Tag Archives: goat cheese

Weekend Wrap-Up; October Is Here!

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It’s possible I’m a little excited about the arrival of Pumpkin Month.  Check out my stash –

weekendDSC04790DSC04795DSC04792So much squashy goodness!

Now a little bit about the end of September…

breakfast

I’ve only got one meal to share here, in contrast with the full “dessert” section (whoops!).  Adam had a “golden weekend,” aka both Saturday and Sunday off, so we spent our mornings catching up on sleep.

This breakfast was more of a brunch, but either way it was a winner.

DSC04761Müller Greek Corner Pineapple Passion Fruit Yogurt (former freebie) topped with sliced starfruit and a packet of Crispy Green Pineapples.

DSC04762Isn’t starfruit (also known as Carambola) gorgeous?

DSC04769Did you know that I used to sell starfruit when I was a kid?  We had a tree in our backyard and I would take the harvests to the local grocery stores.

The freeze-dried pineapples were part of a sample box from Crispy Green.

DSC04647I received these samples free of charge.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Crispy Green is a company that sells freeze-dried fruits.  They are vegan and certified kosher and the ingredient list is nice and simple – just fruit.  What really sold me was the texture, I swear that the apples and pears were almost juicy!  More on them in a minute though.

lunch

Veggies.

DSC04677Acorn squash.  I baked half of my squash for 30 minutes at 350*, cut side down, then flipped it over and filled the cavity with pistachios, raisins, and maple syrup, and baked for another 20 minutes.

DSC04683Plus broccoli that I roasted alongside the squash.

DSC04680And a red pear.

DSC04687So nice to have a mid-day meal that’s so packed with nutrients.

Less nutritious but still delicious, Taco Bell.

DSC04740I got a vegetarian Cantina Bell burrito and was actually very impressed.  The burrito had fresh corn and great guacamole.

The greatest sandwich.

DSC04710Sweet and savory, for the win.  Caramel apple swirl bread topped with Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, TJ’s Lite Havarti, and pickled banana peppers.

DSC04708The husband got and identical ‘wich and he raved about it.  Plus we shared more Crispy Green fruits on the side.  Asian Pear,

asian pearand Apple.

appleThey both were packed with flavor but so far Asian Pear is my favorite.

dinner

Mac remix.

DSC04696A box of Annie’s Shells and Aged Real Cheddar gussied up with TJ’s smoked trout, frozen edamame and a greens mix, and 1 oz of Chevre.

DSC04692I have pantry back-ups of all of the ingredients and a see a redo in our future.

A cider soaked meal.

DSC04728I marinated some extra-firm tofu in TJ’s Spiced Apple cider (plus honey and hot sauce) before burning baking in the oven.

DSC04730Shredded cabbage was sautéed in the tofu marinade and then topped with salty peanuts.

DSC04734And this lovely squash was sprinkled with salt and cinnamon and roasted alongside the tofu.

DSC04724DSC04738I filled in the space in the center of the plate with Dinosaur Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce for dipping.

A meal out on the town.

DSC04775We finished our two-day weekend with a dinner out on the town at Luigi’s.

We were brought an amazing basket of fresh bread.

DSC04776And we shared a Tuscan salad to start.

DSC04781baby spinach / breaded artichoke hearts / roasted peppers / gorgonzola dolce / pignoli nuts / balsamic vinaigrette

DSC04782I got handmade Papardelle with shrimp and lobster in a fresh plum tomato cognac cream sauce from the specials menu for my meal.

DSC04787DSC04784It was delicious!  The homemade pasta had great bite and the seafood was juicy and perfect.  Plus the portions were huge; I shared many tastes with Adam and still came home with a full serving of leftovers.  {Mom and Dad, we want to take you here when you visit!}

dessert

Adam went out to celebrate a birthday with his fellow interns and he brought me home cake.

DSC04698I’m not a huge chocolate fan but I’m a sucker for jam in the middle.

I brought him home vegan ice cream sandwiches.

DSC04719Tofutti is currently celebrating their 30th anniversary and they sent me some coupons.

DSC04712DSC04714I received these samples free of charge.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Ice cream sandwiches are Adam’s favorite and he was very impressed with how close to the original this (minty) version came.

DSC04718I thought the Cuties had great flavor and texture – and I’m not even an ice cream sandwich lover – but 180 calories for the small size seemed a little steep.

