Weekend Highlights… A Bevy of Beverages

notable snacks – –

Froyo again.  Can’t stop, won’t stop.

DSC09392

Plain tart and Nutella yogurts with Nutella, mini peanut butter cups, chocolate-covered pretzels, and rainbow sprinkles.

Pizza-pizza.

DSC09416

Buffalo chicken.

We bought the new brownie batter Oreos.

DSC09330

Pretty good, especially when you smush two together for a double-stuffed.

Fresh mint in bubbly seltzer is delicious.

DSC09335

Best of all the many, many beverages we enjoyed this weekend.  There were also several iced coffees that didn’t make the photos cut.

Long Island City – –

Saturday morning I picked up a very tired husband from a long shift at work,

DSC09357

and we finally hit up LIC Flea and Food.

DSC09341

We got mac and cheese and chicken empanadas.

DSC09345

DSC09347

And a Nutella gelato and macaroon ice cream sandwich from Bakeshop by Woops.

DSC09351

We explored LIC a bit with a walk on the waterfront.

DSC09355

A stop at the gorgeous newest Sweet Leaf location for an intensely creamy Vietnamese iced coffee.

DSC09365

DSC09364

And finally a flight of beers from Rockaway Brewing Co.

DSC09371

DSC09368

#2, 4, 7, & 8.  We were very impressed.  The cream ale was the best.

Williamsburg – –

Matchabar.

DSC09339

Iced matcha on fresh watermelon juice.  It was good, but not something I’m dying to go back for again.

On the other hand, lunch at Meatball Shop will be repeated very soon.  I need to make an ice cream sandwich.

DSC09390

DSC09377

DSC09380

I got the jello shot special – Jack and Rosé.

DSC09383

And chicken meatballs with pesto.

DSC09385

They were served on an assortment of veggies – fennel, salad with apple, roasted squash, cucumber, and fresh green beans – that were tasty but literally dripping with oil.

a doggy date – –

On Sunday Webster took his first ride on the subway.

DSC09413

We went on a family trip to Central Park!

DSC09410

DSC09408

He was a total trooper for 3 hours of walking around the park.  We cooled down with a honey iced tea,

DSC09402

and a double caramel Magnum bar.

DSC09406

And some of us had bowls of water that we stomped in and spilled all over the place.

DSC09400

Webster was beyond tuckered out when we got home and spent most of the rest of the day curled up in my lap!

homemade Korilla knock-off bowls – –

I made knock-off chicken and rice bowls and the husband said I did as good of a job as Korilla!

DSC09424

  • brown rice with chopped kimchi and turkey bacon
  • roasted broccoli
  • quick pickled carrots and cucumber
  • chicken that was marinated in Gochujang paste, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar
  • shredded cheese and a fried egg on top

DSC09428

So good.  I am excited for the leftovers.

(Frozen)Yogurt

breakfast

Coffee!

DSC09271

With caramel.

DSC09265

Or with Hint of Honey Almond Milk and plums.

DSC09308

Or a Clif Bar.

DSC09320

Also one morning my coworker brought in yummy poppy-seed Danish.

20150811_094424

lunch

I had a really great sandwich with spicy sliced chicken, pickles, and fresh mozzarella from the cafeteria.

20150811_120255

The other days I did yogurt bowls featuring the new blended flavors from Chobani.  Coffee with plums and KIND peanut butter granola.

DSC09263

Mixed berry with blueberries, raspberries, multi-grain o’s and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

DSC09302

And vanilla with more berries and bran flakes.

DSC09316

The texture of the 2% yogurt was seriously creamy and good.

dinner

I can’t show you Monday/Tuesday’s dinner because it is my Recipe Redux for this month.  I will show you some of the tasty stuff we had with it though… Like roasted green beans on the side.  I added thinly sliced shallots and they got insanely crispy, crunchy, good.

DSC09280

And frozen yogurt for dessert.  With all of the chocolate toppings.

DSC09299

We liked the Nutella on top so much we ended up going back again the next night.

Wednesday was Webster’s Buyday (the anniversary of the day we brought him home) so we made a special dinner with some of his favorite foods – Nachos!  Chips with cheese, broccoli, cilantro, and chicken (pronounced chick-ON chick-ON in this house).

DSC09323

He even had his own little dish.

DSC09327

And of course we got Chipotle.

