Hello, Pumpkin Month!!

by Emily

It’s possible that I have a pumpkin purchasing problem…

Just maybe, though the pumpkin spice chap stick does make it seem pretty likely! Also I’ve eaten something pumpkin flavored at least once a day for the past four days. And October First I had something pumpkin at every single meal.

breakfast

Pumpkin spice latte.

I kind of hated it. I thought the spice was really overwhelming and I ordered my drink with 1/2 of the flavor pumps (plus an extra espresso shot and caramel drizzle on top) so I can’t even imagine a full-strength PSL.

Iced coffee with chocolate milk.

With a yummy GoMacro bar.

Pumpkin cheesecake doughnut from Dunkin.

Yuck city. These beverages were more my jam.

Sometimes we get a fountain soda when we go to the store. Sometimes we got to Starbucks for clover brews. And some magical days I get diet soda and an iced coffee and basically float through the grocery store in excitement.

Café Grumpy makes us anything but grumpy.

Adam’s flat white was better than my macchiato, especially once I clumsily oversugared it.

lunch

Chobani Flip with my last orchard apple and a TJ’s pumpkin cereal bar.

Plus dessert from the giant bag of Russian candies a (now former) coworker delivered me to say thank you for her retirement gift.

Plus I scarfed roasted broccoli with TJ’s Sriracha ranch the minute I got home because apparently this lunch didn’t fill me up at all.

The next day I ate practically the same meal and was full all afternoon.

Thank you 14 grams of protein in my Siggi.

With TJ’s pumpkin o’s and a honeycrisp.

Dinner leftovers – pasta and veggies. This photo is of Adam’s plate because I ate my (smaller) serving out of the Tupperware.

With TJ’s chocolate pumpkins for dessert.

We liked the orange ones and were lukewarm on the rest. Washed down with an alcoholic root beer that was freaking life changing.

Best root beer (boozy or not) either of us have ever tasted.

We had a phenomenal brunch at LIC Market.

I had the duck hash! Crisp potatoes, red onion, peppers, dried cherries, and pine nuts with two fried eggs.

I love duck so flipping much. And this was the best iteration of the meat I’ve had yet. We gave the meal as a whole a 9.5/10.

We got up and out of the house to make it to brunch crazy early and then we had the entire afternoon for fun stuff, mostly more eating and lots of drinking. Grand Central Terminal is Adam’s favorite spot in the city so we spent the morning window shopping there while sipping iced coffee with homemade chocolate syrup from Irving Farms.

Plus Jacques Torres Chocolate handed us samples of fantastic hot chocolate.

I will be back for a full-size cup once the weather gets a bit colder.

Then we wandered down Lexington Ave to Ginger Man to check out their seventy draft beer options.

Clearly flights were the only way to go. Our sour line-up was amazing. The pub had a great vibe, we will definitely be bringing all city visitors there.

dinner

Pumpkin pasta for the first night of October.

Rachael Ray’s recipe with whole wheat shells for penne, basil for sage, chicken breakfast sausage for sweet Italian sausage, and swiss/gruyere for parmesan.

It was tasty, even the dog got a little bowl with extra pumpkin puree.

The humans had roasted veggies on the side.

Trader Joe’s seasoned brussels sprouts and broccoli and cauliflower with smoked paprika.

We drove to Queens in the rain for dinner at Burnside Biscuit.

Worth it. Check how fancy my julep was.

Dinner was pimento mac and cheese with a side of shaved collards.

We went to Gossip Coffee for a “nightcap.”

Gorgeous space serving delicious, roasty cold-brew. And they had rice pudding.

We shared Oreo and cheesecake, both of which were fantastic.

Crab fried rice.

Yum! Adam would say that stir-frying is the cooking technique I’m best at. This dish was wonderful. Leftover brown jasmine rice with garlic, ginger, rice vinegar and fish sauce / peas, mini heirloom tomatoes, sweet red pepper, onion, and basil / eggs and canned crab meat.

