Tastes Like Thanksgiving

by Emily

I hope all my American readers stuffed themselves silly yesterday (all of my readers really!) and made good memories with family and/or friends. Adam and I both had to work, so no festivities here, but thankfully I spent time with 3/4 of my family in St. Thomas last weekend. P.S. No post from last weekend, I didn’t take many pictures, but I did eat johnny cake with cheese and day drink almost daily.

In spite of being kind of lame on Turkey Day, I did manage to pack my week with holiday flavors – cranberry, green beans, turkey, pumpkin, and egg nog. Plus, apparently I’ve decided that chips are an on-theme holiday flavor!

Winter Cheer Stumptown with a cranberry clementine seltzer and a giant pomelo.

Cranberry turkey Wilde bar with a snap dragon apple and a cranberry cider seltzer. <– are we appreciating the cranberry seltzers I squirreled away for this week?!

Holiday spiced sweet cream cold brew.

Thursday felt like an appropriate time to get my eggnog goodies going.

Veggies with pita chips for scooping from the cafeteria for lunch. Tomato, green bell pepper, corn, cheddar, and beans.

Oats in a jar. I dumped hot oats with chia seeds and pepitas into the last of the chocolate tahini. Plus an ambrosia apple.

With more chocolate for dessert, I snacked on a cookie dough bar and a latte.

The cafeteria made a special Thanksgiving lunch. I had veggie lasagna, stuffing, and green beans.

Tuesday night – aka the first time Adam and I laid eyes on each other since last Wednesday! – we went out for dinner before making an overdue grocery run. I got a chopped salad with green chili lime vinaigrette, roasted corn, cucumber, jicama, and tons of avocado plus blue tortilla nachos with black beans, serrano salsa fresca, and Oaxaca queso sauce.

Post-dinner coffee to get me through Trader Joe’s. The aged Sumatra is tasty.

And the next morning I was able to get dinner going in the crock pot – cranberry bbq chicken that knocked our freaking socks off. In a slow cooker on low for 8 hours / chicken breast / maple whiskey bbq sauce / fresh cranberries tossed with minced garlic and a bit of sugar. I topped my bowl with some shredded cheese.

Served with roasted green beans and pumpkin beers.

I was the only RD at work on Thanksgiving and the day ended up being pretty exhausting. Thankfully I already had planned the ultimate lazy dinner – nachos. I kept things on theme though! TJ’s turkey and stuffing kettle chips / cheddar, swiss, and gruyere / turkey breast / cranberry sauce. With green beans in thyme honey balsamic vinaigrette.

Served with – just under the wire – the last pumpkin beer of the season.

Plus a nauseating amount of baking nibbles for dessert, we are doing a belated Thanksgiving with my in-laws this weekend and I’m bringing cookies.

What’s your favorite traditional Thanksgiving dish? I won’t judge you if you say nachos.

31Oct2016

Top Ten Last Week

by Emily

{1} Kobrick Coffee

I stepped up my espresso game with their housemade chocolate milk. Adam and I were both swooning after every sip.

{2} Pumpkin yogurt bowls

2% Fage with pumpkin puree and pumpkin butter, cinnamon, slivered almonds, and pumpkin spice granola. With an Asian pear.

Plain Siggi’s with pumpkin x2, pumpkin spice cheerios and frosted mini wheats, and a few candy corns. With a gingergold apple.

Pumpkin Chobani with cereals and another apple.

{3} Bobwhite Counter

Fried chicken sandwich with pickles and pimento cheese.

{4} Pumpkin Smoothie

We make at least one every October. Pumpkin puree, plain Greek yogurt, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla almond milk.

{5} Xzibit “Pimp My Ride” style Reese’s

Reese’s stuffed with Reese’s Pieces. My peanut butter cup obsession usually does not extend beyond Justin’s minis but I am bewitched by these; the bit of crunch takes the cups to a whole new level.

{6} Molly’s Cupcakes

They have a whole slew of gooey stuffed cupcakes.

Cake better was perfection!

{7} Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Unsurprisingly, Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess)’s 1st memoir did not disappoint. I added her 2nd book to my Christmas list less than halfway through.

{8} Nachos

I turned my copycat Chipotle bowl leftovers into nachos. Nachos > salad bowls. Tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, black beans, corn, sautéed onions and peppers, and shredded chipotle honey lime chicken.

