This Week I Loved…

the start of apple month

September 1st means I go crazy eating all things {caramel} apple!

DSC09828

DSC09831

And breaking into this stash makes me feel less awkward about my growing pile of pumpkin items.

everything by George Ezra

But especially “Blame It On Me.”

my breakfast combo

Fiber One reached out to me about sending samples of their newest product – Cheesecake Bars!  I am not one to turn down something that has 5 grams of fiber and tastes like cheesecake.

DSC09805

They come in strawberry and salted caramel and they are freaking delicious.  Each moderately sized bar has 150 calories.  They certainly aren’t as healthy as a bowl of oatmeal, but I can handle the 3.5 grams of saturated fat occasionally for something quick that keeps me full through the morning and really does taste like dessert.

I paired a caramel bar with a caramel macchiato one morning and it was a bit too much but also amazing.

DSC09833

But most mornings I kept my coffee pairing low-key, Community Coffee with cream and milk.

DSC09821

DSC09823

DSC09848

DSC09849

Yum, I love it when we have (fat-free) half and half in the fridge.

yogurt bowls

2% Fage with strawberries and Heritage Flakes.

DSC09817

Plain Skyr with cotton candy grapes(!!!) and sea salt caramel apple granola.

DSC09843

Omg, kids, the granola was insanely good.  It took a lot of self-control not to go through and pick out all of the caramel bits.

salads

Loaded from the cafeteria.

20150901_124807

Greens with ranch, peppers, tomato, cucumber, black bean and corn salsa, green olives, cheddar, and Sea Salt SuperSeedz from home.  The pumpkin seeds gave this just the right amount of crunch.

At home.

DSC09857

The little strawberry glass is holding strawberry beer – Abita’s* deliciously juicy Strawgator.

DSC09855

And my “salad” – which had no greens because we ran out of spinach – was tons of chopped cucumber and sweet red pepper topped with TJ’s insanely spicy Sriracha ranch, shredded cheddar, roasted pecans, and a huge pile of pulled chicken with roasted garlic and honey bbq sauce.

DSC09862

DSC09836

Also I ate Chipotle salad two days in a row.  No shame.

* apparently Abita makes a milk stout?!  I want it so badly I can practically taste it.

Weekend Highlights; I ♥ New York

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

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

Chelsea Market {Chelsea}.

DSC09706

DSC09713

DSC09715

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

DSC09708

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

DSC09710

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

Gansevoort Market {Meatpacking District}.

DSC09675

DSC09683

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

DSC09681

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

DSC09689

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

The High Line {Chelsea}.

DSC09690

DSC09694

DSC09702

I had a crab cake empanada from La Sonrisa.

DSC09700

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

Magnolia Bakery {Greenwich Village}.

DSC09733

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

DSC09734

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

Nutella Bar at Eataly.

DSC09720

DSC09725

My Nutella iced latte was on point.

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

DSC09728

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

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

DSC09799

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

DSC09796

Much better than a boring old BLT.

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

DSC09782

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

DSC09767

DSC09770

DSC09771

DSC09776

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

Red Farm {Greenwich Village} for playful dim sum.

DSC09737

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

DSC09742

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

DSC09740

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

DSC09744

DSC09746

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

DSC09749

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

Smorgasburg Queens {Long Island City}.

DSC09785

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

DSC09791

DSC09789

Party rocks = crushed Fruity Pebbles and Pop Rocks.

Sokerbit {Greenwich Village} for gummy candy goodness.

DSC09754

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

DSC09757

DSC09761

Everything we’ve tasted so far has been wonderful.

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

DSC09764

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

What’s your favorite city?

DSC09674

DSC09753

DSC09717

(Frozen)Yogurt

breakfast

Coffee!

DSC09271

With caramel.

DSC09265

Or with Hint of Honey Almond Milk and plums.

DSC09308

Or a Clif Bar.

DSC09320

Also one morning my coworker brought in yummy poppy-seed Danish.

20150811_094424

lunch

I had a really great sandwich with spicy sliced chicken, pickles, and fresh mozzarella from the cafeteria.

