Week Long Wrap-Up; But I Am Le Tired

by Emily

In spite of actually getting enough sleep for the first time in ever, I was astonishingly tired this week. Like too tired to play on my phone when I got in bed at night, which is huge for me. Probably related to the astonishing amount of junk I ate this week, most of which I didn’t have the energy to photograph. Or perhaps just living like a grown-up finally sinking in. Nonetheless, when I thought about writing a “Weekly Wrap-Up” post on Thursday, I crawled into bed instead. FYI – I did select the book winners and they’ve already been contacted.

le work eats

Some breakfasts and lunches shown here. I did not do a great job of packing this week. We had two free lunches in a row, but unfortunately neither offered a ton that I could/would eat. And I tried to buy lunch in the cafeteria one day and it did not go well at all. There were several days where I was cranky all afternoon and then snacking like crazy the minute I could get my hands on food. Like the day I ate an entire bag of fruit gummis on the train…

Leftover chana masala with tangerines.

Lunch from our holiday party. Salad, shrimp, and rigatoni. With a side of present in our great gift exchange. I didn’t snap any pictures, but my boss brought in Baked by Melissa for dessert and that was fun.

Jalopeño-cheddar cream cheese bagel with fresh pineapple.

My coffee of choice this week was an iced Americano with extra espresso, skim milk, and four sugars.

Yogurt, mango, and peppermint divinity that knocked my socks off.

le work outfits

le dinners

I didn’t have it in me to cook and we ate too many meals out this week. It would have been fine for the fun, except of course they were largely terrible. Thankfully my desire to get in the kitchen seems to be renewed by my week of bad restaurant meals. <– I say as I eat cheese and crackers and a beer for dinner

We went to a Cuban place in Park Slope as a belated birthday dinner for Adam.

I got a painkiller to drink, which wasn’t half bad.

But I misread the menu and ordered a chile relleno that was stuffed with calamari. I don’t eat calamari. The waiter was out-of-control terrible so we were not surprised when he didn’t comment on my plate going back to the kitchen mostly untouched (not that this mistake was their fault!).

We made a dessert effort with flan and tres leches, aka flan and a kitchen sponge soaked in scm. Yuck!

At least we enjoyed our company immensely! And the walk back to the car was gorgeous and we picked me up a jaloepeño cheddar bagel that was delicious.

We tried again another night with a Groupon I bought for a Mexican spot in Roslyn.

We shared a truffle mushroom quesadilla that was perfect.

And my 2nd go at chile relleno was much better, if still not great.

Another night we stayed home but got Chipotle.

I was irritated with the amount of guacamole she glopped on at first, but once I realized it was in fact $2 and not free I was glad that they didn’t skimp.

I’d been having a love affair with their chicken but somehow this rice bowl just didn’t knock my socks off.

The best thing we ate all week was the night we stayed home.

Leftover chana with onion relish and a big scoop of plain Greek yogurt.

le snacks

A cookie to stay on theme while we watched “Frosty.”

A lemonade milkshake.

I used way too much lemon juice to vanilla ice cream and this was actually inedible, but it was fun in theory and an idea I plan on trying again in different proportions.

A Buffalo chicken quesadilla (former freebie) from Red’s.

White chocolate peppermint frozen yogurt with cheesecake chips and snowcaps.

We also tried the Scotchy Scotch Scotch (on top of chocolate peanut butter swirl) from Ben and Jerry’s. I took a few bites and Adam swooned over the rest. This flavor is definitely for butterscotch lovers.

This Cider Boys Magic Apple, apple strawberry hard cider, was outstanding. I want to try the cinnamon flavor like crazy.

le weekend in the city

Yesterday we headed over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

I can not even tell you how gorgeous the city was this weekend; I squealed with delight every time we rounded a corner. Also it was 65 degrees and I was in sandals!

We were in Manhattan because Au Bon Pain invited me in to try some of their new holiday menu.

Note – Au Bon Pain provided me coupons with which I could try the new menu free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

Here are the current ABP special menu additions –

Chicken, Mushroom and Swiss Sandwich– all natural chicken, spinach, Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and tomato spread on a sprouted grain roll

Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake – holiday mini bundt coffee cake filled with cinnamon spice and topped with walnuts

Egg White and Mushroom Frittata Breakfast Sandwich – egg whites, sautéed mushrooms, spinach and cheddar on a sprouted grain roll

Gingerbread Cookie – A hand decorated cookie rich with molasses

Greek Vanilla Yogurt and Triple Berry Parfait

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread – chocolate dipped shortbread sprinkled with peppermint topping

Pumpernickel Bagel – bold and distinctive flavor from rye flour and molasses

Thai Coconut Shrimp (gluten free) – a blend of petite shrimp, red peppers, carrots, bamboo shoots and lemongrass in a coconut and curry broth with a touch of spice

Adam and I shared so we could try three things.

