Tag Archives: squash

Apple Month Warmth

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Adam and I are trying to use every last bit of warmth from the summer and we spent the weekend doing city things and walking our hearts out.  Also eating dessert daily, a habit that we reeeeally need to put the kibosh on once we’re hibernating through winter.

Saturday we took the train into the city and walked 30+ blocks up through Central Park.

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We went to a few spots in the park that we hadn’t ever seen before, which was fun.  But the way back to the train we did take the straight route down Lexington/Madison Ave because Central Park’s “Ramble” is very fittingly named.

Sunday we were even further north – The Bronx Zoo.

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That’s a carousal selfie.  We were there from 10 – 4, whew!

breakfast

Giant coffee from 7-11 with Almond Joy creamer.

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The weird photo angle is because my entire desk was papered in protected health information.  Last week was crazy busy at work.  On Thursday I didn’t get more than 5 feet away from my desk until 4:30 pm.

Pb&j with green beans and apple slices.

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With cold brew from Caffeino, a cute coffee spot in Astoria.

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The coffee was roasty and smooth and the shop is right along the drive to our train so you’ll definitely be seeing that cup again.

Cold brew with chocolate milk.

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Meh, to both parts.

lunch

Packed lunch for work.  Chobani cinnamon pear yogurt with pomegranate seeds and Heritage Flakes.

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Plus an apple that I picked myself!  Our orchard haul has been quite tasty.  The yogurt was only ok though, not a flavor I would buy again.

Packed lunch for the zoo.  Turkey sandwiches with carrots and applesauce.

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Plus we bought iced coffee, of course.

A trip to Bluestone Lane’s Upper East Side location – an Austrian coffee spot housed in a gorgeous church.

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We got a flat white and an Aussie iced coffee and both were thick and creamy and amazing.

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And split an avocado smash.

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Yum.  Amazingly, this was the first time either of us had tried avocado toast.

Dessert was a mini sundae from Sprinkles.

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Salted caramel ice cream and marshmallow chocolate cupcake.

dinner

Roasted green beans and French bread baked with Smart Balance and light sharp cheddar.

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Plus the last of the Coco SuperSeedz.

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I wasn’t super hungry because I went to Four &Twenty Blackbirds with a friend after work.

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Salted caramel apple!  With espressos that we were less impressed with than the pie.

Saturday night I made a frittata from Cooking Light.

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It took forever because I added a million vegetables to it and I snacked while I cooked.

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40 minutes later (the directions said 10 minutes!)…

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Frittata stuffed with roasted zucchini, arugula, and browned mushrooms and topped with swiss and gruyere cheese and mini heirloom tomatoes.

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Plus arugula salad dressed in honey, evoo, and lavender salt, with sharp cheddar, pecans, and pomegranate.

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I burnt the bottom of the pie but at least after some careful trimming it was still delicious.

Sunday night we ate Chipotle bowls which I forgot to take a picture of but you’ve seen an embarrassing amount of time before.  With apple ciders.

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And unseasonable froyo.

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Pumpkin pie yogurt with Nutella and crunchy chocolate things.  I think I’m ready for October, cold and all!

Weekend Top Five

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{1} Apple picking upstate.

The selections were pretty weak – they only had two varieties!

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We picked small bags and then moved on to the brewery.

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They had housemade cider and wine slushies so that part of the day was a bit more exciting.

{2} Pecan Pie Bar.

Omg, kids, this candy was ridiculous good.

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I’m not even embarrassed that I ate it two months early – pecan pie month isn’t until November on the Emily is crazy calendar – because this is my new favorite thing.

{3} Friday dinner at home.

Leftovers scrambled into easy eggs.

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Turkey hot dogs, roasted broccoli, and spinach.

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With cider from Wolfer Estates.

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It was good but not my favorite.

{4} Saturday pizza night.

TJ’s red pepper, provolone, and pearl mozzarella wood-fired pizza.

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With roasted zucchini.

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I burned the life out of the pizza but roasted squash is our end of summer favorite.

{5} Sunday night Thai food with friends.

We went to Siam Orchid, a tiny little spot that makes the best Thai food in Brooklyn.

