
  34. Go Set a Watchman – Harper Lee (f)
  35. Gulp, Adventures on the Alimentary Canal – Mary Roach (nf)

Do you set new year’s resolutions?

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas!

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December 1st hits and right on schedule my head fills with thoughts of sugar plums!  Or rather thoughts of eggnog and hot chocolate, I’ve never actually tasted a sugar plum.

It’s not as big as my pumpkin bounty, but I was still pretty excited to pull out my holiday goods stash.

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I’ve marked all of the eats in this post that qualify as holiday foods with a ** for classification purposes, also because it feels me with glee.  I’m missing a lot of photos (I ate a ton this week) but here are the highlights…

breakfast

This week’s coffee – Breakfast Blend with TJ’s low-fat eggnog**.

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Plus I had an “original” eggnog iced latte**.

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This week’s tea – Gingerbread**.

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With a caramel apple biscotti (former freebie).

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Or a gingerbread biscotti** (meta!) and a juicy pear.

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Or a slice of carrot cake my coworker brought in.

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It was a good week for workplace treats, another coworker brought me Filipino-style ambrosia from her Thanksgiving.

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It was out of control good; I made myself ill scarfing down that container.  Less sugar than the American version and loaded with palm seeds and fresh coconut.

snacks

Maple leaf iced latte from Sweet Leaf.

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Yummy, but nothing can top the Voodoo Child (their take on Vietnamese iced coffee).  We also had a really yummy Spanish iced latte at a café in Park Slope later in the week.

Holiday doughnuts** from Doughnut Plant.

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Chestnut and a marzipan star.

Holiday milkshakes** from Shake Shack.

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We tried gingerbread and chocolate peppermint.  They weren’t all that good but the penguins on the cup make my day.

Mini cupcakes from Sweet Haus Cupcake Café.

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We shared red velvet, salted caramel, and cookie dough.  Cookie dough = a literal scoop of cookie dough!

Hot cocoa Hubba Bubba** as an after lunches palate cleanser.

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I don’t know how they managed to make the gum so chocolatey!

Mug cookies for the win.

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Number 2 Pencil’s winner recipe with salted brown butter dark chocolate.

lunch

Brunch with Adam on Sunday.  We went to Greenpoint for Five Leaves.  I got a so-so Bloody Mary.

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And we shared an amazing braised duck pot pie.

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And an egg sandwich.

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The pot pie was succulent duck, root vegetables, and parsnip veloute, in an herbed crust with wilted brussels sprouts leaves.

Cafeteria food is listed from least to most enjoyable –

One day there was nothing that looked appetizing so I ate a spicy tuna salad package from the snack stash in my desk.  Plus cafeteria baked fries.

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Another day I ate Asian tofu and steamed squash and wished I’d stuck with my desk snacks.

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This tossed salad – with lettuce, ranch, pickles, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and pinto beans – was pretty good.

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And this taco salad was a winner.

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From the salad bar and the taco bar I assembled lettuce, veggies, cheddar, sour cream, salsa, and black bean and corn salsa.

dinner

Pizza-pizza.

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Turkey pepperoni and mozzarella balls on top of marinara sauce and a TJ’s frozen crust.

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With salads on the side.

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Arugula / roasted broccoli / balsamic, honey, evoo, and lavender salt / sweet and spicy pecans.

Pasta with veggies and sauce.  We topped whole-wheat penne with Bertolli mushroom and truffle sauce mixed with browned mushrooms, chopped spinach, and TJ’s vegan chorizo.

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With huge hunks of ciabatta slathered with Smart Balance.

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This meal was good several nights in a row.

Veggie miso ramen from Chuko.  With scallions, bamboo shoots, butternut squash, shredded chicken, soft boiled egg, and their fantastic sesame greens.

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I had a sore throat all week and this – plus a big scoop of honey ice cream at Ample Hills – was just what the doctor ordered.

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

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Turkey Week Eats

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I hope that all of my American readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We didn’t do anything fancy to celebrate, but I sure was thankful for the four-day workweek!  My million-point list of things I’m thankful for also includes this gorgeous city…

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Random Thoughts

I made the toffee candy for a work birthday party, this time following the original recipe.

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I think my version with graham crackers and pretzels is better, the saltines got a bit soggy.

I reread To Kill a Mockingbird this week in anticipation of starting Go Catch a Watchman and cried on the train at least ten times.

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TKM is one of my favorite books but I had forgotten what a fabulous writer Harper Lee is in the few years since I had last reread it.  Atticus is my all-time favorite character.  I love him even more than Ghosh from Cutting for Stone.

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, “but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Daytime Eats

This week’s tea – Adagio’s Pumpkin Spice (former freebie).

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With treats from the birthday party… including pie made with fresh coconut

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Or with pumpkin applesauce and biscotti.

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This week’s coffee – Community Coffee’s Breakfast Blend with skim milk and sugar.

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Cafeteria lunch salads. Romaine, blue cheese dressing, carrot, cucumber, tomato, olive, pickle, black eyed peas, and pasta salad.

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Romaine, ranch, carrot, cucumber, tomato, olive, pickle, corn salsa, cheddar, and chickpeas.