DSC04716I will definitely buy them again for the husband though.

To finish the post – the best thing ever.

DSC04772Adam and I split an ice the other day to celebrate the first day of fall.  Dulce de leche topped with pumpkin pie.

DSC04770Oh. My. God.  The pumpkin pie ice was ridiculous!  The best tasting ice I’ve ever had and those brown areas were crunchy streusel that was just over the top.  We were both swooning!

What pumpkin goodies are you excited for this month?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lots Of Repetition

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Let’s start with dinner first and work our way backward, since lunches were all some form of leftovers from dinner.  Usually my meals are all over the place, but this week there was a lot of repetition.

dinners

 

First – and this is the meal that spawned the lunches – we made pineapple stir-fry over brown rice.

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We kept things very simple which I think was a major improvement over stir-fries we’ve made in the past.  Pineapple, broccoli, and straw mushrooms with baked tofu (400* for 40+ minutes, drizzled in honey and soy sauce) in a quick sauce of pineapple juice, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and corn starch.

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Usually I get sick of our stir-fries after the first few bites, but this dinner I enjoyed the whole way through.

One night I made easy eggs.  I don’t remember what Adam ate, but definitely not this; he’s not the biggest Korn corn fan.

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2 large eggs scrambled in evoo with corn (Trader Joe’s frozen fire-roasted corn, that I adore by the way.  Cooked with a little sugar and Sriracha), dried basil from my grandma’s garden(!!), and shredded parmesan.

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Eggs are so nice for dinner.

You already saw our roasted garlic pesto with bow-ties and spinach.

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The husband got all of the leftovers and I was very jealous.

Last night we got all fancy and shared a cheese board for dinner.

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We did minneola,

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green pear,

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Pink Crisp apple,

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Blue Diamond Sesame Seed Artisan Nut Thins (former freebie alert),

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and of course, cheese.

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The cheese guy at Whole Foods was so helpful to us.  Plus he let the husband have a million samples, so Adam was basically in love.  We decided to go with one hard and one soft.  A 3 year aged Gouda,

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and a Soignon goat brie.

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Both were fantastic.  This meal was so much fun!

lunches

 

I have two lunches to share this week, both stir-fried rice.  I know that on Monday I drank a third sugary iced coffee in leu of lunch, but I cannot for the life of me remember what I ate on the fourth day?!  Whenever we would discuss food recalls in class I always thought it was silly that people had such a hard time completing them, but now that I’ve stopped daily blogging it has become much harder to recall my meals!

First up, a traditional.

DSC03878

Leftover brown rice with pineapple, peas, carrots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and 1 large egg.

DSC03879

The pineapple got sort of caramelized and was fabulous.

Next, fried rice that was a bit out of the box.

DSC03944

Leftover brown rice, corn, spinach, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, rice, vinegar, and 1 large egg.

DSC03940

I really thought that this iteration was going to be amazing but somehow the flavor ended up being pretty dull.

snacks

 

A friend had some good news to share early this week, and we celebrated with beer and bubble tea (of course).  The beer was that nougat beer I keep prattling on about, so I’ll just show you a picture of my gorgeous tea.

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Strawberry black tea with boba and lychee jelly from Hanco’s.

Another afternoon, the family took a walk to get ices.

DSC03884

I went with a sour cherry and cola water ice.

DSC03883

Not as good as the strawberry-cola combo I had the last time.

Now evening treats.  The froyo place near our Whole Foods gives a discount if you bring a receipt from the Starbucks next door and that’s what spawned this idea – the sort-of affogato.

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A little bit of vanilla froyo topped with a drizzle of fudge sauce and a solo shot of espresso.

Finally, caramel corn.

DSC03893

I cannot stop eating this, so I guess it’s time to give you the recipe.  It is too simple.

Caramel Corn, serves 1 – 2

  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
  • 4 – 6 cups (popped) popcorn
  • salt, to your tastes

Heat the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until melted.  Stir in SCM and continue to cook until thickened, 40 – 75 more seconds.  Drizzle over prepared popcorn and salt to your tastes.

DSC03898

I’ve made this recipe in larger batches and you can too; all you have to do is keep the ratios the same while increasing as needed.  The leftover caramel corn stores great in a sealed container on the counter for up to 5 days.

breakfasts

 

Like lunch, these pictures are all pretty similar.  In fact, the base of these three breakfasts stayed the same the whole week!

