Weekish Wrap-Up

The title is sort of a pun!  Because this post is pretty weak.  Get it??

I’ve been all over the place with my posting schedule lately but it just feels right.  Especially this two-day “week” because I’ve been total snack monster so I’ve eaten a full post’s worth of food.  Here we go…

Cold-brew coffee with low-fat chocolate milk.

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Oh, I noticed you admiring my nails {just go with it}, here’s a better shot –

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I know they aren’t perfect – and I cleaned up the edges a bit after that photo – but I was so flipping proud to have managed them at all.  My hands have made me happy all week.

Onto pictures you’ve actually asked for… welcome to my office at work!

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It is never as messy as my hair is in that picture {yikes!}.

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I haven’t done much decorating, but I have a few touches to make it feel like home (mostly reminders of Webster).

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But back to my mocha, that did not make me happy.  I bought a jug of chocolate milk and made a week’s worth of coffee… but I used the butter rum flavored coffee from Target and ultimately it is just too nasty to drink.  I ended up throwing out my whole batch!

I had this Dannon pecan drinkable yogurt on the train.

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I was really impressed with how creamy it was.

Work lunch.

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An apple,

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and leftover shrimp pad thai from the weekend.

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I still can’t believe we were able to make it taste so good/authentic.

Another lunch.  This one not nearly as photogenic.

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Pumpernickel with miracle whip, grape jam, banana peppers, sharp cheddar, and smoked turkey.

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A red pear.

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And a mini Honeycomb chocolate from Chuao.

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Snacks at work: Lots of tea from my Numi samples.

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Haribo liquid center fruit gummi candies.

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And a bag of Somersaults.

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Snacks at home: A packet of tuna salad.

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A ridiculous peanut butter fudge mug cake.

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And a mini Firecracker Chocolate from Chuao.

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I don’t know how they keep the pop rocks so fresh when they’re enrobed in chocolate but this bar had crackle!

Last night’s dinner was rice noodles with bean sprouts and tons of broccoli cooked in peanut sauce.

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Normally this is one of our favorite meals but this dinner felt very meh.

And that’s all she wrote! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

Weekend Wrap-Up; Winter’s Gone And I’m Not Sad

Winter is not gone for good, obviously, but it took a much-appreciated hiatus this weekend.  It was so warm yesterday that we could walk the dog without coats!

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Oh spring, you cannot come soon enough.

Stream of consciousness style, here is some of what I ate this weekend…

Thursday’s lunch.

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The new Key Lime 2% Fage is so ridiculously good.  I stopped on my way home that same day to buy more!

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Plus a Lady Alice apple.

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And a Strawberry Lemonade Cascade Ice.

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I bought the drink with my own money after enjoying my samples, but something in this reeeeeally made my stomach hurt so I probably won’t be buying it again.

Friday’s lunch was a delicious sandwich of 1 slice of pumpernickel topped with Miracle Whip, fancy blue cheese, banana peppers, and Applegate Farms Roasted Turkey.

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Plus an emmy’s dark cacao macaroon – my new favorite flavor.

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And a pear.

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The Somersaults you see in the background were swapped out for this Double Shot.

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My coffee obsession accepts all forms.

We blended up a final round of our favorite smoothie.

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That was the last of our chocolate peppermint soy milk until next holiday season.

I ate a bowl of sugar cereal(s).

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Kid’s aren’t all wrong, this was fricking delicious.

I dipped sliced green apple in a blend of melted peanut butter and dark chocolate sauce.

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I love green apples when paired with something sweet or cheesy but the thought of eating one all on its lonesome makes my lips purse up.

I tried another evolution juice.

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The Essential Greens with Lime was much, much better than the variety I threw out the other day.  Still can’t hold a candle to fresh juice though.

I ate a ton of ice cream.

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The Ben and Jerry’s Cores are out of control.  We’ve tried blondie salted caramel and chocolate hazelnut and both were great.  Adam actually liked them more than I did, which says a lot because he claims not be into ice cream.