This was the first time I’ve used tomato or basil in fried rice at home and both were welcome additions.

Burger night to finish the weekend.

Spinach salad with Sriracha ranch, maple rosemary roasted sunflower seeds, and roasted baby zucchini.

Turkey burgers on TJ’s brioche buns with mayo, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and tons of caramelized onions.

These were the best burgers I’ve ever made/eaten. The crunchy bacon and sweet onions totally made this. We got our pumpkin in for dessert.

Pumpkin pie and cookies and cream yogurt with Nutella, sprinkles, and chocolate candy toppings. A sweet way to end the weekend.

Are you going ga-ga orange gourd this month? Any pumpkin must-haves I haven’t done yet?

28Sep2015

Apple Month Warmth

by Emily

Adam and I are trying to use every last bit of warmth from the summer and we spent the weekend doing city things and walking our hearts out. Also eating dessert daily, a habit that we reeeeally need to put the kibosh on once we’re hibernating through winter.

Saturday we took the train into the city and walked 30+ blocks up through Central Park.

We went to a few spots in the park that we hadn’t ever seen before, which was fun. But the way back to the train we did take the straight route down Lexington/Madison Ave because Central Park’s “Ramble” is very fittingly named.

Sunday we were even further north – The Bronx Zoo.

That’s a carousal selfie. We were there from 10 – 4, whew!

breakfast

Giant coffee from 7-11 with Almond Joy creamer.

The weird photo angle is because my entire desk was papered in protected health information. Last week was crazy busy at work. On Thursday I didn’t get more than 5 feet away from my desk until 4:30 pm.

Pb&j with green beans and apple slices.

With cold brew from Caffeino, a cute coffee spot in Astoria.

The coffee was roasty and smooth and the shop is right along the drive to our train so you’ll definitely be seeing that cup again.

Cold brew with chocolate milk.

Meh, to both parts.

lunch

Packed lunch for work. Chobani cinnamon pear yogurt with pomegranate seeds and Heritage Flakes.

Plus an apple that I picked myself! Our orchard haul has been quite tasty. The yogurt was only ok though, not a flavor I would buy again.

Packed lunch for the zoo. Turkey sandwiches with carrots and applesauce.

Plus we bought iced coffee, of course.

A trip to Bluestone Lane’s Upper East Side location – an Austrian coffee spot housed in a gorgeous church.

We got a flat white and an Aussie iced coffee and both were thick and creamy and amazing.

And split an avocado smash.

Yum. Amazingly, this was the first time either of us had tried avocado toast.

Dessert was a mini sundae from Sprinkles.

Salted caramel ice cream and marshmallow chocolate cupcake.

dinner

Roasted green beans and French bread baked with Smart Balance and light sharp cheddar.

Plus the last of the Coco SuperSeedz.

I wasn’t super hungry because I went to Four &Twenty Blackbirds with a friend after work.

Salted caramel apple! With espressos that we were less impressed with than the pie.

Saturday night I made a frittata from Cooking Light.

It took forever because I added a million vegetables to it and I snacked while I cooked.

40 minutes later (the directions said 10 minutes!)…

Frittata stuffed with roasted zucchini, arugula, and browned mushrooms and topped with swiss and gruyere cheese and mini heirloom tomatoes.

Plus arugula salad dressed in honey, evoo, and lavender salt, with sharp cheddar, pecans, and pomegranate.

I burnt the bottom of the pie but at least after some careful trimming it was still delicious.

Sunday night we ate Chipotle bowls which I forgot to take a picture of but you’ve seen an embarrassing amount of time before. With apple ciders.

And unseasonable froyo.

Pumpkin pie yogurt with Nutella and crunchy chocolate things. I think I’m ready for October, cold and all!

21Sep2015

Weekend Top Five

by Emily

{1} Apple picking upstate.

The selections were pretty weak – they only had two varieties!

We picked small bags and then moved on to the brewery.

They had housemade cider and wine slushies so that part of the day was a bit more exciting.

{2} Pecan Pie Bar.

