A Final Trip To Toronto

by Emily

We are leaving Buffalo in just three short weeks (there is a post on that to come!) and we’ve amassed a long list of “must-do’s” before we leave the area for good. Topping our list was a final day trip to Toronto.

We headed North on Wednesday and ate, and walked, and ate some more! Adam and I both decided that it was our best trip this year.

We started our travels at the St. Lawrence Market.

How had I not heard about this foodie heaven before?! It was a Canadian Reading Market or Faneuil Hall, packed with goodies. Adam got freshly made potato and cheddar pierogi with fried onions and sour cream.

I went with macarons.

They were beyond swoon-worthy. Maple toffee and Crème brûlée .

The texture was perfect, and yet, the utterly amazing macarons were not even the best thing I ate all day.

From the market, we drove to Bloor Street, where we parked and continued on foot. Usually we head to Bloor St. for froyo, but today we had a new destination.

BNC Cake House has been on my to-do list for two long years, ever since I starred this post from Callie in my Google Reader. Her description of Pat Bing Soo, or shaved ice, has basically haunted my dreams – “A bed of shaved ice … topped with red bean paste, assorted fruits, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and condensed milk.”

You guys, it was even better than I was hoping/expecting.

The sweet condensed milk and tangy vanilla frozen yogurt melted down into the shaved ice and melded into something amazing. The best analogy I have for the texture is to liken it to the Dairy Queen frozen hot chocolates I was obsessed with all year.

We ate every single bite.

To finish the day, we walked over to Koreatown for some grown up food at Pho88. Actually, I kept my sugar-buzz going just a bit longer with an egg yolk soda.

I tried this drink for the first time way back in 2009 (that link goes to my old blog! when we were living in Brooklyn) but thanks to Pho88’s menu I finally know what’s in it: club soda, egg yolk, and condensed milk. I adored it, the flavor is lightened-up egg cream.

I ordered grilled chicken and spring roll vermicelli for my meal.

I couldn’t eat much of my chicken since I’m not really a dark meat fan but that was fine, I mostly wanted to use the noodles and veggies as a base for all of the fabulous, spicy sauces sitting on our table.

I may have left food on my plate but Adam’s was practically licked clean.

He got grilled pork chop and rice with fried egg and he described his meal as “perfect.”

Perfect is how I would describe the day! We laughed as we wandered through Koreatown that our very favorite way to vacation is to spend the days walking and eating. Goodbye for now Toronto, I’m sure we will make our way back someday!

Have you ever tried pat bing soo? What is your favorite vacation activity?

30May2013

#6 – Make My Own Gnocchi

by Emily

My 28th birthday is 55 days away! That means I have 55 days left work on my birthday goals list.

As of now I’ve completed 19/27 goals. Unfortunately, it looks as if there is no way on Earth some of the goals will happen. I haven’t worked out in months (mega oops) so I don’t think my running goals – both distance and speed based – are in the cards. But the food based goals? I’ve got those covered.

Like making gnocchi my own gnocchi from scratch.

This goal was delicious to complete! And it was surprisingly easy, too. With less than an hour of hands-on time we pulled pillows of heaven from ~~thin air~~ mashed potatoes.

I followed this recipe from Cooking Light for the gnocchi. But instead of their sauce I tossed my gnocchi in a mix of lemon and brown butter and served them atop a bed of lemon and butter sautéed spinach. The final taste was out of this world.

Will we be making gnocchi from scratch ever again? Adam and I both say “yes!”

Have you ever made gnocchi, or any other kind of pasta, from scratch?

2Apr2013

Buffalo Chicken Mac And Cheese

by Emily

When I made this dish last weekend I was not planning on sharing the recipe, I just really wanted Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese.

But then I took my first bite and fell head-over-heels in love. Several of you requested the recipe on the blog and Instagram, and who am I to say no? This recipe is not, I repeat not healthy. But it is tasty, yummy, cheesy, spicy, decadent, comforting, and delicious.

And it gets even better leftover. Particularly when you steal cold bites from the casserole dish the next morning.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, serves 4

4 oz uncooked miniature shell pasta
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast; cubed
8 oz 1/3-reduced-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup reduced-fat ranch dressing
3/4 cup medium-strength Buffalo sauce
8 oz extra-sharp cheddar, shredded
3 oz blue cheese crumbles
2 green onions, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Prepare a 8×8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Melt butter and oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat . Add chicken cubes to skillet, cover and cook 3-4 minutes on each side.
Remove cooked chicken from pan and reduce heat to medium. Place cream cheese, ranch dressing, and Buffalo sauce in skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until combined. Add all but a handful of the cheddar and stir until melted.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in cooked chicken and pasta.
Pour mixture into baking pan. Top with blue cheese, remaining cheddar, and green onions.
Bake 30 minutes.

