7 days in photos.

christmas decorations and mama d in front of the fire.

homemade meatball mushroom pizza. so. freakin'. awesome.

ma puppy. who's actually 13 years old but i continue to call her a puppy, anyway...

making hanukkah cookies with the baby!

baby micah!

lunch at nanoosh with the brother. mushroom, onion, tahini, greens, hummus and tabbouleh! best.

knitting on the train into the city.

the boy making s'mores.

s'mores in the oven.

thai peanut noodles for two! the boy is an excellent cook.

breakfast with laura: sweet sausage and fontina frittata.

dinner for 4 at the coffee table in front of the tv. we're super non-traditional...

and breakfast: maple pecan loaf with maple cream cheese and coffee.

thai cucumber mint salad. so delicious, so healthy :)

and heather's kugel. not so healthy, but so worth it.

vermont vacation.

i know, i know, i disappeared again. i apologize, but being home has been filled with running around, hanging out with my family, seeing my friends, spending time with the boy, eating, baking, cooking, knitting and some sleeping...when there's time. i can't even believe i've already been home a week! time's flying.

last weekend, pretty much as soon as i landed, my parents and i drove up to manchester, vermont. we stayed at a super nice inn called the reluctant panther where we ate dinner the first night and breakfast the following two days. the food. was. awesome. dinner looked a little something like this:

smoked salmon appetizer with creme fraiche (complimentary!)

pumpkin raviolo with sage, pine nuts and cream sauce.

papardelle with mushrooms (and more cream...)

the most moist chicken there ever was. with butternut squash risotto and brussel sprouts.

and dessert - freshly baked donuts with cinnamon semifreddo. the most amazing dessert i've had in years, hands down.

on saturday, we took a trip to woodstock, vermont to go to my parents' favorite store: simon pierce. they have all this super expensive hand blown glass and then there's a restaurant inside...where we ate lunch even though we weren't hungry...obviously. we started off with some drinks, wine for my parents and a spiced cider for me. usually i don't love spiced cider, if it's too spicy i mean, but this one was perfect. it was mostly citrusy, which i've never tasted before.

then we split some things - the cheese plate, arugula salad with pear, almonds and goat cheese, and a pulled pork quesadilla. all amazing!

we ate a ton of delicious meals, but i honestly only took photos of two of them since the rest of the time i was busy looking like someone who'd never eaten in their life and devouring everything in sight (pumpkin fudge, the best roast beef sandwich ever, cheese, cookies, tempura chicken fingers, and more...oops).

we did do a tiny bit of exercise when we went on a hike sunday morning. it was so beautiful out, i just wish there had been snow so we could've gone snowshoeing like we did a couple years ago. either way, it was so much fun and i definitely felt like i was getting exercise.

despite the cold, vermont is friggin' awesome. and really beautiful. i'm happy i got to come home early enough to join my parents on the trip! now i'm heading into the city to see some of my best friends - i'll be back tomorrow with more on this past week :)

xo jordan

food blogger cookies swap [chocolate chip oatmeal fluffernutter cookies]

so as you all know, i recently participated in the first annual food blogger cookie swap. and, after a very long, stressful afternoon in the kitchen, i came up with my recipe to send to my matches. using a base recipe for "monster cookies," i made some additions and changes after several attempts and three batches. here's the final list of ingredients and instructions on how to make your own chocolate chip fluffernutter oatmeal cookies!

chocolate chip fluffernutter oatmeal cookies

adapted from lovin' from the oven

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup of peanut butter

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla.

Add peanut butter and mix until smooth. Mix in four until just combined. Stir in oats and chips into dough with a wooden spoon.

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Push in 4-5 marshmallows into each cookie dough ball. Bake for about 12 minutes, until golden. Be sure to chill dough in the fridge in between batches so it stays firm enough to form into doughballs!