DSC09312

Of course.

random thoughts

I am so freaking excited that Target is doing away with gender-based labeling in some of its children’s aisles!  When I worked at a toy store in college I hated when people would come in and ask for “boy toys” or “girl toys.”  This awesome graph sums up my thoughts pretty well –

gender based toys

I’ve already seen some pumpkin beers and it is taking all of my self-control to not start stockpiling.  I’ve told myself that I’m waiting until mid-September.

Poorly Drawn Lines is always hilarious but I feel like this week’s comics have been especially great.

poorly drawn lines

We had dessert every single night this week.  I want to nip that daily habit in the bud, but I also have fifteen plus new ice cream joints that I want to visit before summer ends.

DSC09276

Weekend Highlights + What’s In My Bag?

In alphabetical order, because why not?…

Brunch in SoHo.  I took a friend to Freeman’s.

DSC09242

I had the poached eggs with sourdough toast and cheddar grits.

Chipotle.  Finally, we hadn’t been in almost a month!

DSC09259

Chicken salad bowl for me with all of the toppings.  Plus way too many chips.

Chocolate-cherry smoothie.

DSC09193

Frozen cherries and dates, cocoa powder, and vanilla almond milk.

Cookies with M&M’s.

DSC09239

Have you made Number 2 Pencil’s awesome “single serve” recipe yet?  Put it on your to-do list.

Fast dinner thanks to Trader Joe’s freezer section.

DSC09203

DSC09196

We had mahi burgers,

DSC09206

plus veggies in garlic butter sauce.

DSC09211

Popcorn.  Made on the stove.  <– so much better than the microwave bags

DSC09213

Random – I swapped out my purses for the week so I figured I’d do one of those “what’s in my bag?” photos.

DSC09249

Camera / day planner / book for the train (this week it’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog) / sunglasses / cell phone / keys / etc.  It is easy to switch up my bags because all of the ecetera lives in that Brooklyn bag and can easily move from purse to purse.

DSC09253

Pens / gum / lip stuff / band aids / hair tie / hand sanitizer.

Salad and sandwich night.

DSC09227

Arugula topped with toasted, shredded Brussels sprouts, sweet and spicy pecans, and honey and evoo.

DSC09237

The amazing sandwiches were thanks to TJ’s new pastrami-style smoked salmon

DSC09222

Inspired by the Pastrami Russ at Russ and Daughter’s Café.

DSC09233

Pastrami-style lox on buttered and toasted pretzel rolls with pickles and muenster cheese.

Sprouted trail mix from my aunt.

DSC09221

It is similar to “Gorp” and very yummy.

Turkey and cheese roll-ups.

DSC09200

Yogurt bowl.

DSC09217

Plain yogurt with chopped nectarines and dulce de leche.

What’s in your bag?  What items are always with you?

Lunch N Oats

breakfast

This week’s coffee (a mix of Community Coffee and Brooklyn Roasting Co) was iced with milk (a mix of vanilla almond milk and skim).  Sweetened with honey – meh.

DSC09104

And maple – yum!

DSC09186

And paired with watermelon juice.

DSC09128

And an apple.

DSC09156

lunch

2% Lingonberry Strawberry Siggi’s with chopped apricot and plum and Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.

DSC09100

The rest of the week was all about the oats.

Chocolate chip oats with peanut butter and diced apricot stirred in.  Plus goats milk maple caramels on the side.

DSC09152

Coconut maple oats with purple rose plums(!!) and chocolate pumpkin seeds.

DSC09122

And oats from home.  With freeze-dried strawberries, chia seeds, chocolate covered cocoa nibs, and chocolate chunks.

DSC09183

snack

Delicious nougat bar my parents bought me at BRKLYN Larder.  Adam bought me Luxardo cherries for my birthday there too and I am so excited to start using them.

DSC09115

Iced Americano with cream.

DSC09161

Herbed turkey and Havarti roll-up.

DSC09163

I ate several handfuls of prunes this week.  The snack situation was getting pretty bleak.

DSC09114

But then we bought the new Reuben lays.

DSC09168

It was amazing, if you were blindfolded you still would totally taste rye bread and thousand island dressing.  If they were kettle chips instead of the flimsy regular kind they’d be my new favorite.

dinner

Leftovers from Sunday.  Whole-wheat penne topped with sautéed turkey, mushrooms, and onions in marinara sauce.

