Pi(e) Day 2015

by Emily

Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is an infinite, constant number (i.e. the number goes on forever and it’s the same number for all circles of all sizes). π equals 3.1415926535897932384626etcetera,etcetera. Because of this, math-lovers and sugar-aficionados alike celebrate March 14 (3/14 = 3.14) as Pi Day each year. This year was extra special because it was a once-a-hundred-years opportunity to celebrate a full five digits (3/14/2015 = 3.14[.]15). Adam and I partook in both dessert pies and pizza pies to mark the occasion.

Pi Day

Adam and I knew that we wanted to go for the double, so we headed to Park Slope, where both our favorite pie place and pizza place reside. We were clearly not the only ones to have this idea –

After an hour+ wait, we did dessert first with pie at Four & Twenty Blackbirds.

Malted chocolate pecan for him and buttermilk chess for me. The crusts suffered a bit from what must have been a major uptick in production (Blackbirds was offering a 3 slices for $14 special) but the fillings were amazing as always.

Then we did slices of pizza pie at Pino’s.

Bbq chicken for me. Adam got more because he has π memorized beyond the first three digits 😉

Dinners in Bowls

I’m not so big on plates -I also prefer chopsticks to forks – and it feels like we eat the majority of our dinner out of bowls. Extra-credit if the food is layered into the bowl instead of served as a homogenous dish. Our dinners last weekend hit both counts.

We even ate dessert in bowls.

The ice cream was good, but nothing about it was “Tres Leches.” Boo.

Spicy sweet potato bowls.

baked yam
creamy Sriracha sauce – Sriracha, mayo, and honey
sautéed broccoli – in soy sauce and rice vinegar
sunny side up egg – fried in coconut oil

This was… not good. The idea was good, I think, but the broccoli was freezer-burnt and the potatoes were old.

Our bbq bowls were much, much better.

brown rice cooked in chicken stock
bbq pulled chicken – cooked in the crockpot with stock and smothered in TJ’s bbq sauce
collard greens sautéed with bbq sauce and turkey bacon
tons of caramelized sweet and red onions (cooked like this)
shredded sharp cheddar

We’re going to put our leftovers on top of salad later this week and I’m pretty excited about it.

DUMBO Fun

Drinks in DUMBO.

I am obsessed with Brooklyn Roasting Company‘s coffee and we finally made it to their roaster/café. I wish I had taken photos because the space was gorgeous and inviting, but we loved our beverages.

Iced Maple Shay for me = espresso with cream and real maple syrup. Amazingly, it was too sweet and creamy for me to finish.

Our next stop was the antithesis of maple and cream, green juice from Forager’s.

Kale, spinach, cucumber, and papaya. I will not be getting papaya again; I always like to include one sweet and juicy component in my green juice (carrot, apple, watermelon, etc) but the papaya did not bring any brightness to the party.

Williamsburg Fun

Sunday brunch and brunch dessert (<– that’s not a thing!) in East Williamsburg. We ate at Brooklyn Star where Adam was 99.9% sure that Emma Stone was at the next table. It wasn’t her, but it sure was her doppelgänger.

The bourbon bon bon – bourbon, iced coffee, sweetened condensed milk – was the menu item that called me in.

Nope! I love bourbon, and I love iced coffee, but apparently I don’t love them together.

My kale salad stole my heart though.

You can’t see it under the giant cheese crisp, but there was raw kale with lemon vinegarette, roasted peanuts, and golden raisins. Best kale salad ever. I know I say that every time, but this one was my new favorite.

We also got coffee at Sweatshop.

And the best sundae ever at Milk Bar. With crack pie soft-serve. The guy asked me if I wanted “hot fudge or cornflakes?,” and I answered “both.”

That was the correct answer.

Do you celebrate Pi Day? Favorite kind of pie?

6Mar2015

When It Snows It Blizzards*

by Emily

When it comes to the big, important stuff – having jobs, our health, and a great marriage – Adam and I know that we are unbelievably lucky. That said, man oh man, this week was annoying. The snow has been relentless, I wore my favorite sweater to work only to get to the cafeteria and douse myself head to toe in balsamic vinegar, Adam had to have both of his big toe nails emergently removed, and my car has a flat tire. When it rains it pours*. I’m pretty sure I have never been so glad for a weekend!