A friend and I met up at Bierkraft and shared this cider.

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It didn’t taste like maple at all, sadly.  But it packed some kick, apparently, because we went out for burgers afterward and it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until there was only one bite left on my plate.

I got an easy dinner from Trader Joe’s after I went grocery shopping at 8 pm on Saturday.

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Along with my salad – which was delicious – I had cheesy bread.  Aka a baguette baked with butter and sharp cheddar.

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That was more delicious than the salad.  Obviously.

We made shrimp Pad Thai.  And it was good!!!

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First, we had to turn this –

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into this –

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Making tamarind paste “from scratch” felt super badass, just fyi.  And it was very essential to getting a good sauce.

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Basically just rice noodles, carrots, bean sprouts, shrimp, eggs, and this sauce, cooked in canola oil and topped with lime, scallion, and crushed peanut.

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It tasted legit!  I can’t even tell you how proud I was.

Last night our dinner plans fell through and we ended up with turkey burger take-out from Bare Burger.

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Not the original plan but certainly nothing to complain about.  Mine had turkey bacon, peppers, fried onions, and smoked cheese.

Have you ever made Pad Thai at home?  How’d it turn out?

Weekend Wrap-Up; Beers In Brooklyn

‘Twas a super weekend, even if I didn’t watch a single second of a certain football game.  We don’t have a cable hook-up!  I would like to see if I can find the commercials somewhere online though.

My meals this weekend were the like Seahawks, unparalleled winners.  Here’s some of what we ate…

lunch at work on Friday

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A Tart Cherry Noosa.

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An Asian pear.

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And a flourless chocolate chip almond butter cookie.

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I made the cookies for Adam but they were so good that I ended up stealing another one when I got home that afternoon!  This recipe, but with Vanilla Bean + Espresso Barney Butter and half as many chocolate chips.

sweets and snacks

Cosmos.

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With Cascade Ice Cocktail Mixer, a splash of oj, and vodka.

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The fancy one was actually Adam’s, mine had ice and a straw.

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But mine ended up being his too in the end; I am just not a cranberry person.

A serving of Red Velvet M&M’s (new flavor!).

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They are very chocolate-y and also very headache-inducing.

A kid’s double scoop at Ample Hills Creamery on our date night.  I had Sweet as Honey on the bottom – Homemade honeycomb candy (made with honey from bees at Queens County Farm) in a sweet cream ice cream – and Gather ‘Round the Campfire on top – Toasted marshmallow ice cream with chocolate-covered graham cracker.

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I love this place!  The flavors were perfect.  I also tried a taste of the Peppermint Pattie and pretty much died.

cereal and milk {cereal and milk}

It’s back!

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I know the box says “new!” but the raisin Frosted Mini Wheats were my number one favorite as a child.  Also the only “sugar cereal” I can recall ever having in the house growing up.

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With Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and blueberries.

a recipe revisit

I wanted to remake my Berry Better Than Spaghetti recipe so I could reshoot the photos (not that the new ones are all that great!).

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I ended up making a few tweaks to the recipe too.  It turned out fantastic!

coffee love

Medium non-fat cinnamon brown sugar latte at Dunkin Donuts.

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I have been loving these lately but this one was too sweet.  Speaking of… has anyone tried the cookie dough or brownie batter donuts at DD yet?  I am seriously debating buying one.

Short nonfat caramel macchiato from Starbucks on errands.

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Our Trader Joe’s is always a madhouse and I love it when the husband is available to wrangle the cart for me because it means I can have coffee while I shop.

Iced coffee with almond milk from Café Dada.

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Love, love, love, love, love.  There is just no beating Blue Bottle.

brunch in SoHo

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A girlfriend and I met up at Penelope on Sunday.

