Palm Seed Fun

by Emily

This post is running a little late because I am too – I have the day off! Working last Sunday earned me a long weekend today. It’s actually an extra-long weekend because I’m off Monday as well, I’m going to Ohio tomorrow to visit my grandma. Today, I’m going to have some fun with Adam and Webster.

Highlights from this week…

I didn’t snap any iced coffee photos this week, but I promise it was consumed in substantial quantities. There’s a chance I stayed up far too late watching Road Rules on YouTube one night. <– not worth the exhaustion, that show spent way more time on relationship drama than I had remembered.

Apple oatmeal, with an Asian pear.

My Filipino coworker brought me in some palm seeds and I bought them to good use. Chia pudding with palm seeds and banana.

Yogurt with palm seeds, Luxardo cherries, Cherrios, and an orange.

Another treat from the Philippines, polvoron, or powdered milk candy. They were fantastic, crumbly and milky in such a pleasing way.

More candy, Justin’s peanut butter cups (I’m still obsessed with these) and a milk popping candy. Sparkling water and diet coke are two of my favorite things and when you drink them together – as in at the same time, not in the same cup – they both taste even better.

Other snacks included apples we picked ourselves.

And the best microwave popcorn we’ve ever popped. This tasted almost as good as stove-popped.

We kept dinners super simple this week. Leftover smoked trout casserole, eaten cold out of the pan.

Salmon salad sandwiches – canned salmon with mayo, mustard, and pickle relish – on toasted TJ’s quinoa bread.

My most complicated night involved potato vareniki which cook in about 5 minutes. Tossed with shredded rotisserie chicken / sautéed celery / garlic kale / and a sauce made of cream cheese and chicken stock.

I’m off to go start my day off!

12Sep2016

Apple Picking Outing

by Emily

I had to go into work on Sunday but Adam and I fit a weekend’s worth of fun into Saturday. We drove two hours upstate to Twin Star Orchards for an afternoon of apple picking.

We did a complimentary cider tasting first. And enjoyed a wood-fired pizza – with fancy mushrooms and truffle oil – for lunch.

We came home with fewer than 10 apples (they actually just let us take our bag for free!) because we don’t have any grand baking plans, but had a great time walking around the orchard.

Date night was a new sushi spot in Great Neck. We split seaweed salad and edamame to start.

I got a meh veggie roll and a fantastic spicy crab roll for dinner.

They were out of the mackerel Adam wanted so they gave us free red bean ice cream with our bill.

New candy bar for dessert.

The popping candy didn’t have much get up and go but the milk flavored cream was very pleasing.

New take on an old casserole. I made smoked trout noodle casserole.

I loosely followed Martha’s recipe for the sauce. With whole-wheat rotini pasta, tons of sautéed mushrooms and chopped celery, smoked trout, and dill and smoked paprika. Topped with smoked gouda and crushed sour cream and onion potato chips.

Served with a new (to us) beer, coconut caramel chocolate brown ale. I don’t usually drink ales but this was unique enough to hold my interest, at least for 3/4 of the bottle.

What’s new with you?

5Sep2016

Semi-Vacation

by Emily

Adam has been on vacation for the past two weeks which means that, even though I’ve been at work most of the days, it feels like I’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks. Nice! Husband time is the best and getting to see him immediately before and after work (versus him going in while I’m asleep and coming home after dinner is made) is better than any white sand beach.

I mostly spent the past week making googly eyes at Adam. But also, per usual, we walked and ate a ton when I wasn’t busy at work. Here were the top ten eats for the week/end…

{1} Caramel coffee at home.

{2} Coconut coffee from Konditori.

{3} Brunch at Colonie. Duck hash for two.

With aioli, a poached egg, and the best fried potatoes.

{4} Drinks at Grand Army.

The best round included this Under the Sea – Batavia Arrak agricole rum, navy-strength rum, absinthe, cinnamon, coconut, lime, and blue curacao.

{5} Fruity beers at home.

We recently discovered that we adore New Belgium and their watermelon lime ale did not disappoint.

{6} Key lime pie.

Adam explored the North Fork one day – and loved it – and brought me home some of the best pie.

{7} Mamey ice cream.

I made a sundae with maple peanut butter, granola, and sprinkles.

{8} Ice cream with apple cider caramel. Ample Hills is celebrating Roald Dahl this month.

Enjoyed September 1st to celebrate the first day of Apple Month.

{9} Buffalo chicken quinoa bowls.

I stirred sautéed onion, carrots, and celery into quinoa and topped it with fancy blue cheese and buffalo chicken dip.

{10} Seafood extravaganza at Littleneck. We shared lobster and crab rolls.

The very best dish of the night was this charred broccolini.

With anchovy, lemon, and chili flakes.