There was a lot of stress snacking going down this week that I didn’t do the best job of photographing, but I am going to recap the most delicious things…

breakfast

Iced coffee on the train and plain yogurt with peanut butter at my desk.

I had a ridiculously amazing coffee combo this week… Cold-brew with chocolate milk and toasted marshmallow coffee syrup!

So insanely good.

Are you admiring my nails? Scroll to the last section of this post.

snack

GH Cretors elevated our snacking game by sending me a big box of the two flavors from their new organic line – Simply Salted and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Note – the popcorn was sent to me free of charge to review. I was not provided with further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Pre-popped popcorn can never really compare to freshly popped, but these are definitely the best bagged varieties we’ve ever tried. They are nice and crisp. Adam – who likes to pretend that he doesn’t like popcorn – was crazy for them, so that’s saying something. We preferred the Simply Salted because the EVOO was good, but not quite as flavorful. Both are organic and kosher and have 40 calories per cup.

I surprised my sore husband with a giant, sweet latte.

I got myself a rocky road latte as well. Meh.

We tried the hazelnut torte bar from Lindt’s new “Creation” line.

Now I want the crème brûlée flavor!

I’m still loving the Ice Chips.

Lemon was a very nice way to transition back from lunch to work this week.

lunch

Fage with raspberry and butterscotch peanut butter.

The citrus fruits shown in my lunches this week are fresh Mandarins from Trader Joe’s that were wonderful. Very sweet and juicy with almost no seeds.

Baked yucca fries from the cafeteria. I had about double what’s shown because I started eating before I sat down.

They were paired with the salad that ruined my outfit.

TJ’s egg white salad and popcorn.

The egg salad was practically inedible; whyyyy was there so much turmeric??

Popcorn, Applegate Farm sliced turkey, mini Jarlsberg, and olives.

The tasting plates were fun, but I was missing my yogurt bowls.

dinner

If you judge a dish by how good it tastes cold and leftover, straight from the casserole dish – I definitely do! – then my pizza mac and cheese was a real winner.

Adam heated his serving up, but he also recommends that you try the recipe.

Chipotle night. I ate a giant rice bowl with chicken, veggies, and pretty much all of the toppings.

Our neighborhood is pretty much a food wasteland, but I think Chipotle would be Adam’s first pick even if we lived somewhere with more going on!

This was our best dinner of the week:

Roasted broccoli and kalettes (aka kale-Brussels sprout hybrids).

Southern pickle “fried” chicken. <– I am so proud of this one; check the recipe sidebar!

I served mine on a toasted, open-faced sandwich with a bit of mayo.

Last night we had fabulous kale salads.

I massaged a bunch of kale with Sepo sauce in the morning and then tossed it with roasted broccoli, cubed avocado, and roasted coconut chips when it was time for dinner.

We were supposed to have chicken on top of our salads but I accidentally left the remaining tenders sitting out on the counter overnight so instead I had a grilled cheese sandwich while I wrote this post.

fancy nails

So my jazzy nail polish? Actually nail wraps from Jamberry.

One of the girls I used to cocktail waitress with is a Jamberry consultant (her sales page is what I linked above) and she sent me a sample kit so I could try them out. I am pretty amazed by how easy they are to put on; really not tricky or time-consuming at all, maybe almost as easy as ~~slopping~~ painting on polish. Plus they are very cute! I will definitely buy some to try again.

P.S. Thanks to Way Back Machine, I was able to find my old employee profile (click to enlarge) –

Omg!

2Mar2015

Veggie Lovers Pizza Mac & Cheese + Browned Butterscotch Peanut Butter Recipes

by Emily

It was a low-key weekend – we never left Long Island – but I do have two legitimate recipes to share. They’re very good! Next weekend we have multiple city trips planned so I wanted to make the most of my free time in the kitchen.

This weekend I…

…Had a yummy breakfast at work.

An opal apple and chocolate biscotti dipped in coffee. I threw out the coffee as soon as my treat was gone, I just can’t do the hot stuff. I made up for it with several iced coffees enjoyed during errands-running on the weekend.

One of many.

…Enjoyed an even better work lunch. 1/3 cup rolled oats + 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries + 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2 Tbsp malted milk powder + 1 Tbsp cocoa nibs.