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I had the Andrey’s Egg Sandwich – Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and peppers, topped with grilled chorizo fakin’ bacon and sun-dried tomato pesto on a fresh-baked croissant.  It was a strange order for me – I usually go with sunny side up eggs or something sweet – but very good.

beers in Brooklyn

Adam had the best date on Saturday, and I’m not just saying that because he got me tipsy!  I managed to find my top 2 favorite beers!  For reference, here’s my list –

Emily’s All-Time Favorite Beers Ranking

{1} Genesee Cream Ale

{2} Left Hand Milk Stout

{3} Heineken Light

{4} Red Stripe

{5} Abita Strawberry

{6} 21st Amendment Brewery Hell or High Watermelon

We started at Bierkraft, where I tried a Joe Mama’s Milk from Keegan Ales.

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I couldn’t taste the coffee at all, but this was nice and smooth.

Then we headed down to Dinosaur BBQ,

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where we found ($3) cans of GCA!

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I also had a Left Hand Milk Stout with my dinner.

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So much beer – for me – but it was all so good!

Dinosaur BBQ is actually from Upstate.  They make our favorite bbq sauce but we never had a chance to visit the restaurant while we were in Buffalo.  I was thrilled that a location popped up in our old Brooklyn neighborhood.

Adam and I split a sampler platter to start.

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Shrimp boil, chicken wing, deviled egg, and a fried green tomato.

I got a pulled chicken melt as my meal.  BBQ, caramelized onion, poblano peppers, and melted cheddar.

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I skipped my bun and cheese but quite enjoyed the chicken.  This definitely wasn’t the best barbecue we’ve ever had, but it wasn’t bad either.  And we would go back for the beer menu alone.

What are your top favorite beers?  Do you tend towards high or low ABV?

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lots Of Leftovers

You saw most of this week’s eats yesterday, so this post is just to fill in the gaps.  What you’re not seeing – the coffee.  I was terrible about bedtime this week and the result was constant coffee consumption.  This work week ended up being particularly busy, so it was serendipitous that I was extra-caffeinated.

snacks

Numi Cardamom Pu-erh Tea with skim milk.

DSC07413Valentine’s style Junior Mints.

DSC07375Junior Mints are my favorite chocolate candy, second only to York and Pep bars, and these were shaped like freaking hearts!  Too exciting.

Popcorn with caramel and turkey bacon.

DSC07298Does that goodness need more explanation?

stuff I didn’t cook

Brunch at Biscuits and BBQ.

DSC07307DSC07299Adam went super Southern with chicken and waffles,

DSC07300while I got the bbq chicken sandwich.

DSC07303It was good, but I was expecting the meat to be pulled and smothered and I probably would have ordered differently if I’d known it wasn’t.  At least the serving was giant; Adam ate my 2nd half for lunch the next day.

We were mostly there for dessert anyway.  I read a review in the Times that said Biscuits and BBQ had some of the best key lime pie the reviewer had ever tasted.

DSC07305Yep.  Key lime pie is my favorite dessert and this was definitely one of the best slices I’ve had.  The only way it could have been better is if the traditional crust was a graham cracker crust – the way my mom makes it – because I like my extra-sweet with a side of extra-sweet!

Sushi take-out from Kisso.

DSC07327I went with two boring, cooked rolls (both with tempura!) but Adam said his chirashi was the best he’s ever had.

leftovers for lunch

Since I made a different recipe each night for my book review, I ended up with lots of leftovers for lunches.  Eating tapenade and tofu egg salad on my lunch break felt fancy!

A packaged lunch.

DSC07336Roasted seaweed.

DSC07338A Strawberry Apple Crusher.

DSC07341And some Bumblebee Spicy Thai Chili Tuna with crackers.

DSC07340I loooove that tuna, it is so flavorful.

An eggless lunch.

DSC07364Leftover eggless egg salad.

DSC07369Scooped with pita chips.

DSC07371With a side of green grapes.

DSC07373Crudités for lunch.

DSC07378Leftover lentil tapenade with celery and baby carrots.

DSC07391A giant honeycrisp.

DSC07385And baby Lindt HELLO bars.

