Four Day Week Top Five

by Emily

I’m not at work today! Or tomorrow, or the next day, or the next!! Even better, I get to spend every second of the next four days with my husband, who just came back from a trip out of town.

Nothing is as exciting as this long weekend, but here are five foods from the week that were thrilling in their own right…

{1} Compartés bars. They are crazy expensive but I am completely obsessed.

The Salty Malty bar was one of the best chocolates I’ve ever eaten.

{2} Taco salad.

Romaine, carrots, chopped tomato and onion, corn, cheddar, salsa, sour cream, olives, and hard-boiled eggs.

{3} Junky fast-food style chicken wrap from the cafeteria.

Totally delicious and definitely not nutritious; this is why I mostly pack my lunches for work even though I eat for free in the cafeteria – the salad bar is available but nine times out of ten I’m going to pass it up for something I can eat with fries.

{4} A product review from Sonoma Syrups, whose goods contain no perservatives or artificial flavors or colors. The syrups can be used in alcoholic drinks and baking, but no one is surprised that I tried them out in iced coffee. Sea Salt Caramel isn’t quite as robust as a scoop of dulce de leche, but it definitely made a better coffee than the Starbucks’ caramel macchiato.

The Vanilla Hazelnut was tasty too. A 2 Tbsp serving of the syrups has </100 calories and is strong enough to flavor a 10 ounce cup of dark coffee.

And Meyer Lemon was yummy enough that I didn’t even wish this iced tea was coffee!

Heads up PSL addicts, they do have a pumpkin spice syrup.

{5} Meze meal. I met a girlfriend for drinks and dinner mid-week.

I ordered spanakopita, smoked cremini mushrooms, and hummus with warm chickpeas and hard-boiled eggs. The spanakpita was meh (we both thought it tasted like something you’d buy frozen at Trader Joe’s) but the hummus was great.

Enjoy your weekend!

24Aug2016

Three Day Weekend Staycation

by Emily

Not only was I off last Friday for a three-day weekend, but Adam started a 2-week vacation and was free to hang out with me all three days as well! We had originally thought about taking a trip to Boston but the hotel situation was prohibitively expensive and we live in the best city on Earth so it made more sense to do a staycation instead. Basically we had a three day long date! We walked and ate and repeated until we were sunburnt, stuffed, and smiling.

Friday: we took the train to the new-ish Hudson Yards Station.

Walked around Chelsea and got coffees at the up and coming Chelsea Terminal Warehouse. Walked along the Highline.

Walked through Greenwich Village. Watched the sunset at Chelsea Piers.

Saturday: we drove into Dumbo. Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Took the free ferry to Ikea and spent an hour playing design a dream home (we did not have a couples fight, probably because all we needed to purchase was Swedish gummy candy from the bulk bins).

Spent the afternoon exploring Red Hook.

Sunday: we stopped for coffees in Floral Park. Got brunch in Park Slope. Walked a bit in Carrol Gardens.

Ate nachos in bed and watched NCIS.

I had to be choosy or this post would be ~~too long~~ even longer because we stopped at at least ten different spots for coffees and ice creams alone, but her were were the culinary highlights…

Cold brew from Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Aussie iced coffee from Bluestone Lane.

It was boiling hot all weekend and we drank about a million beverages, including an ultra-hydrating product sample – coconut water from Harmless Harvest.

They sent me some free product coupons and cute cups in exchange for this post.

Harmless Harvest is my favorite coconut water anyway – the company is Fair for Life certified, the flavor is sweet and not “gaggy” like some brands can be, and the bottles are often pink*! – so I happily accepted. *Per the company – “Coconut water is clear when bottled but contains a variety of antioxidants which can turn pink once they interact with sunlight.”

I was told to include a photo of myself enjoying the coconut water and while I tried pick a picture Adam was busy guzzling down my drink, so clearly Harmless Harvest gets a thumbs up from him as well!

Adobo-ritos with chicken and kimchi fried rice from 2nd City. We also had really fantastic calamansi lime jello shots.

Our first time at Dominique Ansel. I thought the pastry was meh but we also tried the burrata soft serve (with balsamic caramel and a macerated strawberry) and it was mind-blowing.

Black sesame cream mochi. We also picked up some cola gummies!

Seafood lunch at Brooklyn Crab. We got beers and view.

Simple but wonderful salad to start, bibb lettuce with sweet and spicy pepitas and a maple goat cheese vinaigrette.