Omg, kids, this candy was ridiculous good.

I’m not even embarrassed that I ate it two months early – pecan pie month isn’t until November on the Emily is crazy calendar – because this is my new favorite thing.

{3} Friday dinner at home.

Leftovers scrambled into easy eggs.

Turkey hot dogs, roasted broccoli, and spinach.

With cider from Wolfer Estates.

It was good but not my favorite.

{4} Saturday pizza night.

TJ’s red pepper, provolone, and pearl mozzarella wood-fired pizza.

With roasted zucchini.

I burned the life out of the pizza but roasted squash is our end of summer favorite.

{5} Sunday night Thai food with friends.

We went to Siam Orchid, a tiny little spot that makes the best Thai food in Brooklyn.

My drunken noodles with vegetarian duck were on point!

10Sep2015

Royal Weekend; Highlights

by Emily

Normally I am a Brooklyn girl, but over the three-day weekend I spent some time loving Queens. One day for Flushing and one for Astoria. Also Adam and I both had Monday off and we spent the day eating our way from Chelsea to SoHo!

Here are the highlights, minus several ice cream stops and several more coffees…

Doughnut date!

Chocolate salted caramel from Dough and a latte from Blue Sky.

Fancy yogurt bowls.

Plain Siggis + 2 types of plucot + chia seeds + crumbled graham cracker pie crust.

The crust was leftover from a failed s’mores cookie batch I attempted last week.

Brunch with a girlfriend at Burnside Biscuits. We both got Salty Dogs.

And I got a classic (duck fat!) biscuit with a sunny side up egg and sharp cheddar.

Related:: Adam and I went to Sweet Chick for a dimly lit dinner and had duck sloppy joes. Also two different cocktails with sherry!

Sandwiches at BEC = bacon, egg, and cheese.

I got a Junior with turkey bacon.

Sandwiches at Blue Ribbon. I got the pulled bbq chicken with cole slaw on top.

BRFC feels pretty chain restaurant/fast food but the sandwich was delicious. The bun was meh (I rarely eat the bun on a sandwich like this anyway) but the chicken was juicy with some perfectly charred crispy bites.

Presso Coffee is the cutest and their maple lattes are on point.

Related:: another day I got a quad nonfat latte from Kinship Coffee Cooperative that was super good.

Oreo milk tea with boba and pudding from Kung Fu Tea.

We explored the New World Mall food court and want to go back asap.

We didn’t stop to eat that day though, our hearts were already set on Xi’an Famous Foods.

Their spicy hand-torn noodles make the most satisfying dish you’ve ever tasted.

Trader Joe’s chile relleno is the best frozen meal ever.

I would give this dish two thumbs up if I thought a restaurant had made it fresh.

Important note – you can buy cups of edible cookie dough.

Just fyi.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

31Aug2015

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

by Emily

Taking Friday off meant I had a three-day weekend to spend exploring the city. I’m a Brooklyn girl at heart but this weekend I was all about Manhattan. We spent three full days walking or eating or eating while walking and you know those are all my favorite activities! Long story with lots of gushing short: I love it here! I think NYC is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Since we ate pretty much nonstop, this is going to be a lengthy post. I cut what I could and am only including the exciting stuff. Working alphabetically always seems to make the most sense to me…

Chelsea Market {Chelsea}.

Friday afternoon, after my girlfriend left and before Adam got off of work, I took myself on a ramen date at Mokbar.

I got the brothy chicken ramen – roasted ginger chicken broth, pulled chicken, and cucumber and garlic chive kimchi, topped with a soft-boiled egg.

Very nice, especially the egg, but not quite as good as Chuko Ramen.

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

I actually didn’t love any of the items I ate there, but it was too pretty not to show. A burnt, gross, maple cortado from Champion Coffee.

And a shimmery birthday cake macaron from Dana’s Bakery.

It wasn’t the best macaron ever (found at Bakeshop by Woops!), but I still want to go back for the s’mores and cookie dough.

The High Line {Chelsea}.