**best when warmed in a microwave (unless eating immediately after baking).

***makes about 4 dozen cookies (estimated after several batches of trial and error), feel free to halve the recipe :)

i hope my cookies were enjoyed by ari over at ari's menu, emmarie at bananas and beer, and amy at two true foodies!

i'd also like to thank sarah, alissa and jenny for these delicious cookies!

all in all, this cookie swap was so fun. i mean, who wouldn't want to get cookies in the mail?! surprise cookies, no less. and now i have a ton of new cookie recipes to look through as well as new food blogs! i'm so glad i participated and i can't wait to do it again next year!

xo jordan

fluffernutter oats [and packing for home].

happy thursday, everybody! i'm in quite a good mood today because at 7:30 i get to head to the airport for my flight HOME! that's right, by tomorrow morning, i'll be on the east coast :)

this morning i went to my last hot power yoga class for a few weeks and it was fantastic. i went late last night, too. can't seem to get enough! this morning after class and a shower, i made myself some fluffernutter oats. aka the most delicious breakfast i've had in awhile. okay, i know i said that about my eggs the other morning, but this is a totally different kind of meal. and you should make it immediately.

fluffernutter oats

1/2 cup oats

1 large tablespoon of peanut butter (or more!)

a handful of marshmallows

one large banana

cook oats as you wish (with water, almond milk, egg whites, etc.). add your peanut butter, marshmallows and sliced banana. stir for a few moments to let the peanut butter mix in well and the marshmallows melt. dig in.

i'd also like to give a little shout to out to sarah from the life album for these ahhhhmazing double chocolate coconut cookies that i received for the food blogger cookie swap (post to come the 12th!). i'll need to make this recipe soon 'cause these are to die for.

the rest of my day will be spent on laundry, packing, catching up on american horror story and getting excited. i'm probably going to miss this room a little bit...

see you from the east coast :)

xo jordan

injuries are frustrating.

this morning i woke up to a back that was sending shooting pains up the right side of my spine every 3 seconds. of all the things i've been lucky to have in my life, a good back was never one of them. about 5 years ago, i actually broke my lumbar spine and was pretty much addicted to bengay, thermacare and ice packs. oddly enough, the pain i experience these days isn't in the same place, but it's just as bad. while i was ridiculously eager to get to yoga this morning (up at 7:30 without an alarm, say whaaaat?!), i decided to forgo the extra pain and tears a la sunday's class :(

i hate taking a day off from things i love doing like dance or yoga just because of an injury, but i know that in just 3 weeks i'll be in rehearsal every single day for the cruise so i had better take care of myself now, right? right. this morning is now consisting of re-organizing my drawers, listening to christmas music, starting to pack for home (east coast in 3 days!) and looking a little something like this:

plus a breakfast that cheered me up a bit it was so freakin' good.

one egg/2 egg white omelette with half an avocado, a diced tomato, and a tablespoon or so of light sour cream. all mixed together + garlic salt and holy woah. this is definitely my new favorite breakfast and will most likely be repeated tomorrow.

i'm meeting up with my friend shayan in a bit for some fro-yo and then it's back to work. i'm praying i can walk people to their tables without cringing, whimpering and/or limping this evening...

xo jordan

restaurant weekend/a lack of cooking.

as you may have already noticed, going out to lunch or dinner is my all-time favorite social activity. it combines two of my favorite things: friends and food. since i'm heading back home for christmas in just four days, and i start rehearsals as soon as i come back, i've been trying to get in some quality time with my friends here who i know i'm going to miss. so, even though i usually only go out to eat once or twice a week, i made these past few days a weekend of fun, indulgence, and restaurants!

friday night after work and an hour of sitting in traffic, i met up with elana for some thai food. we went to this place near her apartment in "thai town." i ordered the fried rice with sweet thai pork sausage. it seriously tasted like bacon and was amazing.

elana got the pad thai with fried tofu. i tried a piece of the tofu since i've never had it cooked like that before and i can't say i loved it. i mean, i'd totally eat it if it were in front of me, but it didn't have a ton of flavor.