20150811_120255

The other days I did yogurt bowls featuring the new blended flavors from Chobani.  Coffee with plums and KIND peanut butter granola.

DSC09263

Mixed berry with blueberries, raspberries, multi-grain o’s and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

DSC09302

And vanilla with more berries and bran flakes.

DSC09316

The texture of the 2% yogurt was seriously creamy and good.

dinner

I can’t show you Monday/Tuesday’s dinner because it is my Recipe Redux for this month.  I will show you some of the tasty stuff we had with it though… Like roasted green beans on the side.  I added thinly sliced shallots and they got insanely crispy, crunchy, good.

DSC09280

And frozen yogurt for dessert.  With all of the chocolate toppings.

DSC09299

We liked the Nutella on top so much we ended up going back again the next night.

Wednesday was Webster’s Buyday (the anniversary of the day we brought him home) so we made a special dinner with some of his favorite foods – Nachos!  Chips with cheese, broccoli, cilantro, and chicken (pronounced chick-ON chick-ON in this house).

DSC09323

He even had his own little dish.

DSC09327

And of course we got Chipotle.

DSC09312

Of course.

random thoughts

I am so freaking excited that Target is doing away with gender-based labeling in some of its children’s aisles!  When I worked at a toy store in college I hated when people would come in and ask for “boy toys” or “girl toys.”  This awesome graph sums up my thoughts pretty well –

gender based toys

I’ve already seen some pumpkin beers and it is taking all of my self-control to not start stockpiling.  I’ve told myself that I’m waiting until mid-September.

Poorly Drawn Lines is always hilarious but I feel like this week’s comics have been especially great.

poorly drawn lines

We had dessert every single night this week.  I want to nip that daily habit in the bud, but I also have fifteen plus new ice cream joints that I want to visit before summer ends.

DSC09276

My Year Is Off To A Good Start

enjoyed all week

Coffees.  Also naps.

DSC09010

Apparently my parents wore us out; I had a to take a nap before I could make dinner the first three nights of the week.

Diet chocolate soda from Polar.

DSC09013

I know it sounds a little strange but we were fans.

Our leftovers from The Smith.  Eaten cold while standing in front of the open fridge.

DSC08965

DSC08979

My mac and cheese was fantastic leftover and so was my mom’s Mexican corn.

A big box of free samples {free as in provided free of charge / no other compensation for this post / yada, yada } from Super Seedz.

DSC08970

I wouldn’t have thought of pumpkin seeds as a favorite of mine but I’ve loved all of the flavors we’ve tried so far.  Flavor options include: Really Naked, Sea Salt, Cinnamon & Sugar, Coco Joe, Tomato Italiano, Curious Curry, Somewhat Spicy and Super Spicy.  They pack a nutritional punch – see the infographic (provided by the company) below – and Super Seedz are allergen friendly – peanut-free, tree nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, soy-free and made with gluten-free ingredients.

SuperSeedz_5x7Infographic_FINAL

breakfast

After we dropped my parents at the airport on Monday, Adam and I went on a doughnut(plant) and coffee date before work.  Because apparently we hadn’t eaten enough crap over my birthday weekend.

DSC08950

My strawberry-filled vanilla got two thumbs up.

DSC08954

As did my maple latte from Gorilla.

Coco pumpkin seeds and cold-pressed watermelon juice.

DSC08976

TJ’s came through on this juice, it was wonderfully refreshing.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

DSC09004

Vanilla almond milk with coco powder, frozen cherries, and dates.  I enjoyed this combo and want to make it again soon.

Snack plate.

DSC09018

A cheese stick, cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds, and a medley of grapes.

lunch

Chocolate chip cookie oats.

DSC08960

With an apple and coco pumpkin seeds.

Sweet and spicy tuna salad.

DSC08999

With grapes and cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds.

I didn’t have to provide my own lunch the rest of the week!  I attended a lunch-and-learn on malnutrition in surgical patients on Tuesday.

20150728_121121

They gave us education, salad, and yummy sandwiches with hummus and roasted eggplant.  And I mainlined coffee (with tons of milk and cream) when I got back to my desk.