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My drunken noodles with vegetarian duck were on point!

This Week’s Top Five

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{1} My coffee combo.

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Community Coffee with cocoa powder, maple cinnamon, cream, and milk.

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The cocoa doesn’t really mix in with the cold coffee but it’s still good.

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Now I want to do a coconut-cocoa coffee next.

{2} Bars.

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Most nights this week I was soooo hungry when I got home and having these to grab saved me from some major hangry fits.  Not that we still didn’t go get Chipotle instead of cooking two nights in a row.

{3} This lunch.  Trimona plain yogurt with Heritage Flakes, chia seeds, and chopped emerald beauty and honey punch pluots. <– how great are those names??!

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Plus a bourbon brown butter caramel and a salty caramel apple taffy for dessert.

{4} This fancy Thursday night dinner.

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I sautéed spinach with minced ginger, garlic aioli, and evoo, then tossed in gnocchi and roasted zucchini.

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Topped with this hot smoked sockeye from Trader Joe’s.

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Best meal of the week!  The salmon was wonderful; I love hot smoked because it has a similar flavor to lox but not the slimy texture.

{5} Caramel apple Peeps.  OMG.

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These were seriously delicious; are all Peeps this yummy??  They were puffy and not too chewy and they had a perfect balance of sour dust to sweet caramel fudge.  I’m awarding this best purchase yet for Apple Month.

Reunited And It Feels So Good

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I had an absolute blast in Buffalo but this past week I have been so freaking excited to be home with my boys.  I usually miss them by the end of my workday so a long weekend away feels like an eternity.  I am lucky to have a husband and dachshund who are both so great! {/sap}

breakfast

Black and white coffee.

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Or Vanilla Chameleon Cold Brew with chocolate milk and an apple on the side.

Cereal with milk.  And blueberries.

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Plus Guava Mandarin Polar seltzer.

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I lugged that back from Wegman’s in Buffalo and it was so worth it.

Coffee-eee-eee.

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Always worth it.  I’d be lying if I said my birthday drink freebie wasn’t bringing me a lot of anticipatory joy.

lunch

Asian-ish.

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Microwave noodles and roasted seaweed.

Oatmeal bowl.

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Chai-spiced oats from Target with maple almond butter on top and 2 black pluots on the side.

Yogurt bowl.

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Vanilla Skyr Icelandic yogurt with blueberries, KIND peanut butter granola, and chia seeds.  This was so tasty; I need more of that yogurt immediately.

dinner

Adam was at the hospital when I got home on Sunday so we had to turn Monday into date night.  He picked me up at work and came bearing red velvet cupcakes.

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We went to dinner at East Wind Snack Shop by Prospect Park.

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We came in for the foie gras bao, which ended up being only ok.  For the cheap price the amount of foie gras was very fair, but I would have rather paid a bit more and gotten a better meat-to-bun ratio.

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But my Happy Buddha Vegetables were yummy.

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They describe this dish as “jasmine rice, fermented tofu, seasoning, and all sorts of vegetables.” I’m not sure what the green sauce was but it was worth going back for.  Then we walked to the theatre (our movie theatre) to see “Ant-Man.”  The character development was weak but the movie was still hilarious so we’re glad we went.

I didn’t have time to do a real grocery trip this week so the following two nights were admittedly a little weak.  This meal was fine but it’s not winning any prizes.

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Cheez-its, leftover roasted veggies that Adam made last week, and a turkey and Havarti cheese sandwich.

This meal was a bit better.  It definitely tasted good.

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We needed a carbohydrate side so we had beer!  Tusker is one of my all-time favorite beers, and pretty much the only lager I enjoy.

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With roasted veggies – asparagus, okra, and zucchini – with Applegate chicken nuggets.

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A copious amount of ketchup was added after I took that picture.

My parents come to visit tomorrow.  And Friday is my birthday.  I’m old, but excited!

Honey Chipotle Chicken And Vegetable Quinoa Bowls {Recipe Redux}

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From the Redux team –

Fresh from the Garden

The season of bountiful produce has arrived. Whether your produce comes from the Farmers Market, a CSA share, or a plot of dirt out back, show how you are using fresh July fruits or veggies.