The Chicken, Mushroom, and Swiss Sandwich.

They were out of the rolls so ours was served on cibatta bread. I thought this was good, but I’m not one to get too excited about a chicken sandwich. Adam loved it. He ate part of my half and even considered getting a second one.

The Thai Coconut Shrimp soup.

This one I liked more than the husband. The flavor was full of lemongrass and not too spicy. Very filling for only 170 calories in a medium bowl.

The Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread.

We both loved dessert. The shortbread was so thick that it was the main flavor instead of chocolate or peppermint, but thankfully it was quite a tasty shortbread. Each cookie has 390 calories which I didn’t think was too bad considering how big they are.

It was dark after we finished eating and the lights were even better on the walk home.

I ❤ New York

P.S. Bonus points if you know what the title alludes to!

6Dec2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; I Survived!

by Emily

I survived my first week of full-time work! Well, almost; I’ve still got to get through today. And I am very excited to hit the couch as soon as I get home. TV, how I’ve missed you! {Random Note – “Mom” on CBS? So flipping good. I laugh out loud over and over again. Also “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” randomly got really good too. It seemed like a train wreck at first but they’ve pulled it together; it’s another llol situation.}

I do plan on sharing a bit more about work as time goes on. And I’ll definitely post a picture of my office (I have an office!) once I get it all set-up. I have some work outfits at the start of this post though, and I’ll try to keep that going.

Last week’s eats were fairly boring, but I’m proud of how (relatively) healthy I managed to keep things. And I even captured 95% of what went in my mouth on film. What you don’t see is the snacking I did before dinner every night while I packed my lunch. Also there was coffee. So, so much coffee.

fashion friday

New navy, polka dot top from the Loft.

I didn’t realize how similar day 2’s look was to day 1.

My mom got me this mint cardigan on her trip to Amsterdam.

I wish my pictures were clearer so you could see details like this fun neckline.

And Friday’s look will get looped to next week.

breakfast

As of now I’m eating on my train ride so things have to be portable. Sticky Bun Larabar Uber.

Still not my favorite flavor, but I liked it better than the first time I tried it.

Pecan Pie Clif Bar.

Such a fun seasonal flavor. I really hated the gingerbread and spiced pumpkin ones, but this was delicious.

Super smoothie.

Frozen strawberries with plain Greek yogurt and chocolate peppermint soy milk. Adam and I love this blend.

lunch

Lots of repetition here but I changed up little details to keep things interesting. Turkey sandwich round 1.

A Sandwich Thin with Applegate Smoked Turkey, Crofter’s Grape, and a TJ’s goat cheese medallion.

With a cameo apple.

And a baggie of Angie’s Iced Gingerbread Kettle Corn.

The husband and I both love this popcorn; not too sweet or spicy. It’s not on their website but I found my bag at Target.

Butternut squash round 1.

Roasted butternut squash with chopped spinach and craisins with WF’s Korean BBQ Sauce on top.

On the side,

another cameo apple and a baggie of Salty Pepper Somersaults.

Turkey sandwich round 2. This time with a slice of light havarti, banana peppers, and a bit of Miracle Whip.

Plus a pair of tangerines.

And Twix Gingerbread.

This meal was the week’s winning lunch.

Butternut squash round 2.

With TJ’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette in place of bbq sauce.

And a side of tasty mango.

The flavors here were good but this meal was a little too mushy overall.

dinner

These are all single girl dinners; I was on my own every night this week. Adam had a week straight of night shifts and with my new schedule we literally saw each other for less than 30 minutes a day. I miss him!

Soup night.

My box of pumpkin soup from TJ’s was terrible.

It was weirdly sweet and I ended up throwing out the majority of my bowl. My side made up for it though.

The last of the tortilla chips with fancy cheese microwaved on top.

Sandwich night.

My sandwich was a little burnt, but oh-so-good. I mashed together a can of Smoked Trout with Miracle Whip and smoked paprika and then put it between two pieces of gingerbread swirl bread with a slice of light havarti and cooked the whole thing in a pan with a little butter.

With a giant pile of kale chips on the side.

The smokey-sweet combo on my sandwich was amazing.

Egg night.

Two eggs scrambled with evoo, frozen roasted corn, chopped jalopeño, sugar, and Sriracha.

