Tag Archives: squash

The Pumking and I

by

Has October become synonymous with winter in your neck of the woods too?  It’s so freaking cold here I’m actually blogging in bed!  We aren’t planning on switching our summer for winter wardrobes until next weekend and I’m not quite sure how we’ll get through to then.  I’m keeping this post quick before my laptop dies.

I did not get near enough schoolwork done this afternoon.  I did drink some milky tea,

and get in a session at the gym.  30 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6.  I started to read The Help while I ellipticized.  I’m only 5 pages in but I’m already loving it.  I’m not loving that it’s 500+ pages long; normally that would thrill me but I have to finish it by next Friday for book club!

For weekend fun, we met up with two other couples at The King and I for dinner.  People have praised The King and I as the best Thai in Buffalo for years; I’m so glad we finally got a chance to go.  And the food was pretty dang delicious.

I stole several bites of Adam’s Tom Yum soup.  The famous Thai soup, slightly sour and spicy with fresh mushrooms, tomato, chili, lemongrass, galangal, and lemon juice with cilantro, scallions, and chicken.

I loved how tangy this was, totally umami.

My tactic to trying out a new Thai spot is to order either the Pad See Eiw (my favorite meal on Earth) or an extra spicy dish (to gauge what they deem “spicy”).  Tonight I went the spicy route.  I ordered the vegetarian Pud Met Ma Muang.  Steamed tofu sautéed with cashew nuts, mushroom, bamboo shoot, bell pepper, onion, broccoli, baby carrots, and Thai basil leaves in a hot chili sauce.  I ordered 5-star spicy and extra veggies so they added chili, Napa cabbage, and zucchini.

Loved it!

I would only call this 3-star spicy but I’m rating the dish 5-stars for satisfaction since the veggies were so good.  Other Thai places in Buffalo load up their dishes with onions, it was great to have an actual plate of vegetables!  Plus everything, tofu included, was cooked perfectly.

I basically licked my plate clean, plus several scoops from the communal rice bowl.

We will definitely be coming back soon.

None of the couples were ready for the night to be over so we all headed to Dolci for gelato.

The worker graciously let me taste several flavors (including Sriracha-coconut!!) until I came upon two that made my heart sing.

Burnt caramel and Pumking Ale.  The burnt caramel was obviously the best because you just can’t top that flavor but the Pumking Ale was amazing as well, and the combo was divine.  The Pumking had just hints of booze and pumpkin and it was almost fizzy!  I totally confirmed my suspicion that I can’t make it through this October without some Southern Tier.

What’s the strangest flavor of ice cream you’ve ever tasted?

Wegman’s Jackpot

by

We didn’t get in bed until past 11pm and the dog snuggled me awake 10 different times during the night but somehow I did manage to get in a 6am gym session.  Woo-hoo!  30 minutes on the elliptical at level 5.  My feet kill and I was moving pretty slowly, but I got some movement in and spent some time reviewing my notecards.

When I got home I grabbed a coffee for the road but didn’t bother taking a picture because the dog ate my camera cord.  Coffee, English Toffee syrup, Silk Plain Almond Milk.  I think y’all know what that looks likes.  Instead, here is a picture of Webster the Destructor –

I had a nice break between class 1 and 2 because my test only took half of the alloted time.  The test went well, probably not an A but definitely not an F.  We’ve had mostly multiple choice questions for the past year so I need to get used to the short answer, matching, etc. format.

I ate my breakfast on the break (I uploaded my photos after I packed lunch last night).  Mini box of raisins,

serving of Love Grown Granola (HLS swag),

and a Trader Joe’s applesauce packet.

I ended up going ahead and eating my lunch during the same break (phone pic).  I packed a frozen serving of leftover kale and beans which I plated and stuck in the campus bookstore microwave. 

There was a bit of tofurkey sausage and parmesan on the bottom too.  Even frozen and defrosted the bbq kale and beans were still delicious!  I’m sad this is all gone and plan to make another batch soon.

Eating lunch at 10am left me pretty hungry come my second break but I distracted myself with some computer time.  <– I even started writing this post!

After school I had to run to Bagel Jays to pick up some halvah for a school presentation later this week.  They were all out, but the cashier did have a suggestion of where I could find more.  And an epic journey to the Wegmans 25-minutes away with an international section ensued.  In the end that hour was completely worth it though; I ended up finding all sorts of goodies that I haven’t spotted elsewhere in Buffalo!

Adam and I have been searching for everything matzoh every since we left Miami!  And I was excited to eat a snack find right away.

Pizza flavored snacks (chips? crackers?) from Bissli.