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

Lump blue crab, cream cheese, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, and spices. Good, but nothing can hold a candle to the guava-cheese at the truck near my train. <– The food was good this weekend but I guess a lot of it did come up short compared with past experiences. Good thing the walking was so darn fun!

Magnolia Bakery {Greenwich Village}.

Adam swooned over his s’mores cupcake and I got the legendary banana pudding.

Totally worth the accolades and Magnolia’s tourist destination status.

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

Peanut butter jelly smoothie. The only homemade item yummy enough to make it into this post.

We blended up frozen grapes and dark cherries with plain Siggi’s yogurt, peanut butter, and honey.

Brunch at Penelope {Kips Bay}. A girlfriend from my University of Buffalo days came into the city for a visit. We split a pitcher of rosé sangria with mango and watermelon.

And I ordered a BBELT – double (fakin) bacon, over-medium egg, lettuce, and tomato, with black pepper balsamic mayo on toasted sourdough. With hand-cut fries.

Much better than a boring old BLT.

Pier A Harbor House {Battery Park} for Brooklyn Brewery‘s Long Hall Lager.

Sooooo creamy, it was fantastic. And especially enjoyable after a 2 miles walk on the water down Battery Place.

We stopped at Brookfield Place to admire the view and now need to go back immediately for lunch.

Red Farm {Greenwich Village} for playful dim sum.

The space was beautiful, nothing was there by accident, and pro tip – the toilet seats are heated! We shared drinks, small plates, and an entrée. A nice rosé from Washington.

The Bee’s Teas – Chamomile tea-infused Bird Dog Bourbon, figs, lemon, basil, Runny Honey, and chamomile tincture. Not bad, but not as good as the honey drink we had last week.

We got the Pac Man shrimp dumplings and the crispy duck and crab dumplings.

Super fun, but we felt like the dim sum menu was more about the “wow factor” than great flavor. Our entrée, on the other hand, was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

The wide rice noodles with shredded duck were freaking packed with duck. There was honestly more meat than noodles! And the meat was perfectly cooked, crispy and succulent. We were in heaven.

Smorgasburg Queens {Long Island City}.

It was the perfect time to try Wooly’s shaved ice.

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

This Swedish candy shop is amazing, giant bulk bins of candy, mostly licorice and cola flavored (my two favorites!). I came away with a giant bag.

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

Victory Garden {Greenwich Village} for locally made goat’s milk yogurt.

I got the tangy original flavor, topped with goat’s milk caramel, sprinkles, and halvah. OMG.

What’s your favorite city?

28Aug2015

Weekly Wrap-Up, Weddings Have Great Food

by Emily

breakfast

Coffee. With Hint of Honey Almond Milk and a GoMacro Bar.

Or seltzer and an applesauce.

Or chocolate milk.

Another morning I tried to do the coffee + chocolate milk combo but my cafeteria was out of milk so I just drank it black and I had a stomach ache for the rest of the day.

lunch

Yogurt. Strawberry Fage with plucots and pumpkin seeds on the side.

Oatmeal. Quaker Summer Berry oats with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter on top and plucots on the side.

Sandwich. A monster from the cafeteria with spicy turkey and fresh mozzarella on a brioche roll.

Leftovers. Egg salad (see below), TJ’s Crispy Broccoli – which I dumped into the egg salad! – and an apple.

snack

Salty.

Sweet.

dinner

I am missing many photos from the start and end of this week, but I did a pretty good job capturing the middle days.

Monday my camera was dead all afternoon and through the evening. You didn’t miss much though, I ate two grilled cheese sandwiches in bed. Then I ate a second dinner of Thai take-out. Also in bed. Related fact – I have been burning through episodes of “Body of Proof” at an alarming rate. It’s bad; not just the fact that I’m watching the show obsessively, but the show itself, is bad.

Tuesday was frozen shrimp goyza from Trader Joe’s.

We sautéed broccoli and bok choy with ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, and soy sauce and served our pan-fried goyza on top.

I woke up early Wednesday morning to hard-boil eggs for salad.