{9} C’est Cheese

Adam and I had a weekday off together and we spent several hours of it on the phone dealing with our retirement accounts. We desperately needed booze and cheese afterwards so we headed to Port Jefferson for lunch. Baked brie with raspberry jam.

Beer flight – Post Road Pumpkin / Telekinesis sour / Framboise / Imperial Biscotti Break stout.

Plus a Spanish salad with mandarin oranges, Manchego, olives, and a honey tarragon vinaigrette.

{10} David Pumpkins

Bless you, SNL, this is my new favorite thing.

{Bonus} Be sure to check out SaveTheDay.Vote, Joss Whedon’s super PAC that produces short PSAs about the importance of voting (for Hillary). The subject matter is sobering but somehow the videos are all still laugh out loud hilarious. Whedon is already my role model, and I am so impressed with all of the celebrities to chose to participate.

P.S. Happy Halloween!

24Oct2016

Pumpkin Yogurt — Froyo — Beer

by Emily

This weekend was low-key but exactly what we needed. Inclement weather killed our Saturday plans (instead we ran some errands and caught up on tv) and Sunday I was scheduled to work. I’ve got Wednesday off in exchange for yesterday so my workweek will be two mini 2 day blocks <– nice!

Here were the weekend’s top eats…

We made a quick trip down to Rockville Center to check out Kookaburra Coffee. They had toasted marshmallow coffee syrup!! Fan-freaking-tastic in my triple shot iced latte.

Spooky yogurt bowl. Plain Fage with pumpkin butter stirred in, topped with chia seeds, salted peanuts, cocoa nibs, and a few candy corn.

I put a lemon cream popsicle in seltzer water with some whiskey. Creamy, fizzy, and boozy, the trifecta.

Pumpkin pie froyo, topped with pretty much all of the dessert-y toppings.

Cheese plate dinner. With dates, apple, and sautéed green beans with almonds.

The highlights were this paprika cheese from TJ’s,

and these Malbranche Mura Cha Cha matcha tea biscuits I was sent to review. The cookies are gluten-free and vegan and absolutely bursting with matcha flavor. Be forewarned – if you don’t like the tea you won’t like the cookie, Adam loves both.

Copycat Chipotle salad bowls. Romaine // spicy salsa // shredded cheese // chipotle honey lime chicken // sautéed onion and orange and yellow bell pepper // black beans // fire-roasted corn.

I sipped pumpkin beer while I sautéed my chicken. Both were delicious, 8-9/10.

I’ve got three different pumpkin iterations packed for tomorrow’s lunch!

3Oct2016

It’s Pumpkin Month!

by Emily

Pumpkin Month is here! On the Emily calendar September is for apples, October and November are for pumpkin, November and December are for eggnog and gingerbread, and December is for peppermint. This month’s on-theme stash is especially bountiful.

xzibit

Here are some highlights from the weekend…

My favorite coffee combo – espresso and chocolate milk. I hate “mochas” because the syrup is gross but this iteration of chocolate and coffee is the best.

Brunch at Benchmark.

I had a roasted vanilla lemonade with vodka.

This unassuming omelette was actually stuffed with duck confit and goat cheese.

My best lunch came from the Starbuck’s refrigerator case.

We cooked two tasty dinners. Broccoli salad based on this recipe from Cooking Light. We roasted the broccoli and sauteed the onion and served the salad warm, which I highly recommend. I also swapped maple for honey and rice vinegar for cider vinegar.

Served with white bean and basil dip with orange bell peppers and potato chips.

Plus a disappointing cider.

And I loosely followed Rachel Ray’s recipe for pumpkin and sausage pasta.

Served on butternut squash pasta shaped like tiny pumpkins!!

With roasted honey sriracha smoked paprika cauliflower.

And our last and favorite cider, just in time for pumpkin beers.

Non-food wins included…

I started reading One More Thing, Stories and Other Stories and now I’m completely obsessed with B.J. Novak. The collection of stories fits together in ways that are surprising, moving, and sidesplittingly wry.

Watching the dog put himself to bed, complete with covers and his head on a pillow.

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He’s the best.