Overnight oats: 1/4 cup dry oats, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk; stored in the fridge overnight in an almost-empty nut butter jar (~1 serving left).  Topped with blueberries before serving.

The only thing that changed was the jars.  Barney Butter Crunchy Almond Butter.

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DSC03871

Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread.

DSC03900

DSC03903

Skippy SuperChunk with Honey.

DSC03970

DSC03975

All delicious, but the last was my favorite because that’s my favorite butter.  I’ve got to get working on more jars!

So there you have it; lots of eggs, rice, corn, and oatmeal.  Which food made a lot of repeat visits on your plates this week?

Best Meal So Far In Buffalo

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— post started yesterday because this week has been a little crazy —

I overslept this morning and tried to kill two birds with one stone by talking the dog out for a run.  It turned into a 1.2 mile drag.  What a waste of a sports bra!  Heading towards the house we were flying and heading away from the house I could barely get him to walk.  We did work up a sweat though.

It wasn’t the most exciting tour day, I had errands to run so I took my parents to the much-lauded visitors spots of BSC, Wegman’s, and and a long walk down Elmwood (actually those all kind of are visitor spots!).

Dopio espresso with tons of skim milk and vanilla sugar and campus.

Fruit at Wegmans.

Beyond delicious strawberry, watermelon, and mango.

In the afternoon we went to the outlet mall and I totally scored.  My parents bought me a wallet since my old one was disgusting and I purchased six fancy shirts, officially finishing my shopping prep for next semester’s internship.  Plus, I got to cash in my most exciting birthday month coupon.

Ben and Jerry’s, I love you.  Coconut Seven Layer Bar and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Dinner was fabulous.  We tried to go somewhere else on Hertel and when that was closed we were lucky enough to wander down to Mes Que.

It ended up being the best meal we’ve had in Buffalo!!

We got the cheese plate to start.

Manchego, Maytag Blue, Boucheron, Grana Padano.

My plates –

My favorite was the Grana Padano, an Italian hard cheese that had little bits of crackle.

My parents and I shared for our entrée and I got to try every single dish that sounded good to me!  First a salad course.  Mesclun, bacon, dried cranberries, goat cheese, avocado, and sherry vinaigrette.

Arugula, strawberries, feta, walnuts, blush wine vinaigrette, and a balsamic reduction.

My plate –

Fabulous.  The salads were perfectly dressed.

Then our final course, pizza.

Clockwise from the top left – (1) barbeque chicken, spinach, red onion, and cheddar jack.  (2) Goat cheese, asparagus pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, evoo, and pomegranate balsamic glaze.  (3) Chorizo, arugula pesto, roma tomatoes, and manchego cheese.

My plates –

And then I was stuffed and so happy I could die.  The end.

Today (now!) my parents and I are driving to Ohio to see my grandma.  We’ve got a long car trip ahead.  See you from another state.

Rested Recap

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Hey there!  It’s been a busy few days so I’m having to do a multi-day recap post here.  Thankfully I don’t have too too much to say.  It’s been fun though.

Thursday I did breakfast to go.

The last of a jar of crunchy pb (~ 1-2 Tbsp) filled with a 0% strawberry Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of raw oats, and 1/4 cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

Lunch was roasted broccoli with peanut sauce.

This combo was delicious, even cold.

And some gummi cola bottles.

The amount shown there is about 1/2 of what I brought back from Canada; I should have bought more!

When I got home Adam and a nice surprise for me –

The hospital he’s doing his current rotation at has a great cafeteria that sells our favorite pizza in Buffalo (legit!).

And then I fell asleep at 5pm.  I was feeling super tired throughout the day and the minute I sat down on the couch I was done for.  I slept from 5 – 10, got up to get ready for bed, and went back to sleep!

Don’t worry, I more than made up for any missed dinner calories on Friday.  The amount of junk I ate was so disgusting that it ended up being almost impressive!  Everything was delicious (duh!) but I think my body would appreciate a few more veggies.

It was National Donut Day and I had to partake.

That donut was rich I couldn’t even finish it.  I’m just not a donut girl, my consumption for the year is officially over 🙂

But sweet coffee?  Dont’ mind if I do.