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Romaine, blue cheese dressing, carrot, olive, tomato, cucumber, corn, cheddar, and cole slaw.

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And home on Turkey Day I was thankful for yogurt bowls.

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Plain Greek yogurt topped with cranberry sauce, pomegranate, chia seeds, and praline pecan maple granola.  Best bowl of the year.

Nighttime Eats

I met up with girlfriends for drinks early in the week.  Pork Slope never disappoints.  They had Sorachi Ace, Adam’s favorite beer which is now my favorite beer.  It just goes down so easily!

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I also had a ridiculous fall shandy – gin, maple bitters, simple syrup, lemon juice, and cider.

Dinners were all about the bird!  We cooked turkey breasts in the crock pot on Sunday and then shredded them into meals all week.

Turkey tossed with TJ’s whole-wheat butternut squash goyza on top of sautéed shredded Brussels sprouts with pecans.

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Topped with gruyere cheese and cranberry sauce.

Turkey tossed with bbq sauce on a brioche bun (toasted with Smart Balance) with cranberry sauce and goat’s milk brie.

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With roasted green beans on the side.  Year’s best sandwich!

For Thanksgiving dinner we decided to go super traditional – nachos.  TJ’s stuffing flavored kettle chips topped with turkey, gruyere, smoked paprika, and cranberry sauce.

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With hericot verts roasted with shallots.  So much better than the usual meal!  Plus pumpkin pie,

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aka Rogue’s Pumpkin Patch Ale.

Friday night, once the turkey celebration was over, Adam and I went on a dinner date in the Lower East Side.  Coffee while we walked around Chinatown.

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Ice cream at Ice & Vice.  Milk Money = toasted milk, sea salt, and chocolate ganache and Shade = smoked dark chocolate with caramelized white chocolate ganache.  I’m usually not one for chocolate ice cream but this was fantastic.

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Then dinner at Mission Chinese Food.  With complimentary dumplings to start.

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I ordered the Tea Ceremony – matcha, melon, and fizzy wine.

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We shared the green papaya salad with smoked chicken, green tomato, peanuts, and pickled tea leaves.

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And I ordered the spicy peanut noodles, with cucumber, mint, and numbing oil.

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They were chewy, savory, and beyond tingly; numbing oil is good but intense!  The mint was really wonderful with the spice.  All in all a good meal, though not as epic as the thousand-plus articles I’d read about the restaurant would have had me believe.

BEC, FTW

Big life change alert – I have a new job.  As of Monday this week I officially transferred over to the inpatient nutrition team full-team.  I am very sad to no longer be working with prenatal clients on an outpatient basis but the job opened up I knew that it was time for me to get back to my roots with acute care.  My new job lets me work with and learn from other Dietitians on a daily basis and gives me exposure to a much greater scope of practice.  I’m excited about it.

My new job comes with a nice perk – free meals from the cafeteria, so you are going to see some big changes in my weekly lunches.  And this transition week was unbelievably busy so there were a lot of bites that missed the camera.  You’ll just have to picture a lot of snacking, both candy at my desk and copious taste-testing while preparing dinners.  Plus a lot more coffee, of course.  Here the bites I did capture…

breakfast

Coffee!  With a SweeTango apple.

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Or a Nonni’s caramel apple biscotti and a persimmon.

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Or a Fiber One cheesecake strawberry bar and a persimmon.

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This week’s coffee masterpiece was Grady’s Cold Brew with skim & vanilla almond milks.

lunch

My old team brought in a giant cake on my last day.  So sweet!

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I ate a serious amount of frosting.

Now that I’m “buying” lunch instead of packing my yogurt bowls {tear!} you’re going to see a lot of salads and sandwiches.  Romaine / ranch / cheddar / chickpeas / veggies / cole slaw.

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Romaine / ranch / corn salsa / peppers / maple pumpkin seeds.

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Plus chocolate a new coworker brought me.

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Yesterday I had a simple sandwich.  Toasted wheat bread, mayo, turkey, pepperjack.  Plus a carton of chocolate milk.

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Apparently I’m six.

dinner

In spite of the fact that Adam and I both had crazy weeks, our dinners were all winners.  We let the crockpot help out one night.  Chicken breasts topped with bbq sauce and fresh cranberries and set on low for 8 hours.

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We’ve made this dish three winters in a row now and it is always wonderful.  Served with roasted green beans and TJ’s sprouted California rice.  And a Warlock pumpkin stout.

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We used leftovers in our BECFR, aka Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Fried Rice.

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Rice stir-fried in olive oil with turkey bacon and chunks of cheddar and eggs.  Roasted cruciferous veggies on the side.

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I’ll toot my own horn – cheese in fried rice is freaking genius.  We tried to watch “Fresh Off the Boat” while we ate but I was mmmning so loudly that we kept having to pause.

Finally, a quick salad.

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Baby spinach / feta dressing / cucumber / pumpkin seeds / roasted coconut chips / avocado / turkey bacon / and goat’s milk Brie.

It’s been an exciting work-week but I am feeling ready for the weekend!