DSC07382a dinner

The night I was left to my own devices in the kitchen I made mac and cheese and trees for dinner.

DSC07428Just a box of this adorable winter shapes mac and cheese with 0% Greek yogurt, smoked paprika, a tin of Bella cayenne pepper smoked sardines, and broccoli roasted with truffle salt.

DSC07408DSC07426Gussied up box macaroni is the best easy dinner.

What’s your go-to order when you’re channeling the deep South?  Adam does chicken and waffles while I like pulled chicken and fried okra.

Weekly Wrap-Up; One Day Late

Usually I get these posts up by Friday, but that implies that I was moderately functional on Thursday night.  This week, I was not.  In spite of being insanely tired all week (I got into a bad sleep habit pattern that snowballed), I did do pretty well on the food front – breakfasts most days, fancy-feeling dinners, the works.

work

Speaking of work…  It’s going well.  I feel like I am fully settled into my position.  I am definitely missing the inpatient setting a lot, but I do feel like I’m getting to make a positive impact.  Part of the reason I’m so passionate about pediatrics (my long-term career goals center around nutrition support  and pediatrics) is because nutrition is so crucial during periods of growth.  Well, working with prenatal patients means I’m counseling adults who are growing{babies!}.  My clinic sees a great variety of clients; among other things, I’ve gotten to deal with anemia, diabetes, hyperemesis gravidarum, and pica.  I’m still waiting on vegan diets, eating disorders, and maternal pku.

On a less serious note, I decided to stop Fashion Fridays.  I’m just not that fashionable.  And I’m really not that good with my camera, which meant I was taking blurry pictures that weren’t highlighting the cool details that make me love my outfits.  I doubt anyone but my mom will miss this feature, but I just wanted to explain why it was going away.

breakfast

Coconut Macaroon Larabar and a short non-fat salted caramel hot chocolate.

DSC07179DSC07195Breakfast from the cafeteria.

DSC07228Kashi Caramelized Onion Hummus Crisps and an apple.  I enjoyed both.

Non-fat iced caramel flan latte.

DSC07243This wasn’t as exciting as I wanted it to be.  I asked for no whipped cream and they skipped my caramel drizzle too.

Two servings of S’mores Krave cereal with blackberries and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

DSC07281I didn’t like the original version of this cereal when I tried it last year but the s’mores kind is quite tasty.  And for a “sugar cereal” it’s not even terrible, with 10 g of sugar per serving.

lunch

Monday.

DSC071830% Fage with mango and soursoup,

DSC07189a super juicy pear,

DSC07188dried clementines,

DSC07191and Duane Reade milk chocolate with toffee and sea salt.

DSC07193Tuesday, I ran out of time to pack.

DSC07220A Chicken and Greens Cesar from Starbucks.  I loved the use of kale in here, I didn’t know a Cesar could feel so healthy.

DSC07225And a Strawberry Apple Crusher from TJ.

DSC07221Wednesday.

DSC07230Hickory smoked tuna with crackers,

DSC07234and salted milk chocolate and a pear for dessert.

DSC07238For Thursday, a jar of fresh pineapple.

DSC07259A sandwich of Applegate Farms roasted turkey, dijon, and light jarlsberg on an everything ciabatta flatbread,

DSC07256and some sesame roasted seaweed.

DSC07263My coworkers were very curious about the seaweed; two of them even were brave enough to taste it, not that they ended up being big fans.

I didn’t have my camera yesterday, but I bought a slice of veggie pizza from the cafeteria for lunch.  And, um, I also bought a doughnut for breakfast.  I almost never eat doughnuts (I didn’t grow up with them) but I had randomly reeeeeeeeally been craving one so it was serendipitous that the cafeteria had cinnamon twists on the morning I couldn’t pack breakfast.

dinner

A fancy night.

DSC07206We topped salmon with meyer lemon and this Dark Horse Smoked Brown Sugar before baking.  We hardly ever make fresh fish at home and this was such a treat!  The texture of properly baked salmon is swoon-worthy.