Bowls of grains and protein topped with big piles of roasted vegetables are a dinner favorite in our house year-round, but in the summer-time it’s nice to be able to count on in-season produce that’s both fresh and locally grown.

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For these bowls I used both veggies and fruits – zucchini, grape tomatoes, and yellow peaches.  Plus some slightly out of season fresh lime juice.

Honey, chipotle, garlic, and lime marinated chicken strips.  Roasted zucchini.  And white quinoa with tomato, peach, honey, chipotle sauce.

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Honey Chipotle Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa Bowls; makes 4 hearty servings

  • 1/2 tsp and 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp ground garlic
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp and 1.5 Tbsp honey
  • 7.5 oz can chipotle peppers in adobe
  • 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 4 cups sliced zucchini, sliced in 1/8 inch thick circles
  • 10 oz grape tomatoes
  • medium sweet onion, cut in half and then sliced into 1/4 inch thick half circles
  • 2 cups chopped yellow peaches
  • 2.25 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup white quinoa
  • 1/2 Tbsp canola oil

{In advance}  In a large, durable baggie, combine 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, lime juice, 1 Tbsp evoo, and 1 Tbsp honey.  Remove six chipotle peppers from the can (be sure to keep them!) and then dump the rest of the peppers and sauce into the bag.  Stir marinade until well-combined.  Add chicken breasts and toss to coat.  Marinate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.

{When you’re ready to get cooking}  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Prep two baking sheets with baking spray (and aluminum foil if desired for easy clean up).  On one tray, place the zucchini in an even layer; they can be bunched but try not to overlap.  On the other tray, place tomatoes, onion, and peaches in an even layer.  Drizzle the remaining 2 Tbsp of evoo evenly over the vegetables, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp salt.

Roast the tomatoes, onions, and peaches for 20 – 25 minutes, until the tomato skins have begun to blister but not brown.  Remove that tray from the oven and set aside to cool.  Bake the zucchini for an additional 15 – 20 minutes, 40 – 45 minutes total.

{While the vegetables are roasting} Stir together chicken broth and quinoa in a medium pot on high heat.  Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, until all of the liquid has been absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Pour the canola oil into a large, lidded pan over medium-high heat, turning the pan to coat.  Working in batches as needed so as not to overcrowd the pan, cover the pan and cook chicken breasts 5 – 7 minutes on each side until cooked through.  Set aside cooked chicken until cool enough to handle then slice into thin strips.

{Once the quinoa is cooked}  Allow the cooked tomatoes, onion, and peaches to cool for at least 5 minutes.  Place them in your food processor and process 5 – 10 seconds until homogenous.  Add the remaining 6 chipotle peppers and the remaining 1.5 Tbsp honey and process until combined.  Stir the sauce into the cooked quinoa.  Note – you most likely will have more sauce than you need, we used about 3/4 of our batch and then saved the rest for turkey sandwiches and tortilla chip dip.

{When you are ready to serve}  Divide the quinoa evenly among four bowls, topping with additional sauce if desired.  Top with cooked chicken and zucchini slices.  Serve outdoors, if possible.

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Click the link below to see what other Redux members cooked up.  I’m hoping someone tackled watermelon!

Start Of A Three-Day Weekend

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My clinic is closed on Friday in celebration of Independence Day tomorrow so today is the start of a three-day weekend for me.  Woo-hoo!  Adam has to work, unfortunately, but I am hitting the road and heading to Solomons, Maryland to spend the weekend with my aunt and uncle at their cabin.  It’s been way too long since I last saw my cousins and I am very excited.  My aunt tipped me off that the “drink special” for the weekend is bourbon slushies so I’m pretty thrilled about that too.

Snacks and cafeteria lunches didn’t make it into this post so I’m skipping a good 45% of what I ate this week…

breakfast

Three things you need to know before we talk about breakfast:  1) I bought Rainer cherries and they have been sweet, delicious, and totally worth the $6 price tag.  2)  My coffee combo was solid this week – double-strength brewed Community Coffee Dark Roast with chocolate milk and fat-free half and half.

