Butter Pecan Mochi

Apologies for another late post!  Honestly?  When I get home from work I get into bed fully dressed with a snack for at least 30 minutes and sometimes I just don’t get up again to do anything productive!  I know I haven’t really blogged about some of the big recent changes at work, but suffice to say I am tired.  <– but also really happy to be busy and getting some exposure to new things

Some of my favorite bites from the [last] week…

Watermelon kefir is an excellent idea.  P.S. When I went to the Lifeway website I discovered that they apparently make an eggnog kefir and now it’s pretty much all I can think about.

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I was all about the premade coffees this week and they were surprisingly delicious.  Starbuck’s dark roast iced coffee.

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Caribou vanilla iced coffee.

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Cafeteria baked potato bar.  With sour cream, cilantro, cheese/sauce, and salsa.

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Yummy yogurt bowls.  Coffee Chobani with chocolate tahini, maple granola, and walnuts and an eve apple.

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Blood orange Chobani with Heritage Flakes and sunshine raspberries.

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Whole Foods hot bar = black bean sauce broccoli, green beans, curried cauliflower, pasta salads, sweet chili tofu.

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Plus I tried their mocha ice cream in butter pecan and black sesame.  <– this might be my new favorite thing

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Blue chip nachos!  With corn, cheddar, black beans, and fresh tomatoes.  I dipped them into roasted tomato salsa.

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I bought a bag of rolls at our grocery’s bakery ($1.69 for a variety pack of six?!) and we became obsessed with turkey and cheddar sandwiches.  The key is spreading the bun with a mix of mayo and gojuchang.

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I made a simple veggie and tofu bowl that was our favorite dinner of the week.

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Chopped raw bok choy with TJ’s sesame soy ginger vinaigrette / TJ’s teriyaki baked tofu / crispy edamame – tossed with evoo and salt and baked at 400* for 20 minutes / black sesame seeds.

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Leftover sesame noodles with chili oil with baked tofu and crispy edamame.

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A dinner in parts: Adam had to take a super quick trip to Delaware this week and I worked out my schedule to tag along.  We started with Mile End in Brooklyn for appetizers.  Garlic knish.

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Brussel sprouts salad (with a mix of raw and roasted!) with labne, sumac, and honeycomb and pumpernickel powder.  It was amazing.

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Mid-dinner dessert stop for churros with dulce de leche at the new DeKalb Market Hall.

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And finally Grain in Newark.  I had a great whiskey sour.

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And the best crab cake sandwich of my life; it was absolutely packed with crab meat, no filler to be found.

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Enjoy the rest of your week!

It’s Hot Outside And I Want Ice Cream And Iced Coffee

Here’s a looong post because it’s been a looong time since I last posted!  20 things from the past 10 days…

{1-4} Cool Coffees.  New Orleans iced coffees from Homecoming and Otha’s.

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Toasted marshmallow iced latte from Sweetie Pies on Main.

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Homemade frappe with dark roast, milk, ice, and birthday cake ice cream (<– I enjoyed the Halo Top a surprising amount, and would definitely buy it again).

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{5-6} Decadent Doughnuts.  Nutella beignet from Maman.

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Rose and marmalade doughnut from Polka Dot.  <– one of the best doughnuts either of us had ever eaten

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{7-10} Work Bites.  Piñata apple, salted caramel Doubleshot, and an ancho pepper turkey stick.

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Almond water (<– yuck!), chocolate hazelnut croissant, and a smitten apple.

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Vanilla bean yogurt with white peach and crumbled cookies (<– the recipe I always make with butterscotch and dark chocolate chips and walnuts).

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TJ’s avocado citrus yogurt with fresh mango and a peanut butter Larabar on the side.

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{11-12} Lunch in Greenpoint.  Greenpoint Fish and Lobster.

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Watermelon lemonade with cava.

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Grilled bluefish tacos with citrus cabbage, chipotle-lime mayo, radishes, and cilantro on grilled corn tortillas.

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Greenpoint Beer and Ale.  I got the honey saison.

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{13} Quality Eats at Quality Eats.  French toast cocktail (<– extra points for the punny name!) = bourbon, maple syrup, cinnamon, egg white, and prosecco.

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I had fried eggs with avocado and salsa rosa, and a perfectly dressed salad.

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And we had the s’mores ice cream sundae for dessert, with burnt marshmallow ice cream.

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{14-17} Winner Dinners.  Kimichi quesadillas.  I stuffed wonderfully soft tortillas with a mix of sharp cheddar, chopped kimchi, and mayo.

