Weekend Wrap-Up; My Camera Went MIA

Moving to Long Island has done something to my brain!  <– real talk, please let’s just pretend that this problem is a LI thing and not the fact that I turn 30 this year

Prior to 2013, I had lost/seriously misplaced one item in my entire life: a pair of flip-flops at a party in high school.  Also I had to have my dorm keys replaced in college after Adam kicked them into a lake, but those weren’t technically missing, they just weren’t accessible.  But lately?  I’m an absentminded disaster.  Last year, on my very first day at the hospital, I lost a brand-new scarf.  This December, I lost a brand-newish i-pod somewhere between my apartment and the gym.  And this weekend I misplaced my camera.  Not lost, thankfully, because it turned out that I had just left it in the husband’s car, but since he then drove that car to 30 hour shift this is my long-winded way of telling you that I don’t have a ton of pictures from this weekend.  I am missing a lot, especially since I didn’t deem things like the four slices of cinnamon toast I ate for dinner on Saturday instagram-worthy.

How often do you lose track of your stuff?  Someone tell me they left their baby on the bus so I’ll feel better!

breakfasts and lunches

Coffee!  This was a freebie so I went a bit crazy – a large iced latte with extra espresso.

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Those Starbucks workers get very snarky once you start asking for that much espresso.

Yet another good reason to have coffee at home instead.

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Starbucks iced (but from home!) with Hint of Honey Almond Breeze and fat-free half and half.

Fruit and yogurt bowls ruled my work lunches.  Grape Chobani with pomegranate and a Zing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar on the side.

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Stonyfield Chia and Red Berry Greek Yogurt with fresh strawberries and the last of the TJ’s Pumpkin O’s.

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Several coworkers commented on this lunch; I guess they aren’t used to chia?!

The best was clearly brunch at Rabbit Hole with a girl friend.  I got the Eggs Norwegian, aka a Benedict but with lox instead of bacon and served on a biscuit.

brunch at rabbit hole in williamsburg

Sooo good.  But the drink in the background was even better – Champagne, St. Germaine, and grapefruit.  We both got one and thought that they were just great.

snacks

We tried some fun drinks while we were in Chinatown.

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Yeeech!  The sugar cane was terrible.  But we only spent $1 so it was worth a shot.

Adam bought Gushers!!

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They weren’t as good as I remembered, but it was still a fun throwback.

Coffee is always good.

blue bottle

The Blue Bottle in Williamsburg made me my New Orleans with skim milk.  Frankly, I would have accepted almost anything at that point though – first my friend and I stopped at one coffee shop that was out of ice and another that poured me a giant glass of whole milk with a smidge of coffee in it.

dinner

I made us great pasta bowls one night.  Box mac and cheese gussied up with canned smoked trout, chopped spinach, sautéed bell peppers and garlic, and tons of caramelized onions.

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I doused my bowl in green Tabasco.

Adam and I finally got to try Pies and Thighs for dinner.

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I got the Chicken Biscuit.

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Fried cutlet with honey butter and hot sauce on a biscuit.

Plus a really amazing salad.

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Collard greens with avocado, pickled red onions, and smoked coconut.  Adam and I could not get over how delicious it was; I really want to remake it at home.

With banana cream pie on Nilla Wafer crust for dessert.

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Yum.   

Weekend Wrap-Up; Marshmallow Madness

I am not 100% yet, but I am feeling much better. 90%?  Poor Adam, though, has gotten my cold x2, complete with an ear infection.  It’s put a real damper on how much sympathy I’m able to get!  At least we were both in the mood for a quiet, lazy weekend.

breakfast and lunch

Friday at work I had a Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar with WF’s Citrus Blend Italian Sparkling Mineral Water.

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Don’t get me wrong, nothing tops Diet Coke, but I am really loving those sparkling waters.  The strawberry flavor is the best.

Then for lunch, Grape Chobani with KIND Raspberry Chia Seed Clusters, an apple, and a Vita Coco Café.

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Again, not as amazing as iced coffee, but the espresso coconut water mash-up is damn good.

And I did have iced coffee this weekend.  With skim milk and vanilla creamer.

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Plus peanut/butter toast and a mini cheese for brunch.

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That is the only weekend breakfast or lunch picture I have because mostly we snacked on random things.

fudgy triple chocolate marshmallow brownies

Also I made and ate a lot of brownies (see below…).

dinner

Friday night we turned to the freezer for dinner.