DSC09110

Eaten cold, out of the Tupperware, in front of the open fridge.  It’s kind of crazy how classy I am.

The next night really was pretty snazzy though.

DSC09137

Lemon Pepper Baked Shrimp with shredded Brussels sprouts and barely.

DSC09141

Recipe HERE, this cooks in less than 30 minutes.

Then we had big salads with red curry turkey burgers on top.

DSC09172

Arugula blend topped with TJ’s Asian Sesame Vinaigrette, sliced cucumber, and baked shredded Brussels sprouts and broccoli.  Two notes – 1) baking the shredded B sprouts is my new favorite thing; 2) I bought TJ’s Thai-style chili and lime cashews to put on the salads and they were so spicy even I couldn’t eat them.

DSC09175

The patties were lean ground turkey with tons of parsley and green onions, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, red curry paste, and ground ginger.  Cooked in coconut oil.

DSC09178

We were supposed to have this meal two nights in a row but we snacked on the 1st round of patties while we assembled the salads (and the dog ate an entire patty that fell on the ground!) and there ended up only being enough leftovers for one.  Really I won out though because this chile rellano from TJ’s was darn good.

DSC09189

Best frozen meal ever.

Finish this thought – this weekend I am excited to…

Birthday Weekend Wrap-Up {I’m 30!}

My parents came to visit last weekend and Adam had two full days off so we were able to have lots of family fun.  My mom and dad technically didn’t come for my birthday, the dates just worked out, but we spent the weekend doing all of my favorite city things – walking, and eating, and eating while walking! – and hanging out with good childhood friends so it was pretty perfect.  And I’m 30 now, whomp, whomp.

Here are some highlights of the best places we walked and things we ate from the weekend…

Thursday night we walked around Williamsburg and had dinner at Pies ‘n Thighs.  I had hibiscus iced tea.

DSC08797

And a chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey butter.

DSC08799

Instead of pie we did dessert at Milk Bar.

DSC08804

Cereal milk soft-serve with cornflakes and hot fudge.

Friday we drove up to Montauk to explore.  We checked out the beachfront towns and hiked along this very cool stone pathway near the lighthouse.

DSC08837

DSC08833

DSC08827

DSC08829

We stopped at the Long Island Levain and fell in love with the giant walnut chocolate chip cookies.

DSC08810

DSC08814

And had lunch at Lunch.

DSC08817

DSC08820

The seafood bisque was good.

DSC08821

But lobster rolls were better.  They give you a big pile of buttered hot lobster meat and let you assemble your sandwich yourself.

DSC08823

We stopped at a random restaurant late that night on our drive back and ended up having an amazing meal but I have no pictures because I wrongly assumed it would be terrible.  Adam and I plan on going back very soon for the flourless chocolate cake (though next time it won’t come with a birthday candle!).

Saturday was spent in Park Slope and Midtown.  We started with Doughnut Plant.

DSC08840

Everyone loved their doughnuts (minus the beignets which just aren’t up to Plant standards) but tres leches are clearly the best.

Then trained to Grand Central Station.

DSC08841

Cold brew from Café Grumpy.

DSC08848

We shopped a bit, then explored Chelsea Market and The Highline.

DSC08864

DSC08872

DSC08870

DSC08867

DSC08875

Watermelon juice from Num Pang was refreshing.

DSC08859

And so was the mint seltzer from Brooklyn Soda Works.

DSC08879

We headed back to Brooklyn for dinner.  Drinks at Pork Slope, aka my favorite bar.  And hibiscus vodka is definitely a favorite drink option.

DSC08884

We got tater tots and spicy chicken nuggets – meh and yum! respectively – for appetizers which was good because I actually hadn’t tried any of the food at PS prior to that.

DSC08883

Dinner was Luke’s for round 2 of lobster rolls.

DSC08892

Best in the city, I think.  And they had cans of Downeats, the tasty cider I tried last weekend in Buffalo.

DSC08887

I didn’t take a photo of the maple soft-serve at Corner of Vermont but it was worth a mention.

Sunday was our SoHo/Lower East Side Day.

DSC08927

DSC08904

DSC08907

We started in DUMBO to park near the F train.

DSC08899

And had to get coffees at Brooklyn Roasting Co.

DSC08894

Then we had amazing brunch at Russ & Daughter’s.

