Tag Archives: yam

Funfetti

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Sprinkles, sprinkles for everyone!

I spent my afternoon baking homemade funfetti cookies for Adam to bring to school tomorrow.  All I had to do was pour a bunch of sprinkles into this sugar cookie dough.  The end product was pretty and delicious.

I only ate one finished cookie, I kind of overdid it on dough.

Worth it.

I barely had time to pause from baking before I had to make dinner.

Open-faced chicken sandwiches with two kinds of “fries.”

Oven roasted green beans,

and Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries.

The sweet potato fries were a sample from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.

I liked the nutritional stats and ease with which they came together.  The taste and texture were pretty much identical to restaurant sweet potato fries.  Unfortunately, when you order sweet potato fries in a restaurant they are disappointingly mushy and these were no exception.  If you are someone who loves restaurant sweet potato fries then I highly recommend this product, but I’ll keep making mine from scratch.

My “sandwich” was just a slice of sourdough bread topped with pulled chicken.

Nothing fancy, but I did make the bbq sauce from scratch.

Pomegranate BBQ Sauce, makes 1.5 cups

  • 8 oz pomegranate juice (I used Blueberry POM Juice)
  • 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
  1. Pour juice into a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.  Cover and cook until liquid has reduced to 1/4 the original amount.
  2. Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine.  Continue to simmer for 5-7 minutes until sauce has reduced and thickened.

Tired Travel

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Hello from Charlottesville!  The last 48 hours have been a total whirlwind, but a little sleep deprivation is definitely worth the family time. 

Yesterday afternoon we had to finish packing, and Adam had to shave, and we had to drop his car off, and the clock ticked ominously as it got later and later.  By the time we actually hit the road it was after 6pm and we knew it was going to be a long night.

We dinnered on sandwiches from home as we drove.

I assembled Nature’s Pride bread, Applegate Farms Organic Roasted Turkey slices, 2% Swiss cheese, and honey mustard; wrapped in tin foil for easy road munching.

Adam and I also split a Starbucks Double Shot drink.

Caffeine was a very good idea (and it continued to be good all today as well) since we pulled into my in-laws’ house at 4:30 in the morning!!  I’m not sure how we managed to be so chipper for our 9:30 wake up call, but I think that vacation excitement always overrules lack of sleep.  I can’t even tell you how crazy the drive was though, between the thunderstorms and the fog we were pretty sure we were driving through the apocalypse.

Breakfast called for carbs, protein, and bacon.  Half a bagel with strawberry cream cheese,

1 scrambled egg,

and 2 slices of turkey bacon.

Moving was not as bad as I was anticipating at all (it probably helped that I was responsible for packing up the pantry and not carrying the couch!), especially since my brother-in-law drove down to help as well.  At some point in the afternoon I was sent into town for packing supplies and Starbucks for my mother-in-law; I grabbed a grande iced nonfat latte for myself.

Lunch was one of those random simple meals that ended up being extra delicious.

This veggie pizza was something my MIL found in the freezer section and it was so dang good; she was worried that the crust started to burn but it was crispy and crunchy in the best possible way.

And this was the best (only?) watermelon I’ve tasted all summer.

The melon was supposed to be dessert but my MIL and I found ourselves stuck at Wendy’s while the moving truck was returned and Frostys were calling our names.  The new Caramel Apple Parfait looked too good not to try.

Oh my gosh guys, props to Wendy’s because this was delicious!  I only ate ~ 1/3 because I didn’t want to overdo it before dinner but I was seriously impressed.  The caramel had great mouth feel and the right balance of sweet and salty.

Adam and I stayed in town after the moving was done so we could have Fathers’ Day dinner at my FIL’s favorite restaurant.  Clearly it was a day of hot work because I drained my beer before it even occurred to me to snap a picture.

This might be the first time I’ve tried a Shock Top and I was surprised by how much I liked it, light and refreshing.

I also nibbled on a complimentary cheesy biscuit.

Think of the biscuits from Red Lobster, but better.

Sagebrush isn’t the type of restaurant that I typically love but my dinner ended up being amazing.

I ordered a side of the veggie medley (without butter)

and a side of sweet potato casserole

to go with my Mountain Trout.

Trout!  This was my first time trying trout and I think it might be my new favorite fish, it was so buttery.  The menu said flash grilled but I’m pretty sure this was fried.  I scraped off the skin but other than that I cleaned my plate.