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TJ’s vegan orange chicken was alright paired with broccoli.

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But it was basically the least filling thing on the planet.  We both ended up making sandwiches too.

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Fancy pb&j for me.

Saturday night was just straight fancy.

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I made baked shrimp!  Shrimp, chopped bell pepper, evoo, fresh cilantro, salt, smoked paprika, cayenne, lime juice, and a sprinkle of chopped butter, baked at 425* for 12 minutes.  Served on top of jasmine rice cooked in chicken stock.

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This was tasty, healthy, and oh-so quick to prepare.  Triple win.

Sunday I started dinner in the car home after the world’s longest trip to Trader Joe’s.  Apparently people are freaking out about our potential blizzard.  By the by, please, please, please cross your fingers that it doesn’t blizzard!

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After my pretzel roll I made a spinach salad.

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With balsamic vinaigrette, pomegranate, goat’s milk cheddar, and sweet and salty pecans.

snacks, aka marshmallow madness

My mother-in-law sent us a cute Valentine’s card and some strawberry Peeps.

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They were yummy, but the marshmallow extravaganza was just beginning… we also had a big container of fluff!

So I made the very best brownies I’ve ever tasted.

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Triple chocolate fudge with a layer of marshmallow fluff in the middle.

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Recipe is coming tomorrow and it is absolutely fantastic, I promise.

In the meantime, I did something else with the fluff.

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Oh yes, I did.  Malted Marshmallow Coffee Creamer.  If you put skim milk, marshmallow fluff (1:2 ratio with the milk), and malted milk powder (1:4 ratio with the milk) in the blender you can put it in your coffee and pretty much die of happiness.

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We used 2 cups skim milk, 1 cup fluff, and 1/4 cup malted milk powder, but as long as you follow the ratio above you can make a smaller or larger batch, no problem.  I highly recommend it!

Two By Two…

…hands of blue  <– name that show!

A short weekly wrap-up since my pictures were terrible, the two best from each category…

breakfast

I made wonderful coffee this week with the help of Grady’s Cold Brew Bean Bags. DSC04887 Paired with 1) A coconut berry smoothie. DSC04853

Hint of honey almond milk, frozen strawberries and blueberries, and coconut butter. I love the way the coconut doesn’t totally blend in and you end up with little pockets.

2) A surprisingly good omlette from the cafeteria. 20150106_094337

Eggs with onions and peppers.

lunch

1) A mix of seafood items from the caf made me feel fancy. 20150107_134558(0)

Tuna salad sandwich, lobster bisque, and a honey tangerine from home.

2) A snack plate that was actually the first half of lunch; I had Vietnamesse food at a party later. DSC04898

Pretzels, turkey jerky, and cinnamon apples.

snack

1) The party was a goodbye party for my boss. I brought in cookies.  Lavender chocolate caramel chip and my Smore’s Monster Cookies.

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I ate way too much dough then stayed up half the night with a stomach ache/sugar high finishing the latest Kathy Reichs’ book.

2) More sugar?

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I enjoyed these crispy m&m’s much more than I was expecting to.

dinner

1) Chipotle is always good.

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White rice, pinto beans, veggies, corn and mild salsas, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce.

2) This salad, sans chips, was good too.

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My take on a copycat of TGIFriday’s pecan-crusted chicken salad.

copycat tgif pecan crusted chicken salad

Copycat TGIF Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad

  • chicken tenders
  • honey mustard – I used cranberry honey mustard which I highly recommend
  • chopped toasted pecans
  • baby spinach
  • dried cranberries
  • crumbled blue cheese
  • canned mandarin oranges
  • balsamic vinegarette
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour mustard and pecans into wide, shallow bowls.
  2. Dip chicken into mustard, then into pecans, pushing gently to help set the nuts (I only coated one side of my tenders).
  3. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet, naked side down. Bake for 27 – 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Allow to cool before slicing.
  4. Assemble salads with toppings.

copycat tgif pecan crusted chicken salad2

instagram share

1) I bought these cards to brighten up my office for only 99 cents at Trader Joe’s.

cards from trader joes

2) I made up a joke! Adam hates me.

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Could you identify the tv show from the quote?

Hello, 2015! Weekend Wrap-Up

It’s 2015!!! 

My new year is off to a good start; I rearranged a few areas in the apartment that have been driving me crazy and have even been to the gym a few times.  I opened the year with a trip to the movies to see “Wild” with friends.  We all enjoyed it, even those who hadn’t read the book.