Adam and I split the package and we both loved them.  The flavor was pretty mild but the texture was unlike any snack I’ve ever had, very hard and crunchy!  When I turn my epic Wegman’s journey into a monthly event I will definitly be buying more Bissli products.

I also drank a Wegman’s diet root beer and pretty much died and went to heaven.

Sidenote -I don’t show you all of the diet soda I drink (I’d never get off the computer!), just the interesting ones.  Diet cola is my favorite thing on Earth but other sugar-free sodas tend to make me gag.  I’d sooner dehydrate than put Diet Sprite in my mouth.  But this root beer was amazing; perfect balance of sweet and spice, no aftertaste.  This actually was the best root beer I’ve ever had, diet or regular, period.

We ate our snacks on the road because we were out searching for a camera cord replacement.  Many (many) stops later we finally had success.  By the time I had the ability to photograph dinner Adam and I were completely demoralized.  He actually called my mom and begged to charge dinner!  She’s the best lady ever, so out we went.  And wouldn’t you know it, we wandered into restaurant week.

How serendipitous!

My pictures of dinner are all terrible.  I’m hoping it was the lighting because if I need to buy a new camera right after I sprang for a new cord I might just cry.

Course 1 was soup;

a jalapeno cheddar corn potato chowder.

This had a nice spice to it but was too rich for my taste.

For my entrée I ordered the tortellini ratatouille.

That’s not it.  I was two bites in I was complaining about the lack of veggies when I came to a startling realization – this was the tortellini Bolognese.  Pros – my entire pre fixe meal was comped.  Cons – I ate a cow!!?!

Our waiter was apologetic about the mishap and soon enough I had my ratatouille.

Much better, this had tons of veggies.  I ate 2/3 of my meal and brought the leftovers home for a happy husband.  He ordered steak with a Stilton crust and was thrilled.

For dessert I ordered peach cobbler with Grand Marnier and chantilly cream.

I never really consider the cobbler but this was a lot of fun to eat.  I finished all of the peaches and cream and 3/4 of the cobbler.

Not so fun is the fact that my stomach started hurting halfway through dinner.  It was bad enough that the pain was making me sweat (though not bad enough that I’ll skip dessert, apparently!).  The issue was probably the creamy soup, but I’m going to blame the beef!

Are there any foods you don’t eat?  When was the last time one slipped into your meal?  Veggies – how do you react when you accidentally consume some flesh?

Thai in a Tizzy

by

I did take the dog (who was batshit crazy all afternoon) on that walk as planned. I also super productively knocked out some preemptive to dos. But then, in a moment of extreme efficiency, I was knocked out by a sudden migraine. Thankfully I took medicine quickly enough that I was fine in an hour, but my dinner motivation was squelched.

Good thing we had lots to celebrate – some personal good news, a new school year for me, and the start of a new rotation for Adam – it was the perfect night for Thai food.

My friend Kate said that Orchid Thai was her favorite Thai in Buffalo so I put it on the top of my list. Way to go Katie, this was one of my best meals in Buffalo.

We shared an order of the vegetarian spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce to start.

For my dinner I order the tofu Pad Kee Mao, extra veggies and Thai spicy.

O.M.G! Lots of good veggies; plump, chewy broad rice noodles; and I finally (finally!) found a spot in Buffalo that understands the meaning of”4-star spicy.”

I ate half of my meal and was basically quivering with delight. I can’t wait to dig into my leftovers for lunch this week!

Since it was a celebration and all, we ordered dessert. Coconut and taro custard.

This was good, but I guess we don’t love the egginess to custard, this was a little too savory for desert to me. Nonetheless we ate 2/3 of it.

Please excuse the blurry pictures because the lighting was low, but I promise that our plates looked as appetizing as they tasted. Buffalo foodies, Orchid Thai gets two thumbs up from me!

Sweetness

by

It is important to note – 2 hours changing a tire + 2 long drives in pouring rain + 2 late nights staying up talking in your hotel + 3 anxiety inducing days of talking to new people = a very tired Emily.  I like to call other people out when they’re being bat shit crazy, so I’m going to cop to the fact that I had a total meltdown this evening.  Lots of sulking and several tears later, I think I’ll try to keep this post quick.

I knew my monster recap was going to take a little time so I got up bright and early (7:40) with Adam to get working.  I had brunch plans with friends at 11 and I didn’t want to eat breakfast so I made myself a mug of Starbucks hot chocolate (stolen from HLS breakfast).

I finished my post just in time for a final meet up with friends before we head back to school.

Sweetness_7 Cafe is only .9 miles from our apartment so I decided to walk and bring the little dude with me.

This was the first time Kim or Anna have seen Webster and of course he totally stole their hearts.  Sweetness_7 was very sweet about letting me have the puppy on their porch and I was so glad I brought him.  Though it was a little hard to eat with him squirming in my lap.