What’s your favorite comfort food? Mine clearly all involve cheese!

31Mar2013

Easter Brunch

by Emily

I hope everyone had a hoppy Easter! Our day was quite nice; tasty food, nice weather, and tons of tv.

Adam’s parents sent us $ in lieu of an Easter basket so I got to go to brunch with my handsome husband.

He took me to Left Bank, a spot he’s been to with friends (working weekends means I usually have to skip brunch, boo!) and was dying to share.

The space was gorgeous and the menu had lots of offer. Plus, they brought yummy lemon poppy-seed bread.

Adam ordered a mimosa while I went with an extra-spicy bloody mary,

but we were on the same page when it came to food.

We both ordered the Seafood Benedict,

crab cakes topped with poached eggs and [citrus] hollandaise. <– I asked for regular hollandaise, served on the side please!

The dish came with sides of fruit and hash browns and was quite good.

I saved one of my crab cakes for Adam but devoured my eggs.

Meals where you soak up yolks are my very favorite!

The rest of our day was gloriously low-key. We knew we were going to hunker down on the couch, so we made sure to take the dog on a quick walk first. I got an iced, non-fat, caramel macchiato on the way home.

Why yes, I did ask for extra caramel – it was Easter dammit and no one bought me any candy!

Minus a few hours spent on a take-home exam, we spent the rest of the day screaming at the characters on “Battlestar Galactica.” My food totally fit the tv marathon vibe… Chips.

Leftover buffalo chicken mac and cheese. (recipe’s coming this week, promise!)

And no-bake brownie batter. (recipe’s coming as soon as I work out the kinks!)

Readers who grew up with the whole bunny thing; do you still get an Easter basket?

23Mar2013

South Carolina

by Emily

After a long day of travel, we are in Charleston! Our spring break matched up with my parents’ so we met up for a few days of fun. I’ve never been to Charleston before and I am very excited to explore.

Our flight wasn’t until 4 pm so we had a nice easy morning to pack and say goodbye to the dog. I made a sweet bowl for breakfast.

0% plain Greek yogurt, 1% large curd cottage cheese, sliced plum, fresh blackberries, and maple syrup.

We were a bit rushed in the afternoon (you know I waited until the last second to get ready!) so I saved lunch for the airport. Cherry tomatoes and baby carrots dipped in Greek yogurt asiago artichoke dip.

Plus cheese popchips shared with the husband.

And the last serving of quinoa dark chocolate for dessert.

Our flights were stupid (I hate Delta) and we ended up with a lengthy layover in Atlanta. We took advantage of the time and took a nice looooong walk. The movement was great, but then unfortunately I cut it too close to buy food-food.

Cheetos and a peanut butter strawberry KIND bar (and free pretzels), dinner of champions.

And now we’re here. Wheee!

21Mar2013

Eggstra Special

by Emily

This is an extra-special post – it’s the first one I’ve managed to get up all week!

I had a giant presentation to give on Tuesday, an important quiz on Wednesday, and on Monday the dog had another series of 2 am seizures. Yay. <– sarcasm

Since the start of this rotation all of my classmates have reported getting to bed by/before 10pm but I’ve stubbornly, stupidly stayed up until at least 12. I’d been doing ok, but my weeks of lost sleep and this week’s trifecta of late nights hit me hard on Wednesday. I wandered around in a daze all day yesterday and then hurried home and got into bed at the record-breaking hour of: 7pm! I got up for an hour or so around 9pm, but went back to bed for an amazing 10 hours total!!!

I felt much better today. So of course I’m staying up late. What can I say, I’m an idiot.

After that long introduction, let’s do this quickly… Coffee at the hospital.

Dark roast with french vanilla creamer. The sweetened creamer is not a habit I want to get into, but while I’m somewhere without milk it is fun.

I had cafeteria pizza for lunch, but I didn’t think about taking a picture until after my plate was bare. Whoops.

Plus candy.

And when I got home I had this bowl of goodness.

A serving of Liz Lemon Froyo, a Dannon Oikos Toasted Coconut Vanilla Greek Yogurt, sliced mango, and fresh blackberries.

It was yumtastic.

For this evening’s fun, we dyed Easter eggs.

Except that it wasn’t fun at all.

Because my “hard-boiled” eggs were raw. And we were all hungry.

But they were pretty, and Adam salvaged a few by breaking the partially cooked eggs into a skillet and making us dinner.

We had fried eggs,

with white toast with Earth Balance.