I’ve done plenty of good eating this year too…

breakfast

Coffee coffee.

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With vanilla sugar.

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And vanilla creamer.

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Yep, I’m still deep in my vanilla obsession.

Which is why I bought this French vanilla yogurt.

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With a seckel pear.

Another day I stirred vanilla bean paste into plain 0% Chobani.

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It was delicious topped with blueberries, toasted walnuts, and maple syrup.

Pumpkin smoothie.

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Canned pumpkin – the final can that’s been waiting in the pantry – with Greek yogurt, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, and Almond Breeze Hint of Honey.  This was thin but so tasty.

Adam and I split this latte and donut.

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Dough‘s mocha crumble did not disappoint.

lunch

A killer sandwich.

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Turkey, sharp cheddar, banana peppers, and strawberry jam.

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Plus apple slices with cinnamon maple sugar.

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Black-eyed pea salad {BEP, green pepper, sharp cheddar, green Tabasco, and smoked almonds}.

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And trail mix {peanuts, smoked almonds, dried blueberries, and birthday cake M&M’s}.

Another sandwich with sliced apple.

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Fried egg with mayo and mustard.

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If I had rye bread this would be the exact sandwich my dad cooked for me when I was growing up.  His specialties were sandwiches – fried egg and grilled cheese (with pickle relish!).

snack

A trip to Ample Hills for the good stuff.  Butter pecan brittle and salted crack caramel.

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Chocolate covered potato chips.  I measured out exactly one serving – these are Adam’s favorite thing ever and he was very kind to share.

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Turkey jerky.

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Chocolate-covered gummy bears = yum!

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It’s possible I splashed cookie-flavored coffee creamer into diet coke and it was the best thing ever…

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Dooo itttt!

dinner

You have to eat black-eyed peas on the first for good luck in the new year.  I had mine mixed with green pepper, tomato, hot sauce, mayo, and cheddar on top of sprouted brown rice and chopped spinach.

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The dog even got his own little serving!

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I stuck a fork in my bowl, but I actually scooped my meal with bbq kettle chips.

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It was a great pairing.

Friday we did salads for course 1; spinach with peanut sauce, chopped apple, and kasha (roasted buckwheat groats).

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Followed by chicken patties from Trader Joe’s and cheesy fries.

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The fries were great – just frozen from Trader Joe’s that we baked with shredded cheddar and gouda.

We celebrated round 2 of our anniversary on Saturday.  When we watched our wedding video last weekend, we were reminded that I talked about eating pizza and watching Scrubs in my vows (really, I did!) and we realized that pizza and Scrubs would be a good anniversary activity.  We got a variety of slices from our favorite pizza place in our old neighborhood and had a great time.

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I got a green juice {spinach, kale, cucumber, and pineapple} to get in some veggies while we were picking up our pie.

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Adam was on call on Sunday but I figured that I should start off 2015 by breaking my streak of chips and cheese for single lady dinners and cooking a real meal.

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Spinach salad with balsamic, dried cranberries, blue cheese, and pecan crusted chicken tenders.  I dipped the chicken in cranberry honey mustard before I dredged it in chopped pecans and it came out amazingly.

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Woot, woot!

I hope that everyone is having a great year.

Goodbye, 2014! Weekly Wrap-Up

I cannot believe that it is almost 2015!  Doesn’t it sometimes feel like life is flying by?  I hate the idea of waking up late and tired in a new year, so our big plans for NYE consist of cuddling on the couch and trying to get in bed extra early.

Posting my recap a few days ahead of schedule so I can feel like I wrapped up one final thing…

breakfast

Yummy hot chocolate and an apple.

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After coffee, obviously.  Per usual, I was all about the coffee.

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This giant (I had a freebie) was an iced vanilla latte with extra espresso.

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I have been weirdly obsessed with vanilla all week and it’s making me kind of crazy; I don’t even like vanilla!  You’ll see Greek and frozen vanilla yogurts below, and I’m pretty much going to die if I don’t find pudding this weekend.  Hopefully this craving will pass soon.

lunch

Salted caramel Greek yogurt with coconut butter and an apple on the side.

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Plus a vegan monster cookie sandwich from Babycakes.  <– amaze!

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And some jerky while I did my charting.

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Tuesday I got lunch from the cafeteria that tasted better than it looked.

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A strange Caesar pasta salad (it was chicken and dressing with pasta AND croutons?!) topped with mushrooms and broccoli from the salad bar.

