Weekly Wrap-Up; St. Thomas

by Emily

In the middle of moving… we snuck home for a quick vacation! Adam starts his general surgery residency on Monday so we kept things very low-key, but it was great to be home.

The next few days will be fairly ridiculous, but it was worth it. Today (in like 20 minutes, gotta keep this quick!!) we head to the airport and fly to Pennsylvania. We get in around 10 pm, then have to drive overnight back to Buffalo. Then tomorrow morning, after a night of driving (in separate cars, natch), we have to finish packing. My to-do list for Friday is running off the page of my day planner. Then on Saturday we move to Long Island. Yeesh!

Like I said, I have to keep this quick, but I want a short record of our fun – – –

There were issues with our flight down and Adam and I had to sit separately on the plane, but they rewarded us with free drink tickets.

I felt very fancy with my in-flight Bloody Mary.

At Home

Most of our meals were out and about, but one night we got “chicken man” to eat at home.

St. Thomas definitely had the first food trucks, we’ve been buying bbq chicken from a truck for as long as I can remember.

I had chicken, cole slaw, a roll, and extra sauce.

Another night we had pie and prosecco.

My mom’s key lime pie was great,

but we were not fans of Cupcake Wine’s prosecco. Everything else I’ve tried from them has been on the sweet side but this was incredibly dry.

We liked the Moet & Chandon White Star Champagne (left over from our wedding!!!) much more.

Enjoyed with take-out from China King.

Adam and split cashew chicken and crab rangoon.

On the Go

On Sunday we ferried over to St. John for Food Fair.

I got a veggie patty (pronounced like paté),

and a soursop juice.

I’ve been wanting fresh soursop for months and this hit the spot.

One day I took advantage of the lack of open container laws and drank a Heinekin Light while we wandered downtown.

And another Adam and I split an Udder Light shake from the dairy.

If you ever visit St. Thomas, the local dairy makes the best milkshakes in the US.

Last night I got a painkiller at Fat Turtle.

We met up with a good friend from high school and it was great to catch up.

Restaurant Meals

We had to go to Barefoot Buddha for breakfast; I like their Bigfoot Bagel Sandwich so much that I ate it the morning I got married.

Adam and I shared a sandwich,

and a Vietnamese latte.

All of our other meals had good food, but better scenery.

Plantains at the place that used to be Fungi’s.

Sandwiches – we split a jerk chicken and a local fried fish – at Megan’s Point.

And a local fish sandwich at Sangria’s.

Sometimes I can’t believe I chose to move away!

21Jun2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; My Apartment Is Packed But I’m Still Here

by Emily

I know this is a short “week,” but my laptop has been out sick since last Friday and I’m excited to have her back.

The days since I last posted have been crazy; moving requires a lot of work! And since we had to pack up so early I’ve been living out of a duffle bag in my own apartment. The food situation has been pretty ridiculous. Also, I said a lot of goodbyes this week and they all involved alcohol. The dog has been judging me.

Breakfasts

Cinnamon Pecan Special K with skim milk.

I’m glad that cereal is so tasty, because it was one of the only foods left in the house.

The day I tried to go without cereal (and use up some odds and ends) I ended up with… skim milk, ~2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk, and malted milk powder.

It wasn’t bad, but I won’t be making it a regular breakfast either.

(Non-alcoholic) Drinks

Not so good, was the Honeysuckle Pear Drink Chia.

The flavor combo had such potential, but I would not have purchased it if I had noticed that it contained stevia and monk fruit extract. You know what is already sweet? Honeysuckle and pear juice. Why not just leave the ingredients at that rather than adding (the terrible flavor of) sugar-free sweeteners?

Very good, was the Honest Fizz Orange Pop.

I realize there is stevia in this one that I’m not complaining about, but this was delicious. The flavor was a perfect match to Crush Orange Soda, just a tiny bit less sicky-sweet. I will definitely look for it again.

Flipping amazing, was the Cucumber Melon Polar Seltzer.

If you see this – buy it! It smelled so much like a watermelon! My co-worker tasted it and we both agreed that it was the best seltzer we’d ever had.