{bonus} Dinner at Oiji. I didn’t take a single picture but Adam and I enjoyed one of our favorite meals of all time there. Among other things, we had a transcendent mushroom salad and honey butter chips that blew our minds.

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!

15Aug2016

Working Weekend Wrap-Up

by Emily

No traditional weekend for me, my only day off was Thursday. I’m actually working straight through this Thursday – 7 days in a row – which means next weekend will be a three-day extravaganza! It’s hard to complain about 7 days anyway, my last year at Buff State when I was doing school/internship/part-time job there were a few stretches where I went 30 days plus without a true day off.

The past 4 days in numbers –

glasses of iced coffee – 7
packed lunches – 0
product reviews* – 2
desserts – 10 billion
books read start to finish** – 1

notes: *the products were both sent to me free of charge and neither company gave me additional compensation for this post; **the book was a murder mystery that I actually hated but needed to know the ending to

Here are the highlights…

Key lime cookie from Schmackary’s.

With white chocolate, pistachios, and cream cheese icing. The middle is the best part.

Three new dark chocolate flavors of Nonni’s Almond THINaddictives* – Dark Chocolate Banana Almond, Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, and Double Dark Chocolate Almond. FYI – hit up their Facebook page for a new flavors giveaway.

They are 70-80 calories per pack (2 thins) and crisp but not too crumbly. I though the double chocolate flavor was a bit plain but the cherry and banana had great notes of tart and sweet. This week I paired them with my coffee but I’m also looking forward to crumbling them into yogurts.

That combo is killer, Grady’s is thick and sweet and it makes my heart sing.

Traditional breakfast.

Potatoes, scrambled eggs, and (turkey) bacon. Covered in ketchup because I grew up in St. Thomas and we put ketchup on everything. <– real talk, I didn’t know that ketchup wasn’t an automatic pairing for chicken wings until I went to college; now I mostly use other condiments but scrambled eggs always get ketchup

The cafeteria is pretty grim over the weekend but Friday I did eat this seafood feast.

Fried shrimp, potato wedges, and vinegar-based cole slaw. We had leftover ice cream from our birthday party and I taught my coworkers about Australian iced coffees.

They loved it!

Since I didn’t have my yogurt lunches I got my probiotics in the form of Health-Ade Kombucha*.

Their small-batch (2.5 gallons) fizz is organic, vegan, kosher, and gluten-free. They do their fermenting in glass containers only and the bottles are fantastic and just begging to house a handful of wildflowers. Health-Ade generously sent me a case of Ginger Lemon.

I have to confess here that I actually kind of hate ginger. Nonetheless, I found the kombucha to be very enjoyable. The flavor behind the spice was very “clean” and just sweet enough. I still wouldn’t buy this flavor once I finish my samples but I will damn sure scoop up Pink Lady Apple or California Grape the minute I spot them. P.S. I brought a bottle to a ginger loving friend and she said it was hands down the best kombucha she’s ever tasted.

Date night in Hell’s Kitchen. My NCIS obsession finally paid off for Adam – I took us to Donna Bella Bake Shop because it’s co-owned by Pauley Perrette (aka lab tech Abby). We had a dreamy lemon bar and this delectable brownie with a cookie crust and ganache on top.

We walked past Room Service and decided to do Thai for dinner.

That guava mojito was terrible and weak. But the crispy duck salad wasn’t half bad.

I ordered the Pad Noh Mai for dinner, shrimps, minced chicken, fresh basils, Thai chili, and bamboo shoots with herbs chili paste garlic sauce.

The menu promised spice and it delivered. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant though, Hell’s Kitchen is a bastion of excellent, authentic Thai restaurants and you can do better.

I cooked! A real dinner, a stew, made of vegetables no less. I put the crock pot to work for me, filled to its brim. Onion / garlic / carrot / kale / red bell pepper / white beans / red lentils / diced tomato / veggie broth.

I didn’t bother to season or brown anything so the end result was a little bland, but topped with melted cheese it was hearty and satisfying.

Three down, four to go.

28Jul2016

Birthday Staycation

by Emily

I’m running late posting but my birthday weekend was absolutely worth sharing. My parents were visiting, we spent time with one of my oldest childhood friends which feels very appropriate for a birthday, I had four days off of work (and Adam was free a bit too!), and we spent our days walking and eating.

I love when people visit because showing them around lets you take a vacation in your own town. Alphabetically, some of our stops included – Brookfield Place, Bushwick, Chelsea, Chelsea Piers, Greenwich Village, the Highline, the Mayorville petting zoo, Montauk, the Narrows botanical garden, Park Slope, Smorgasburg, and Williamsburg.

Here were the food highlights…

Terremoto Coffee.

Winter rose latte in a complimentary cup.

Bluestone Lane.

My Australian iced latte – with cocoa powder and ice cream – was deeply enjoyed as the days were hot, hot hot.