Another kale pile.

With popcorn.

For the whole grains, of course.

Fun night. Yesterday I met up with a friend who works in Park Slope for dinner. I had some time to kill before she got off so I walked a ton (my feet are still killing me!) and got the best cup of frozen yogurt.

Eggnog and praline yogurts with pralines, toffee, and malt balls. Fan-freaking-tastic!

Then we went to Song for Thai food.

My “Spicy Noodles” weren’t spicy at all, but they were nice and chewy and I came home with leftovers for lunch. It was great to see a friend on a “school night.”

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my coffee giveaway. You’ve got until 2 pm Saturday to comment.

2Dec2013

Weekend Wrap-Up; Hello, December!

by Emily

This weekend I…

…Walked around Manhattan with my family to check out the window displays.

This was such a great way to ring in the season, even if the tree wasn’t lit yet. It was the perfect way to spend my parents’ last day. My mom snagged me a milk and white truffle from the Lindt store.

And I came home with a really exciting candy assortment from a place in Chinatown.

I am really looking forward to trying the new varieties.

…Ate lunch at Carnegie Deli.

The bites I took of my dad’s matzoh ball soup were great.

We all shared strawberry blintzes.

And I drank the best chocolate egg cream of my life.

Though the very best bites were those my cousin shared with me of matzoh brei. I don’t know how they make theirs so chewy.

…Shared some exciting drinks with the husband while we explored the city. A Belvoir Fruit Farms Elderflower and Rose Lemonade.

It was very tasty, and how gorgeous is the packaging? We also shared a black sugar bubble tea.

Yum!

…Discovered Cafe Dada, a new coffee-house in Park Slope.

I had a cafe au lait which was delicious,

but the espresso in Adam’s cortado was hands-down the best I’ve ever had.

It was so velvety! And the pistachio mousse we shared was great too.

It was a blend of pistachio and raspberries and the flavors went great together.

…Met up with friends from Buffalo. They were visiting family for the holiday and we all met up to share a meal. We took them to our two favorite places – Freeman’s Restaurant {the smoked trout plate}.

sugar, Sweet, sunshine {more pistachio}.

Such fun. We love it when they come into town.

Tried the Eggnog Jubilee from Jamba Juice.

It tasted exactly like I wanted it to – eggnog and nutmeg blended with ice – but I still didn’t need enough of the flavor to drink the whole thing. I’m glad I tried it though.

…Ate lots and lots of cheese. We were shopping in Trader Joe’s one evening when the idea for nachos struck and our eyes lit up. We got Wisconsin Sharp and New York Extra Extra Sharp Cheddars so we could do a blend.

Adam put pastrami on his (leftover from Carnegie) but my chicken ended up being moldy so I got my protein in the form of extra cheese. Plus candied jalopenos.

Swoon! We kept it going with grilled cheese for lunch the next day.

On thick slices of cibatta.

With apple slices on the side.

I probably should have tried to get some veggies in there too.

…Finally got some veggies in with a homemade dinner.

We topped this cous cous with roasted butternut squash, craisins, smoked almonds, champagne pear vinaigrette, and a sunny side up egg.

Runny yolk is the best sauce.

…Decorated for Christmas.

We’re ready for December!

22Nov2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; My First Cold Of The Season

by Emily

Have you stayed healthy so far this flu season? I’m finally on an upswing, but I spent the past week with a bad cold. Achoo!

The husband gets (2) 2-week periods off this year and his first started last Friday evening. We took advantage of the break and drove over to visit my sister-in-law’s family in Pennsylvania. I spent our entire visit with the dog and/or my niece on my lap so I don’t have a single picture from Saturday.

On Friday, I had a large, late lunch at Whole Foods before we got in the car.

A hot bar assortment.

Clockwise from top left – green beans, gnocchi, broccoli, mac and cheese, big noodles, and Cesar salad.

For dessert, I surprised Adam with a bag of limited edition chocolate dipped wavy Lays.

I had read negative reviews about them online, but we both loved them. They had the perfect ratio of salty and sweet; the chocolate was only on one side of most chips so it wasn’t too overwhelming. The bag said it contained five servings, but we didn’t find that to be true 😉

My youngest niece had the sniffles all weekend and I came back with them too. Here’s what I ate before I realized just how sick I was – A Siggi’s 2% Pumpkin Spice Yogurt.

This flavor was great, definitely the best pumpkin yogurt I’ve tried so far. Sometimes Siggi’s can be a bit sour/chalky but this flavor was nice and creamy.

A new kind of tofu.

