Super Salad

by Emily

We are 85% moved to NYC and the move went swimmingly! Plus we had a fantastic time at our friends’ wedding.

Here were the highlights from this week…

These new Trader Joe’s chocolate covered espresso beans are my new favorite thing. They have the perfect ratio of bean to candy and the chocolate coating isn’t waxy at all.

Ridiculously good cake from Marie Bette; chocolate with salted caramel frosting.

This cranberry sour ale was a total winner.

I got a smoked chicken quesadilla from Asado that was shockingly good. Plus fries with queso!

I had an amazing salad bowl from Mezeh. Mixed greens // veggie kefta // tabouleh // olives // red cabbage slaw // cucumber // caramelized eggplant // roasted corn // baba ganoush // harissa and tzatziki dressings.

Plus we made wonderful salads at home. TJ’s cruciferous crunch mix // spicy peanut vinaigrette // sesame honey cashews // hot smoked salmon // hard-boiled eggs. I made the eggs in the oven because we don’t have any pots and they came out great!

Finally, we met my cousin and her fiance for dinner at Maya. I had catfish with sweet potato fries and garlic broccoli. Plus we shared a cheese plate (with pickled apples!) and peanut butter pie.

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21Jun2019

On The Move

by Emily

It was an odd week here because we are moving all of our stuff to New York today. Note – we’re not moving, all of our stuff is moving; we’re living out of suitcases in Charlottesville for the next month+. Anyway, I was afraid to dirty anything in the kitchen while we were trying to sort and pack so 90% of our food this week came in a take-out box.

Here were the highlights…

Coffee combo – Starbucks Komodo Dragon blend with sweetened condensed milk.

This month’s Snack Crate from Poland.

Poke bowl from Poke Bowl. Sushi rice with tofu, krab, cucumber, edamame, spicy mayo, seaweed salad, green onions, and onion crisps.

Dumplings from Got Dumplings. More seaweed salad plus tofu dumplings and curry chicken dumplings.

One night we did sneak away from packing to get dinner and play in trivia night at Firefly.

I had a mango margarita and totchos – tater tots with house-made cheese sauce, avocado, pico de gallo, black beans, and sour cream.

We are crossing our fingers for a smooth move today and then tomorrow we’re heading to Pennsylvania for some friends’ wedding. Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

20May2019

Tastes Of The Tropics

by Emily

Tropical tastes from the last week include – coconut, Cuban food, rum, soursop, starfruit.

The best things I ate last seven days…

Caramel spice latte in a can. My brain won’t accept that I hate coconut milk in coffee yet but this did smell amazing.

But I loooooove Kirt’s marshmallow ice cream blended into iced coffee.

These 7-11 gummies were rainbow sherbet, cotton candy, and starfruit flavored.

We ordered chocolates from Bon Bon Bon – an adorable candy shop in Detroit – and the packaging alone filled me with glee!

Plus the bon bons were inventive and delicious (and adorable!!).

Cocktails at Vitae, an amazing little local craft distillery. I had a Flower Sour – barrel-aged rum, lavender, simple syrup, lemon, egg white, and lilac.

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And we brought home a bottle of golden rum and made yummy cocktails at home too – rum, soursop, and club soda.

A duo of IPAs.

We had a sampler of beers at Random Row. We did not do well at trivia, but had a wonderful time.

Lunch at Ace BBQ. I had a biscuit with pulled jerk chicken and pimento cheese. Plus coleslaw and a grape soda.

Sheet-pan – aka one pan – hash. You cook everything on the same pan, starting with the hardiest vegetables and added the more delicate things as time goes on. This was Japanese yam, purple sweet potato, bell peppers, green onion, pinto beans, and cojita cheese.

Topped with baby heirloom tomato, cilantro, and homemade guacamole. This was fantastic!

And my leftovers – additionally topped with hot sauce and a fried egg – were somehow even better.

Thai chicken pizza. I made a sauce out of tamarind, peanut butter, and ginger and we topped it with shredded chicken, mozzarella cheese, and carrots, green onion, and cilantro.

Simple sandwich night – Trader Joe’s white whole wheat topped with mayo, yellow mustard, colby cheese, and smoked turkey. Plus baby carrots and chicken and waffle chicken chips!!

Adam had to travel near Richmond this weekend for work and I tagged along for dinner at Kuba Kuba, a great Cuban spot. Cafe con leche with condensed milk.

Codfish cakes with enchilada sauce, fried eggs, and Cuban toast.

And we shared flan and tres leches!

Best dinner of the week award goes to this plate – chicken salad made with toasted almonds and kimchi / potato pancakes with paprika and ginger / roasted green beans.

Have a great week!

14May2019

Flan And Floats

by Emily

Five fun things from the past weekend:

{1} My cousin graduated from VCU with her doctorate like a total badass so we had family in town for celebratory fun.

{2} We had an amazing meal at Little Star, culminating in the best flan I’ve ever tasted.

{3} My hair is pink(ish) thanks to this temporary tint spray. It is subtle, but there’s more color than I was able to capture in a photo.

{4} Adam and I had the best snacks. Wegman’s mint chocolate chip yogurt.