I got a large Black Cocoa iced coffee with skim milk.  Adam got this (Men in Black!) special the other day and I was so good I had to have one of my own.  The lady who served us told me they were only making them through this week so taste one while you can.

Lunch was fresh-cut pineapple,

and a Cherry Cobbler Larabar Uber.

It was good but not as tasty as Bananas Foster.  Again, lots of big nuts and almost no date flavor.  And the cherries were tart and sweet.  Somehow it didn’t have quite enough flavor though.

School went really well on Friday.  I am ServSafe certified, woot!

Some friends and I celebrated after class.  Bloody Mary at Pano’s.

x2.  And then I was drunk.

I also took them to check out Nickel City Cheese and Mercantile.  In addition to having great stock the owners are fantastic.  My friends bought an aged cheddar and a gouda each and the man behind the counter had us do lots of swoon-worthy tasting.  I also brought home a treat for Adam.

He brought a treat for me too!

I happily ate that slice but then I had to tell him to stop bringing me pizza so I don’t get fat…ter.

Then we tried my treats.  A blue cheese and dark chocolate and goat cheese honey milk truffle!

We took one bite of each but I think I was a bigger fan than Adam.  They were a little strange but sooooo good.  The creaminess of goat cheese makes a perfect truffle center.

We had a gift certificate to use so we went on a dinner date to Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe.

I started with bread; one slice with garlic and a second with butter.

And for my meal I ordered the Baked Eggplant Parmigiana.

Oh. My. God.  I left the pasta to the side (who eats pasta when there are layers of eggplant and cheese available?!), shared a few cherished bites with Adam, and then demolished the rest.

We took dessert to go.

That ball was a peanut butter mousse with chocolate ganache.  Ridiculous.

I wanted to post last night but unfortunately I passed out then as well.  The dog has been shedding a lot more recently (this is our first June with him) and I may be the tiniest bit allergic to him.

So now it’s Saturday.  I’ve eaten a bowl of Maple Brown Sugar Mini Wheats with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk,

and I’m ready to conquer the day.  Conquer may mean errands or may mean tv, we shall see.

Some Shrink, Some Grow

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Here is what our afternoon looked like –

While I was studying I ate a mini bag of kettle corn.

And I ate a cheese stick when we got back from our walk.

I made Adam’s dinner this afternoon and my meal was quick to assemble this evening.  Earlier this week I cooked a big pot of lasagna noodles and all I had to do today was chop them up and the base of my meal was complete.

I gave the chopped noodles a quick stir-fry with 1 Tbsp canola oil, 2 cups frozen spinach, and 4 oz cream goat cheese.  Half of the finished product went into a tupperware for tomorrow and the other half went into my belly.

It was a great meal, but I sort of hate how tiny greens get when cooked.

You know what grows with heat?

Marshmallows, the opposite of spinach in every way!  They look funny because I microwaved them with a bit of cookie butter.  This might be my new favorite dessert.

It’s a busy day tomorrow but we are deeply enjoying our Stargate: Atlantis marathon; I’m hoping to strike the right balance of fun and function with a 1am bedtime.  Catch you in the a.m.!

Humbolt Fog

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Last night’s sleep session was a disaster.  Usually my sleep issues are related to falling asleep but lately if I get woken up I can’t fall back to sleep either.  The dog woke us up in the middle of the night and it took me at least another hour of tossing and turning to get back to rest.  The husband brought home some sort of bug from the hospital and my throat was killing me.

I overslept today and the morning was rushed but I managed to do what I needed to do, mostly.  I was heading to the gym after 9 am so sticking with my monthly goal I ate a small breakfast before I left.  A few sips of strawberry Powerade Zero,

and a half of a Vanilla Almond Luna Bar.

I didn’t have much time at the gym but something was better than nothing.  20 minutes on the elliptical at random level 7.

After a quick walk home and an even quicker shower I made a Lemon Cookie Smoothie for breakfast.

The last time I made it was apparently a dark and stormy night and I wanted a chance to get some better less awful photographs for the recipe page.

It probably wasn’t my best use of time though; I made it halfway through my smoothie before I had to throw it away and rush out the door.  I didn’t have time to pack lunch and having half a smoothie digesting in my stomach just made my hunger stronger all afternoon.