We quartered our block of Soy Boy Caribbean pre-seasoned tofu and gave it a quick sear.

A comforting dinner.

We shared a can of Bar Harbor Lobster Chowder.

With a (giant) side of beer bread.

Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread(!!).

So good. That bread was my best idea yet, but I made it in a daze and now I can’t remember the proportion of ingredients.

When I woke up on Monday I realized I had more than the sniffles, I was sick, sick, sick. This is where I tell you that I have not eaten a single fruit or vegetable since last Sunday. In fact, Adam went out-of-town for a few days mid-week when I was at my sickest and I ended up eating cheese and crackers for five meals straight! These TJ raisin and rosemary crisps were featured heavily.

Very tasty, but I don’t think I’ll be eating cheese and crackers again soon.

Here are the things I ate last week that weren’t cheese, or at least weren’t 100% cheese (though I’m now realizing that I did stick exclusively with sandwiches and cookies) – A killer sandwich.

A leftover slice of tofu with smoked Gouda and grape Crofters.

An even better sandwich.

Applegate Farms honey maple turkey with cream cheese, smoked Gouda, grape Crofters, and banana peppers.

A take-out sandwich.

Turkey burger with mozzarella. I ate too many fries.

A mug cookie, jazzed up SCM and salted caramel sauce.

It looks giant and fluffy like that because I double the recommended baking soda.

On the store-bought front, my mother-in-law sent us a cookie jar of Cheryl’s.

Thanks, Barb!

Finally, I received two samples this week that were perfect for trying when I was under the weather.

Please note – I received the following products free of charge. Neither company provided me with further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Numi Organic Tea sent me some Pu·erh Variety mini samplers.

That includes Chocolate Pu·erh, Emperor’s Pu·erh, Jasmine Pu·erh, Basil Mint Pu·erh, Cardamom Pu·erh, and Ginger Pu·erh.

So far I’ve tried the Emperor’s and Jasmine varieties and was a big fan. I’m looking forward to the others a lot, though I will probably give the Ginger to Adam because that’s not my favorite flavor. Chocolate didn’t appeal to me with my cold, but look at the yummy description – “With a rich velvety, chocolate aroma, Numi’s Chocolate Pu-erh is an enticing blend of deep, dark pu-erh and organic cocoa nibs. Whole vanilla beans and sweet accents of orange peel enhance this blend along with nutmeg and cinnamon rounding off a spicy finish.”

I also received a bottle of powdered wheat grass from Pines.

I used to love the wheat grass shots at Jamba so I used them as inspiration and combined 1 tsp of wheat grass powder with 3 oz each orange juice and unsweet vanilla almond milk.

So delicious! Though next time I might shift the ratio a bit in favor of the oj; Jamba used a vanilla soy milk that brought more sweetness to the table than my almond milk. If you are unfamiliar with the flavor of wheat grass and want to try it you definitely can’t go wrong with the vanilla and orange pairing.

How many times a year do you usually get sick? Have you caught a cold yet this winter?

1Nov2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; All Hallow’s Eve

by Emily

Did you do anything exciting this Halloween? We definitely did not! I didn’t carve a pumpkin (Adam did a very nice one though), I didn’t pass out candy, I didn’t wear a costume… I didn’t even manage to wear orange and black. In theory Halloween is one of my favorite holidays {I live for all things themed} but I always get lazy with execution. At least I had my month of pumpkin brews. And we certainly ate enough candy!

breakfast things

Breakfast at the ‘Bucks. <– please don’t call it that

Coffee for rent; a blonde roast with 3 sugars and lots of skim milk. I have a very hard time drinking hot coffee unsweetened, it tastes much more bitter/sour than iced to me.

Honeycrisp.

Coconut Macaroon, a NEW flavor of LÄRABAR über that I found. The uber line makes my favorite Larabars and I thought that this flavor was spot on.

Plus I had another “coffee” after I left.

I didn’t think this Harney and Sons Organic Coffee Tea actually tasted much like coffee, but the tea flavor was very nice. I like my (bottled) teas just a bit sweet, with honey or cane sugar instead of an artificial sweetener.

Another morning I tasted the other new flavor.

The Sticky Bun flavor was fine, nice even, but the taste was total pecans, not a hint of cinnamon to it. I bought both flavors in duplicate when I spotted them though so expect to see this again.

On a similar note – I also didn’t think that this Brown Cow Cream Top Coffee Yogurt tasted enough like coffee.

But it was still nice topped with honey and roasted peanuts. I just haven’t found a coffee flavored yogurt that can match the Dannon from my childhood.

lunch and dinner things

A home version of a Moe’s bowl.