Lunches and Dinners

Like I said, pickings were slim, so dinner was either brinner – aka breakfast for dinner – or food from a restaurant.

The last slice of Finish the Fridge Frittata with a white nectarine.

I was loving nectarines earlier this summer but lately I haven’t had much luck getting one that isn’t squishy.

The best “yogurt” bowl I’ve ever made. Frozen blackberries microwaved with a little sugar on the bottom, Chobani 2% Banana Greek Yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese in the middle, and granola on top.

I was heartbroken when I realized I couldn’t make another one of these bowls until after we finish moving.

On Monday, a friend and I drove up to visit to friends who relocated to Rochester after graduation. We had a really nice day, including lunch at Aladdin’s.

My spread was the vegetarian combo. I chose Dolmades, Babaganoush, and Spanikopita.

The food was amazing and we got to sit right along the canal, so the view was too.

On Tuesday, my sweet coworkers took me out for an early goodbye dinner. We started the evening at Cantina Loco. I didn’t really enjoy my first experience at Cantina Loco but I am very glad that my coworker knew enough to drag me back. Everything was delicious, especially the pitchers of margaritas.

And the Nachos Locos.

They were covered in pork but I was a trooper and picked it off because the nachos were just that good.

For dinner I ordered the California Fish Taco – Crisp Fried Fish, Cabbage Slaw,
Pickled Onion, Spicy Sauce.

Delicious!

We went to Founding Fathers afterwards and I am kicking myself for not going sooner. Great bartender, great drinks, and apparently great free popcorn that I somehow didn’t notice. Among other things, we had a shot that was basically a liquified snickerdoodle!

The bartender asked trivia questions all night, which I loved. I even gave him two new questions to add to his rotation. What do you call this “?!” punctuation mark? [Answer at the end of this post]

One night I got a spicy cajun quesadilla from The Spot.

The prices are a little high, but the Spot’s food is quite good.

Last night’s dinner was my final slice of Zetti’s.

My white broccoli pizza was delicious, a good way to finish out my Zetti’s addiction!

See you next week!

Answer – an interrobang

16Jun2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; By The Day

by Emily

Hey there, long time no see! Sadly I think a once a week post will be the norm for the next two weeks as well; we are on the move!

We don’t actually officially leave Buffalo until the end of the month, but due to some monetary/logistical/fmylife complications we are moving the most difficult way possible – in little spurts. Adam has had to be in the city several time this month so we’ve been packing up our stuff by the carload and moving it to my in-laws’ place. Once we finally get into our new apartment (days after Adam has started work!!) we’ll pick everything up in a truck for the final move.

Two fun facts about our shit-show of a move –

We had to do the bulk of our packing last night so the duffle bag of clothes sitting next to me will be all I have to wear for the next three weeks. Also, we have no pots, pans, or kitchen appliances. Next week’s wrap-up will showcase a lot of restaurant meals!
Since we couldn’t rent a truck for this direction, we are only taking what fits in five carloads (three in a Vibe and two in a Corolla). We’ve had to say “bye, bye” to a lot of stuff, which has been very cathartic.

On to the food!

I was too busy to capture all of my meals (I worked most days, though I did find time to watch the entire first season of Longmire!) but I did manage a photo of at least one meal on most days. I was a bit under the weather this week and I spent the entirety of Thursday in bed, eating pretzels.

Monday, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield

One of our favorite couples recently had twin baby girls so we brought them over a couple of meals.

Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta, Mac and Three Cheese Cups, and salad with all the fixin’s (parmesan, buckwheat groats, chopped green pepper, and toasted pecans).

We stayed for dinner so we could meet the girls.

The were so freaking cute; we’ve decided not to spawn until after the husband’s first year of residency and the babies made me want to rethink about that decision!

When we got home I tried one of the Lindt Hello Bars for dessert.

I tried Strawberry Cheesecake and in addition to being adorable it was delicious.

It had the perfect amount of tang to offset the sweetness, bits of crunch that I believe were caramelized sugar, and you got a nice portion for the calories. I tried the Cookies and Cream bar another day and liked that as well.

Tuesday, Thai Day

I stir-fried some leftover white rice with peas and carrots.