This was eggs with minced red bell pepper, mayo and a healthy dollop of sesame gojuchang which gave the salad a great spice and a little bit of smokiness.

With roasted green beans on the side.

Roasted green beans have always been one of my favorite foods but now that I’ve started topping them with sliced shallots they’re on a whole new level.

Thursday night I was way less pathetic, but I still don’t have any pictures. A Buffalo friend came into town and took me to a wedding. The event was in LIC at The Foundry and it was beyond gorgeous but way too dark for food pictures.

I ate hummus, cocktails, mini cupcakes, and all the other wedding trappings but the only photo I have is a blurry shot of my friend and me.

Fun fact – I met her straight from work and I had to get dressed in a Barnes and Nobel bathroom. I am the classiest.

I took today off to spend the morning with my girlfriend before she drives home so I have this whole Friday ahead of me to ~~watch Body of Proof~~ do fun stuff in the city!

21Aug2015

Left My Heart In Montana

by Emily

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.

With plain yogurt and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

notable snacks

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

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.

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.

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.

Thai iced coffee and Thai young coconut went great together.

Ice cream from Oddfellows.

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

Guava-cheese empanadas.

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.

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

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.

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

Plus I snacked on this for extra veggies.

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

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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!

17Aug2015

Weekend Highlights… A Bevy of Beverages

by Emily

notable snacks – –

Froyo again. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

Plain tart and Nutella yogurts with Nutella, mini peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered pretzels, and rainbow sprinkles.

Pizza-pizza.

Buffalo chicken.

We bought the new brownie batter Oreos.

Pretty good, especially when you smush two together for a double-stuffed.

Fresh mint in bubbly seltzer is delicious.

Best of all the many, many beverages we enjoyed this weekend. There were also several iced coffees that didn’t make the photos cut.

Long Island City – –

Saturday morning I picked up a very tired husband from a long shift at work,

and we finally hit up LIC Flea and Food.

We got mac and cheese and chicken empanadas.

And a Nutella gelato and macaroon ice cream sandwich from Bakeshop by Woops.

We explored LIC a bit with a walk on the waterfront.

A stop at the gorgeous newest Sweet Leaf location for an intensely creamy Vietnamese iced coffee.

And finally a flight of beers from Rockaway Brewing Co.

#2, 4, 7, & 8. We were very impressed. The cream ale was the best.

Williamsburg – –

Matchabar.

Iced matcha on fresh watermelon juice. It was good, but not something I’m dying to go back for again.

On the other hand, lunch at Meatball Shop will be repeated very soon. I need to make an ice cream sandwich.

I got the jello shot special – Jack and Rosé.

And chicken meatballs with pesto.

They were served on an assortment of veggies – fennel, salad with apple, roasted squash, cucumber, and fresh green beans – that were tasty but literally dripping with oil.

a doggy date – –

On Sunday Webster took his first ride on the subway.

We went on a family trip to Central Park!

He was a total trooper for 3 hours of walking around the park. We cooled down with a honey iced tea,

and a double caramel Magnum bar.

And some of us had bowls of water that we stomped in and spilled all over the place.

Webster was beyond tuckered out when we got home and spent most of the rest of the day curled up in my lap!

homemade Korilla knock-off bowls – –

I made knock-off chicken and rice bowls and the husband said I did as good of a job as Korilla!

brown rice with chopped kimchi and turkey bacon
roasted broccoli
quick pickled carrots and cucumber
chicken that was marinated in Gochujang paste, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar
shredded cheese and a fried egg on top

So good. I am excited for the leftovers.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: eggs

Hello, Pumpkin Month!!

breakfast

lunch

dinner

Apple Month Warmth

breakfast

lunch

dinner

Weekend Top Five

Royal Weekend; Highlights

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

Weekly Wrap-Up, Weddings Have Great Food

breakfast

lunch

snack

dinner

Left My Heart In Montana

lunch

notable snacks

dinner

Weekend Highlights… A Bevy of Beverages