I got out of clinic a bit early and when I spotted a Manhattan Bagel on the drive home it felt like an oasis in the desert.

I was eating the chips that came with my meal before I was even out of the parking lot.

But chips only seemed to anger the beast (aka my stomach) and I ended up eating my bagel on the ride home!

Eating while driving is sort of nice because instead of dreading red lights you can use them to shove food into your face.  And my bagel was quite enjoyable; I got a veggie sandwich on a rye bagel.

Red onion, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, veggie cream cheese, and a little bit of chipotle mayo.  I thought the veggies were pretty weak but the bagel was super chewy and good.

I had my 2nd to last shift at work this evening and then I came home to an easy salad dinner.

I needed a vehicle for a veggie, a fruit, and this amazing looking cheese, and salad fit the bill.

This Cypress Grove Humbolt Fog Chevre was delicious.  Sadly the blue cheese and goat cheese were in layers and not the hybrid mixture I was hoping for, but both were quite tasty.

Along with chunk of cheese I had romaine lettuce, groats, chopped honey crisp apple, and Stubbs BBQ Sauce for dressing.

Those ingredients sound strange together but it worked.

I’ll see y’all in the am for some running and some baking!

My Meal At T.G.I.Friday’s

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Disclaimer – I was given the opportunity to sample the new menu at TGIF free of charge.  As always, my thoughts are my own.

The other day I had the opportunity to try the new menu at T.G.I.Friday’s.    The new menu is currently out in Buffalo, Minneapolis, and Denver and a group of local bloggers were given the opportunity to come and taste some of the new dishes.  I brought my friend Kim along and we had a really great time.

There is a T.G.I.Friday’s across the street from campus at UMiami and there was a year in undergrad when Adam and I were going pretty much weekly.  I’d get the pecan crusted chicken salad, every single time.  But it’s been awhile and I’ve not had very good luck with chains locally.  I have to be honest that when the offer came in I wasn’t expecting to be all that impressed.  But here’s the thing – everything we tried was great!  Like, everything.  And I realize that those dishes were being put out specifically to serve to a group of local food bloggers, but I was impressed enough that I plan on going back on my own.

You can read about the items here so I’m not going to waste your time by regurgitating the menu.  Instead, I’ll share a few of my thoughts.  We had the opportunity to ask questions and I did my best to ensure that vegetarian dishes were truely vegetarian.  I loved how many options were available for non-meat eaters.  There were also some good-looking beef dishes added to the menu, but since I didn’t taste them myself I’m not going to comment on them.

Peach Sweet Tea.

This was made with peach puree, agave, and black tea.  I’m not the hugest sweet tea fan but this wasn’t too-too sweet and you could taste that the peaches were not fake.

Heavenly Hummus Dip

The hummus was made with roasted red pepper paste which gave a nice layer of flavor under the tahini.  It was topped with goat cheese crumbles which is not a combo I would have expected.  The flavor was good, but very garlicy so be aware if that’s not your thing.  We were told that the hummus is made fresh every day.  It was served fresh with pita toasts that seemed very fresh as well.

Warm Pretzels with Beer Cheese Dipping Sauce

This was my favorite appetizer (duh!).  I know that not everyone is as obsessed with movie theatre pretzel bites as I am, but I promise this app feels fancier than that.  The pretzels are supremely soft and they are brushed with a basil butter that gives them this great, unidentifiable taste (I had to ask).  The beer cheese sauce wasn’t gritty or too sour.  Ask for no bacon on top if you don’t eat pork.  They recently changed from cooking the sauce with bacon to sprinkling it on top so that this accommodation could be made.

Ahi Tuna with Avocado Crisps

I took a bite of this expecting to spit it out and ended up eating the entire thing.  Seared ahi tuna is served on top of tortilla crisps with Sriracha, guacamole, lemon vinaigrette, and a fresh jalapeño.  The blend of flavors and textures really helped me get over the fact that I was eating raw fish.  I loved the fresh jalapeño on top; it gave great crunch and the guacamole helped to mellow out the heat.

I don’t have a photo of the Sedona Black Bean Burger but I wanted to mention it because it was amazing.  It’s a black bean burger topped with chipotle mayo, avocado, and great thick-sliced pickles.  The burger had a nice texture and held together perfectly and the sandwich had just the right amount of spice.  This felt nice and meaty but is actually a good vegetarian option (it’s not vegan because egg whites are used in the bean patties).