I made it extra eggy – two large eggs for one portion – and it was perfect for breakfast.

Stir-fried rice is one of the dishes I find the easiest to make; it always tastes good.

I did Thai for dinner as well. Some friends and I met up after work to try Taste of Siam, a new spot right across from my job.

My Pad Kee Mao got bonus points for being super spicy, but there was way too much liquid and the broad rice noodles weren’t very pillowy. My friends loved their fried rice and curry though. If we were staying in our apartment I’m sure I would have gotten take-out there, but overall I didn’t think it was very good.

We got drinks before dinner and afterwards we did a throw-back for dessert.

Do you remember Chupa Chups?! My strawberry sundae pop was delicious; if I spot them again I will definitely buy more.

Wednesday, Similar to a Reuben

I cannot for the life of me remember what I ate this day beyond lunch; probably pizza! This sandwich made for a fine mid-day meal.

Applegate Farms sliced turkey, Cabot 75% reduced-fat sharp cheddar, thousand island dressing, and saurkraut on white-whole-wheat bread cooked in a skillet with butter.

Friday, Feel Better Froyo

In the morning I met up with friends for breakfast at Sweetness 7.

I got a turkey and caramelized onion quiche,

and a hibiscus lemonade.

Both were very bland, sadly, and the service/ordering system seemed off. Instead of calling out drinks or putting them with the food, they just plopped them on a tucked away, back counter. And I tried to get a coffee at their other location this morning and the service was so bad there that I left without ordering! I’m not sure what the deal is, but I loved Sweetness 7 so I hope they’re not on a downward slope.

After breakfast I ran some errands (my cell phone was broken again!), grabbed lunch, and headed to work. I felt fine in the morning, but as the afternoon wore on I felt sicker and sicker. I ended up throwing up at work!! Boo! I rallied afterwards and stuck out my shift, but it was not a fun time.

This next photo doesn’t look like “dinner,” but after my tough day it was exactly what I needed.

Froyo! Super delicious froyo with peanut butter, marshmallow, chocolate pretzels, and other amazing things. I cannot believe that right as I leave Buffalo two self-serve froyo locations have appeared on my block! Though not having immediate access to it the last three years did probably save me many pounds and dollars.

Saturday, I Like to Move it Move it

Yesterday was ridiculous; y’all would not even believe how much we got done. But not a single fruit or veggetable was eaten that day…

Black bean nachos from ETS.

Melonhead beer (like Pumpkinhead) from Shipyard.

It was super juicy and refreshing; just what I needed as we packed late into the night.

Sunday, Finish the Fridge

For breakfast today, I made us a Finish Up the Fridge Fritatta.

9 large eggs / .5 cup shredded parmesan / 1 cup thawed and drained frozen spinach / pinch salt / pinch paprika

Mix, pour in a greased pie pan, and bake 35 – 40 minutes at 375 degrees Farenheit.

I had my slice with a piece of rosemary bread from Wegman’s bakery.

It was a great way to start the week!

What was the most difficult move your family has even done?

10Jun2013

Weekly Wrap-Up

by Emily

I’ve stopped doing daily posts for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped eating – and occasionally photographing – delicious things. Once we’ve moved and things have settled down I’ll try to post more regularly, but for now I want to at least do a weekly wrap-up of some of the more scrumptious things I’ve eaten. I’m going to borrow the style of Kath’s Lately posts for these.

A lot is missing, I don’t have any lunches and several slices of pizza went uncaptured, but here are some of the highlights from last week…

Breakfasts

I bought an amazing container of fresh blackberries early in the week and enjoyed them greatly. They started getting soft so I put the last few servings in the freezer and I’m very much looking forward to reheating them. First up, Dannon Oikos Café Latte Greek Yogurt with blackberries and a blend of peanut and coconut butter.

Cinnamon Pecan Special K with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and more blackberries.

This cereal is so tasty; it’s got a granola-like texture but with far less calories.

A Dr. McDougall’s Peach and Hemp Oatmeal, eaten at work with a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

This oatmeal couldn’t hold a candle to my beloved Quaker cups. It was quite gummy and strange, though I did eat all of the bites with hazelnut butter on them 😉

Snacks

I finally got a chance to try some of my shipment of the Larabar ALT line. Lemon Pound Cake and Peanut Butter Cookie.

