Bacon Nation

Throughout the summer, our office has been hosting Food Truck Fridays, which I've mostly missed due to travel.  But I was present to join the long line of my coworkers on a recent Friday to enjoy a little Bacon Nation.

Holy heart attack, Batman.  This ain't a diet-friendly truck.  One of my buddies ordered the Double Bypass, which was two big burger patties (50/50 ground bacon and beef) sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches.  FOR REAL.  This exists.  Another got the Hot Mess, which was basically bacon cheese fries with ranch chicken and other fixins.   YUM.

I chose to get Bacon Cheese Fries, which was fries with queso and bacon crumbles.  It cost $7, but it was ample for my meal; I didn't even finish it.  I was hoping to get a fried egg on top, but they were already out.  These guys were serving up a ton of stuff rapid fire; they definitely had service down to a science and rolled food out faster than most trucks.  I appreciated that, given it was crazy hot out and the line was long.

I would say these fries were pretty tasty.  The queso was pretty thick, and overall it was a sticky, delightfully salty mess.  I think Bacon Nation is a great gut truck.  I never thought I'd say this, but it's almost a little too bacon-y and cheesy for me to consider chasing often.   But every so often, I bet I'd like to get my fix.

Blueberry Muffins & Homemade Granola

While I was in New York, as usually my super-domestic friend JH inspired me to cook more at home.  I mean, as you saw in my photos from the trip, she cooks from scratch at home daily.  Since she sent me home with a bunch of the wild blueberries we'd picked, I decided I ought to make some blueberry muffins when I got home.

Wild blueberries (and a few huckleberries) during our pick in NY

Wild Blueberries > Store-Bought... just saying, look!

Crumb Topping!

I used a recipe I found online, "To Die For Blueberry Muffins" from Colleen via AllRecipes.  I used a standard size muffin tin, and it yielded 9 muffins.  Dan and my coworkers RAVED about these muffins.  One work friend told me it was the best muffin she'd ever had.  I think it was a combination of the awesome wild berries plus the crumb topping.  I'd never made muffins with crumble before, but these were super easy and very good!
Also inspired by my NY visit, I realized that we could save so much money on buying snacks and pre-mixed granola (and have more control over the ingredients) by making our own at home.  This was a huge hit with Dan, who's been taking baggies with him to the brewery to munch on throughout the day.

I store these in an empty mason jar I had lying around.

For this granola, I used a recipe from All You magazine for "Coconut-Cranberry Granola" but omitted the coconut.  It's very good, and Dan says he'd like to add dried blueberries next time.  The can of oats I bought can basically yield two batches of this, which I think is great.  Overall we get more bang for our buck vs. buying granola or even cereal in stores.  You can add milk to this and eat it as cereal for breakfast!
I know this isn't the sexiest blog post ever, but these pics got some good engagement on Instagram and Facebook, and overall I'm proud to be embracing my inner domestic diva of late.  Hope you check out these recipes and get inspired to cook some goodies for your family!
Have you baked anything good lately?

I ate the Big Apple.

I spent a week in New York (the city and upstate with friends) eating my face off, of course.  I mean, it's New York!  WARNING: lots of photos ahead... but it's my blog and I'll overload if I want to. As part of a group for work, we had beers on the roof of Eataly, at La Birreria.  There was a great selection on tap, and the place was absolutely jam-packed.  You could sit and eat, but it was standing room only if you didn't want to wait.  So we stood, drank, and noshed!  It seemed like a hipster paradise; we even spotted one of the guys from the latest Bachelorette season, according to one of my coworkers.

La Birreria

Our hotel was just a few blocks from Koreatown, so I made sure to get my BBQ fix while I was there.  Kalbi, of course!

We also went on a walking tour that included Chelsea Market (The Doughnuttery was my favorite, with the Paris Time doughnut) and Bleecker Street Pizza (the hot and delicious Nonna Maria, of course).  I was bummed I didn't have a chance to stop at Big Gay Ice Cream, but it was a great walk through the city.

The Doughnuttery at Chelsea Market

Nonna Maria at Bleecker Street Pizza

The "cronut" is the hot ticket in baked goods, so I grabbed one from Paris Baguette in Ktown.  I must admit it was just okay... I think I'd prefer a good croissant or donut and not a combo of them both.

Our group had a custom menu from Sopra, a group dining experience with a Mediterranean flair.  We had burrata, pasta with oxtail ragout, hot baby chicken and corn, and a ricotta cheesecake with cherry compote.  The wine flowed all night, and by the end I was falling asleep from a food coma!  One of my coworkers is a culinary school grad, and we agreed it was a delicious feast.

Dinner at Sopra

After my work was completed, I met up with my cousin for tapas at Tia Pol, which was absolutely amazing.  We had tortilla espanola, chorizo, croquetas, gambas, and patatas bravas.  The potatoes were probably my favorite of all.  This is one of my cousin's favorite restaurants, and while the total bill wasn't cheap, it was all tasty and good.  Definitely reminded me of Spain.

Tia Pol

After a week in the city, I headed north to the home of one of my BFFs.  She is expecting my goddaughter later this year!  We picked wild blueberries, painted the nursery, and even went for a trail run.  The entire time, she spoiled me with her from-scratch cooking, including chicken pot pie, raspberry and peach cobbler, cornmeal and blueberry pancakes, and more.  Seriously, more than is pictured.

Chicken Pot Pie

Cobbler and Pancakes

I think it's safe to say that I ate the entire Big Apple.