I got a blue crab roll with Old Bay mayo.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie, finally, I have wanted to go here since our original move to Brooklyn.

The swingle – aka key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate! – did not disappoint.

Brunch at Bricolage.

Bloody Mary.

I got the vegetarian crepe with king oyster and maitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, and fried eggs. Served rolled up in lettuce leaves with fresh mint and a spicy sauce.

Coke float soft-serve at Milk Bar.

Only two more days until the next weekend – this one’s going to be a four day doozy!

19Aug2016

Time Crunch

by Emily

Remember when I said seven days of work in a row wouldn’t be too bad? I’m old now. I am tired. I don’t have a ton to share because 2/4 dinners this week were Chipotle. And I only cooked one of the two non-Chipotle nights, the other we walked the dog to get milkshakes and then I got into bed the minute we got home at 7:30, fully dressed.

Coffee, obviously. Starbucks pro tip – order the cold brew “with room, no water” so you can ensure it doesn’t get too diluted behind the counter. I put milk in my coffee anyway so I’d rather temper the concentrate strength myself.

With almonds.

I’m still dying over the Grady’s Cold Brew with fat-free half & half and milk.

My lunches this week were centered around a generous box of freeze-dried fruits samples from Crunchies. The products are vegan, gluten-free, and kosher, and they contain no added sugars or flavorings, just fruits that have undergone a low-pressure drying process. Bonus – Crunchies sources the fruits directly from the farmers who grow them.

the free products were my only compensation for this post, all my own opinions, blah blah

We buy a lot of freeze-dried fruit because Adam often packs it for work so we were excited to try some new options.

Lows – raspberry. Too seedy and sour/bitter. To be fair, I don’t like any of the freeze-dried raspberries I’ve tried and I don’t love fresh raspberries.

High – everything else! These were the best freeze-dried fruits we’ve tasted. The strawberries weren’t too sweet or sour – no mouth pucker, the banana flavor was super strong, the grapes were sweet and a bit chewy, as were the pineapples. 10/10.

I enjoyed the fruits in yogurt bowls for lunch (I took half the bag and Adam took the other half with him). Plain Siggi’s, strawberry banana, Nonni’s dark chocolate banana.

0% Fage, raspberries, pom seeds, maple peanut butter.

Vanilla yogurt, grapes, pom seeds.

2% Fage, pineapple, coconut butter.

And here’s my only dinner photo, turkey and eggs.

Ground turkey sautéed with celery, evoo, tomato paste, Sriracha, brown sugar, and fish sauce. Topped with soft scrambled eggs. I made Adam a similar but less spicy dish for breakfast when he got home from work and he loved it.

Now I have a three-day weekend!

15Aug2016

Working Weekend Wrap-Up

by Emily

No traditional weekend for me, my only day off was Thursday. I’m actually working straight through this Thursday – 7 days in a row – which means next weekend will be a three-day extravaganza! It’s hard to complain about 7 days anyway, my last year at Buff State when I was doing school/internship/part-time job there were a few stretches where I went 30 days plus without a true day off.

The past 4 days in numbers –

glasses of iced coffee – 7
packed lunches – 0
product reviews* – 2
desserts – 10 billion
books read start to finish** – 1

notes: *the products were both sent to me free of charge and neither company gave me additional compensation for this post; **the book was a murder mystery that I actually hated but needed to know the ending to

Here are the highlights…

Key lime cookie from Schmackary’s.

With white chocolate, pistachios, and cream cheese icing. The middle is the best part.

Three new dark chocolate flavors of Nonni’s Almond THINaddictives* – Dark Chocolate Banana Almond, Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, and Double Dark Chocolate Almond. FYI – hit up their Facebook page for a new flavors giveaway.

They are 70-80 calories per pack (2 thins) and crisp but not too crumbly. I though the double chocolate flavor was a bit plain but the cherry and banana had great notes of tart and sweet. This week I paired them with my coffee but I’m also looking forward to crumbling them into yogurts.

That combo is killer, Grady’s is thick and sweet and it makes my heart sing.

Traditional breakfast.

Potatoes, scrambled eggs, and (turkey) bacon. Covered in ketchup because I grew up in St. Thomas and we put ketchup on everything. <– real talk, I didn’t know that ketchup wasn’t an automatic pairing for chicken wings until I went to college; now I mostly use other condiments but scrambled eggs always get ketchup

The cafeteria is pretty grim over the weekend but Friday I did eat this seafood feast.

