Aloha, 17 Years

by Emily

I hope that all my readers who celebrate had a merry Christmas!

Three fun things from this week –

I bought chestnut paste – which basically tastes like Christmas! – and used it in amazing yogurt bowls.

With cocoa granola and fresh strawberries.

These bougie almond butter cups were surprisingly delicious.

We made easy but great pasta bowls: boxed macaroni and cheese / canned smoked trout and anchovies / roasted broccoli and baby zucchini / topped with Kewpie and Sriracha. Plus a side of sauteed baby cauliflower.

Current excitement? It is our 12 year wedding anniversary today! And since we got married on our 5 year dating anniversary, that means we’ve been together for 17 years (aka half our lives!)!! To celebrate, we are heading to Hawaii tomorrow!!!

6Dec2019

Nacho Zip Code

by Emily

My stuff, my husband, my dog, and I all finally live in the same place (New York) again! What a surreal week! I worked Monday-Tuesday, moved Wednesday, and unpacked Thursday-Friday. I am thrilled to be with my amazing family and excited to be back in New York but am deeply mourning leaving Charlottesville, and my fantastic Virginia family and friends, and my unbelievably great job. <– it’s an extremely good problem to have 🙂

My last Cville weekend was low-key because I was a bit under the weather. I mostly watched tv in bed, drank Gatorade, and spent $8 on precut fruit.

Before I knew it it was Tuesday and I was drinking my very last hospital coffee! Sidenote – the coffee stands in the hospital served my favorite iced lattes in Virginia and I am going to miss them greatly.

IMG_20191203_072916_841

Also that afternoon coworkers took me out for coffee and then after work we went to Hardywood for a final round of marshmallow gingerbread stouts and by the time I packed my car I was a drunk, overly caffeinated mess.

My last night my family took me out for nachos – multiple plates! – and margaritas and I got to tell them how unbelievably grateful I am for their hospitality. I lived with my cousin and her fiance for the last 4 months and they could not have made my life easier or more fun. A lot of people thought I was insane for choosing to live apart from Adam and Webster for so long but one of the biggest silver linings of situation was the time I got with my Virginia family.

20191203_201243

And they would be thrilled to know that the very first thing I ate in New York was nachos!

Once we got the car unpacked Adam and I headed to I am Nacho Mama for bbq chicken nachos and fancy honey coffee.

I also had tacos – griddled cheese and salmon.

Last night we had a fancy dinner at our local mall, Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Small Batch.

Little gem lettuce with pecorino cheese, radishes, fried soft-boiled egg, and ceasar dressing.

Local duck breast with honeynut squash, figs, and black garlic.

Chocolate souffle cake with milk chocolate sauce, cookie crumbs, and bourbon-brown sugar ice cream.

8Apr2019

Party Peeps

by Emily

7 highlights from the last 7 days…

Chocolate chip banana bar. I found it in our hospital’s cafeteria but apparently it’s such a new product it hasn’t made it to the website yet.

Crazy freeze-dried fruits from Trader Joe’s. The dragonfruit wasn’t a fit for my tastes but the grapes were sweet and amazing.

Birthday cake Peeps! Look at their adorable sprinkled butts!

Kung Fu Tea. Almond milk tea (half sweet, extra ice) with Oreo and aloe jelly.

Squid ink pasta with tahini sauce, 5 spice tofu, roasted zucchini, and chili oil.

Slow-cooked parmesan garlic chicken and potatoes + broccoli. We didn’t brown our chicken and it still came out great.

Greek salad – romaine and cucumber with TJ’s Greek feta dressing, green olives, crispy cheese bites, and roasted chickpeas.

Have a great week!

15Feb2019

Heart On

by Emily

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day! I love a holiday with theme colors.

This week I loved…

Stumptown cold brew with milk. I’m not sure if I had ever tried the chocolate flavor before, I loved it.

An epic chocolate cherry smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, frozen cherries, and chocolate milk.

We don’t really do Valentine’s gifts, but the husband did buy me cupcakes!

Salted caramel and a delicious funfetti.

A take on this lemon poppy seed chicken casserole. We added tons of roasted broccoli.

A take on shakshuka, with red bell pepper and chipotle. Topped with roasted zucchini, sumac, and two fried eggs.

Adam was not around for Valentine’s dinner and I’m fighting a pretty bad cold so I loved myself with Brazos Tacos take-out for dinner. The Solid – pulled chicken, refried black beans, roasted corn pico, sliced avocado, and jack cheese // Tres Quesos – Oaxacan cheese, manchego cheese, and queso fresco, with refried black beans, sliced avocado, roasted corn pico, and pickled watermelon // chips and salsa.

Bonus – things I love deeply that you might not know about from the blog:

{1} Diet soda. It is truly the only food I cherish more than coffee or cheese!

{2} Running. I am not fast, and I am extremely careful with my knees so I don’t run that often, but it is one of my favorite things. I run about 3 miles in about 30 minutes one time most weeks and I love every second of it.

{3} Wegman’s hot bar “Asian” section. I get hot bar chicken at least once a week as a pre-dinner snack but it never makes it onto the blog because it just photographs so abhorrently.