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Served with sour cream, roasted zucchini, and a weisse beer with lychee and pink guava.

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Bean and cheese tacos.  With watermelon beer and seltzer.  I cooked pinto beans in a skillet with evoo, salt, pepper, curry powder, and cayenne, then mashed them up with a spoon.

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With sour cream, salsa, Mexican cheese blend, and sautéed onions and green pepper.

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Chicken wing pasta.  Whole wheat shells / shredded chicken / peas / habanero wing sauce / cream cheese / blue cheese.

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Our first trip to Win Son = the best meal of this post.

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I got the Breakfast of Champions drink with peanut milk, toasted sesame, rum, rum cream, and toasted coconut.

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Fried eggplant with black vinegar, kefir cheese, and spiced cashews.  <– maybe my favorite thing I’ve eaten this year

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Sesame noodles with scallions and oyster mushrooms.  Plus a metric ton of chili oil.

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{18-20} Delicious Desserts.  Molly’s Cupcake for raw cake batter stuffed yellow cake.

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Bubble tea at Yaya Tea.  Guava black tea with yogurt popping boba and mango stars.  <– new favorite boba spot

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Ice and Vice seasonal flavor, No Whey – labne ice cream with burnt honey and preserved lemon.  This was so refreshing!

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Enjoy the rest of your week!

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Japanese Kit-Kats And Trader Joe’s Nitro Cold Brew

Highlights from the week included…

Trader Joe’s nitrogen-infused cold brew, my new favorite bottled coffee.  It was so creamy and velvety!

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Check out that head (photo taken after I added cream).

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Yogurt bowls at work.  Plain Siggi’s with maple quinoa granola, chia seeds, brown sugar, and homemade raisins.  <– if I had included three favorites in my title this bowl would have been #3!  P.S. the raisins were much improved by a night in the fridge.

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Banana Chobani with Heritage Flakes and a piñata apple on the side.

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Snack attack.  There were curly fries in the cafeteria this week!

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I finally got my hands on some crazy-flavors Japanese Kit-Kats – butter cookie and pudding.  I would have liked both better with milk chocolate versus white but they were fun to try.

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Iced chai latte (that was way too spicy for me and ended up going in the garbage) and yummy honey caramel candies.

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I made a big batch of pesto and it was the cornerstone of most of our adult dinners last week.  Failed adulting dinners were cheese and crackers eaten in bed.  Pesto = basil, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts, and parmesan.  Most of it went into pasta bowls – whole wheat shells with shredded chicken and roasted zucchini, topped with more cheese and pine nuts and fried garlic panko bread crumbs for crunch.

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I also set aside some pesto for some truly epic egg sandwiches.

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Brioche bun / with pesto on one side / and gojuchang mayo on the other / with two fried eggs with a slice of fontina cheese melting in between.  <– ridiculously good and loosely inspired by the egg sandwich at Santina.

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With roasted green beans with more garlic panko.

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Saturday after work I met Adam for Southern fare at Pretty Southern.  We ordered both sherry drinks because cocktails with sherry are wonderful.  Carlita’s Colada – Palo cortado sherry, coconut cream, pineapple, and lime and Sunshine Way – Fino sherry, blackberry, pineapple, lime, and mint.  The coconut one was the best.

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We shared all of the things for dinner.  Chicken strips with the most amazing housemade pickles.

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Bourbon butter biscuit.   <– this was soggy and meh

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Fantastic mac and cheese with crispy fried onions on top.

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And a griddled sandwich with pimento cheese, tomato, and pickled jalapeño.

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I’ve got a busy but fun week ahead, please think calm thoughts for me!

Duck Confit

Top 10 bites this week…

Pastries and coffees at Lilia.  An espresso-cream filled doughnut and something that tasted like a fancy funnel cake.

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Egg and cheese on a whole-wheat roll.  With an iced latte and a tangerine.

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Candy oats bowl.  Rolled oats with chia seeds, mini chocolate chips, and a few caramel M&M’s.  (<– they are so good!  Adam and I are both obsessed and we mailed a bag to my parents who flipped over them as well.)

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Nectarine yogurt and red cherries.  So excited that it’s cherry season.

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Cafeteria came through with a fancy pasta bar.  Tortelini with peas, pesto, and shrimp.

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Best meal of the week was a midweek lunch date at Sauvage.  The service was impeccable and the space was beautiful.

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I love a good tiled floor!

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We started with the seeded Kouign Amann which was buttery good.  Plus an unpictured cocktail that was fizzy and citrusy but that I’m not finding on the online menu.