The verdict was – I’m a fan; though I’ll admit to being less excited to try the other two flavors. The texture was gritty sand, but in a great way, and the flavors were spot on. I shared the lemon bar with a coworker and she said to tell y’all she liked it a lot.

On Monday, Adam, a friend, and I drove over to Williamsville to check out one of our new froyo spots – Red Mango.

I did plain tart with tons of popping boba. They had kiwi boba, a new experience for me. Confession time though: I couldn’t finish that whole cup! Who am I??

Dinners

Also on Monday, we spent the evening with another group of friends, saying goodbye to a doctor who was heading off to California. As Adam and his friends all head off to their residencies we are having to say a lot of goodbyes. We ate dinner at Mezza.

A Shish Tawouk wrap – cubed marinated chicken breast, garlic spread, sweet coleslaw, and French fries, all wrapped together and grilled – with a Feta Fattouch salad. My food was delicious, as was the diet coke with strawberry vodka I sipped from the bar.

We drank at Blue Monk before heading to dinner and I tried my first taste of mussels.

I’ve always been wimpy about shelled seafood, but they were fantastic! It helped that they were cooked with Ommegang Witte, lemon, leeks, garlic, parsley and cream.

We also ate dinner out last night. I’ve wanted to try 99 Fast Food for years and Sunday after work it was finally my time. Unfortunately all of the pho was made with beef broth so I couldn’t partake, but I did have a nice meal of tofu broccoli ginger stir-fry.

We tried a Vietnamese Pudding for dessert.

It was more of a drink than a pudding, red bean with sweetened coconut milk.

On Friday night I hurried home from work so we could get a little gussied.

My bosses generously gave me their tickets to the Mash Bash, an army-themed fundraiser.

I was literally the only person in the room not in green, so embarrassing!

There wasn’t a ton of food there that I could eat, but each ticket came with two drinks and Adam ate my share of pulled pork sandwich.

Most of my home-cooked meals flopped this week, but I did have one success with a little help from Coleman’s Mustard.

The company sent me a tin of powder to try {free sample, please note!}, along with a recipe for dressing –

Colman’s Chili Vinaigrette

4 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. Colman’s Original Powdered Mustard
4 “splashes” mild green Tabasco sauce
½ cup lemon juice
2 tsp. honey

I whipped up a batch for salads; a spring lettuce based topped with English Cotswold cheese, buckwheat groats, and roasted asparagus.

It was a good week!

7Apr2013

Bloody {Mary} Sunday

by Emily

My big plans of knocking off some school work didn’t come to fruition, but I did manage to do some day drinking. That’s a better use of time really, isn’t it?

I started the morning with this bowl of absolute incredibleness.

Dannon Oikos Cafe Latte Greek Yogurt, 1/2 serving Nature’s Path Coconut Chia Granola, fresh blackberries, 1 tsp honey, 2 Tbsp coconut butter.

Oh my goodness, you guys, the coconut butter. I have been reading Kath talk about coconut butter acting as a magic shell for years but I never quite knew what she meant. It was amazing.

I also snacked on (approximately 2 servings each) BBQ Pop Chips with reduced-fat french onion dip.

If I had known I was going to have chips with dinner I might have done a veggie-based snack instead, but at that point I planned on having soup! Sidenote – did you know that Pop Chips has a new ketchup flavor?! I’m pretty sure that sounds terrible.

I spent my afternoon at work. The weather has finally gotten the memo that it’s Spring so lots of people were out and about.

At the end of my shift some friends stopped by to invite me to Blue Monk. They were having a Bloody Mary special, with celery, hot sauce, tomato, etc infused vodkas.

A girl from our program sweetly got us a 2nd round so I ended up having two.

Bloody Marys make me crave stick-to-your-ribs food so instead of soup I ended up with Moe’s for dinner. A rice bowl – rice / black beans/ sautéed onion / mushroom / green pepper / cheese / sour cream / guacamole / corn salsa.

Plus chips with queso.