DSC07197DSC07211With a side of roasted broccoli,

DSC07213and potatoes – mashed with butter, goat cheese, and tons of dijon mustard.

DSC07216It was a great meal.

A tired night – I was too sleepy on Tuesday to even bother with dinner.  Refer down to the “snacks” list below 🙂

A sandwich night.

DSC07276Smokey tofu sandwiches were a total win.

DSC07265We topped ciabatta flatbread with smokey tofu, light muenster cheese, and turkey bacon.  The tofu was baked with a sauce I threw together – ketchup, maple syrup, and liquid smoke – and it turned out great.

DSC07268DSC07273Plus green beans.

DSC07271A restaurant night.

DSC07287Those are the complimentary yam chips that Laverne sets out, by the way, and they are fantastic.

For my meal, I ordered the Drunken Noodles with shrimp, extra spicy.

DSC07291Oh boy, did they ever deliver on spice!  The noodles were exactly to my liking, which is to say, almost unbearably hot!  Adam took a tiny taste and was not happy.  Thai iced tea helped me to cool down a bit.

DSC07289And after dinner we went out for giant cups of froyo.  Sadly, the evening took a sharp turn downhill from there.  I made myself a much bigger froyo than I usually do, loaded up with all sorts of toppings, including, apparently, something that didn’t agree with me.  Even if you’ve never thrown up after eating the spiciest meal of your life you can probably still picture it.  I basically rolled around on the floor and screamed.  <– sorry, husband!

snack

When I sent Adam to “the fancy store” to pick up salmon, he came home with this 26 month aged Beemster Dutch cheese as a surprise.

DSC07199Do you see those salt crystals?!  Love.  We didn’t even use crackers, just ate big chunks all week long.

Vivaloe Watermelon Aloe.  Surprisingly, Adam liked this even more than I did.

DSC07241We both have been missing the variety of boba we could get in bubble tea in Buffalo and the chunks of aloe are a nice substitute.

Onto the chocolate portion of our show… My last Alter Eco Velvet Truffle.

DSC07285I’m amazed these lasted so long in the house (they are outstanding), but it seemed like we just kept on bringing home new treats.

Like the Lime Splash Lindt bar that I obviously had to buy because, hello, it’s new.

DSC07293Two thumbs up.  And I know that the cover photo makes him look like a creeper, but I’m currently loving Grant Achatz’s memoir, Life, On The Line.

Finally, my (sugared up) take on Something Swanky’s Single Serve Skinny Brownie Batter.

DSC072445.3 oz vanilla Greek yogurt + 1 Tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar + 1 and 1/2 Tbsp almond meal + 1 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder = brain exploding goodness!

Weekly Wrap-Up; Hello, 2014!

Hello from a new year!  Like I said in my last post, I am very excited to have welcomed ’14.  We didn’t do anything exciting for NYE (we were in bed watching Vines by 11), but we started the year off right with a fun day on the 1st.

Resolutions, Past and Present

I didn’t set any resolutions last year, but since 2011 it’s been a yearly goal to read a book a month.  I missed January and February, but overall I did pretty well with 20 books read in 2013:

March

Last to Die – Tess Gerritsen  (f)

The Bone Bed – Patricia Cornwell (f)

June

97 Orchard – Jane Ziegelman  (nf)

Spiced: A Pastry Chef’s True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen – Dalia Jurgensen  (m)

July

The Perfect Husband – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Third Victim – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Alone  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

August

Hide  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Neighbor  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Next Accident  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

The Killing Hour  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

September

Fiction Ruined My Family – Jeanne Darst  (m)

October

Live to Tell – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Love You More – Lisa Gardner  (f)

Catch Me  – Lisa Gardner  (f)

November

Bones of the Lost – Kathy Reichs  (f)

December

Brain on Fire – Susannah Cahalan  (m)

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight – Alexandra Fuller  (m)

Dust – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

Wild – Cheryl Strayed  (m)

This year I did decide to set a few new year’s goals for myself, though I won’t be typing them all out here.  Basically I want to lose some of the weight I’ve been steadily putting on the past three years / continue my book reading goals / and start chipping away at the continuing education requirements for my Dietetics registration.