And big salads – baby spinach, pink salt, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and homemade maple vinaigrette (1 tsp sweet hot mustard, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, 2 Tbsp rice vinegar; shaken and split into two portions).

With quinoa dark chocolate for dessert.

Goodnight, Webster!

18Mar2013

I Forgot A Title Again!

by Emily

It is problematically late, but tomorrow’s exhaustion will definitely be worth it. I spent the first half of the day cuddling in bed with husband. Literally, the first half. It was fabulous. Then we went to lunch and ran a few errands, and I spent the remainder of my day working on a giant project for my internship. I am 100% finished with it, wahoo!

Brunch from Pano’s.

Chicken slavaki wrap,

with french fries.

I ate half of each. I’d been craving french fries like crazy but the sandwich wasn’t as exciting. Not bad, but I’m just not that into chicken; the feta made it.

Iced coffee with Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and sugar.

The coffee was salted caramel flavored from Wegmans and it was yummy. I have a little bit of my cup left and I’m looking forward to it for breakfast.

A giant bowl of Lays’ Chicken and Waffle Chips.

This finalist flavor was pretty good; the flavor was definitely “chicken.” Embarrassing sidenote – I was talking with Adam about the dog and I heard “I usually just shake my bag of chips at him,” come out of my mouth. The juxtaposition of usually with my bag of chips may have been my come-to-Jesus moment about how fat I’m getting.

At least nibbling does help me focus on work; I am 80% more productive with food next to my laptop. Final snack plate.

Honeycrisp apple,

with ~1/2 serving of Alter Ego Quinoa Dark Chocolate.

The chocolate was fun. I’m excited to have Adam try some because he adores quinoa.

Dinner was a bit of a failure. I sautéed frozen carrots and Wegman’s Japanese Stir Fry mix with a packet of Naysoya Shirataki Fettuccine in canola oil, then tossed in a serving of my peanut sauce and let it get nice and crispy.

Sauce was great. Veggies were great. “Noodles” were slimy and terrible. I ate ~half then gave a bite to Adam who promptly spit his chewed-up mouthful back in my bowl.

It ~~was bedtime two hours ago~~ is time for bed!

27Feb2013

Coconut Chocolate Lavender

by Emily

Howdy! I have not been following my sleep schedule – – at all – – but I can say that today was quite productive. Every item on my list is now to-done!

The dog has been getting in and out of bed all night long recently and between that and my usually fitful sleep, mornings have felt very difficult this week. I barely had time to make it to work today so I had to take breakfast with me on the walk. This Wegman’s Bean and Cheese Burrito was good but not great.

Something about the flavor and texture made me long for a beverage, and I ended up exploding pinto beans all down the front of my winter coat.

I ate a Honeycrisp apple mid-morning.

Then I spent the rest of my day holed up in the basement like a retail hermit. We got in tons of tons of shipments on Monday and I opened and priced 99% of them today.

I never did have time for lunch at work (I kept my packed food in the fridge for an easy lunch tomorrow!) and I ended up doing double dinners. First was Wegman’s hot bar on a mini-date with the husband.

Wok-seared veggies,

and chicken dumplings and chicken salad.

Adam and I are obsessed with the dumplings’ dipping sauce and the combination of the sauce stirred into my chicken salad was the bomb.com. <– legit, it tasted so good that was the first expression that popped into my head!

I also ate a big bag of Easter candies from the bulk bins and gave myself a stomach-ache.

A little pain was worth it, the sugar rush totally helped me through the remainder of my internship journaling. Minus breaks for making food and eating food, I chugged away for the remainder of the evening.

Our home dinner was vegetable fried rice.

In the wok (for 2) –

1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
~1 heaping cup peas
~1 heaping cup roasted broccoli
~1.5 cups leftover brown rice
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp Sriracha
3 large eggs

The dish had the potential to be great, but it was way too salty. It’s been awhile since I’ve used fish sauce and I forgot what a sodium-punch it packs. I ate a little less than 2/3 of my plate.

Dessert was a giant, delicious cookie.

Coconut Chocolate Lavender Cookies = this recipe for single serve cookies plus 1 tsp minced culinary lavender and chopped Sweetriot 70% dark kickin’ coconut chocolate subbed in for chocolate chips.

We were both big fans of the big cookies and big taste.

The winner of my Hey Shuga! giveaway is:

(#1) Jenny, shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: sauce

A Final Trip To Toronto

#6 – Make My Own Gnocchi

Buffalo Chicken Mac And Cheese

Easter Brunch

South Carolina

Eggstra Special

I Forgot A Title Again!

Coconut Chocolate Lavender