cutie!

the pad thai itself was excellent, though! after dinner, we went to a bar a few blocks down called harvard & stone. it was so hipster-y and cozy with a fireplace - i loved it! i didn't snap any pictures 'cause it was way too dark, but i definitely need to go back there. i think chill bars are my favorite...

saturday i went back to work and got to spend the day with my good friend iveth! we both got off at around 4 and had a late lunch/early dinner of nachos, fries and sliders at the restaurant. obviously healthy.

the nachos were way too good. i never order nachos, even if i'm out for mexican or something, but after having them saturday i may be craving them more often. uh-oh...and the sliders? woah. we got 2 bison and 1 lamb. both had this sort of mayo on top and the one on the bison was bbq flavored. those were outrageous. i may have to order them again before i go home...

we went to see the descendants with george clooney afterwards (+ unpictured pretzel m&m's for dessert, of course). it was good! not like, amazing? but it was definitely interesting. is it just me or are there really not that many movies about hawaii out there?

and yesterday (sunday) was spent baking for the food blogger cookies swap! unfortunately, i spent about 3 hours working on a disaster and got really discouraged/frustrated. they tasted great, but kept crumbling apart, even after adding different things to the batter :(

i took a break to calm down with some yoga, and returned to my dough that i had stored in the freezer. i was going to start from scratch, but i hate to let things go to waste. i tried one last time with my cookies and they worked! yay! recipe to come soon :)

for dinner, connor picked us up some pitfire. my stomach was hurting from eating too much dough, so i ordered the steak salad with avocado and goat cheese. i'm obsessed. the steak was cooked perfectly and the dressing was out of this world.

today is a day of errands, crossing things off my to-do list, dance class and more yoga. i'm trying to go as much as possible before i go home and suffer hot yoga withdrawal...it's going to happen. happy monday, everyone!

xo jordan

a return to health.

apologies for the lack of posts these past few days. i'm not going to lie to you, i haven't even been all that busy. i have, however, been focusing on returning to normal eating habits (and portions) as well as going to yoga every single day after my 4-day thanksgiving food binge. not okay.

in order to get back on track, i've been trying to eat regular, well-balanced meals, less dessert, and healthier snacks. i haven't been grocery shopping in awhile, either, so i've been trying to make due with what i have on hand (which is usually whole wheat pasta, spinach, carrots, milk, bananas and cereal.) here's some of what i've been putting together!

raspberry banana smoothie with spinach, skim milk and some coconut for healthy fat!

homemade soup with low-sodium chicken stock (leftover from t-givs!), spinach, carrots and whole wheat shells. + garlic salt (duh).

kashi honey sunshine with skim milk and bananas. i'm obsessed with this cereal.

oranges! times two. for vitamin c and a healthy snack.

sushi (spicy tuna with avocado and salmon and a philly roll.) i know sushi can go from being healthy to not-so-healthy pretty quickly, but i try to keep mine free of any tempura, because it's fried, and spicy mayo/other dipping sauces aside from soy sauce. plus, i figured it would be a healthy alternative to something like pizza or chinese for dinner and a movie with friends. double plus? it's friggin' amazing. oh, and that spiced ale from blue moon was bitchin' too. definitely going to need to buy a 6-pack of those soon.

and finally, celestial seasonings sugar cookie sleigh ride tea! i try to drink tea when i'm looking for something to snack on mindlessly while watching tv but am not really hungry. and i love it. and this tea kind of really does taste like a sugar cookie? win.

some other things i've been eating include:

soft boiled eggs (one before yoga is the perfect pre-workout snack!)

too many graham crackers (they are my weakness. never buying a box again.)

NOT pumpkin. (you shocked? me too.)

the next few days, i'm going to try and add in more vegetables to my diet, hopefully in place of all that pasta. i do think today will be a day off from yoga, though. i'm seriously in need of a massage after these last few classes! have a good thursday, y'all :)

xo jordan