{4} “The Office.” My love of tv is well-documented and over the past year “The Office” has become one of my favorite shows. I have seen every episode at least three times! So much of what is happening with the world right now is scary and sad and I’m really loving feel-good shows that are an escape from reality.

18Jan2019

Send Nood(le)s

by Emily

Dinners this week were all about the pastabilities! <– I’m done now, I swear

Homemade shrimp Pad Thai.

Buffalo chicken baked pasta. With ground chicken sauteed with buffalo sauce / riced cauliflower / celery and yellow onion / and sweet red cheddar, smoked cheddar, and blue stilton!

Pasta pie. A mix of TJ’s squid ink spaghetti and zucchini noodles baked with parsley, triple cream brie, and eggs, plus some panko on top.

Snack attack. The Chobani Gimmies line is still rocking my face off.

Do I have enough liquids within reach to get me through dinner prep? Sadly I found the milk stout to be too sweet for my tastes, but the can was just adorable.

Thai iced tea win. The tea drops were super easy/quick to use and the packets of sweetened condensed milk make my heart happy.Yogurt with sumo mandarin, honey mango, and candied walnuts.A “tasting plate” success – chicken nuggets, cheese, and baby carrots.

19Oct2018

Maple – Marshmallow – Cinnamon – Pumpkin

by Emily

The flavors in my title were mostly enjoyed separately this week, but my goodness wouldn’t they be good all together?!

I missed last weekend’s post because I was out of town at a Nutrition Support conference.

Highlights from this week included…

A new all-time favorite coffee combo – Grady’s Cold Brew Concentrate with maple sweetened condensed milk!! P.S. Grady’s is the best home-brewed coffee that money can buy. P.P.S. The maple SCM is not to be missed either, if you spot it at your store I recommend buying multiple cans.

Pumpkin power homemade trail mix. Pumpkin Puffins / Pumpkin Pie White Chocolate M&M’s / roasted pumpkin seeds / pecans.

A cookie and coffee date at Sweethaus.

Pumpkin & Spice Siggi’s yogurt topped with Pumpkin Spice Frosted Flakes.

New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin beer. It was cinnamon-spicy and quite enjoyable.

This month’s Snack Crate.

Homemade basil turkey burgers with roasted green beans and TJ’s root vegetable medley. I burnt the burgers just a little but I covered it up with ketchup and mayo.

Green curry bowls. Cauliflower rice cooked with coconut milk topped with ground turkey, onion, shredded carrot, green bell pepper, zucchini, and basil sauteed with green curry sauce.

31Aug2018

Okonomiyaki And Almost Green Papaya Salad

by Emily

Loves of late – “Making It” (again), I am sad this season is almost over. Also “Stan Against Evil;” I just learned that the 3rd season premiers on Halloween and I could not be more excited.

Flavor themes this week – cream cheese, salmon, bacon, cabbage, coffee (always)

Here were the highlights…

Coffee = cold pressed Brooklyn Roasting Company.

On the snack front, the hospital cafeteria stocks a big variety of yummy trail mixes and I am obsessed with them.

And this month’s Snack Crate was from Japan and it was super exciting.

Jalopeno popper chicken. Chicken baked with a topping of cream cheese, jalopeno, cheddar, and turkey bacon. Plus roasted green beans.

Salmon strata. This recipe, but I subbed in cream cheese for cheddar and added dill. Also I added an extra egg and used fat-free half and half in place of a 1/2 cup of milk which made the custard extra creamy. Pro tip – we used Trader Joe’s white whole wheat and it was perfect. Plus cherry tomatoes and roasted zucchini.

Frozen salmon burgers (which frankly weren’t that good) on a delicious slaw. I made green papaya salad but with cabbage.

Americanized okonomiyaki, I used russet potato with turkey bacon and sharp cheddar.

24Aug2018

Buchi, Boba, Bacon

by Emily

Highlights from a yummy week…

Coffee combo = Brooklyn Roasting Co with sweetened condensed milk, shakerato style.

This pineapple + mint Buchi is my new favorite kombucha.

Kung Fu Tea served me a fantastic bubble tea, rosehip milk tea with coconut jelly and boba.

Chipotle salads are possibly one of my top five favorite foods. Romaine, chicken, fajita veggies, pinto beans, hot salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese.

Homemade green curry. Chicken sausage and zucchini / on cauliflower rice / with green curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime.

Tasty egg sandwiches. Seeded challah rolls with fried eggs, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and mayo and gojuchang. Plus the simplest salads – romaine with ranch.

Dinner out at Bebedero.

We had great drinks – a paloma with mezcal, rosemary, and black sea salt and tepache, a fermented pineapple drink.

And I had nachos with cheese sauce and house-pickled jalopenos.

Eating Chalk

Tag Archives: squash

Aloha, 17 Years

Nacho Zip Code

Party Peeps

Heart On

Send Nood(le)s

Maple – Marshmallow – Cinnamon – Pumpkin

Okonomiyaki And Almost Green Papaya Salad

Buchi, Boba, Bacon