Fashion Friday

Last Friday.

DSC06924Monday.

DSC06999Tuesday.

DSC07028A day off on Wednesday.

DSC07036DSC07034Welcoming in a new year at work on Thursday.

DSC07096DSC07103DSC07102Breakfasts

Since part of this post is from last year you won’t really see this go into effect, but I think I am going to make more of an effort to eat breakfast on workdays.  I’ve been getting insanely hungry every afternoon and I think running out of time for breakfast most mornings is partially to blame.

Giant non-fat latte with 2 shots each peppermint and white chocolate.

DSC07000Coconut coffee and a pear.

DSC07075The Vanilla Coco Cafe was delicious, even better than the original.

DSC07078My pear was tasty too, but eating it gave me such bad heartburn that I almost got off of my train to throw up!  I’m not sure what the deal with that was.

DSC07080Lunches

I made a big batch of roasted veggies this week, enough to pack for three days of lunches.  Butternut squash and green beans (and broccoli that I burned the crap out of so only 1-3 stalks ended up in each lunch).  I stuck with the winning formula of veggies + a fruit + candy the whole week.

Monday.

DSC06987Veggies with smoked almonds and Sriracha mayo.  Plus tangerines and Chinese candy.

DSC06995DSC06990DSC06992Tuesday.

DSC07004Veggies with pistachios and champagne pear vinaigrette.  Plus mint m&m’s and an Autumn Glory apple (<– they taste like cinnamon!).

DSC07011DSC07006DSC07008Thursday.

DSC07065Veggies with smoked almonds and bbq sauce.  Plus gummies from Dylan’s and another cinnamon-y apple.

DSC07074DSC07066DSC07071On Wednesday, Adam and I went into the city for lunch at Serendipity3.

DSC07046DSC07042The Christmas decorations were out of control, it was gorgeous in there.

We shared a frrrozen hot chocolate that was delightful.

DSC07048I got my favorite sandwich for lunch, the Summer Bries – smoked turkey, sliced apples, melted brie and alfalfa sprouts, served on raisin pumpernickel with Russian dressing.

DSC07049Yum!  I shared about 50% of my sandwich with the husband, but it was ok because I stole some of his curry sauce to drizzle on my salad.

DSC07053Snacks

I don’t have any pictures because I haven’t been bringing my camera to work, but let me just tell you – I’ve been eating so much freaking junk on the train!  Like I said earlier, I am super hungry all afternoon, and I end up buying food the minute I escape the hospital.  It is a bad bad habit.

Strawberry Champagne Polar to make work on NYE feel a little more festive.

DSC07014Actual champagne.  We drank Moet & Chandon on our honeymoon and now it feels extra special.

DSC07085DSC07088Numi Chocolate Pu-erh Tea with honey.

DSC07018Plain Greek yogurt with blackberries and maple syrup.

DSC07083Seltzer and a candy cane.

DSC07038Gummi cola bottles (Adam bought me an array for our anniversary), eaten nightly this week while playing Sonic.  <– best thing ever

DSC07026Dessert hour with Adam at Cafe Dada.

DSC07056We split a diplomat pastry,

DSC07062and both had cafe cortados.

DSC07059They use Blue Bottle Coffee as their espresso and it is divine.

Dinners

I don’t have pictures from Monday and Wednesday and without them I honestly can’t remember what I ate those nights.  I ate a small serving of mac and cheese from Panera on NYE, but I’m sure I had something with it and I can’t remember what!  When I used to blog every day I didn’t realize how much the act of picture-taking helped to cement the meals in my brain.

An easy favorite.  Farro topped with smoked herring, sweet sesame seaweed, Sriracha, and a soft-boiled egg.