I ate chips and salsa while I cooked to stay on theme.

The chips were Garden of Eatin’ with Chia Seed.

They aren’t listed on the website(?) but they are worth checking out if you spot them at your store.

Our homemade bowls were just as delicious as the original. We used a base of TJ’s organic jasmine rice (<– microwavable!).

Topped with taco turkey: 98% lean ground turkey cooked with diced green pepper, chicken broth, and Ortega Taco Seasoning.

Spinach: I stacked the leaves and then sliced. We loved it served this way!

Caramelized onions: I always cook them this way now.

Cheese: TJ’s 2% Mexican 4 Cheese Blend.

And cream: a dollop of low-fat sour cream.

All stirred together it was quite good, but this meal could have used some hot sauce.

More chia chips, this time as nachos for lunch.

Chips with the cheddar/gouda blend melted on top in the oven.

Plus a Sweet Tango on the side for juice.

I made Adam loaded nachos with our taco turkey leftovers and he was crazy for them.

Whole Foods hot bar.

Kale salad, Cesar salad, roasted butternut squash, and macaroni and cheese.

The squash and Cesar bites were my favorite.

pumpkin(g) things

I bought this “Halloween shapes” macaroni to serve on Thursday because we are pretty much five years old.

I think I ended up making a pretty grown-up meal out of it.

Salad on the bottom. Baby spinach with gorgonzola dressed with a sprinkle of pink salt and 1 tsp each honey and evoo.

Topped with pasta. Mac and cheese with edamame, browned mushrooms, and a can of Bella smoked sardines in lemon olive oil.

I am still shocked that my palate has matured enough for sardines.

Dunkin Donuts pumpkin white chocolate iced coffee with skim milk.

Just pretend that sleeve is orange!

Harpoon Pumpkin UFO.

This was my favorite pumpkin beer of the season but I still shared a lot of it with the husband.

ACE Pumpkin Hard Cider.

This was definitely just apple cider with pumpkin spice (we were expecting a much squashier flavor) but it was very good. My favorite pumpkin alcohol by far this year. <– I actually finished my whole serving instead of passing it to the husband.

P.S. Stay tuned for a quick post tomorrow morning, featuring… Webster in his Halloween costume!

11Oct2013

Do You Remember When People Used To Blog 3x A Day?

by Emily

Do you remember when people used to blog three times a day? Yeah … I can’t even handle once a week! I don’t have a wrap-up, but I did manage to get 2 – 3 items from each category, and the stuff I do have to share was all awesome. Here we go –

breakfast

1. Pumpkin pie (crisp?) in a bowl.

I topped some TJ’s low-fat pumpkin Greek yogurt (3/4 of the container or so; the serving seems oddly large to me) with some of my Simply Sweet Granola and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I made my oats a little too toasty, but I was very pleased with the yogurt.

2. Pumpkin Pie Through A Straw.

That’s right, I cracked open my first can of pumpkin!

I’ve made this smoothie for years and it is a total winner. The husband is usually not as into the pumpkin thing as I am and he likes this even more than I do.

3. Sundae on a Wednesday.

This was the most dessert-y of the “dessert” breakfasts but it was still pretty healthy.

Wallaby low-fat maple yogurt topped with Crispy Green bananas (former freebie), and melted Biscoff Spread.

snacks

1. Cinnamon Crunch Somersaults and a caramel macchiato.

I made so many updates to my coffee (a little more of this, a little less of that) that it was basically a big cup of espresso and caramel, aka perfection.

The crunchy portion of this snack was brought to you by this generous package I received from Somersaults:

I received this package free of charge. I was not provided with further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

They recently had their top flavors certified as GMO-free and expanded their retailer list to include Target and Costco and they’re trying to spread the word about their good news. Fun snack facts – a serving of Somersaults has as much protein as a serving of almonds (with half of the fat) and they are a good source of fiber and vitamin E. Also they are Adam’s very favorite snack!

I thought that the Cinnamon Crunch (a new flavor this year) was great; a good blend of sweet and seedy.

2. Cinnamon Pumpkin Beer Bread.

Just Beer Bread made with a pumpkin beer and a layer of cinnamon sugar (we used cinnamon maple sugar) on top.

Quite good with schmear of butter.

3. An actual sundae.

Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla Honey Caramel Greek Frozen Yogurt with melted Biscoff Spread; I was all about the Biscoff this week.