20150728_145646

On Thursday the hospital threw an employee appreciation bbq.

20150730_122526

Very sweet!

dinner

Pizza, pizza.

DSC08983

DSC08991

We used TJ’s frozen crusts and were so impressed with how they turned out.  Topped with marinara, mozzarella, and tons of garlic and onion sautéed mushrooms.

DSC08995

Plus super simple salads on the side.

DSC08993

Just arugula blend with ranch dressing.  They were a bit depressing.  But we also had beer.

DSC08986

I carried this Southern Tier Compass all the way back home from Buffalo but unfortunately it was a bit hoppy for our tastes.

Burger night.

DSC09021

I made my Buffalo Blue Bean Burgers.  They don’t look like much but this is one of my best recipes!

DSC09033

With a trio of roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts, green beans, and broccoli.

DSC09029

Served with maple bacon kettle chips, aka my favorite chips because they are the best chips of all time.

DSC09026

They were doing a promotion and handing out mini bags at my railroad station and it was very exciting.

Last night I met up with a girlfriend for dinner in Brooklyn.  We checked out Elbow Room, the mac and cheese window at Morgan’s BBQ.

DSC09036

Milk stout.

DSC09039

Old School Mac – NY state sharp cheddar, béchamel, and garlic breadcrumbs.

DSC09042

With collard greens that were spicy and vegetarian.  Dinner was good but dessert was better.

DSC09034

Salted crack caramel and honey peanut butter ice creams from Ample Hills.  But they were supposed to have key lime pie ice cream available and they didn’t so now I need to go back immediately and it’s a problem.

This Week I…

…Made a Redux recipe that I can’t post yet so I don’t have much to share today.  Also we got Chipotle twice.

…Love love loved some of Polar’s summer seltzer flavors.

DSC08677

DSC08699

You can’t go wrong with fizzy strawberry.

…Finished season 3 of OITNB.  I wasn’t a fan.  But of course I kept watching and will still watch season 4 next year.  I hated every single major decision Piper made this season!

…Tried the last three flavors from my GoMacro sample package.

Cashew butter (sweet rejuvenation) tastes exactly like a pureed cashew so your level of love for cashews would definitely affect your enjoyment of this bar.

DSC08683

Peanut butter (protein replenishment) wasn’t my favorite; it was too boring.

DSC08691

But banana + almond butter (prolonged power) was amazing; it tastes like a dried banana!  The texture works perfectly here.

DSC08704

P.S.  My coffee this week was Brooklyn Roasting Co’s Peru blend cold-brewed with cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla bean.  So good.

…Ate a veggie and cheese omelet for breakfast the next day and it was like I hardly knew myself.

DSC08712

I have to give the cafeteria credit though, this was delicious.

…Read this Buffy the Vampire Slayer article on Buzzfeed and wondered how it’s possible that anyone has a favorite character that isn’t Anya.  From any show ever, not just Buffy.  Though Kitty from That 70’s Show is also pretty wonderful.

…Ate some amazing yogurt bowls for lunch.

Soursop yogurt with plucot and white nectarine and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

DSC08675

Salted caramel Greek yogurt with KIND peanut butter granola and a white nectarine.

DSC08709

Plain Siggi’s with plucot and yellow nectarine and a giant chocolate chip cookie.

DSC08696

We baked Take a Megabite’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and they are fantastic!  And yes, I totally crumbled that cookie into my yogurt.

…Adore LL Cool J for giving me Lip Sync Battle.  Celebrities compete against each other in choreographed lip syncing madness and it is hilarious.  My love for Anna Kendrick grew exponentially when she killed it against John Krasinski, but Anne Hathaway’s “Wrecking Ball” is clearly the standout performance of the season.

…Packed for Buffalo.  Some friends and I are driving there for a visit today!