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Adam ordered mind-blowingly good hen of the woods mushrooms with poached eggs.  I just got a salad — with oranges, za’atar, and duck confit!!  <– 2nd best duck I’ve ever eaten

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It is disgustingly warm in NYC and I had ice cream in some form every day this week.  Best = Van Leeuwen‘s honeycomb and black sesame and ash flavors.

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Yummy cola flavored hard candies.  Cola is our favorite candy flavor, hard, gummy, sour, or otherwise.

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Trader Joe’s frozen lemongrass chicken sticks with a side of baby carrots.

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2nd best meal of the week was this homemade masterpiece.  I know that chicken looks awful and raw but it was actually perfectly cooked.  I baked chicken thighs that marinated in miso, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, and fish sauce all morning.

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Paired with roasted broccoli and kimchi and turkey bacon fried rice.

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Enjoy your weekend!

Salmon Cream Cheese Wontons

I had to work this weekend but somehow I ended up with a bunch of eats that were super good.  Because they all included sugar and/or cheese?  Probably!  Here were the highlights…

Three fun new coffee cups.  Halvah cotton candy on top.

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Chocolate milk ice cubes.

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Starbuck’s nitro cold brew.  I loved the velvety texture but was not a fan of it being served without ice.

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Pickings are slim at the cafeteria on the weekends but I put together a pretty good lunch plate.  BBQ wings, veggie lo mein, roasted baby carrots, and cherry tomatoes with blue cheese dressing.

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Mango yogurt with fresh mango on top.  Guys, fresh mangos are so flipping good, how did I forget about them all winter??

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Cookie and coffee break.  From Bittersweet (a hopping Fort Greene coffee spot with no less than 7 cute doggies waiting in line when I walked in).

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Another sweet snack, vanilla yogurt with chocolate peanut butter stirred in and mini chocolate chips on top.

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Cinnamon dusted apple slices with sharp cheddar squares and chocolate peanut butter sticks.

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Whole Foods hot bar dinner on an after-work shopping trip.  Crispy potatoes, vegan meat balls, roasted zucchini, tabbouleh, and pasta salad.

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Best meal of the week was this quick and easy dinner I threw together Friday night.

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Salmon cream cheese wontons!  I stuffed wonton skins with a mix of canned salmon, cream cheese, brown sugar, fish sauce, and minced ginger.  Baked at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

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They were creamy and crispy and delicious.  Served with roasted green beans.

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A close 2nd for best meal was our dinner at Lady’s, a newish Italian spot in Brooklyn.

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The food was all fantastic – so fresh, and perfectly seasoned.  Like this amazing salad with snow peas, sunflower seeds, and pickled radish.  <– 2nd best salad of my entire life

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We also started with hummus with crispy chickpeas, charred cucumber, lemon, and focaccia.

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With a yummy local watermelon ale.

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And for our entrée we shared pasta with crab,

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and honey butter pizza dough with sea salt and Calabrian chili.  The spicy-salty-sweet contrast was perfection.  I had a glass of prosecco with that course and the pairing was wonderful.

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I got a giant scoop of the new cheesecake flavor at Ample Hills for dessert.  It was a tasty weekend!

I Can’t Choose A Favorite!

This is a longer wrap-up (Monday through Sunday) and I ate too many yummy things to chose a single favorite for my post title.  I’ve got my top three – 1) Thai-style crab fried rice, 2) roasted garlic bread, and 3) black sesame shaved ice.

Here were the highlights…

Killer coffee combo – Volcanic roast with chocolate milk.

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Usually I just have coffee for breakfast or eat something on my train, but this week the cafeteria sounded amazing first thing in the morning.  Eggs and hashbrowns, with humus.

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Cafeteria lunch, a spicy chicken sandwich on ridiculously cheesy bread with mustard, lettuce, and bell pepper.

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Last weekend I spent forever trying to make coconut curd.  I didn’t make jam, but I did filthy every last inch of my stovetop.  My experiment didn’t work, at all, but I did kind of like the end result – a vaguely sweet, egg, cake.

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I enjoyed my “jam” in lunches all week.  Like with vanilla bean yogurt and blackberries.

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And plain yogurt, berries, maple quinoa granola, and black sesame seeds.

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Whole Foods hot bar lunch.

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Sesame broccoli, turkey salad, and cole slaw.

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Plus a maple soda that was not as exciting as I was expecting it to be; it had an off-putting aftertaste.

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Snack time.  Ice cream = maple walnut and a white chocolate vanilla marshmallow flavor.

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Milk bun.

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Crème brulee milk stout.