Fried shrimp, potato wedges, and vinegar-based cole slaw. We had leftover ice cream from our birthday party and I taught my coworkers about Australian iced coffees.

They loved it!

Since I didn’t have my yogurt lunches I got my probiotics in the form of Health-Ade Kombucha*.

Their small-batch (2.5 gallons) fizz is organic, vegan, kosher, and gluten-free. They do their fermenting in glass containers only and the bottles are fantastic and just begging to house a handful of wildflowers. Health-Ade generously sent me a case of Ginger Lemon.

I have to confess here that I actually kind of hate ginger. Nonetheless, I found the kombucha to be very enjoyable. The flavor behind the spice was very “clean” and just sweet enough. I still wouldn’t buy this flavor once I finish my samples but I will damn sure scoop up Pink Lady Apple or California Grape the minute I spot them. P.S. I brought a bottle to a ginger loving friend and she said it was hands down the best kombucha she’s ever tasted.

Date night in Hell’s Kitchen. My NCIS obsession finally paid off for Adam – I took us to Donna Bella Bake Shop because it’s co-owned by Pauley Perrette (aka lab tech Abby). We had a dreamy lemon bar and this delectable brownie with a cookie crust and ganache on top.

We walked past Room Service and decided to do Thai for dinner.

That guava mojito was terrible and weak. But the crispy duck salad wasn’t half bad.

I ordered the Pad Noh Mai for dinner, shrimps, minced chicken, fresh basils, Thai chili, and bamboo shoots with herbs chili paste garlic sauce.

The menu promised spice and it delivered. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant though, Hell’s Kitchen is a bastion of excellent, authentic Thai restaurants and you can do better.

I cooked! A real dinner, a stew, made of vegetables no less. I put the crock pot to work for me, filled to its brim. Onion / garlic / carrot / kale / red bell pepper / white beans / red lentils / diced tomato / veggie broth.

I didn’t bother to season or brown anything so the end result was a little bland, but topped with melted cheese it was hearty and satisfying.

Three down, four to go.

2Aug2016

This Weekend’s Best…

by Emily

…breakfast –

A blueberry cheesecake smoothie! Frozen berries with chocolate milk and low-fat cream cheese. Adam and I both loved it.

Plus the new cold brew from Dunkin. Delicious with the Heath Bar syrup and some skim milk.

…brunch

Colonie. I got the duck hash again, because it makes the top five list for best dishes I’ve ever eaten.

…lunch –

Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries and the last of the cookies crumbled on top.

…brinner –

Eggs with swiss cheese, a simple salad, and a towering stack of buttered toast.

…dinner

Sandwich night with roasted broccoli.

Toasted french bread / mayo with Sriracha, fish sauce, and dark brown sugar / baked extra-firm tofu / quick pickled cucumber and shallot / crispy garlic.

…book –

Autumn Balloons, a memoir by Kenny Porpora. It had me laughing and crying, both at an embarrassing volume, on the train. Easily one of the most captivating memoirs I’ve ever read.

28Jul2016

Birthday Staycation

by Emily

I’m running late posting but my birthday weekend was absolutely worth sharing. My parents were visiting, we spent time with one of my oldest childhood friends which feels very appropriate for a birthday, I had four days off of work (and Adam was free a bit too!), and we spent our days walking and eating.

I love when people visit because showing them around lets you take a vacation in your own town. Alphabetically, some of our stops included – Brookfield Place, Bushwick, Chelsea, Chelsea Piers, Greenwich Village, the Highline, the Mayorville petting zoo, Montauk, the Narrows botanical garden, Park Slope, Smorgasburg, and Williamsburg.

Here were the food highlights…

Terremoto Coffee.

Winter rose latte in a complimentary cup.

Bluestone Lane.

My Australian iced latte – with cocoa powder and ice cream – was deeply enjoyed as the days were hot, hot hot.

Corner of Vermont sells the best maple candies I’ve ever had.

And their maple soft serve is delightful.

Lunch in Montauk.

They are famous for lobster rolls but I went with the seafood chili this visit.

Chickpea & Olive at Smorgasburg.

Pulled BBQ jackfruit with Carolina slaw, bread & butter pickles, fried shallots, and horseradish aioli, on a potato bun. This was my first time trying jackfruit and I’m definitely a fan.

Chuko Ramen.