I’d Have To Say April 25th

This was the most boring week of the month (July includes my trip to Maryland, a trip to Buffalo, a visit from my parents, and my 30th birthday!) but Adam and I kept things fun with lots of little dates.  Honestly, I have more fun going to the grocery store with my husband than I would have doing almost anything with someone else, so grabbing donuts before work with him is pretty thrilling.

breakfast

Breakfast note 1 – I stuck with a coffee combo that worked: Dark Roast Community Coffee with skim milk and fat-free half and half.  The coffee bag says to use 2 Tbsp grounds to 6 oz water and I use 3 Tbsp and my crappy coffee machine and it comes out perfect for my tastes.

DSC08625

Breakfast note 2 – the GoMacro bars in this post are another former freebie.  The flavors I had this week were my new favorites, they had a lot more texture than the previous ones I tried.

Coffee, cinnamon applesauce, and GoMacro apples + walnuts (morning harvest).  They should have just called this flavor “apple pie” because that’s what it tasted like.

DSC08543

An aprium – apricot-plum hybrid like a pluot but more apricot than plum – and GoMacro sesame butter + dates (sweet revival).  Sesame butter is a bit sweeter than other nut butters naturally; I’m having a hard time explaining the flavor of sesame butter but it is what this bar tastes like.

DSC08567

Doughnut Plant date before work.  The fresh lavender flower flavor was tasty but the yeasted doughnut was too big for me for breakfast, I’ll have to stick to the cake varieties unless another really fun flavor pops up.  Adam had the chocolate chip cookie special and was basically swooning.

DSC08595

Freeze-dried Fuji apple slices and GoMaco granola and coconut (balanced goodness).  The oats gave this a great consistency.

DSC08598

That pop of pink is a new notebook from Target.  I’m obsessed.  I also bought a new day planner.

lunch

I was all about the sandwiches this week.  Caprese sandwich from the cafeteria.  Tomato, basil, mozzarella, and spinach.

20150707_125815

The plainest sandwich ever, also from the cafeteria.  Turkey, cheese, and mayo on a white roll.  I didn’t even have a fruit, vegetable, or whole grain on the side.  I badly sunburned my knees last weekend, long story, and I was feeling a little under the weather that day.

DSC08582

Starbuck’s Thai-style peanut chicken wrap.  I was impressed with this, all of the fancy new foods looks pretty good.

DSC08553

Lunch date at La Bagel Delight.  We spit a poppy seed bagel with lox and dill cream cheese.

IMG_20150709_124647

On Friday I did get back to my yogurt bowl roots.  2% Lingonberry & Strawberry Siggi’s with chopped aprium and pluot and KIND peanut butter granola.

DSC08619

Kids, that granola is ridiculous – somehow it tastes like cookie dough?!

snack

Saturday – July 11th or 7/11 – was 7-11 Day so I got a free small slurpee.  Sour Patch watermelon and Coke were amazing together.  Also, I eat my fair share of sugar but half of a small slurpee kind of makes me want to die so I’m horrified by the existence of that extra-large cup.

DSC08636

Guava cheese empanada.  I will be so sad if this food truck moves away from my LIRR station.

DSC08575

Ice cream date.  We got raw egg topped with salted caramel, sesame honeycomb, and Luxardo cherries.

DSC08592

Morganstern’s ice cream is indescribably chewy, it is truly some of the best I’ve ever tasted.  And I cannot get over those cherries.

Have you seen this cute iced drink promotion at Starbucks yet?  Those ice cube stickers kill me.

DSC08629

Maple latte.  With a sky-blue straw that made me so happy!

DSC08568

I took a girlfriend to Nunu so I could try that spicy beer again.  And I forgot to write down the name for a 2nd time.  I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did when it was paired with chocolate; a full pint by itself was a bit much to get through.

DSC08573

A chocolate chip cookie and a GoMacro cherries + berries (sunny uplift).  I was expecting to hate that flavor but it was actually yummy, the cherries were nice and tart and it had some oat texture.

DSC08641

That cookie was totally not homemade.

dinner

My family sent me home from Solomon’s with some of my uncle’s amazing crab cakes.

DSC08604

Best meal of the week.

DSC08609

We sautéed the crab in a mix of melted butter and evoo.

DSC08618

Served with a caprese-style salad on the side.

DSC08612

Red and green lettuce mix dressed with truffle salt, evoo, and balsamic vinegar and topped with Kumato tomato and mozzarella.