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My workweek dinners were on point!  Like crab fried rice with roasted broccoli and sliced cucumber.

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I loosely followed this recipe, except I used brown rice and waaaay more crab.  It was fantastic.

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Vampire killer, I roasted three whole heads of garlic for this recipe.

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Garlic turkey meatballs with red sauce and roasted zucchini.

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And amazing homemade garlic bread – I mashed butter and roasted garlic and then slathered it on sliced sourdough and baked until delicious.

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Even our leftovers meal was tasty.  Cheese tortellini with meatballs, peas, roasted garlic, and red sauce.

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One night I had dinner out with a coworker.  We checked out the new Brooklyn MŏkBar location.  They have a liquor license now, and I got a yummy vodka “cloudsicle.”

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Plus chicken ramen with kimchi and poached egg.

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And the new Brooklyn Snowdays location was right next door!  Black sesame shaved ice with oreo, mochi, and condensed milk.

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Plus a dinner date with the husband.  Brinkley’s has Genesee Cream Ale on draught!

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We got pimento cheese dip and duck fat fries to start and I dipped my fries in the pimento cheese and pretty much died of heart failure happiness.

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Plus fish tacos with mahi, guacamole, and pineapple salsa.

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The other two dinners were decidedly less exciting.  Like Chipotle take out.  And more hot bar.  Yes, I went to Whole Foods two different days, it was an exciting week.  I was too busy at work yesterday to break for lunch so by the time I got dinner I ate a giant plate of all of the things.

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Now it’s two days of work before a break on Wednesday.

Have a great week!

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Chocolate “Cheesecake” Oatmeal

Kids.  Work is really freaking stressful this month.  My goodness.  I had Wednesday off this week (from working the previous weekend) and I practically spent the whole day in a coma.  And yesterday I bought multiple coffees before 10 am.  I promise to whine about post a work sitch update sometime soon, but for this post I’m keeping things short and simple.

Some of the best things I ate this week…

Oatmeal with chia seeds, two kinds of chocolate chips, and a scoop of cream cheese.  It was heavenly.

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Mango yogurt with Luxardo cherries, plus I added a banana from the cafeteria at work.

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Another dessert-y lunch, plain Greek yogurt with cookie butter, granola, and a Pink Lady apple.

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My mother-in-law sent us a giant box of sugar cookies for Easter.  Both of our mothers still send us Easter baskets, actually, there’s a lot of candy in this house!

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Leftover cheddar bbq meatloaf with roasted green beans.  Adam butchered the meatloaf getting it out of the dish and then mashed it onto my plate because I pretty much live like a princess.

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<– that was sarcasm, but I really am pretty spoiled.  Case in point – honey beer with dinner.

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Sweet potato fries with tons of extra-sharp cheddar and ground turkey with Korean bbq sauce.  I realize that the photo is pretty rough, but it was one of the yummiest things I ate all week.  We highly recommend the frozen fries from Trader Joe’s.

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Hot pasta salad.  I sautéed big chunks of green bell pepper and onion in tons of olive oil and smoked paprika, tossed with crispy roasted chickpeas, and cheese tortellini.

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Are you dying eggs this weekend??

Brunch At Queens [blank]

In spite of the bitter, freezing cold, I spent my weekend appreciating Astoria.  I drove in Saturday and Sunday for two (cheese-packed) brunches.  Plus yummy post-brunch iced lattes – always iced, always – at Kinship and Gossip.  Finally, I did some expensive but adorable shopping at Lockwood.

Queens Kickshaw.  We started our meal with a gouda grilled cheese – brioche with gouda, pickled jalopenos, guava jam, and black bean hummus.  Such a good combination of flavors!

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I had an interesting cocktail with vodka, apricot liquor, golden raisin shrub, and orange bitters.

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And mac and cheese with broccoli pesto on the bottom and an egg on top.  The pasta was ridiculously good, but actually the best thing on the plate was the side salad; the salads were perfectly dressed rainbow chard with herbs.

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Queens Comfort.  We shared a King Kong Doughnut to start – banana bread with peanut butter topping.

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My friend and I both ordered the fried green tomato benedict – fried green tomatoes on a buttermilk biscuit with spinach, hollandaise, hot pepper jelly, and poached eggs.

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Back at my Queens apartment, I served a dinner and dessert worth noting.  Shave-ice style yogurt bowl – plain Greek with condensed milk, sliced banana, Frosted Flakes, and a few Luxardo cherries.

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Pasta bowls with torn lasagna noodles, tuna, roasted zucchini, and a sauce with gojuchang, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce.

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