DSC08921

My “Lower Sunny Side” came with sunny side up eggs, Nova lox, and latkes.

Ice cream at Morganstern’s.

DSC08908

DSC08914

Omg.  Vietnamese coffee and raw milk ice creams topped with fudge sauce and double Luxardo cherries.  I assumed everyone would share with me and they did not but I still managed to take this down.

We ended our weekend with dinner at The Smith.  The drink menu was on point; my “East Village Passion” had rum, lime, passionfruit, and fresh mint.

DSC08930

We had ridiculously good fried green beans to start.

DSC08933

I saw photos of the mac and cheese on instagram and had no choice to order that for my meal.

DSC08941

With a watermelon and feta salad.

DSC08938

DSC08942

So good.  We ordered the s’mores jar for dessert, obviously.

DSC08946

Sadly I didn’t love it, but Adam was more than happy to eat my share.  Since he did not eat a giant ice cream after lunch that’s probably fair!  We will definitely go back again.

I left some things out because this post is already a bit lengthy, but I seriously did almost everything I love.  With the people I love.  <– aww!

Reunited And It Feels So Good

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.

DSC08731

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

Cereal with milk.  And blueberries.

DSC08757

Plus Guava Mandarin Polar seltzer.

DSC08752

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

Coffee-eee-eee.

DSC08774

DSC08776

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.

DSC08737

Microwave noodles and roasted seaweed.

Oatmeal bowl.

DSC08761

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

Yogurt bowl.

DSC08770

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.

DSC08739

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

DSC08745

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.

DSC08750

But my Happy Buddha Vegetables were yummy.

DSC08748

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.

DSC08764

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.

DSC08781

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.

DSC08787

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

DSC08785

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!

Buffalove

This weekend some friends and I traveled (many hours!) back to Buffalo for a quick visit.  It was fantabulous!  We got lucky with good weather, caught up with great friends, and hit up almost every place that we’d been missing.  We didn’t take even a single group photo because apparently we’re old, but a good time was had by all.

DSC08716

I didn’t get any people pictures and I didn’t take many food shots either.  Here are a few things I did capture…

Mike’s sandwich – a toasted bagel with cheese, cream cheese, and a fried egg – at SPoT Coffee.

DSC08714

Plus we got coffee there every morning because it was roasty and delicious.  Clearly I can get amazing coffee in NYC but SPoT is still one of the main places I miss.

Green juice at Ashker’s.

DSC08720

Spinach, kale, cucumber, pineapple, and mint.

Drinks at Blue Monk which now offers 5 oz pours.

IMG_20150718_170544

Shown is a very tasty Downeast Cider.

Crepes at Sweetness 7.

20150719_102637

Mine was topped with syrup and a fried egg.

Hot bar at Wegman’s, of course.

DSC08723

We actually went to Wegman’s twice!

We also went to the Co-op, walked up and down Elmwood Ave, and did a round of lemon drop shots for my upcoming birthday

20150718_192341

I’d Have To Say April 25th

This was the most boring week of the month (July includes my trip to Maryland, a trip to Buffalo, a visit from my parents, and my 30th birthday!) but Adam and I kept things fun with lots of little dates.  Honestly, I have more fun going to the grocery store with my husband than I would have doing almost anything with someone else, so grabbing donuts before work with him is pretty thrilling.

breakfast

Breakfast note 1 – I stuck with a coffee combo that worked: Dark Roast Community Coffee with skim milk and fat-free half and half.  The coffee bag says to use 2 Tbsp grounds to 6 oz water and I use 3 Tbsp and my crappy coffee machine and it comes out perfect for my tastes.

DSC08625

Breakfast note 2 – the GoMacro bars in this post are another former freebie.  The flavors I had this week were my new favorites, they had a lot more texture than the previous ones I tried.

Coffee, cinnamon applesauce, and GoMacro apples + walnuts (morning harvest).  They should have just called this flavor “apple pie” because that’s what it tasted like.

DSC08543

An aprium – apricot-plum hybrid like a pluot but more apricot than plum – and GoMacro sesame butter + dates (sweet revival).  Sesame butter is a bit sweeter than other nut butters naturally; I’m having a hard time explaining the flavor of sesame butter but it is what this bar tastes like.

DSC08567

Doughnut Plant date before work.  The fresh lavender flower flavor was tasty but the yeasted doughnut was too big for me for breakfast, I’ll have to stick to the cake varieties unless another really fun flavor pops up.  Adam had the chocolate chip cookie special and was basically swooning.