Grilled Vegetable Dagwood

I should say right now that the three sandwich options were my three favorites.  This sandwich was fantasmic and Kim and I both made ourselves a little sick because we just couldn’t stop taking bites of it. Two pieces of extra-soft pita were stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, roasted veggies (eggplant!), and mango chutney.  You never see mango chutney on American menus and it really adds a lot of flavor to any dish.

Turkey Cranberry Rueben

What, what?!  It’s a Rueban… and it’s made with turkey so I don’t have to request a menu change… and it has cranberries?  Sign me up!  Actually the cranberry component was in cranberry jalapeño slaw and cranberry jalapeño thousand island dressing, which is even better.  I liked that it had a Goldilocks amount of turkey on it (not too little or too much) but I do recommend requesting that it be grilled without butter.

Victory Garden Pasta

Whole wheat penne with veggies (brocoli, mushrooms, olives! and more) and goat cheese in a lemon sauce.  If you request no goat cheese this one would be vegan.  The pasta was not my cup of tea but that’s just my taste preference because it was Kim’s favorite.  I love the throwback name.

Overall, I was very impressed the amount and variety of veggies that made it onto the new menu.  And I like that the prices are still pretty low in spite of some “fancier” additions, i.e. avocado and goat cheese.  It’s sort of awkward to write a review that doesn’t say anything bad because I think my readers will assume that I’m lying, but I promise that my experience was genuinely just a good one.  If you get try the new menu for yourself please let me know what you think!

What is your favorite chain restaurant?

STT; Thursday Afternoon – Saturday Morning

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It’s a busy day (the day before Christmas!) but I just couldn’t bear not sharing (pictures of all, descriptions of few) what I’ve been up to!

Thursday

Thursday afternoon, my mom treated me to lunch at Pesce, a newish Italian spot. We split the two things that sounded best. A spinach salad with craisins, candied pecans and goat cheese,

and a (fried) bbq chicken flat bread.

The husband has been calling about missing me and asking for pictures, so – Hi, husband!

Do you like my new top?

For dinner my parents and I headed to Victor’s Hideout for some good local cuisine.

Our plates came with plantains, fungi, sweet potato, rice and beans, and salad.

Plus I ate a roll with butter.

Here, my dad and I split two plates.  He got the fried shrimp,

And I got ole wife, a local whitefish.

Head on, scrape the meat off the bones… It was intense but tasty.

That evening I headed over to the apartment (bachelor pad) of two high school friends who just moved in together. 4 of us from a regular group were there together and it was fun to do some reminiscing. Adrien served me a tasty vodka-soda-lemon thing at some point.

But I stuck to one drink because I was driving (on the left … in the rain … without traffic signals because half the island didn’t have power). My mom did text around 1:30 to see if I was dead, which I thought was sweet.

Friday

Friday morning I may have overslept. I missed my gym window too, which was annoying. But I got up in time for breakfast.

That bowl was 1 egg, 2 whites, ~3 oz leftover spicy chicken, a handful of shredded cabbage, 1 Tbsp butter, and 2 Tbsp cocktail sauce. I’m not even going to attempt to describe it.

Brunch was Christmas in a convenience package.

A gingerbread Clif bar that I took one bite of and then trashed in horror.

And an eggnog Nutrament that I swooned over.

Plus I got a chaispresso (chai, espresso, 2% milk) during afternoon errands.

Friday night my parents hosted a Hanukkah party!

It was great getting to see everyone, and it was extra great that my uncle made his (best ever) latkes.

I took many appetizers bites. I actually did take a photo of every single one, so I’m going to consolidate them grid style –

My cousin made matzoh ball soup.

Here is my dinner plate –

Salad, noodle kugel, and a tiny bit of salmon.

And my mom made “Crack Pie” (of Momofuku fame) for dessert.

Tiny slices because it was basically a pie of caramel in an oatmeal cookie crust.

Saturday

This morning I had my mom drive me to school so I could run some laps on the field.  I have no idea of distance, but I jogged 20 minutes straight; plus a quick, walking warm up and cool down.  I am not in running shape at all so it was interesting to see a workout out in the wind!

And I’d like to wish a very Merry Christmas tomorrow to all of my readers who celebrate!