DSC07023Black eyed peas for the new year.  In a skillet I randomly tossed together – BEP, green pepper, plum tomato, green onion, turkey bacon, smoked paprika, green Tabasco, and plain Greek yogurt.  On top of jasmine rice.

DSC07094Leftover farro, stir-fried with peas.

DSC07108I know I didn’t give a ton of dinner description, but I starting realizing just how long this post is!

Don’t forget to enter my Eggland’s Best giveaway.

Weekend Wrap-Up; I’ve Been Married For Six Years!

Who else is excited for New Year’s Eve?  We don’t even do anything fun, but I’m looking forward to 2014.  Not that ’13 wasn’t good to me; our move went well and Adam and I both graduated and got good jobs.

And in the final weekend of 2013, I celebrated my 6th/11th year anniversary with Adam, and one of my best friends (from undergrad round I in Miami) came to visit me!

DSC06973She is a teacher in Florida and we do not get to see each other often enough.  We had a blast getting some time together in city this weekend.

When I wasn’t celebrating or giggling, here’s some of what I ate…

breakfast

Our favorite smoothie.  Frozen strawberries and chocolate peppermint soy milk.

DSC06931Whole Foods was having a sale and I was able to grab two final cartons of the soy milk before it disappears for the year.  Normally I’m a stickler for sticking to seasonal treats but this smoothie is so good it’s worth breaking the rules for.

Thai leftovers, cold from the container – aka the best way to eat them.  I added more (cold) rice after I took that picture.

DSC06936By the by, these were leftovers from Thursday night, not the Thai food I’m going to show you for Friday’s dinner.  Apparently I’ve been doing a lot of Thai!

A lazy Sunday breakfast.

DSC06949When Adam got home from his night shift, the three of us took a lovely family walk to the grocery stores for supplies and then we whipped up a great meal.

Eggnog french toast (on gingerbread swirl!) with maple syrup and blackberries.

DSC06955With turkey bacon.

DSC06959And cold brew coffee with a little skim milk and the last of the ‘nog.

DSC06953Cold brew is the best!  I think I finally found a recipe with a ratio that works for me.  {1 and 1/4 cups water and 1/4 cup grounds, soaked overnight then pressed}

lunch

Packed on Friday.

DSC06917TJ’s Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt with a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, quite the tasty combination.

DSC06919Plus a little apple.

DSC06922I’ve been finding the tiniest apples this year.

On a fancy and romantic date with the husband.

DSC06941Ha!  Yes, that is Whole Food’s hot bar.  So not super fancy, but pricy at least.  And I think everything we do is romantic; I legit consider going grocery shopping with my husband a date!  Besides, hot bar is delicious.

DSC06944I got veggies, salad with salmon, and mac and cheese.

On Sunday we all met for lunch at PJ Clarke’s near Lincoln Square.  I *had* to order a Bloody Mary – “Sister Mary Walks Funny: Juice of Tomato, Huy Fong Sriracha, Worcestershire, Sea Salt, Blue Cheese Olives.”

DSC06969Sadly it was all tomato, with barely any spice or vodka, but the blue cheese olives were fantastic.

Adam and I split the fish and chips for lunch.

DSC06970So good!  The meat was almost creamy inside the breading.  And it came with a Shiner Bock remoulade that we both adored.  I want to go back for the lobster roll!

snacks

I was given lots of chocolate to eat my way through.  A honey almond praline chocolate from Adam.

DSC06935And a Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chip dark chocolate bar from my stocking.

DSC06947I loved the idea of this bar in theory, but the chocolate was just too dark to pair with the chips.  Such a shame because I’ve been head over heels for the other Wild Ophelia bars I’ve tried.  I think my flavor preference is shifting towards milk chocolate.

I’ve been trying to make a good Greek yogurt “cookie dough” for ages and now that I have almond flour in my kitchen I think I’m finally getting close.

DSC06965I really dislike chocolate chips though, and always end up eating around them.  I need to try to find some other kind of morsel chocolate.

My fizz idea has been a winner from day 1 though.