Apparently there’s always room for chips.

Do ketchup flavored chips sound good to you?

6Apr2013

Weekend Welcome Back

by Emily

Hello again! I know I kind of dropped off the face of the earth. This semester has been busy. I don’t have a lot to say tonight, and my pictures are poorly lit and blurry, but it was a good day so I wanted to share.

I slept in this morning; we’ve got a serious stayed-up-too-late-watching-Battlestar-Galactica-every-night-this-week sleep deficit going. I ended up eating “breakfast” during the afternoon at work. Chobani Vanilla Golden Crunch Flip.

I love most of Chobani’s flavors but I have really disliked the Flip line*. This was my 2nd try with this flavor and both times the vanilla yogurt was so tangy I was actually a little afraid it had gone bad. *the Honey BeeNana one was really freaking good

I also drank a Dr. Pepper 10.

The first in a fun line-up of beverages today.

After work I met up with a friend for bubble tea; strawberry green tea with both kinds of boba.

We hung out for the rest of the evening and had a fun night. Next was drinks at a bar in Allentown. I enjoyed this Genesee Cream Ale more than I was expecting to.

It was basically water, but at least it was quite refreshing. Plus it is locally made.

Finally we headed to Seabar for a late dinner.

I was very disappointed that they were out of the (the) lobster ramen bowl, but I rallied with three small plates.

Seaweed salad.

Pickle cucumber salad over sushi rice.

Udon noodle bowl served with tempura shrimp.

All three were quite tasty but the cucumber salad was my favorite.

I brushed my teeth the minute I got home and now I’m actually blogging from the bed! Sweet dreams!

10Mar2013

Briefly

by Emily

I’ll admit it – this rotation is exhausting! I stayed in bed past noon. Then went to Gramma Mora’s for lunch with a Groupon.

“Seafood” nachos to start. <– not good, at all.

Cheese enchilada.

A handful of chocolate pretzels.

Caramel and cheddar popcorn mix with Adam during Oz. <– movie was not good, at all.

More Bluefin. Spicy crunchy crab and tempura sweet potato.

Don’t forget to turn forward your clocks!

9Mar2013

2nd Friday

by Emily

I did manage to pack breakfast today – eating before I leave the house is never gonna happen – but I got so into my patients that I totally forgot to eat it. The services I’m currently on are fascinating: Neurology Step-Down and the Surgical ICU.

At least lunch looked a lot like breakfast. A Quaker Apple Walnut Oatmeal

topped with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

That combo is out of this world.

I ended up staying almost an hour late this afternoon because I took on another patient at the last minute. Thankfully I was able to head out for fun as soon as I got home. By the by, I know I mentioned working out today, but my right foot issue has flared up badly and if I’m honest with myself it’s probably at least another week or two before I’ll be back on a treadmill. Boo!

Yes, it is the first Friday of this rotation, but during the second Friday of every month the art gallery on my campus hosts a free event for the public. There is art – well, some art and lots of “art” – and nibbles.

I’m not sure what that red sauce was but it sure was tasty, my veggies were even better than my cheese.

I ate this piece of Easter candy before I headed out for the evening.

I met up with some friends for drinks before we headed to the gallery.

Couldn’t resist getting another McKenzie’s cider.

After the museum, a friend and I headed to Blue Fin to get some sushi specials for dinner.

An asparagus roll and a spicy crunchy crab roll, all for $10 including tip and tax!

What’s the best deal on sushi in your town?

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: rice

Weekly Wrap-Up; St. Thomas

At Home

On the Go

Restaurant Meals

Weekly Wrap-Up; My Apartment Is Packed But I’m Still Here

Breakfasts

(Non-alcoholic) Drinks

Lunches and Dinners

See you next week!

Weekly Wrap-Up; By The Day

Monday, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield

Tuesday, Thai Day

Wednesday, Similar to a Reuben

Friday, Feel Better Froyo

Saturday, I Like to Move it Move it

Sunday, Finish the Fridge

Weekly Wrap-Up

Breakfasts

Snacks

Dinners

Bloody {Mary} Sunday

Weekend Welcome Back

Briefly

2nd Friday