For lunch I ordered the # 6 without mayo.

A turkey, mozzarella, tomato and caramelized onion panini,

with a simple greens side salad.

I usually forget to add it at home but there was salt on my salad and that definitely elevated it.  My sandwich was good too, nice and melty.  My stomach was feeling funny though (I think from being so tired!) so I ate exactly half and brought the rest home to Adam.

It’s so cool out it is actually cold, so I got to order a hot drink.

I asked for black tea with steamed skim milk and when the barista said “like a London fog?” I just nodded.  Upon close sipping it seemed as if the drink had been sweetened (though steamed milk does taste sweet?!) so now I need to Google London Fog.

Apropos of nothing, I’m going to show you my outfit because I think my new dress is so cute.

This was a J.Crew sale birthday score and the bubble hem makes my heart happy.

I spent my afternoon running errands and getting more and more exhausted.  I tried to hit the ground running from my trip and took care of the bank, post office, tailor, and grocery.  I was starving from my small lunch so I picked up hot bar around 5:30.

Ratatouille plus a few random veggies,

and broccoli macaroni and cheese that was totally swoon worthy.

The broccoli was cooked into the sauce and there was cheese nestled in its nooks and crannies!

Just as the meltdown began I also ate all of the toppings off of this mini sundae.

And end scene on my self-control.  We did manage to take Webster on another long walk, but dinner never happened because I just couldn’t deal with it.  I’m not sure if Adam was hungry or not but I think he’d rather just not deal with me.  And on that note, I’d be silly not to hop into bed!

Do you know what a “London Fog” is?

I Lied

by

I lied.

I know I said I wasn’t going to blog until Friday, but the minute I told myself I didn’t have to, then I wanted to.  It’s like I just needed the freedom not to.  Does that make sense to anyone else?

Anyway, I’m glad I decided to blog because I’m having a good day.  This morning was full of excitement; I went with some friends to buy our lab coats for clinical.

Like a boss RD.  Though I imagine I’ll look less silly when I’m not rocking jeans underneath.  I’m just glad to have that trip out of the way before the school year starts.

My friend Hillary drove, so I walked to campus in the morning to meet up.  Afterward I got dropped off at home to grab Webster for a walk and we ended up accompanying my friend Janessa back to campus.  All total I made the trip three times, which is good practice since I plan on walking to class again this semester.

The non-canine walkers got Starbucks during the walk.  I drank a tall white mocha frappuccino but I don’t have a photo because I still thought I wasn’t blogging.  Here’s what you want to see a picture of anyway –

Have I mentioned I’m in love?  We call him Webs, Dog, or Little Dude.

I’m glad that coffee fills me up because I had lots of little things to do on my computer, and I took Webster on another walk, and before I knew it 3 o’clock came without me eating any solid food.  I was heading to the grocery anyway and luckily I found a magazine in our mailbox on the way so I grabbed hot bar for lunch.

Panang tofu, channa masala, and veggies from the cashew chicken.

plus fruit for dessert.

I had to replenish our stores so I could cook Adam casserole for while I’m gone.  Speaking of which, I probably should start thinking about packing for HLS, huh?

Bloggers – how often would you say you just don’t feel like blogging?  What helps you push through your rut?

Meet Webster

by

Webster is 4 months old.  He is a red dappled dachshund.  He stole our hearts.

It won’t be easy, or cheap, adding a puppy to our lives but I’m sure it will be worth it.

Side note – we want to get a French Bulldog named Merriam next.

I’m going to keep my eats recap short, who would sit on the computer when there’s a puppy to pet?!  This afternoon I ate a bowl of H2Omelon chunks.

And for dinner we threw together an Asian-inspired bowl.

Cabbage, which I saute-steamed with some rice vinegar,

topped with roasted tofu and zucchini that I tossed in a skillet with peanut sauce.

Such a delicious mix, you can’t go wrong with peanut sauce.

This meal was out of this world delicious.  The tofu gets spongy and amazing if you bake long enough and the peanut sauce forms an amazing crust.

Our friends Patrick and Michelle came over to meet the new addition and it was a great evening all around.

other exciting things –

  • we are going to Ohio tomorrow for our niece’s birthday party
  • I’m going to Philly next weekend for the Healthy Living Summit!

My Poor, Unfortunate Soles

by

This morning was a total clusterf**k, but things started looking up as soon as I got home (you’ll see…).

I needed to meet my landlord, a seemingly simple task that devolved into me waiting at the wrong location for 30 minutes – driving to and having to locate the correct location – having to locate parking – backtracking from the car to the office – and then finally having the meeting.