After dinner we had another late, rainy drive.  I bought this huge (half-sweet) coffee for the road.

I hope the caffeine doesn’t keep me awake but traveling makes my stomach upset and I was hoping coffee would help me feel better.

Tomorrow we’re spending the day exploring Charlottesville and then driving to DC in the evening.  My best friend just texted to let me know that her apartment doesn’t have internet so my posting schedule might be a little off.

Can anyone recommend any “must go” spots in Charlottesville or DC?  Other than frozen yogurt we don’t have much on the agenda!

Almost Off

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I’ve got one more shift at work tonight and then I’m off for the next three days; wahoo!  Today basically has felt like a day off anyways since I’ve got laundry to put away and some things to clean and I’ve successfully ignored it all.  I also skipped the gym so I could give my knee one more day’s rest before I run 5 miles tomorrow.

Adam and I both had nightmares last night that effected our sleep and when we rolled out of bed after 10:30 this morning I was nightmarishly hungry.  Enter a crunchy bowl of cereal with cool skim milk.

We’ve got a Wegman’s brand crunchy oatmeal cereal and Cinnamon Pecan Special K and I had a serving of each.

I don’t eat a lot of cereal but sometimes it sounds so good.

I also noshed on a big pile of baby carrots with blue cheese.

There was only one serving of food left for dinner tonight (we went to town on those sloppy joes yesterday!) so I left it for Adam and walked to the Co-op to pick up hot bar.

Curry chicken salad, tofu with okra, bbq temph, southwestern baked yams,

cashew broccoli salad, grape leaves.

For dessert I made the “punch” that I’ve been dreaming about ever since I had a sip at an event a few months ago.

Vanilla ice cream with orange juice and Sprite.

Frothy!

What is your favorite kind of punch?

Walk It Out

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend, readers!  The holiday doesn’t mean much to me (I didn’t even know tomorrow was Memorial Day until a few hours ago; I was so confused the last two days at work when my manager said we were ‘slower than usual because of the holiday weekend’) but I imagine it’s exciting to those of you with real jobs.

Since I hadn’t eaten since 3pm yesterday I made sure to fuel up with a big Granny Smith Apple and a packet of Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter before we set out this morning.

It’s funny that the Justin’s website referenced the fact that most other choc-hazelnut spreads have more sugar than frosting, because the flavor and texture of this goodness totally made me think of frosting!

I ran yesterday on my off day and I felt pretty sore from work so I decided to do a long walk today.  Adam and I headed to Delaware Park for an hour of walking while I quizzed him on pharm. questions.  We walked ~ 2miles.

After a super quick shower I met up with my friend Katie for lunch and ended up walking another ~2miles in the process.  Our final destination was JP Bullfeathers for brunch.

I ordered two poached eggs, cooked dry.

Which came with  a side of fruit,

and rye toast (I ate 2 half slices).

Dipping thick toast into drippy egg yolks might be my favorite restaurant food sensation.  Poached eggs are the perfect dish in my eyes (dippy yolks but much healthier than fried eggs because not cooked with any sort of oil) but I can’t get them right at home so they are the perfect restaurant food for me.

Katie and I also split a side of sweet potato fries, which were sadly sort of awful.

Soggy fries aside, it was nice to get out and about and to see Katie.  I also grabbed a cup of coffee and a Lindt truffle for dessert.

This afternoon Adam and I decided to split a slice of buffalo chicken pizza.

I realize we eat this pizza a lot (it’s possible we fall into food ruts, Wegman’s hot bar much?!) but it’s something we both love.  Plus, at least we always split it!  However, it’s after 6pm and we’ve both determined that we’re really not hungry for dinner so perhaps we should have skipped it today!

We’re going to take another (short) walk and see how we feel about dinner when we get back.  Either way, I have a fun dessert recipe I plan on posting (and eating!) this evening.  See you then!

What is your favorite food to order while dining at restaurants?

My Indian Name is Runner of Many Errands

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Would you believe me if I told you we just got home?!  Well, sort of.  But it has been a busy day.

Adam came home this afternoon and we headed out on errands – H&R Block to file our taxes and SuperCuts so I could get a trim.  Neither errand was all that exciting; taxes are sort of a joke when no one in the household has any income, and in the same vein all I can afford is a $13 hair cut.  I did find out that when I donate my hair to Locks of Love this spring I can get my hair cut for free, so that’s good news.

We were so cranky with hunger by the time we headed home that french fries with vinegar from ETS were a necessity.