26Sep2016

This Is The Past Week

by Emily

The week since I last posted included – a 6 am-start work day with a blissful 3 pm return home // a limp, due to a minor biopsy on one of my toes // a free trip to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum thanks to a Smithsonian “Museum Day” promotion // a one day weekend with a Sunday at work // two trips to the Gotham West Market // the return of most of my fall tv shows! // dessert once a day at a minimum // tons of cuddle time with Webster // etc, etc.

{highlights}

My current coffee favorite – espresso on ice with a chocolate milk carton.

Harmless Harvest coconut water with a peanut butter chocolate chip Zing bar. Two thumbs up x2.

Maple brown sugar Peeps. I know I’m disgusting but I kind of loved these, they are gritty in the best possible way.

Iced hibiscus apple cider at Argo Tea. I was limping through Manhattan on an especially hot day at this hit the spot.

Sushi burrito. Stuffed with brown rice, tofu, spicy tobanjan mayo, carrot and daikon pickles, seaweed salad, and red pepper. Their marinated silky tofu is the best tofu I’ve ever tasted.

Hail Mary. Root beer and rum for Adam and housemade cherry cola with whisky for me.

We shared two veggies – fried green tomatoes,

and fantastic charred greens (with anchovy crumbs, plum molasses, and buttermilk).

Mostly we were there for dessert.

“Mile-high” funfetti cake with salted caramel buttercream and giant housemade sprinkles!

Bareburger. I got a collard greens Caesar salad and buffalo chicken bites.

Last night we made a Southern-flavors-inspired buttermilk-laced feast. Apple cider for cooking fuel.

Oven-fried buttermilk chicken tenders and roasted green beans with homemade honey mustard.

Buttermilk pie in a Biscoff cookie crust.

YUM!

29Aug2016

Road Trip Adventure

by Emily

Two of our favorite people recently moved out of Brooklyn for Traverse City, MI and our last three days were spent on an epic journey road tripping to their gorgeous wedding. We spent two full days in the car and only one day in Michigan but it was totally worth it to see one of my oldest childhood friends get married.

We were a bit worried about the 30+ hours we had to spend driving but it honestly ended up flying by. We had my fully-stocked i-pod, a funny book on tape, and brand new scenery outside our windows. Plus we are stupid in love with each other and probably could have just talked for 28 hours (I definitely fell asleep towards the end!) and had a good time.

Five out of six meals Friday and Sunday were eaten in our car, mostly junk food. Here were a few of the culinary highpoints…

Apples with peanut butter.

Carrots and dip.

Not one, but two, marshmallow flavored lattes!!

Cola gummies.

This total throwback.

The gas station cashier got such a kick over how excited we were to find Surge. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t taste as good as I thought it did as a kid.

We ate very well in Traverse City too. Breakaway for coffees.

Espresso that actually happened to be roasted in Brooklyn!

Lunch and drinks at Rare Bird Brewery.

Adam and I split macaroni and cheese with roasted duck and salad with roasted beets and spiced pepitas.

The food was good but the drinks were better, I had a locally brewed ale that tasted like key lime pie! Plus an apple sour beer.

Ice cream at Moomers.

White chocolate Oreo and black cherry. We actually had this twice in one day because our friends did an ice cream cake for the wedding.

Late bar food dinner at Workshop Brewery our first night in town.

Nachos with beans and ancho chicken.

I’m off to spend the day with my husband!

26Aug2016

Four Day Week Top Five

by Emily

I’m not at work today! Or tomorrow, or the next day, or the next!! Even better, I get to spend every second of the next four days with my husband, who just came back from a trip out of town.

Nothing is as exciting as this long weekend, but here are five foods from the week that were thrilling in their own right…

{1} Compartés bars. They are crazy expensive but I am completely obsessed.

The Salty Malty bar was one of the best chocolates I’ve ever eaten.

{2} Taco salad.

Romaine, carrots, chopped tomato and onion, corn, cheddar, salsa, sour cream, olives, and hard-boiled eggs.

{3} Junky fast-food style chicken wrap from the cafeteria.

Totally delicious and definitely not nutritious; this is why I mostly pack my lunches for work even though I eat for free in the cafeteria – the salad bar is available but nine times out of ten I’m going to pass it up for something I can eat with fries.