Another day I brought in dinner leftovers.

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Apple on the side; I had SweeTango and Kiku this week and both were great.

snacks

Chocolate!  Some nice (this Coffee & Cream bar from Theo is gritty good),

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and some inedible.

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Sorry, Mom, this Christmas gift was too spicy.

Adam is now as obsessed with this fruit mix as I am.

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But no one is as obsessed with vanilla as I am currently!  Vanilla bean yogurt with some candy cane Oreos crushed in it.

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And vanilla frozen yogurt with sprinkles.

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This was literally the first time I’ve even ever tasted vanilla froyo.  Who orders vanilla?!  But today I looooved it.

dinner

A dinner in three parts – (1) Leftover, cold, spicy cashew chicken straight from the container.

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(2) A tray of roasted green beans with truffle salt.  I have been finding green beans to be particularly buttery tasting lately.

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And finally, (3) a chile relleno from Trader Joe’s.

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The chile looks a little rough but it was so yummy; cheesy without being too heavy.

We went with the TJ’s freezer section the next night as well.

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Pad See Ew and orange chicken with broccoli.

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We wouldn’t get the chicken again, but years ago we had the vegan version of it and loved it.

Tonight we were supposed to eat lentils with broccoli and coconut rice.

DSC04742That bowl is in the garbage.  Apparently I have forgotten how to cook lentils that don’t taste like dirt.  It looks like I’ll be ending the year with take-out instead.

Happy New Year’s Eve!!

Season’s Eatings; Christmas Wrap-Up

Merriment and good cheer all around!  I hope my readers who celebrate had a merry Christmas.  Adam, Webster, and I cuddled around the fireplace (Netflix had a fireplace video complete with crackles!) and had a grand time.

It’s been a busy week of eating, so instead of the typical wrap-up I’m just going to share some of the amazing seasonal goodies I enjoyed…

Lump of Coal dark holiday stout.  So good, we were impressed.

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Yes, you see crackers in the background.  We made a cheese plate for Christmas dinner and it was just wonderful.

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Stumptown Winter Cheer Cold Brew split with the husband on Christmas morning.  Also so good, festive but not too spicy.

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A big batch of cold brew which I mixed with low-fat eggnog for ahh-mazing breakfast coffees all week.

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Paired with holiday bars.

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Mint sparkling water from Whole Foods that rocked my face off.  Not as good as the strawberry variety, but a close second, especially when paired with a candy cane that my coworker delivered.

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Gingerbread Greek yogurt for lunch.  I enjoyed this even more than I was expecting to because it was sooo thick.

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Awesome pasta.  Leftover snow-shape pasta tossed with turkey bacon, sautéed mushrooms, onion, and kale, and hunks of creamy blue cheese Cambozola.

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Egg ‘n’ Grog pie from Four and Twenty Blackbirds.  Basically creamy, sweet rum in a gingersnap crust.  Heavenly.

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Growing up, for as long as I can remember, my family would open stockings and then eat scrambled eggs with red and green peppers before opening Christmas presents, so you know what we ate for brunch on Thursday.

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Bonus – two off-theme snacks that were too good not to share.  The juice bar at Whole Foods is great, unsurprisingly, but the make-your-own option was surprisingly cheap.  I recommend this combo.

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This Crispy, Crunchy, Mixed Fruit – coconut, pineapple, mango, and jackfruit – is fan-freaking-tastic!  I seriously could not stop eating it.  Crunch City.

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Does your family have a Christmas food tradition?

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas! Weekend Wrap-Up

It’s only 10 days ’til Christmas!  And Hannukah starts tomorrow!  And it was Adam’s 29th birthday on Thursday!  We had a lot to celebrate this weekend.  The last three days have been fabulous.  Lots of great meals, several at fancy restaurants, and they were usually followed by dessert!

Friday

Friday was a regular work day for me, but I had the excitement of knowing that the husband was coming to pick me up at the end of the day.  The switch to an electronic medical record system has gone fairly well, by the way; fingers are still crossed.

I ran out the door late in a flurry so breakfast came from Starbucks.

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Iced latte and a fruit pouch that was not great.

Lunch was pretty much the same thing, since I didn’t pack anything and made it down to the cafeteria late in the day.

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Iced coffee + chocolate milk, an apple, and a Gingerbread Larabar.

Plus some of the RDs came up to visit me – they liked my tiny office! – and brought me candy.

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I don’t know where my Russian coworker gets those caramels but they are great.