Date night in the Lower East Side.  We got bowls at Korilla and they were so freaking good!  Sticky rice, gojuchang chicken, red kimchi, cucumber kimchi, monterey jack cheese, and a fried egg.  Plus Korean bbq and hot sauces.  My mouth was on fire and I was in heaven.

DSC08585

We cooled down at Snowdays.  Black sesame shaved ice with sweetened condense milk, mochi, and Fruity Pebbles.

DSC08588

We had parked in DUMBO so we got to walk home over the bridge.  It was so hot and sticky but still super fun.

Another day, another bowl, this time a Chipotle date on our couch.

DSC08634

I got salad with peppers and onions, chicken, mild salsa, green salsa, sour cream, and cheese.  Plus chips and a giant diet coke on the side.  We go to Chipotle so often that the counter staff recognizes us, which is the most embarrassing thing on earth, but we can’t stop!

The opposite of date night, I made this dinner by myself while Adam worked a 30 hour shift.

DSC08642

My Cheesy Eggplant Bake with diced yellow onion and light Havarti added in so I could use up some leftovers.

DSC08650

Plus a great salad.

DSC08646

Red and green lettuce // dressed with lavender salt, evoo, honey, and balsamic vinegar // topped with sweet and spicy pecans, dried bing cherries, and chia seeds.

Any other drink freebie deals I should know about for this summer?

Start Of A Three-Day Weekend

My clinic is closed on Friday in celebration of Independence Day tomorrow so today is the start of a three-day weekend for me.  Woo-hoo!  Adam has to work, unfortunately, but I am hitting the road and heading to Solomons, Maryland to spend the weekend with my aunt and uncle at their cabin.  It’s been way too long since I last saw my cousins and I am very excited.  My aunt tipped me off that the “drink special” for the weekend is bourbon slushies so I’m pretty thrilled about that too.

Snacks and cafeteria lunches didn’t make it into this post so I’m skipping a good 45% of what I ate this week…

breakfast

Three things you need to know before we talk about breakfast:  1) I bought Rainer cherries and they have been sweet, delicious, and totally worth the $6 price tag.  2)  My coffee combo was solid this week – double-strength brewed Community Coffee Dark Roast with chocolate milk and fat-free half and half.

DSC08455

3) GoMacro sent me a sampler box of mini MacroBars in 11 fun flavors.  All MacroBars are USDA organic, non-GMO project verified, kosher, gluten-free and vegan certified.  I like that GoMacro company buys fair trade products and their boxes are biodegradable and made from 100% post-consumer corrugated waste.  All of the flavors I’ve tried thus far have been very homogenous in texture, smooth like a paste (but good and not gross like I’m making it sound here!) so they don’t crumble at all but they also don’t stick to your teeth or fingers which I deeply appreciate.

DSC08448

Please note – I was sent a box of mini bars free of charge to sample.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Chocolate coffee and peanut butter chocolate chip (protein pleasure).  My favorite flavor thus far, the base of this one is basically just like eating super thick peanut butter.

DSC08425

Cherries and cashew caramel (protein paradise).  This was my least favorite flavor, though it still was not bad, because it didn’t have much going on; when something calls itself caramel I’m looking for it to be pretty darn sweet.

DSC08452

Coffee, cherries, and sunflower butter + chocolate (protein purity).  I know the names are super cheesy but a full-size of this flavor does offer 10 grams of protein for 260 calories.

DSC08457

A big day, cherries, mozzarella stick, coffee, and almond butter + carob (wholehearted heaven).  Surprisingly, this was my favorite flavor, it had a nice sweetness to it.

DSC08492

Why yes, I did go through and pick out all of the “blank and chocolate” flavors first.

lunch

Maple mixture.  Maple Greek yogurt with KIND maple chia granola and fresh pomegranate.

DSC08420

The yogurt, from Green Mountain Creamery, was soooo smooth.  It’s just nonfat milk and maple syrup with live cultures.