DSC08595

Freeze-dried Fuji apple slices and GoMaco granola and coconut (balanced goodness).  The oats gave this a great consistency.

DSC08598

That pop of pink is a new notebook from Target.  I’m obsessed.  I also bought a new day planner.

lunch

I was all about the sandwiches this week.  Caprese sandwich from the cafeteria.  Tomato, basil, mozzarella, and spinach.

20150707_125815

The plainest sandwich ever, also from the cafeteria.  Turkey, cheese, and mayo on a white roll.  I didn’t even have a fruit, vegetable, or whole grain on the side.  I badly sunburned my knees last weekend, long story, and I was feeling a little under the weather that day.

DSC08582

Starbuck’s Thai-style peanut chicken wrap.  I was impressed with this, all of the fancy new foods looks pretty good.

DSC08553

Lunch date at La Bagel Delight.  We spit a poppy seed bagel with lox and dill cream cheese.

IMG_20150709_124647

On Friday I did get back to my yogurt bowl roots.  2% Lingonberry & Strawberry Siggi’s with chopped aprium and pluot and KIND peanut butter granola.

DSC08619

Kids, that granola is ridiculous – somehow it tastes like cookie dough?!

snack

Saturday – July 11th or 7/11 – was 7-11 Day so I got a free small slurpee.  Sour Patch watermelon and Coke were amazing together.  Also, I eat my fair share of sugar but half of a small slurpee kind of makes me want to die so I’m horrified by the existence of that extra-large cup.

DSC08636

Guava cheese empanada.  I will be so sad if this food truck moves away from my LIRR station.

DSC08575

Ice cream date.  We got raw egg topped with salted caramel, sesame honeycomb, and Luxardo cherries.

DSC08592

Morganstern’s ice cream is indescribably chewy, it is truly some of the best I’ve ever tasted.  And I cannot get over those cherries.

Have you seen this cute iced drink promotion at Starbucks yet?  Those ice cube stickers kill me.

DSC08629

Maple latte.  With a sky-blue straw that made me so happy!

DSC08568

I took a girlfriend to Nunu so I could try that spicy beer again.  And I forgot to write down the name for a 2nd time.  I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did when it was paired with chocolate; a full pint by itself was a bit much to get through.

DSC08573

A chocolate chip cookie and a GoMacro cherries + berries (sunny uplift).  I was expecting to hate that flavor but it was actually yummy, the cherries were nice and tart and it had some oat texture.

DSC08641

That cookie was totally not homemade.

dinner

My family sent me home from Solomon’s with some of my uncle’s amazing crab cakes.

DSC08604

Best meal of the week.

DSC08609

We sautéed the crab in a mix of melted butter and evoo.

DSC08618

Served with a caprese-style salad on the side.

DSC08612

Red and green lettuce mix dressed with truffle salt, evoo, and balsamic vinegar and topped with Kumato tomato and mozzarella.

Date night in the Lower East Side.  We got bowls at Korilla and they were so freaking good!  Sticky rice, gojuchang chicken, red kimchi, cucumber kimchi, monterey jack cheese, and a fried egg.  Plus Korean bbq and hot sauces.  My mouth was on fire and I was in heaven.

DSC08585

We cooled down at Snowdays.  Black sesame shaved ice with sweetened condense milk, mochi, and Fruity Pebbles.

DSC08588

We had parked in DUMBO so we got to walk home over the bridge.  It was so hot and sticky but still super fun.

Another day, another bowl, this time a Chipotle date on our couch.

DSC08634

I got salad with peppers and onions, chicken, mild salsa, green salsa, sour cream, and cheese.  Plus chips and a giant diet coke on the side.  We go to Chipotle so often that the counter staff recognizes us, which is the most embarrassing thing on earth, but we can’t stop!

The opposite of date night, I made this dinner by myself while Adam worked a 30 hour shift.

DSC08642

My Cheesy Eggplant Bake with diced yellow onion and light Havarti added in so I could use up some leftovers.

DSC08650

Plus a great salad.

DSC08646

Red and green lettuce // dressed with lavender salt, evoo, honey, and balsamic vinegar // topped with sweet and spicy pecans, dried bing cherries, and chia seeds.

Any other drink freebie deals I should know about for this summer?