I bought the frozen yogurt by chance (I needed vanilla frozen yogurt for my pumpkin smoothie and this was all I could find at the store near my house) and ended up adoring it. The flavor was so complex!

lunch

1. Sandwich success.

I’ve been planning this sandwich combo for weeks, ever since a serendipitous trip to Trader Joe’s.

A whole wheat Bagel Thin topped with Applegate Farms roasted turkey, TJ’s pumpkin butter, and a TJ’s mini brie bite.

The brie and pumpkin butter mash-up was just as good as I thought it would be.

Roasted green beans on the side,

and TJ’s Hawaiian Style BBQ Potato Chips.

This was a fun lunch to munch through.

2. A trip to Chobani Bar in SoHo.

A girlfriend and I took the train into the city from Queens. We snacked on Somersaults on the way in.

She had never tasted them before but was an instant fan.

A quick walk down Prince Street and we were at Chobani.

The space was very pretty, but strangely they had no seating. We ended up finding a nice spot on a sunny stoop.

I ordered a half-size of toasted coconut and pineapple. Plain yogurt topped with pineapple, toasted coconut, and Turkish hazelnuts. It comes with light agave nectar but I asked that they leave it off.

I was very impressed with my bowl; the pineapple was so sweet! My friend got the same thing and I did and she liked it too. We both agreed that we probably wouldn’t go back but that we were glad we went.

dinner

1. Mac and cheese, please.

This combo of ingredients made for one heck of a dinner –

While my mushrooms were browning…

I ate ~~some of~~ the rest of the bbq chips,

and opened a Pumking.

I agree with what I’ve read online, this year’s batch wasn’t the best. I really enjoyed it the first few minutes but after that I grew tired of the flavor. In fact, most of the bottle ended up in my cinnamon pumpkin beer bread. At least my dinner was good.

Salads on the side. A romaine blend dressed with a sprinkle of salt and 1 tsp each honey and olive oil.

My salad was technically on the bottom, not the side. I topped my greens with mac (Annie’s Shells and White Cheddar, with spinach, mushrooms, and Bela smoked sardines) and then topped my whole bowl with crumbled goat cheese.

2. Taco night.

I recently received a package from Ortega to help me celebrate National Taco Day:

I received this package free of charge. I was not provided with further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

They sent along some recipes on which they collaborated with Chef Aarón Sánchez, including this vegetarian one –

I really liked the sound of it, but you know I had to put my own spin on the recipe.

Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos, serves 3

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
medium sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, diced
2 jalapeño peppers, diced
15.5 oz can low-sodium black beans (don’t drain!)
1 packet Ortega 40% less sodium taco seasoning mix
9 Ortega yellow corn taco shells
4 oz raw baby spinach
3 oz crumbled feta cheese

Heat evoo in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, 5 – 7 minutes.
Add garlic and jalapeños and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in beans (liquid and all) and taco seasoning mix and cook an additional 10 minutes. Mash up some of the beans with the side of your spatula while you stir.
Heat taco shells according to package instructions.
Stuff the bottom of each taco with spinach. Spread the bean mixture evenly among the tacos on top of spinach. Top tacos evenly with feta cheese.

We loved them! The beans were delicious, if I do say so myself. And the taco shells were wonderful; they seemed to hold together much better than ones I’ve used in the past.

life

1. The house.

Three full months of living here later, we finally bought shelving for the living room.

There’s not a lot on them right now (I managed to find spaces for all of our books in the office in the interim) but it’s nice to have one less blank wall.

2. The man.

I didn’t talk about it on the blog, but a month or so ago Webster had a cluster seizure. It was very scary, and more importantly, it meant that we had to start medically treating his epilepsy. He’s been on medication for more than a month now and he has been seizure-free the entire time (yay!).

Feeling better has given him time to focus on his other interests, like sitting with his butt up in the air like a total weirdo.

What’s going on in your life? Tell me something good from the last week?

5Oct2013

Last Week’s Highlights

by Emily

I didn’t have enough to share to call this a “wrap-up,” but I did want to blog a few of my favorites that managed to make it in front of the camera. I have some stuff happening in my personal life right now (some good, mostly bad) that I don’t want to share on the blog and I appreciate your patience with my limited posting.

leftovers for lunch

I made the most of restaurant leftovers with this compilation meal. The last of some Pad See Eiw with tofu,

a slice of focaccia from our Italian meal (it was still soft!!),

and from home a Pink Crisp apple with crunchy Barney Butter.

Lacking in veggies but quite good.

the pumpkin line-up

I’m listing these from bad to ~~good~~ great. Tazo Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte.