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3) GoMacro sent me a sampler box of mini MacroBars in 11 fun flavors.  All MacroBars are USDA organic, non-GMO project verified, kosher, gluten-free and vegan certified.  I like that GoMacro company buys fair trade products and their boxes are biodegradable and made from 100% post-consumer corrugated waste.  All of the flavors I’ve tried thus far have been very homogenous in texture, smooth like a paste (but good and not gross like I’m making it sound here!) so they don’t crumble at all but they also don’t stick to your teeth or fingers which I deeply appreciate.

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Please note – I was sent a box of mini bars free of charge to sample.  I was not provided further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Chocolate coffee and peanut butter chocolate chip (protein pleasure).  My favorite flavor thus far, the base of this one is basically just like eating super thick peanut butter.

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Cherries and cashew caramel (protein paradise).  This was my least favorite flavor, though it still was not bad, because it didn’t have much going on; when something calls itself caramel I’m looking for it to be pretty darn sweet.

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Coffee, cherries, and sunflower butter + chocolate (protein purity).  I know the names are super cheesy but a full-size of this flavor does offer 10 grams of protein for 260 calories.

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A big day, cherries, mozzarella stick, coffee, and almond butter + carob (wholehearted heaven).  Surprisingly, this was my favorite flavor, it had a nice sweetness to it.

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Why yes, I did go through and pick out all of the “blank and chocolate” flavors first.

lunch

Maple mixture.  Maple Greek yogurt with KIND maple chia granola and fresh pomegranate.

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The yogurt, from Green Mountain Creamery, was soooo smooth.  It’s just nonfat milk and maple syrup with live cultures.

On Wednesday, I prepped my lunch and left it on our butcher’s block in the kitchen while I went to get dressed.  Five minutes later, the dog had eaten my lunch.  He is a little monster but I still have absolutely no idea how he managed to get himself up on the block!  I kicked the dog (kidding!!) and rushed off without food.  The point of that long story?  I ate ice cream for lunch and it was fantastic.

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Scoops is the new pop-up ice cream shop from Greene Grape.  My toasted green tea scoop (from Phin & Phebes) was extra fun with rainbow sprinkles.

Then it was back to yogurt.

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Evolve Kefir‘s strawberry Greek yogurt was very pleasant with yellow plucot and KIND granola.

dinner

Pizza night.  We made four cheese pizza – low-fat mozzarella, fresh mini mozzarella balls, pepperjack, and sharp cheddar – on TJ’s whole-wheat crust and it was ridiculous.

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Pizza.  But x2 because we ate the entire pie and we were so sick and it was so worth it.

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Plus roasted veggies because we are healthy like that.

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Kalettes (the kale + Brussels sprout hybrid which I’ve decided I don’t enjoy) and yummy zucchini.

Big salad(s) bonanza.

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We tore up heads of TJ’s Smallish Gems Sweet Lettuce and topped them with champagne vinaigrette, sweet and spicy pecans, pomegranate, and cucumber.

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Plus tuna salad on the side.

Casserole night was planned so Adam will have lots of leftovers while I’m away this weekend.

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My Buffalo Chicken Baked Pasta that I snuck a bit more veggies into with the addition of sautéed onion and yellow and orange bell peppers.

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Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

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Fun nutrition fact – there is a dose dependent inverse relationship between broccoli consumption and colon cancer.

real talk

I finished Bossypants and I laughed out loud on the train like a crazy person adored it.  The chapter where she responds to some of her internet critics had me in stitches.  Even the lines about feminism/gender politics in America/women in comedy that make you want to put your fist through a window if you think about it too much managed to be witty.  And now I really want to rewatch 30 Rock.

I bought this NY skyline bag from Fishs Eddy to store small items in my purse and it makes me happy every time I put on lipstick/grab a pen/check my cell phone, which is approximately 8 million times a day.

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I finally started Orange is the New Black and I’m going to make my way through the season quickly but I’m kind of over it.  Is there going to be a season 4, because I feel like they need to wrap things up?  There are moments that are incredibly funny but in general this season is a bit too sad for me.  My kind of television sads come from the fact that Joss Whedon thinks all great romances have to end in a horrifying and sudden death, I’m not so keen on the children visiting a prison on Mother’s Day and being panicked by their parents dropping to the dirt during a lockdown.