My parents both loved their chicken miso ramen. I topped mine with drippy egg and tons of chili garlic oil.

Montana Trail House.

I had a drink with hibiscus-infused rum! And another with Aperol and grapefruit.

We shared fried green tomato sliders and switchel glazed carrots.

And I stuck with veggies for my entrée and ordered the broccoli gratin.

Mostly because it came covered in pimento cheese.

Mile End Deli.

We started with the peppers and baba ghanoush. When you’re at ME you have to order poutine.

And I always order a turkey reuben.

I love New York.

11Jul2016

A Bunch Of Brunch

by Emily

Chameleon’s Mexican coffee was delightful with a bit of milk. Related – I am in physical pain that I can’t find the Texas pecan near me.

Iced coffee is always good though.

This cup from Colonie was knock-your-socks-off good. There must have been a nitro tap somewhere because it was crazy velvety.

I went for brunch with a girlfriend and we were both blown away by my duck hash. With poached egg, red potatoes, roasted onion puree, and aioli. I’m usually not that excited by potatoes but these were crispy perfection.

Afterwards we went to Grand Army and had {too many!} drinks. We practically tried the whole cocktail menu and everything was fantastic!

Brunch numero dos at Tocolo Cantina. I had the mushroom taquitos – crispy tacos filled with roasted mushroom, corn, and Chihuahua cheese.

This cafeteria lunch wasn’t too bad either. My wrap sandwich had grilled chicken, cheddar, veggies, and cilantro.

Date shake smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, ice, dulce de leche, and fresh dates.

Lavender caramel. I brought these back from my Philly trip and I wish I’d bought more!

These leftovers eggs were better than they look. With chicken hot dog, baby spinach, yellow bell pepper, and gouda cheese.

A 2nd home-cooked dinner in one weekend?

These – only ok – salmon patties came from the freezer, but I did make the tartar sauce. Mayo, mustard, pickle relish, and dill.

And I assembled the salads myself. Romaine, ranch, heirloom baby tomatoes, pistachios, and an amazing blue cheese from Trader Joe’s.

8Jul2016

Duck, Duck… Bacon!

by Emily

This week Adam and I tried duck bacon and fell head over heels in love.

It’s probably a good thing that that package cost $14 or we’d be eating duck bacon for every meal!

Our other flavor theme was lavender caramelized almonds.

Love Our Nuts sent me a giant bin (<– free sample) and I put them to good use.

In a pan over medium-high heat dry toast 2 cups of raw almonds for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown. Add 1 Tbsp evoo, 2 pinches of salt, and 1/4 cup lavender sugar and cook 1-2 more minutes, stirring regularly, until the sugar is fully melted and the almonds are coated. Spread almonds on a greased cookie pan or sheet of tin foil until fully cooled before storing. If you want to try this recipe at home Love Our Nuts is actually hosting a giveaway right now, all you have to do is visit their social media pages.

I also had a lavender doughnut from Doughnut Plant.

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For this week’s coffee I cold brewed my Birch cold brew blend.

The tasting notes say caramel and chocolate finish so I stirred a dollop of caramel into this cup because why not?

I also had a really fantastic latte from Gorilla.

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And a Starbucks latte that didn’t actually pair that well with savory trail mix.

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Yogurt bowls for lunch. Plain Siggi’s with chopped plum and lavender almonds.

And fig with chopped plucot and KIND maple chia granola. Plus a so-so kombucha from Trader Joe’s.

Chocolate x2.

A coworker and I got tasty drinks at Grand Army after a particularly long day. This Trans-Siberian tasted like an adult Capri Sun! I also had a fantasmic peach sour beer.

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The night Adam was at work I ate Mexican leftovers in bed.

But the other nights were duck bacon extravaganzas!

Like this duck bacon, double cream gouda, and egg toasted croissantwich.

Served with a spinach salad with lavender almonds (dressed in evoo and lavender honey and lavender salt!).

Killer cheese plate.

Envy apple, baby carrots, orange and yellow bell pepper, lavender almonds, duck devils on horseback, gouda, and sharp cheddar.

Have you tried duck bacon yet?

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: eggs

Four Day Week Top Five

Three Day Weekend Staycation

Time Crunch

the free products were my only compensation for this post, all my own opinions, blah blah

Working Weekend Wrap-Up

This Weekend’s Best…

Birthday Staycation

A Bunch Of Brunch

Duck, Duck… Bacon!