Obviously.

I’m glad we got in some veggies of the non-fry variety for dinner.

We made a big batch of Emily’s Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup.

The soup is full of sweet potato, rutabega, kale, and black beans, then topped with avocado.  It was very tasty, so head on over to The Daily Garnish to check out the recipe.

The minute we were done eating (and I use the word “done” loosely here) we head to rush out the door to UPS.  Sidenote – Mom, Tiffanys sent me back my fixed bracelet.  Sidenote 2 – Don’t ever buy the Tiffany Sea Starfish Bracelet, it’s gorgeous, but the stone falls out of the charm like 8 times a month.

We had to stop at Rite Aid for some things on the way home (um, hair dye, get excited!), and now we’re about to settle in with some Sour Patch Kids and X-Files.

What’s your favorite kind of soup?  I actually not much of a soup girl, but this recipe may be a new favorite.

Friday Night Frozen Yuuuums

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I did the Friday shuffle!  In fact I shuffled right on through to bedtime!

After class I walked down Elmwood to meet up for lunch with Katie at Wasabi.

I’d like to tell you I ordered a hot water to drink because I’m so mature and healthy, but really it was more of a Japanese waitresses cannot understand me when I’ve got retainers in my mouth thing.

I ordered the lunch special which came with a miso soup (not always vegetarian, fyi, though this one was),

and two sushi rolls.

I got a cucumber and asparagus roll,

and a tempura sweet potato roll.

We had a great lunch and spent a long time catching up.

Then I headed to the Spot to get my study on.  I ordered a grande soy latte with two shots of amaretto syrup.

But then I discovered that drinking hot coffee with retainers in is disgusting and threw it out.

Caffeinated or not, I managed to get all of my notecards for the week done, phew!

Adam and I didn’t both didn’t get home until after 7, so all plans of a fancy dinner flew out the window.  Thank goodness I had the best frozen meal on earth on standby.

The Tandoor Chef Veggie Pad Thai is ridiculous tasty and vegan to boot.

Yuuuuuuum!  It’s nothing like nyc, but this is literally the best Thai food I can get in Buffalo.

I also had some unsweetened applesauce topped with red hots and simply sweet granola.

Can I say “yuuuuuuuuum” again?

Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Matching Meals

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There was no Saturday post because I just couldn’t figure out the logistics of it.  Two things were happening yesterday – I was starving and my teeth were killing me.  This meant I started 80 different food items, then gummed at them pathetically before moving on.  I just didn’t know how to blog it without saying “I ate two bites of this, and three bites of that..” a million times.

But today, today was definitely worth blogging.  The husband and I ate matching meals all day!  That’s not to say he didn’t eat several things that I didn’t (or that he was particularly excited about this) but for the most part our meals were twins.

We started our day with hot chocolate.

Made stove-top style with skim milk, sugar, and Green and Black cocoa powder.

I’ve been loving the cocoa lately, and this homemade version might have been my best cup yet.

We also had yogurts.

I ate the Liberte, 0% Strawberry.

The Liberte yogurts are sooooo rich and creamy but they generally have a lot of saturated fat so I was thrilled to find this 0% one.

Then we had matching lunch plates.

Leftover mini cheesy meatloafs with roasted sweet potato fries.

This meatloaf was good the first day, but it definitely got better after sitting in the fridge.

We watched some “X-Files” while we ate, then headed to my campus to get some schoolwork done.  I hit up the gym while we were there. A quick treadmill work out – warm up + run 1mile (9.10) + incline walking – 2.5miles and 35minutes. Followed by a quick stretch and a few planks.

For dinner we went to Cheesecake Factory to use up the last of our Christmas gift certificates.

We shared an order of avocado egg rolls.

If by shared you mean split 1-5 and include Adam growling at me while I ate my one.

Our dinner plates weren’t exactly identical, but we did share many bites.  I ordered my favorite, the fresh vegetable appetizer salad,

and Adam got the spicy cashew chicken.

We had a lot of fun sharing, and we’ve both got lunch leftovers for tomorrow!

Plus we split a cookie dough cheesecake for dessert!

Would you ever be interested in seeing a day of Adam’s meals?

NYC: Day 2 and 3

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I wish I had been able to blog more in the city because squashing the recaps of these two days together just can’t do them justice.  To say the weekend was fabulous is an understatement; although every trip to the New York is fabulous. 