On Wednesday, I prepped my lunch and left it on our butcher’s block in the kitchen while I went to get dressed.  Five minutes later, the dog had eaten my lunch.  He is a little monster but I still have absolutely no idea how he managed to get himself up on the block!  I kicked the dog (kidding!!) and rushed off without food.  The point of that long story?  I ate ice cream for lunch and it was fantastic.

DSC08467

DSC08470

Scoops is the new pop-up ice cream shop from Greene Grape.  My toasted green tea scoop (from Phin & Phebes) was extra fun with rainbow sprinkles.

Then it was back to yogurt.

DSC08485

Evolve Kefir‘s strawberry Greek yogurt was very pleasant with yellow plucot and KIND granola.

dinner

Pizza night.  We made four cheese pizza – low-fat mozzarella, fresh mini mozzarella balls, pepperjack, and sharp cheddar – on TJ’s whole-wheat crust and it was ridiculous.

DSC08437

DSC08432

Pizza.  But x2 because we ate the entire pie and we were so sick and it was so worth it.

DSC08442

Plus roasted veggies because we are healthy like that.

DSC08440

Kalettes (the kale + Brussels sprout hybrid which I’ve decided I don’t enjoy) and yummy zucchini.

Big salad(s) bonanza.

DSC08479

We tore up heads of TJ’s Smallish Gems Sweet Lettuce and topped them with champagne vinaigrette, sweet and spicy pecans, pomegranate, and cucumber.

DSC08475

Plus tuna salad on the side.

Casserole night was planned so Adam will have lots of leftovers while I’m away this weekend.

DSC08495

My Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta that I snuck a bit more veggies into with the addition of sautéed onion and yellow and orange bell peppers.

DSC08499

Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

DSC08496

Fun nutrition fact – there is a dose dependent inverse relationship between broccoli consumption and colon cancer.

real talk

I finished Bossypants and I laughed out loud on the train like a crazy person adored it.  The chapter where she responds to some of her internet critics had me in stitches.  Even the lines about feminism/gender politics in America/women in comedy that make you want to put your fist through a window if you think about it too much managed to be witty.  And now I really want to rewatch 30 Rock.

I bought this NY skyline bag from Fishs Eddy to store small items in my purse and it makes me happy every time I put on lipstick/grab a pen/check my cell phone, which is approximately 8 million times a day.

DSC08464

I finally started Orange is the New Black and I’m going to make my way through the season quickly but I’m kind of over it.  Is there going to be a season 4, because I feel like they need to wrap things up?  There are moments that are incredibly funny but in general this season is a bit too sad for me.  My kind of television sads come from the fact that Joss Whedon thinks all great romances have to end in a horrifying and sudden death, I’m not so keen on the children visiting a prison on Mother’s Day and being panicked by their parents dropping to the dirt during a lockdown.

Do you watch OITNB?  What are your thoughts on season 3?  <– no spoilers, please!

Ice, Ice, Baby {No-Churn Ice Cream Cookbook Giveaway}

Now that summer is finally here, who’s up for a frosty bowl of ice cream?

DSC08243

St. Martin’s Press recently sent me a copy of Leslie Bilderback’s newest cookbook: NO-CHURN ICE CREAM: Over 100 Simply Delicious No-Machine Frozen Treats.

DSC08225

Please note – this book was provided to me free of charge to review.  The publishing company is also providing a second book to give away to one of you guys.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

The book is full of recipes that use the concept of folding together whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk with the flavors and mix-ins of your choice to make yummy homemade ice creams that don’t require an ice cream machine.

DSC08240

Bilderback includes a variety of traditional and inventive ice cream flavors (Moon Pie or Honey-Kumquat, anyone?) as well as chapters on gelatos, sorbets, and sherbets.  Most of the recipes also include suggestions for additional flavor variations so you could go the whole summer without repeating a bowl.

I decided to go simple and traditional for my test recipe – vanilla ice cream.

DSC08252

Delicious!  That bowl was gussied up with dulce de leche and a healthy dose of sprinkles but the plain vanilla was quite enjoyable, creamy and rich.

I am giving away a copy of the book to one lucky reader.  Simply leave a comment on this post before 2pm EST on Monday, June 29th and tell me your favorite flavor of ice cream.