Corner of Vermont sells the best maple candies I’ve ever had.

And their maple soft serve is delightful.

Lunch in Montauk.

They are famous for lobster rolls but I went with the seafood chili this visit.

Chickpea & Olive at Smorgasburg.

Pulled BBQ jackfruit with Carolina slaw, bread & butter pickles, fried shallots, and horseradish aioli, on a potato bun. This was my first time trying jackfruit and I’m definitely a fan.

Chuko Ramen.

My parents both loved their chicken miso ramen. I topped mine with drippy egg and tons of chili garlic oil.

Montana Trail House.

I had a drink with hibiscus-infused rum! And another with Aperol and grapefruit.

We shared fried green tomato sliders and switchel glazed carrots.

And I stuck with veggies for my entrée and ordered the broccoli gratin.

Mostly because it came covered in pimento cheese.

Mile End Deli.

We started with the peppers and baba ghanoush. When you’re at ME you have to order poutine.

And I always order a turkey reuben.

I love New York.

22Jul2016

Birthday Week Eats

by Emily

I turn 31 this Sunday so this week is my birthday week. My parents timed their summer visit for this weekend so I’m off of work today and Monday and I’m pretty sure the four-day weekend will be the best gift I’ve ever given myself. I also pulled out this stash of cake flavored stuff I’ve been hoarding all year –

The Airhead wins as my favorite, it has sprinkles in it!

My other eats included…

Coffee.

We’ve had some big changes at work – that squeezed even more work into each day – and on top of them one of my coworkers has been out all week and I’ve been responsible for covering both intensive care units. <– I have needed so much coffee.

I didn’t have time to pack lunch one day and I cobbled together a pretty great reuben-ish wrap sandwich in the cafeteria – sliced turkey, swiss, cole slaw, pickles, and thousand island.

Yogurt lunches reign supreme. Plain Siggi’s with blackberries and coconut butter.

Cake yogurt with KIND maple granola and blackberries.

Have you done Chobani’s “Find Your Flavor Soulmate” flow chart?

What combo does your heart sing for? My answers lead me to sweet and spicy but as much as I love some sweet with my heat spiced yogurt just doesn’t appeal to me. Sweet with sweet is much more my speed. Like this Almond Coco Loco Flip that knocked my socks off with how fantastically creamy it was.

Speaking of sweet… I am still completely obsessed with Justin’s peanut butter cups, in all forms.

And I made the David Lebowitz chocolate chip cookies so my parents could try them, not that there are many left!

Best meal of the week – I made a variation on this recipe with turkey bacon, chopped spinach, and fresh mint. It was still delicious as cold leftovers.

Salad night. Romaine with ranch / turkey bacon / shrimp / carrots / tomato / fresh mint / swiss.

Paired with chips and dip because I’m fancy.

I picked my parents up from the airport last night. JFK is a nightmare so we stayed in Long Island afterwards and grabbed dinner at a little diner near their hotel. I actually got a pretty yummy Greek meal.

Salad with spinach pie.

Have a great weekend!

11Jul2016

A Bunch Of Brunch

by Emily

Chameleon’s Mexican coffee was delightful with a bit of milk. Related – I am in physical pain that I can’t find the Texas pecan near me.

Iced coffee is always good though.

This cup from Colonie was knock-your-socks-off good. There must have been a nitro tap somewhere because it was crazy velvety.

I went for brunch with a girlfriend and we were both blown away by my duck hash. With poached egg, red potatoes, roasted onion puree, and aioli. I’m usually not that excited by potatoes but these were crispy perfection.

Afterwards we went to Grand Army and had {too many!} drinks. We practically tried the whole cocktail menu and everything was fantastic!

Brunch numero dos at Tocolo Cantina. I had the mushroom taquitos – crispy tacos filled with roasted mushroom, corn, and Chihuahua cheese.

This cafeteria lunch wasn’t too bad either. My wrap sandwich had grilled chicken, cheddar, veggies, and cilantro.

Date shake smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, vanilla almond milk, ice, dulce de leche, and fresh dates.

Lavender caramel. I brought these back from my Philly trip and I wish I’d bought more!

These leftovers eggs were better than they look. With chicken hot dog, baby spinach, yellow bell pepper, and gouda cheese.

A 2nd home-cooked dinner in one weekend?

These – only ok – salmon patties came from the freezer, but I did make the tartar sauce. Mayo, mustard, pickle relish, and dill.

And I assembled the salads myself. Romaine, ranch, heirloom baby tomatoes, pistachios, and an amazing blue cheese from Trader Joe’s.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: seafood

Palm Seed Fun

Apple Picking Outing

Semi-Vacation

Three Day Weekend Staycation

Working Weekend Wrap-Up

Birthday Staycation

Birthday Week Eats

A Bunch Of Brunch