Do you watch OITNB?  What are your thoughts on season 3?  <– no spoilers, please!

Weekly Wrap-Up; On The Mend

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I am still a teensy bit sick, but thankfully I am feeling much, much better than last weekend.  Hopefully by the end of this weekend I’ll be back to 100%!

breakfast

My first day back, when I came in feeling just terrible, my coworker surprised me with a bagel with lox and cream cheese.

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So sweet of her, and very serendipitous since I hadn’t managed to get coffee, let alone breakfast.

Adam drove me into work on Wednesday since he had errands to do in Brooklyn, so we went in early and made a date of it.

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Doughnut Plant!

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I got a coconut cream filled and a Valrhona hot chocolate.  Plus we stopped for an iced coffee along the walk.

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This was so much fun, I cannot even tell you; morning date for the win.

Yesterday I randomly woke up feeling sooo hungry so I pieced together a big breakfast in the cafeteria.

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Coffee with chocolate milk,

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and scrambled eggs, veggie sausage, and a croissant.

lunch

Veggie pizza from the cafeteria.

This was good, but it had corn on it which I found to be an incredibly strange topping choice.  Not that I don’t love corn, but on a pizza??!

Wednesday I brought an apple and a Jarlsberg Cheese Mini (more on that in a minute…) from home.

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Plus a salad from the cafeteria that I apparently don’t have a picture of.

Yesterday was another apple, plus an Apricot Ancient Grains Chobani with TJ’s Pumpkin O’s and KIND Banana Nut Clusters.

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I liked the Chobani much more than the one with oats I tried previously.  The pieces of apricot were quite nice.

snack

I don’t usually drink coffee after 4 pm but I ended up getting iced decafs twice this week because I was so obsessed with the idea of coffee flavor in the evening.

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With skim milk and a splash of cream.

Another night we had smoothies for our creamy drink fix.

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Chocolate peppermint soymilk with frozen strawberries and plain Greek yogurt.

Back to that cheese…

Jarlsberg mini

Jarlsberg recently started making minis and they sent me some to try.

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For full disclosure I will tell you that Adam didn’t like the flavor (“too mild”) but I did, and I thought the texture was great (firm bite – you could squeeze it between your fingers and the wheel held its shape – but very creamy).  70 calories per mini wheel, for a nicely portable snack.

Caramel apple plate,

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Caramel pecan popcorn and apple slices sprinkled with caramel cinnamon sugar.

caramel cinnamon sugar shaker

I brought that adorable shaker back from San Francisco’s Japantown.

Related note – this salted caramel hand sanitizer smells beyond amazing.

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Another souvenir from our SF trip, Ruby Grand dried nectarines from Frog Hollow.

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Served on with vanilla shortbreads for a very fancy, only slightly Georgia O’Keefe-y snack plate.

dinner

An easy dinner for the first night I cooked after take-out for every meal all weekend.

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Salad with honey mustard dressing, parmesan, dried blueberries, and sweet and salty pecans.

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Eggs with sautéed onion and TJ’s canned mackerel scrambled in.  Plus turkey bacon.

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I cooked the bacon first so everything in my eggs was infused with that flavor.

Date night at Pequeña in Brooklyn.

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We started with an order of the fried sweet plantains.

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Pretty good, but I think I would have to go back home to really get my plantain craving satisfied.

I ordered veggie quesadillas for my entrée – Pan Fried Tortillas Stuffed with Oaxacan String Cheese And Zucchini, Peppers, Mushroom, Onion, and Squash. Topped with Salsa Roja, Queso Fresco and Cilantro.

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I always cook my quesadillas in a pan, but apparently “pan fried” here meant legit deep fried quesadillas.  They were tasty but also a bit ridiculous; I ate one plus the filling out of the other.

I’m writing this post before dinner on Thursday, but it’s gotten pretty late and I’m leaning towards a big salad and an old-school pb&j.  🙂

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas! Weekend Wrap-Up

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It’s only 10 days ’til Christmas!  And Hannukah starts tomorrow!  And it was Adam’s 29th birthday on Thursday!  We had a lot to celebrate this weekend.  The last three days have been fabulous.  Lots of great meals, several at fancy restaurants, and they were usually followed by dessert!