Saturday and Sunday were spent pretty much exclusively eating and walking.  My two favorite things.  And the walking was through our favorite areas and the eating included some of the best meals I’ve ever tasted.  Fabulous.

Saturday started with a trip to Soho to our favorite brunch spot.

We discovered Freemans on a whim one weekend and it has never disappointed us.  The boys (and my friend Lana who lives in the city and joined us for the day) were duly impressed.

I ordered the Fall Vegetable Hash, which came with two pan-fried eggs and herbed creme fraiche.

This was savory breakfast perfection, I didn’t know that brussels sprouts in the morning could taste so good. 

I knew our next stop required a hungry belly though, so I managed to leave one egg on the plate.

I’ve you’ve ever previously read my blog when I had visitors in the city then you know where we headed next.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine has the best (and cheapest) cupcakes in the city.  They are sweet without being too sweet, spongy and light, gorgeous, and innovative.  Plus the cake is so good that this former frosting-licking-then-tosser devours the entire cupcake, cake and all!

I went with pistachio.

Be still my heart.

Then we hopped on the train and headed to DUMBO.

The neighborhood Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass is one of our favorite areas in the city.

In addition to being gorgeous, you can walk straight from the park to the Brooklyn Bridge for a walk into the city.

Fabulous.

A subway trip later, and we were back in Park Slope.  I know hitting up the same area during a three-day trip to the city is a little silly, but we just love it there so much!  Plus, it was the first time Gordy and Ian got to visit our old ‘hood.

Those photos are from Bierkraft, an exciting little craft beer spot on 5th avenue.

Bierkraft has an area with benches, a tap selection, and then walls and walls of beer coolers for you to peruse.  So I of course ordered an apple cider.

This was the only underwhelming thing I put in my mouth all day (TWSS).  I usually drink Woodchuck ciders and this guy from Harpoon had a slightly lower alcohol content and a much lower flavor punch.  I passed him off halfway through.

We continued the carbo-loading by splitting this bag of chips.

It had been a long time since brunch but I wanted to be hungry for dinner and these spuds fit the bill perfectly.

For dinner we took everyone to Sotto Voce, the best Italian food in Brooklyn.  The wait staff was totally accommodating about seating six without a reservation, nice as hell, and they brought us great bread.

The lighting was a little dim, so these pictures – with lighting engineered by Lana with an i-phone flashlight app – don’t even begin to do the food justice.

I ordered the special and it quickly found its way onto my “Top Five Best Meals Ever” list.

Sacatini pasta stuffed with spinach and gorgonzola in four cheese sauce with walnuts and poached pears.

Holy god.  I am not a good enough writer to adequately describe how amazing this was.  The fresh pasta had a totally unique texture.  The sauce was pure cheese ecstasy.  The poached pears would have been exciting all on their own and then they were perched atop this masterpiece.  I ate about 2/3 and shared the rest and everyone agreed that it was divine.

The rest of the night took us bar-hopping in Williamsburg, but frankly I was just plain too tired for booze so I have no pictures of that.

Sunday morning we slept in late, Ian set off to his train, and Adam, Gordy, and I wandered down to Lexington Avenue in search of brunch.  We had been very excited to try one particular location but I’m glad that it fell through because that disappointment led us to Rare.

Rare is the restaurant attached to the Affinia Shellburne Hotel but don’t let that fool you; it is so not a hotel restaurant.

For starters, they took pride in their complimentary Bloody Marys.

I ordered mine extra spicy and was in horseradish heaven.

Did I say that Saturday’s dinner was a best meal ever?  Because Sunday’s brunch was the best breakfast of all time.  Seriously.

This is how Rare does french toast.  Thick slices of challah, real Vermont maple syrup, and sautéed bananas.

They were ridiculous good.  I ate exactly half, pretty much only stopping because I couldn’t shut up about how good they were and I was starting to annoy the other patrons.

I also took a few bites of Adam’s parmesan and truffle fries.

I wasn’t the only one moaning at the table.

A quick walk to drop Gordy at his train, a stop at Barnes and Nobel for a coffee with skim milk, and we were back on the road.

As you might have divined from yesterday’s post, dinner on the road sort of sucked, but every minute in the city was perfection.

I’ve lived a lot of (neat) places – St. Thomas to Miami to Brooklyn to Buffalo – but the city has felt like home since before I even moved there.  When we vacation my homesickness is always for our studio in Park Slope, even though we now live somewhere new.  After two years away it still feels like home, my true home.

Where is your home, your true home?