Adam met me after work and we spent the evening in the city.  Our dinner reservations weren’t until 8:00 so we did dessert first on a visit to the Winter Village at Bryant – Brrrryant! – Park.

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We got a dulce de leche cookie,

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then warmed up with a lusciously thick drinking chocolate – and a marshmallow! – from the from the Max Brenner stand.

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OMG.  We have been buying and hating hot chocolate since San Francisco but this liquid gold was exactly what we’ve been searching for. Super thick and rich but not sickeningly sweet.

We had a mile-ish walk to dinner and I’m terribly sad that it was too cold for my camera because I was basically dying at the gorgeous lights along the way.

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Tavern on the Green, Adam’s pick for his belated birthday dinner, was seasonally stunning as well.

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I got a Queens cocktail – Bootlegger vodka, Velvet Falernum, sorrel hibiscus liquor, pomegranate molasses, and lemon juice.  Yummy, and perfectly balanced.

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We shared the scallops with citrus butter, capers, and fried shallots to start. I’ve been having a love affair with fried shallots lately.

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None of the entrees jumped out at me so I ordered two veggie sides, crimini mushrooms with blue cheese and basil and broccoli rabe with lemon, garlic, and sea salt.

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It was a great night.

 Saturday

We had errands to run in SoHo on Saturday, so we parked in Brooklyn and took the train in and spent the day in the city.

There might have been booze in my coffee.

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I bought a snickerdoodle lattee from Dunkin and added a healthy pour of Rumchata (aka the snickerdoodle shot) and it was damn good.

While we were in Brooklyn, we split a sardine Bahn Mi from Bahnmigos.

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It was great! The little me who grew up in the Caribbean shunning seafood (whyyyy??) can’t believe I eat things like sardines and scallops now.

We did linner (super late lunch) at Freemans Restaurant.

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Blue Ridge Fizz = apple brandy, maple, allspice, and champagne.  Freemans is our favorite brunch spot in the city and their cocktails are always magnificent.

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I got poached eggs with tomato stewed kale, crispy shallots(!!), and hollandaise on sourdough toast.

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My eggs ended up being overdone but I forgave them because the kale was so good.

We went next door to Morganstern’s for dessert.

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We shared a cup of American egg custard and durian banana ice cream. Soo creamy! And the flavors were very true to life.

After a bit more exploring, we did round 2 at Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

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I got a shot of The Nog – pumpkin cake layered with eggnog pudding and whipped cream.

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SSS never disappoints.

Sunday

Sunday was all about hanging out at home.  We would have stayed in our pajamas all day, had my dinner plans gone better.  We cuddled, watched tv, and got up some holiday decorations.

I woke up starving from our early dinner the night before so I made a big plate of eggs for breakfast.

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Scrambled with chopped jalapeno, corn, sliced turkey, sour cream, and goat’s milk cheddar.

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Plus Silk soy nog on the side.

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Instead of toast, I snacked on a bag of salted caramel popcorn.

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The plan for dinner was pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto but something went horribly wrong and my pesto was pretty much inedible.

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Instead, we salvaged our veggie side,

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and ventured out for Thai, stopping for mint chocolate froyo along the way.

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Much better. Enjoyed in front of Scrubs – which we are rewatching for the millionth time – it was a great end to a great weekend.

This Week I Loved…

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*Silk Soy Nog*

I adore eggnog, and this (vegan, 80 calories per half cup) stuff is at least 90% as good as the real thing.  Enjoyed in both overnight oats and cold brewed coffee.

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*Sandwiches from the cafeteria*

I didn’t pack lunch for most of the week because I bought a sandwich on Tuesday and got hooked.  Turkey and provolone on an onion roll with mustard, mayo, and spicy banana peppers.

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*Chips*

I had tortilla chips – with cheese and fresh salsa – with my sandwich one day and became a woman obsessed.  I ended up making Adam a separate, grown-up person dinner and then eating chips and cheese several nights.

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*Cola-flavored candies*

So good!  Extra fizzy cherry cola Pop Rocks and cola float hard candies with a creamy center.

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*A new book obsession*

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.

I finished Cutting for Stone this week and thought it was absolutely wonderful.  Author Abraham Verghese is a doctor as well as a writer and he did a skillful job of portraying the medical scenes in the story in clear and approachable way (most of the main characters are doctors so this came up a lot).  The characters are all flawed but beautiful, and I fell head over heals in love with Ghosh.

cutting for stone

What books have you loved lately?