I mixed mine as 1/2 cup tea and 1.5 cups Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk and hated it. Admittedly I made mine too weak, but I made Adam’s extra strong (with skim milk) and I didn’t like that one either. The flavor was just too “dirty” for me. But Adam loved both versions – and drank both our drinks in one sitting – and is excited for the rest of the carton so it’s not a total loss.

Froyo.

A tiny bit (this cup cost $1.75!) of pumpkin spice and cheesecake swirl topped with toasted coconut, graham cracker, and caramel sauce. This combo was a total winner.

Froyo was good, but nothing beats pumpkin ice.

Pumpkin on top with toffee crunch on the bottom. Usually I can’t eat a whole small cup but I wolfed this down and I think I could even finish two scoops of just pumpkin! My friend Kim informed me that Ralph’s Ice is totally a thing and now it feels even more exciting.

stir-fried mac

This was one of those mash-up meals that doesn’t seem like it will work but just does.

Leftover pasta – Annie’s mac and cheese with greens, edamame, and smoked trout – reheated in a skillet with evoo, tons of Sriracha, and a sprinkle of sugar; with one large egg scrambled in at the end. I know that the sugar sounds strange but I promise the final flavor is perfection.

Do you see that brown piece by my hand that looks like bacon? It’s not bacon, it’s smoked trout that got extra-crispy. <– swoon

saltine challenge

I surprised Adam with fancy sardines and since we had Saltines in the house it was time for a challenge.

You know from reading my rant that I’m a stickler for the rules so I have to admit – we both totally failed. Our mouths were still full of approximately 1.5 crackers each when the timer buzzed.

fancy fish

This dinner came straight out of EveryDay with Rachael Ray.

I even took a break from my rebellious side and followed the recipe exactly.

Well, mostly exactly, we skipped the brown rice and used baby bok choy instead of the big guys. But the end result was delicious.

Our glaze didn’t thicken the way it was supposed to, but the fish had a great, flaky texture.

And we loved the bok choy.

Adam has even requested that baby bok become a weekly staple!

dinner in Manhattan

On Wednesday, I was invited to a press event in Manhattan so I brought a girlfriend with me for a fun evening in the city.

{that’s sunset at Chelsea Pier}

The event was to celebrate the launch of Donatella Arpaia’s new kitchen line with HSN (http://hsn.com). The line is available starting this Monday (October 7th) so they held a gettogether to showcase some of the new products.

Here’s a little blurb from the press release –

The exclusive collection from the Iron Chef judge, restaurateur, author and culinary personality will include studded stoneware, table linens and Italian food items.

Named by Zagat as the “Hostest with the Mostest”, Donatella Arpaia has a reputation of fusing Italian tradition with modern, glamorous style. Her new collection brings added sparkle to the kitchen with a chic home pizza oven and luxurious rhinestone stoneware including platters, ceramic dishes and ramekins.

Additionally, Donatella has taken the guess work out of traditional Italian cooking with her authentic Italian food offerings, featuring a variety of fresh pasta sauces, flavorful pizza crust mixes and her award-winning meatballs. With food preparation and presentation already made easy, the collection is completed with sets of cotton placemats and napkins on tear off rolls.

We got off of the train with time to kill so we wandered around a bit before the event (hence the gorgeous sunset views from the piers).

I needed some veggies in my life so we hit up Liquiteria for juice.

I wasn’t loving all of the beets and ginger on their menu so I made a custom blend – spinach, kale, and pineapple. Amazing! But I had eaten froyo and a giant coffee (seriously giant, there was a mix-up and I ended up with 4 extra shots of espresso in my latte!) for lunch so with the concentrated energy in the juice I was practically buzzing by the time we got to the event.

The drinks we were handed upon arrival helped.

That is not a cherry (sadly), but a cherry tomato.

The event was held at Donatella’s restaurant, which was freaking gorgeous.

The lighting wasn’t kind to my crappy photography skills, but I did my best to take some shots of the pretty tables.

The tear-off napkins were very fun, though I don’t think that bedazzled cookware is exactly my style.

Most of the apps showcased products that will be available on Monday. I took a fried oyster to be brave,

but my first bite was all fried coating and I lost my nerve and threw out the rest before I ate any meat.

The pizza was very good.

The dough – which you just add water to and then bake – was the best part; chewy and flavorful but not too salty. My friend and I both gave the jarred sauce served with the pasta two thumbs up as well.

They told us to take cupcakes (from the fantastically sparkly display) for dessert.

They plan to add cupcakes (mixes?) to the line later this year.

My pistachio was tasty.

Afterwards we stopped in at the famous Cafeteria for a drink on a whim.