Just shake it together and cover with hot water when it’s time for lunch. The crunchy chocolate bites were amazing; nibs are so much better in oatmeal than chocolate chips.

…Discovered my new favorite hard candy – Ice Chips.

Please note – Ice Chips Candy reached out to me about doing a review and provided the above product samples free of charge. I was not given any further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Ice Chips, which come in small chips shaped like shards of ice, are made of xylitol which is an anticariogenic sugar alcohol (i.e. eating gum or candy made with xylitol before acidogenic foods can help to reduce the formation of dental carries or cavities). Xylitol is as sweet as table sugar but contains fewer calories so two Ice Chip candies only contain about 5 calories and if you ate an entire tin – as I was tempted to! – it would be about 125 calories. <– don’t do that though, sugar alcohols give many people diarrhea when consumed in excess

The texture of the chips is freaking amazing, hard enough to suck on but they break apart in a really pleasing way when you crunch them. And their flavor game is on point – my favorite so far are Coffee ‘n Cream and Lemon, but I am really looking forward to Eggnog.

I also really liked this egg.

I don’t even care that I’m a month early, birthday cake is a stupid Easter flavor! It was really yummy though.

…Processed up some tasty (browned butterscotch)peanut butter.

All you need is a food processor, 4 Tbsp browned butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, and 1 lb roasted, salted peanuts.

I’m planning on packing the peanut butter with Greek yogurts for lunches this week.

…Drank a smoothie in the snow. Not the best weather for it, but smoothies are always good.

This one had (frozen:) blackberries, dates, and soursop puree, and Hint of Honey almond milk.

…Cooked green eggs and ~~ham~~ toast.

The eggs were scrambled with spinach and leftover mushrooms and asparagus from Thursday’s dinner.

The best buttered toast.

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman’s “The Bread” we butter our toast first and then bake it.

…Drank a killer strawberry mojito.

The dream team was Cruzan Key Lime Rum and Strawberry Minta soda. With frozen strawberries instead of ice to keep things cool without watering it down.

…Checked out The Little Beet at the newly revamped mall food court.

The new options were all awesome, there is a potato place that looks very unhealthy but very delicious. Adam had a cheesy meal at Melt Shop.

And I got a trio of charred string beans, charred kale, and buckwheat soba noodle salad.

The kale was soooo good, a little bit spicy and much more flavorful than the kale chips we make at home.

…Made gooey macaroni and cheese that tasted like a pizza!

Veggie Lovers Pizza Macaroni and Cheese; serves 4 – 6

6 oz short-cut pasta
4 cups chopped, cooked broccoli
1 cup sliced, canned mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced black olives
25 slices turkey pepperoni, sliced in half
2 Tbsp salted butter, chopped into smaller pieces
2 heaping Tbsp flour
1 3/4 cups skim milk
5 oz reduced-fat mozzarella, shredded
5 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Prepare an 8×8 inch casserole dish with baking spray. Mix the mozzarella and cheddar together and put aside 1 large handful (2 oz).
Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan (large enough for all of your ingredients) over medium-high heat. Whisk flour into melted butter to form a roux. Cook 60 – 90 seconds, whisking constantly, until roux has darkened to a sandy tan color. Whisk milk into roux and cook 1 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened. You shouldn’t have any lumps, but if you do now is the time to whisk them out.
Reduce heat to low and add 8 oz of cheese to the sauce, working in 3 small batches and stirring until the cheese has fully melted.
Remove pan from heat and stir in cooked pasta, vegetables, and pepperoni. Pour mixture into your prepared casserole dish.
Top the casserole with an even mixture of marinara sauce, followed by the remaining 2 oz of cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese has browned.

14Feb2015

Weekly Wrap-Up? Yes Please!

by Emily

happenings

As promised, here is a picture of my gaudy new cell phone –

I’m liking it more now that I’ve gotten used to the new system.

This week I gave an hour-long nutrition presentation at a women’s shelter near the hospital. We talked primarily about added sugars, reading nutrition labels, and the plate method.

I opened with an activity where we compared the sugar content of different beverages.

I started reading Amy Poehler’s memoir, Yes Please. I am halfway through and completely smitten.

It is just as hilarious and inspiring as you’d expect it to be. And her relationship with Seth Meyers – he guest writes a chapter – makes me love both of them more if that’s even possible.