Friday

Friday was a regular work day for me, but I had the excitement of knowing that the husband was coming to pick me up at the end of the day.  The switch to an electronic medical record system has gone fairly well, by the way; fingers are still crossed.

I ran out the door late in a flurry so breakfast came from Starbucks.

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Iced latte and a fruit pouch that was not great.

Lunch was pretty much the same thing, since I didn’t pack anything and made it down to the cafeteria late in the day.

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Iced coffee + chocolate milk, an apple, and a Gingerbread Larabar.

Plus some of the RDs came up to visit me – they liked my tiny office! – and brought me candy.

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I don’t know where my Russian coworker gets those caramels but they are great.

Adam met me after work and we spent the evening in the city.  Our dinner reservations weren’t until 8:00 so we did dessert first on a visit to the Winter Village at Bryant – Brrrryant! – Park.

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We got a dulce de leche cookie,

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then warmed up with a lusciously thick drinking chocolate – and a marshmallow! – from the from the Max Brenner stand.

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OMG.  We have been buying and hating hot chocolate since San Francisco but this liquid gold was exactly what we’ve been searching for. Super thick and rich but not sickeningly sweet.

We had a mile-ish walk to dinner and I’m terribly sad that it was too cold for my camera because I was basically dying at the gorgeous lights along the way.

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Tavern on the Green, Adam’s pick for his belated birthday dinner, was seasonally stunning as well.

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I got a Queens cocktail – Bootlegger vodka, Velvet Falernum, sorrel hibiscus liquor, pomegranate molasses, and lemon juice.  Yummy, and perfectly balanced.

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We shared the scallops with citrus butter, capers, and fried shallots to start. I’ve been having a love affair with fried shallots lately.

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None of the entrees jumped out at me so I ordered two veggie sides, crimini mushrooms with blue cheese and basil and broccoli rabe with lemon, garlic, and sea salt.

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It was a great night.

 Saturday

We had errands to run in SoHo on Saturday, so we parked in Brooklyn and took the train in and spent the day in the city.

There might have been booze in my coffee.

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I bought a snickerdoodle lattee from Dunkin and added a healthy pour of Rumchata (aka the snickerdoodle shot) and it was damn good.

While we were in Brooklyn, we split a sardine Bahn Mi from Bahnmigos.

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It was great! The little me who grew up in the Caribbean shunning seafood (whyyyy??) can’t believe I eat things like sardines and scallops now.

We did linner (super late lunch) at Freemans Restaurant.

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Blue Ridge Fizz = apple brandy, maple, allspice, and champagne.  Freemans is our favorite brunch spot in the city and their cocktails are always magnificent.

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I got poached eggs with tomato stewed kale, crispy shallots(!!), and hollandaise on sourdough toast.

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My eggs ended up being overdone but I forgave them because the kale was so good.

We went next door to Morganstern’s for dessert.

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We shared a cup of American egg custard and durian banana ice cream. Soo creamy! And the flavors were very true to life.

After a bit more exploring, we did round 2 at Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

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I got a shot of The Nog – pumpkin cake layered with eggnog pudding and whipped cream.

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SSS never disappoints.

Sunday

Sunday was all about hanging out at home.  We would have stayed in our pajamas all day, had my dinner plans gone better.  We cuddled, watched tv, and got up some holiday decorations.

I woke up starving from our early dinner the night before so I made a big plate of eggs for breakfast.

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Scrambled with chopped jalapeno, corn, sliced turkey, sour cream, and goat’s milk cheddar.

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Plus Silk soy nog on the side.

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Instead of toast, I snacked on a bag of salted caramel popcorn.

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The plan for dinner was pasta with sun-dried tomato pesto but something went horribly wrong and my pesto was pretty much inedible.

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Instead, we salvaged our veggie side,

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and ventured out for Thai, stopping for mint chocolate froyo along the way.

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Much better. Enjoyed in front of Scrubs – which we are rewatching for the millionth time – it was a great end to a great weekend.