Our carafe of white peach sparkling mojito was refreshing but weak. But we were the only twosome in the room who wasn’t on a first date so the good eavesdropping more than made up for the lack of alcohol.

I hope everyone else had a nice week too! Did you do any good eavesdropping?

1Oct2013

Weekend Wrap-Up; October Is Here!

by Emily

It’s possible I’m a little excited about the arrival of Pumpkin Month. Check out my stash –

So much squashy goodness!

Now a little bit about the end of September…

breakfast

I’ve only got one meal to share here, in contrast with the full “dessert” section (whoops!). Adam had a “golden weekend,” aka both Saturday and Sunday off, so we spent our mornings catching up on sleep.

This breakfast was more of a brunch, but either way it was a winner.

Müller Greek Corner Pineapple Passion Fruit Yogurt (former freebie) topped with sliced starfruit and a packet of Crispy Green Pineapples.

Isn’t starfruit (also known as Carambola) gorgeous?

Did you know that I used to sell starfruit when I was a kid? We had a tree in our backyard and I would take the harvests to the local grocery stores.

The freeze-dried pineapples were part of a sample box from Crispy Green.

I received these samples free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Crispy Green is a company that sells freeze-dried fruits. They are vegan and certified kosher and the ingredient list is nice and simple – just fruit. What really sold me was the texture, I swear that the apples and pears were almost juicy! More on them in a minute though.

lunch

Veggies.

Acorn squash. I baked half of my squash for 30 minutes at 350*, cut side down, then flipped it over and filled the cavity with pistachios, raisins, and maple syrup, and baked for another 20 minutes.

Plus broccoli that I roasted alongside the squash.

And a red pear.

So nice to have a mid-day meal that’s so packed with nutrients.

Less nutritious but still delicious, Taco Bell.

I got a vegetarian Cantina Bell burrito and was actually very impressed. The burrito had fresh corn and great guacamole.

The greatest sandwich.

Sweet and savory, for the win. Caramel apple swirl bread topped with Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, TJ’s Lite Havarti, and pickled banana peppers.

The husband got and identical ‘wich and he raved about it. Plus we shared more Crispy Green fruits on the side. Asian Pear,

and Apple.

They both were packed with flavor but so far Asian Pear is my favorite.

dinner

Mac remix.

A box of Annie’s Shells and Aged Real Cheddar gussied up with TJ’s smoked trout, frozen edamame and a greens mix, and 1 oz of Chevre.

I have pantry back-ups of all of the ingredients and a see a redo in our future.

A cider soaked meal.

I marinated some extra-firm tofu in TJ’s Spiced Apple cider (plus honey and hot sauce) before ~~burning~~ baking in the oven.

Shredded cabbage was sautéed in the tofu marinade and then topped with salty peanuts.

And this lovely squash was sprinkled with salt and cinnamon and roasted alongside the tofu.

I filled in the space in the center of the plate with Dinosaur Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce for dipping.

A meal out on the town.

We finished our two-day weekend with a dinner out on the town at Luigi’s.

We were brought an amazing basket of fresh bread.

And we shared a Tuscan salad to start.

baby spinach / breaded artichoke hearts / roasted peppers / gorgonzola dolce / pignoli nuts / balsamic vinaigrette

I got handmade Papardelle with shrimp and lobster in a fresh plum tomato cognac cream sauce from the specials menu for my meal.

It was delicious! The homemade pasta had great bite and the seafood was juicy and perfect. Plus the portions were huge; I shared many tastes with Adam and still came home with a full serving of leftovers. {Mom and Dad, we want to take you here when you visit!}

dessert

Adam went out to celebrate a birthday with his fellow interns and he brought me home cake.

I’m not a huge chocolate fan but I’m a sucker for jam in the middle.

I brought him home vegan ice cream sandwiches.

Tofutti is currently celebrating their 30^th anniversary and they sent me some coupons.

I received these samples free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Ice cream sandwiches are Adam’s favorite and he was very impressed with how close to the original this (minty) version came.

I thought the Cuties had great flavor and texture – and I’m not even an ice cream sandwich lover – but 180 calories for the small size seemed a little steep.

I will definitely buy them again for the husband though.

To finish the post – the best thing ever.

Adam and I split an ice the other day to celebrate the first day of fall. Dulce de leche topped with pumpkin pie.

Oh. My. God. The pumpkin pie ice was ridiculous! The best tasting ice I’ve ever had and those brown areas were crunchy streusel that was just over the top. We were both swooning!

What pumpkin goodies are you excited for this month?