{4} A product review from Sonoma Syrups, whose goods contain no perservatives or artificial flavors or colors. The syrups can be used in alcoholic drinks and baking, but no one is surprised that I tried them out in iced coffee. Sea Salt Caramel isn’t quite as robust as a scoop of dulce de leche, but it definitely made a better coffee than the Starbucks’ caramel macchiato.

The Vanilla Hazelnut was tasty too. A 2 Tbsp serving of the syrups has </100 calories and is strong enough to flavor a 10 ounce cup of dark coffee.

And Meyer Lemon was yummy enough that I didn’t even wish this iced tea was coffee!

Heads up PSL addicts, they do have a pumpkin spice syrup.

{5} Meze meal. I met a girlfriend for drinks and dinner mid-week.

I ordered spanakopita, smoked cremini mushrooms, and hummus with warm chickpeas and hard-boiled eggs. The spanakpita was meh (we both thought it tasted like something you’d buy frozen at Trader Joe’s) but the hummus was great.

Enjoy your weekend!

24Aug2016

Three Day Weekend Staycation

by Emily

Not only was I off last Friday for a three-day weekend, but Adam started a 2-week vacation and was free to hang out with me all three days as well! We had originally thought about taking a trip to Boston but the hotel situation was prohibitively expensive and we live in the best city on Earth so it made more sense to do a staycation instead. Basically we had a three day long date! We walked and ate and repeated until we were sunburnt, stuffed, and smiling.

Friday: we took the train to the new-ish Hudson Yards Station.

Walked around Chelsea and got coffees at the up and coming Chelsea Terminal Warehouse. Walked along the Highline.

Walked through Greenwich Village. Watched the sunset at Chelsea Piers.

Saturday: we drove into Dumbo. Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Took the free ferry to Ikea and spent an hour playing design a dream home (we did not have a couples fight, probably because all we needed to purchase was Swedish gummy candy from the bulk bins).

Spent the afternoon exploring Red Hook.

Sunday: we stopped for coffees in Floral Park. Got brunch in Park Slope. Walked a bit in Carrol Gardens.

Ate nachos in bed and watched NCIS.

I had to be choosy or this post would be ~~too long~~ even longer because we stopped at at least ten different spots for coffees and ice creams alone, but her were were the culinary highlights…

Cold brew from Brooklyn Roasting Company.

Aussie iced coffee from Bluestone Lane.

It was boiling hot all weekend and we drank about a million beverages, including an ultra-hydrating product sample – coconut water from Harmless Harvest.

They sent me some free product coupons and cute cups in exchange for this post.

Harmless Harvest is my favorite coconut water anyway – the company is Fair for Life certified, the flavor is sweet and not “gaggy” like some brands can be, and the bottles are often pink*! – so I happily accepted. *Per the company – “Coconut water is clear when bottled but contains a variety of antioxidants which can turn pink once they interact with sunlight.”

I was told to include a photo of myself enjoying the coconut water and while I tried pick a picture Adam was busy guzzling down my drink, so clearly Harmless Harvest gets a thumbs up from him as well!

Adobo-ritos with chicken and kimchi fried rice from 2nd City. We also had really fantastic calamansi lime jello shots.

Our first time at Dominique Ansel. I thought the pastry was meh but we also tried the burrata soft serve (with balsamic caramel and a macerated strawberry) and it was mind-blowing.

Black sesame cream mochi. We also picked up some cola gummies!

Seafood lunch at Brooklyn Crab. We got beers and view.

Simple but wonderful salad to start, bibb lettuce with sweet and spicy pepitas and a maple goat cheese vinaigrette.

I got a blue crab roll with Old Bay mayo.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie, finally, I have wanted to go here since our original move to Brooklyn.

The swingle – aka key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate! – did not disappoint.

Brunch at Bricolage.

Bloody Mary.

I got the vegetarian crepe with king oyster and maitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, and fried eggs. Served rolled up in lettuce leaves with fresh mint and a spicy sauce.

Coke float soft-serve at Milk Bar.

Only two more days until the next weekend – this one’s going to be a four day doozy!

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: salad

Tastes Like Thanksgiving

Top Ten Last Week

Pumpkin Yogurt — Froyo — Beer

It’s Pumpkin Month!

This Is The Past Week

Road Trip Adventure

Four Day Week Top Five

Three Day Weekend Staycation