Super meta – smoked gouda pimento cheese dip scooped with pimento cheese chips.

We made root beer floats with what turned out to be the best ice cream of all time – CoolHaus’ The Best of Both Worlds vanilla tastes like a marshmallow dream.

{5} I made a tasty dinner. Chicken tenders (cooked similarly to this) with whole wheat panko and silk chili // dipped in homemade honey mustard // with honey glazed brussels sprouts.

We sipped on this surprisingly good Three Notch’d sugarcane pecan all while we cooked.

6May2019

Vino + Virginia Visitors

by Emily

We had a great weekend being tourists in Charlottesville + the surrounding area because my mom was in town. She came up for a quick visit and we all had a blast!

We celebrated May the Fourth…

Went on wine tastings…

Explored the farmer’s market…

Five fun highlights were –

{1} Charlottesville City Market. We saw someone hand-pressing tortillas so obviously we had to get a chicken taco.

Plus I never turn down Vietnamese iced coffee.

{2} Rocket Coffee in Crozet. I had a great iced latte plus a bagel (<– shipped in from H&H in NYC!) with cream cheese.

{3} Spirits from Vitae. We loved it here! So many Caribbean flavors and they did a theme menu for May the Fourth. I had a taster of paw paw liquor plus a Cantina Punch – golden rum, mauby syrup, pomegranate juice, lemon, and aloe juice.

{4} Dinner at Maya. I didn’t snap any pictures but it was the best meal of the weekend! I had the crispiest, most succulent duck confit of my life and we shared a s’mores torte with housemade marshmallow fluff!

{5} Dinner at Tillmans. Greek salad plus pimento cheese served with red pepper jelly and crostini.

Hope it’s a great week!

22Apr2019

Easter Weekend

by Emily

I have an odd smattering of things to share this post. Mostly because the weekend was a little all over the place – Saturday we had friends visiting from DC and Sunday I had to work. The weekend coverage shifts here are actually kind of fun because I am responsible all of the nutrition support consults and I get to see surgical/trauma patients that are usually covered by a different team. This weekend I had a ton of complicated TPNs to keep me on my toes!

Three fun things…

{1} On theme beverages. I actually hated both of these a lot, but they were fun to try!

{2} Beer flights at local breweries. Pro Re Nata is always our favorite and their hazy IPA was my favorite taste of the day!

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{3} Dinner at Sultan Kebab. We went with my cousin and we all were raving by the end. I had my first knafeh experience (layers of shredded phyllo baked with fresh mozarella cheese drizzled with lemony sugar syrup) and it was life changing. Plus, how amazing is their presentation of Turkish coffee with Turkish delight??

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26Mar2019

Little Star = Big Star

by Emily

We ate some really yummy things last week! Here were the highlights…

{1} Canned coffees that I schlepped back from New York.

{2} Lemon meringue macarons at the farmers’ market at IX Park.

{3} A Trader Joe’s shaped meal that was both quick and delicious. Cauliflower gnocchi + turkey summer sausage + pizza sauce + broccoli rabe. You can bake the gnocchi (425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes) and it comes out great.

{4} A Korean feast at Maru on the downtown mall. I had the spicy chicken and cheese plate – spicy gojuchang marinated chicken served with rice cakes and Korean sweet potato and topped with melted cheese.

It was spicy, and smoky, and kind of amazing. The portion was gigantic and my leftovers – which I stir-fried with eggs and roasted broccoli – were kind of amazing as well.

We also had pat bing soo – shaved ice with red bean, mochi, and milk powder.

{5} Dinner with my cousin at Little Star, a newish, supremely gorgeous, tapas spot. The space and the tableware – which was thrifted and eclectic – were beautiful.

We ordered all the things and loved every single bite and sip. All three of us agreed it was one of the best meals we had eaten all year. Agave Angel – mezcal, lime juice, and cream.

3 month aged manchego with apricot honey preserves.

Charred shishito peppers with romesco and pasilla de Oaxaca chile.

Sunny side up eggs with salsa negra, green onion, sesame seeds, grilled bread, and hickory sauce. <– this was the top dish of the night, the contrast of the sweet hickory sauce with the eggs and salsa was divine

Shrimp and grapes with garlic, leeks, tequilla, and pickled chiles. We went right ahead and sipped that sauce.

Seared tuna with rendered foie gras, salsa molcajete, cilantro oil, and charred onion. <– 2nd best dish of the night, which is unsurprising when you consider the words “rendered foie gras”

Coffee service.

Crumb cake with meyer lemon curd, ear gray cream, and mezcal caramel.

Creme carmel flan with peaches.

*swoon*

19Mar2019

Insta Vacation Highlights

by Emily

Last week was perfectly relaxing bliss, I could not have asked for a better vacation! Adam and I were thrilled to get to go home [St. Thomas, USVI]. I had time with the husband, friends, and family / I watched some of my favorite people get married on a beach in St. John / I ate tasty things / I stuck my toes in the sand and swam in the ocean!

We flew in and out of JFK to get home which meant sneaking in a little NYC visit as well – we had just enough time for two fancy dinners and brunch with city friends.

The fun is fairly well-documented on my instagram but here are some highlights of the highlights…