I spent every last cent in the car paying for parking downtown which meant that parking at my campus and driving to Wegmans was out of the question.  What I ended up having to do was park at my house – walk to campus – gym it – walk back to my house – and then drive to Wegmans.  Whew!

While I was at campus I completed a workout for the study I’m participating in.  Treadmill at 5% incline for 60 minutes and 2.9 miles.

While I was at Wegmans I replaced the peanut butter Adam finished even though he knew we need it for dinner and bought myself an iced coffee with skim milk.

I’m done with errands for the weekend minus one this afternoon that will lead to an exciting announcement, whee!

For lunch I ate an Angel Hair Marinara Smart One.

I don’t generally eat a lot of frozen meals and I pretty much hate angel hair in anything else, but I’m totally obsessed with this frozen meal.  The pasta isn’t mushy at all and the veggies taste very fresh.  Plus it’s a super filling serving for less than 300 calories.

I was keeping lunch on the lighter side because I knew what was waiting for me in the oven.

S’mores Brownies!  Am I evil or a genius?  An evil genius?

A buttery graham cracker layer topped with gooey brownie and a toasty marshmallow on top?  Hells yes!

I ate one for dessert and was pretty much dying.  Click here for the recipe.

I’m going to end this post on a low note by talking about feet.  Foot blisters to be exact.  Since I was a teen, something about the way I walk has caused me to get fin-like blisters on the bottom of my ring-finger toes.  My right foot has always been worse than my left, but recently it’s gotten out of control; probably not helped by my 7 miles yesterday.

Notice the super hot blood blisters.  I’m okay when I’m barefoot but every step in tennis shoes feels like knives.  I guess I can finally relate to Hans Christian Anderson’s Ariel.  Does anyone else get toe fins?!?

Embarrassing side note – do you remember the scene in “The Little Mermaid” where Ariel gives Ursula her voice?

When I was in 2nd grade I would corner my teachers – daily – and make them listen to me sing that song!

So That’s Where I’ve Been

by

Hello, hello; long time no “see!”  I’m fairly disappointed with myself for not making it to the end of my ’30 day blog everything’ goal but what can you do?  My absence was a mix of life craziness and being crazy craziness.  I’m very ready to go back to school already, I have not been spending this summer in a healthy, productive manner! 

To quickly recap what you’ve missed – Adam got sick on Monday night.  He’s fine now and didn’t have to go to the doctor or anything so we really don’t know what the problem was but we’re blaming it on the underripe watermelon.  Whatever the cause, he spent several hours clutching his stomach and moaning late into the night.  We were up past 2, including a trip to Wegmans for bread to settle his stomach, which was a terrible idea.  My impression of the hypothetical scenario at the ER due to this terrible idea (“You made him eat bread?!  Jesus, fatty, food’s not always the answer!”) was also a terrible idea since apparently laughter was painful.  Actually, I made him laugh all night long and we determined that I’m hilarious but evil.  I ended up being the one to eat the darn bread, which I dipped in olive oil and spices to fool myself into thinking I was fancy and gourmet and not the loser eating a loaf of bread at midnight.  Adam was fine by the next morning but I spent the day in bed eating caramel popcorn and feeling sorry for myself that I was too tired to go to the gym.  And I just couldn’t figure out an upbeat way to blog that so here we are.

On a less rambling note, this morning I had a orthodontist appointment and then a trip to Mr. Tire for a state inspection.  During the wait I pulled out my phone to search for coffee and discovered that Sweetness 7 Cafe (an old favorite) was only a .6 mile walk away; sweet!

Half of the drinks on the menu are things I’ve never heard of so I decided to pick something and random and go with it.  A Vietnamese iced latte.

After some Googling, I found that these are typically made with sweetened condensed milk, but I only saw the barista use a powder.  Whatever the ingredients, it was sweet but still had a rich coffee flavor.

I read while I waited.

The Little Book of Forensics was interesting, but not as in-depth or science-based as I had hoped.

Amid errands this afternoon I also stopped a Wegmans for some veggies for lunch.

Southwestern corn salad, chili garlic eggplant, sautéed broccoli, and roasted squash and mushrooms.

Yummy as usual.

Now that I’m home I need to locate some carbs and/or fruit.  I’ve realized that I either eat way too much or way too little each day and that it’s probably making me fatter than eating way too much and then a normal amount on other days.  My goal for the last weeks before summer is to get better at eating healthy stuff even when I’m not hungry and not getting so much unhealthy stuff even when I am hungry.  Make sense? 

My other hope for the afternoon is a trip to the gym but since I have to bring the materials for the study I can only go if the rain clears up.  Cross your fingers for blue skies.