DSC06939This was a lemon dulce de leche popsicle in vanilla seltzer with a splash of lavender syrup.

dinner

Mee Thai in Park Slope with my friend and her sister.

DSC06933This restaurant was new to me (all of our favorite spots from when we lived in PS before have closed) but thankfully we all loved our meals.  My Pad See Ew with mock duck was nice and spicy.

Lazy Sunday dinner.

DSC06978We came home from the city soaked with rain and salad and sandwiches were all we could handle.

Romaine with champagne pear vinaigrette, chia seeds, and smoked almonds.

DSC06981Smoked turkey and light Jarlsberg sandwiches with dijon and Sriracha mayo, on gingerbread swirl cooked in a little butter.

DSC06984Nothing too fancy but it did the trick.

I’ll see you next year! {hardy, har, har}

Weekly Wrap-Up; Merry Christmas

I hope all of my Christmas-celebrating readers had a merry week!  We celebrated one day early, but had a lovely Christmas all the same.  Our best one ever, maybe!  Lots of nibbles are missing from this post (candy! Chinese food!), but here are the basics from the week –

Fashion Friday

Short week celebration flair.

DSC06696DSC06701DSC06704Christmas Eve.

DSC06719‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the office…

DSC06908Breakfast and Lunch

An on-theme Luna Bar.

DSC067162% Fage with Honey, an apple, and a leftover ABP chocolate peppermint shortbread.  I also bought a piece of pizza from the cafeteria but I didn’t have my camera with me.

DSC06706DSC06710DSC06714DSC06708Leftover pizza that was in my mouth before it could make it to the plate.  x3

DSC06782The last of the 0% plain Chobani with sliced banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup.

DSC06906An apple, Chinese candy, and a tasty turkey sandwich of Applegate Farms smoked turkey, light Jarlsberg, and dijon on a bagel thin.

DSC06871DSC06867DSC06869DSC06864Snacks Galore

The husband and I shared a Peppermint Dazzler.

DSC06724Also adorably tiny chocolate Santas.

DSC06860This halvah came in my stocking (thanks, mom!).

DSC06784Dinner

Adam worked all day on Christmas but we both had half days on the 24th so we celebrated a day early!  Honestly the best gift of all was getting to spend a weekday afternoon with my husband.

But our new tradition of (homemade) pizza for Christmas Eve dinner was pretty great too!

DSC06749We tried our hand at 2 ingredient pizza dough.

DSC06736Topped with marinara, tons of sautéed mushrooms and green onions, and freshly grated gouda.

DSC06744DSC06755I’m always a fan of sautéed mushrooms (and gouda!) but the dough was out of this world.  I quickly declared this the 2nd best pizza I’ve ever had and the best meal of the month.

With our pizza we drank big glasses of eggnog,

DSC06730DSC06727DSC06732and split a Shiner Cheer.

DSC06757The beer was so peachy good.

Opening presents was a ton of fun.  Our families were too good to us.

DSC06740We’re terrible at waiting so we exchanged anniversary presents (ours is this Saturday) that night as well.  The modern 6th wedding anniversary present is candy – the traditional is iron – so that’s what we gave each other.  Adam’s snack shelf has ruthlessly encroached onto coffee territory.

DSC06771For Webster we spent $20 replacing an old favorite, Pig.

DSC06759New Pig was rated 8/10 on the durability scale.  He lasted less than 3 minutes.

pigThe dog is a monster.

I was home on Christmas, so I spent hours in the kitchen making homemade tomato sauce.  Served on pesto tortelloni from TJ’s.

DSC06893I don’t know quite what went wrong, other than too much onion and crushed red pepper, but I basically made homemade salsa.

DSC06897This was not a success.

Dinner for last night was supposed to be more “pasta sauce,” but I just could not bring myself to eat it again.  Instead we got Thai take-out; Pad See Ew and Cashew Shrimp.

DSC06913DSC06910Much better.

What is your Christmas dinner tradition?