Sea Shell Ice Cream

"Vacation Finale"

This picture was taken in July of this past summer when I was in Wildwood, NJ for vacation. We went to Sea Shell Ice Cream Shop for our last day of vacation; it was my idea. My ice cream just so happened to be the largest one-- the second one from the left (lucky me), and the flavors I chose were strawberry cheesecake and chocolate eclair. I'm so glad we strayed from our usual ice cream place, Bananas, and went here because it was probably the best ice cream I have ever had!

My Rating:

aesthetics: 9
-the flavors in the background look awesome
-the straws are symmetrical (two facing to the left and to facing right)

taste: 9

health: 2

Tortellini in Tomato Soup

"Souper Easy Sick Food"

This past week my boyfriend had strep throat and asked me to make him cheese tortellini in tomato soup. The dish was "souper" easy-- just a can of tomato soup, and a package of tortellini. You simply add a bag of tortellini to the soup and heat the mixture on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes and the hot soup cooks the pasta. I recommend topping it off with some mozzarella or parmesan, too!

Best girlfriend ever? I think so. And just so my blog audience knows--a lot of the meals I make are not semi-homemade like this one! I like to get more creative than that.

My Rating:

aesthetics: 5.5

-soups are kind of boring to look at because they are just a liquid (broth)

taste: 5.5

health: 5.5 

-canned soup but low-sodium

Chocolate Croissant

"You Know You Want This"

Yet another photo I found from my vacation to Hawaii! I grabbed these two pastries from the dessert selection of the breakfast buffet. The mini chocolate croissant; although small in size, had huge flavor. And to be honest, I do not think I ate its doughnut friend because I was so full!

My Rating:

aesthetics: 9

-the all white plate makes the desserts stand out and look delicate

-the chocolate croissant is in focus and the doughnut is a nice "background food"

-the powdered sugar and chocolate drizzle is messy, which I love 

taste: 8

health: 1

-pure sugar basically

Tomato & Mozzarella Salad

"It's Great to be Italian"

Tomatoes...fresh mozzarella..home-grown basil...balsamic vinegar...salt...pepper...enough said. 

My Rating:

aesthetics: 8
-wetness of the balsamic adds a nice touch
-colorful

taste: 9

health: 7

Homemade Sushi

"What Did We Get Ourselves Into?"

One night over the summer my boyfriend and I made homemade sushi. We soaked then boiled the sticky rice, whipped up a tempura batter to fry sweet potatoes and jumbo shrimp in, sliced cucumber, and rolled it all up with seaweed. This process took a lot longer than we thought, and by the end of the we were wishing we ordered sushi for take out! But the rolls tasted great once we finally sat down to eat them, and next time we will make the sticky rice the day before we have a homemade sushi night for sure.

My Rating:

aesthetics: 6
-we couldn't make the rolls like sushi chefs in restaurants do!

taste: 7

health: 7

The Sugar Factory

"Almond Joy"

Last semester, my friends and I went to the Sugar Factory in New York City to celebrate one of our 21st birthdays. The waiters were cute, and the food was even cuter. My drink (shown in the bottom picture) was an almond joy martini and it tasted just like the candy bar! I ordered a veggie burger with french fries to go with it and the combination of sweet and salty was on point.

My Rating (for the food and drink)

aesthetics: 8
-the goblet drinks were bubbling and smoking!

taste: 7

health: 3
-veggie burger

'Smores Cupcake

"Smores, Minus the Campfire"

This past summer my roommate and I hung out one day and made 'smores cupcakes--complete with a graham cracker crust, marshmallow filling, and chocolate icing. They looked and tasted out of this world...the only thing that was missing was the campfire. 

My Rating (for the food and sangria)

aesthetics: 9
-the cupcakes in the background look great

taste: 8

health: 2

Red Wine Sangria

"Boozy in Brooklyn" 

One day over this past summer I visited my friend Maddy who was living in Brooklyn for summer break. She brought me to this little Mexican restaurant on a random street corner-- a dive for sure-- but we all know those hole-in-the-wall type places have the best food. I ordered vegetarian enchiladas in mole sauce and woah, was it good. More importantly, the sangria above had tons of apples in it which made each sip juicy and tangy.

My Rating (for the food and sangria)

aesthetics: 8

taste: 8

health: 6.5
-veggie enchiladas
-red wine vs. high-calorie beer

Blueberry Cream Cheese Crepes

"Let's Make Something Other Than Eggs for Breakfast"

One day over the summer my boyfriend woke up and said, "Let's make something other than eggs for breakfast today," so I answered saying, "Like what?" and the first idea that came to him was crepes. And crepes it was! This was our first attempt ever at making crepes and it's safe to say our French breakfast turned out parfait (perfect)! We blended regular cream cheese and blueberry jam to make the filling, and sprinkled them with powdered sugar, too! One of my favorites for sure.

My Rating:

aesthetics: 8.5

-fresh blueberries or some whipped cream would have been a great touch

taste: 9.5

health: 4.5

When Two Favorite Foods Collide

"Extra Cheesy, Pleasy"

One day last semester I was visiting my friend John in New York City at his new apartment. We stopped at a pizza place and the second I saw this slice I knew it had to be mine. Looking back, I wish I had dipped it in ketchup!

My Rating:

aesthetics: 8.5

-so cheesy
-green seasoning adds a nice touch
-crust of the other pizza looks burnt

taste: 6

health: 2

Breakfast in Paradise

"Coconut Syrup"

This picture is from my vacation to Maui, Hawaii in February 2014. My dad, his girlfriend, my brother, and I were fortunate enough to go for a gourmet breakfast buffet right on the Pacific Ocean. I ordered a veggie and Swiss egg white omelet, and accompanied it with mini whole grain waffles drizzled with coconut syrup, fruit, coffee, and can't forget the OJ.  My brother says that eating at this breakfast spot was one of his favorite parts of the entire trip, and I certainly can't argue with him on that one.

My Rating:

aesthetics: 9

-the way the syrup sits in the waffle squares is picture perfect
-the fruit is bright and fresh
-the ocean in the background would have made is a 10

taste: 9

health: 8.5

Ham & Eggs at the Diner

"I'll have my usual"

Today my boyfriend and I went to our favorite diner not too far from our school. He got the ham steak and eggs (shown above), which he always gets there and loves. He smothered it in ketchup, hot sauce, salt, and pepper, and used whole wheat toast for dipping. 

My Rating:

aesthetics: 9

-ketchup and hot sauce look so clear and moist
-knife sitting under the eggs is a nice touch

taste: he says 8

health: 5
-dry wheat toast on the side

Mexican Pizza

"Crumbs"

September 2013

Today my boyfriend and I ate at Terra Vé, a vegetarian eatery on the SUNY Purchase campus. He ordered a Mexican pizza and I snapped a picture when he was about halfway done and many crumbs were surrounding his half eaten lunch. The crust of this pizza was a flattened tortilla bowl (the deep fried ones that are used in Mexican restaurants as bowls for taco salads). He got to choose 5 pizza toppings and decided to go with yellow rice, black beans, hummus, cheese, jalapenos. To top it all off, he grabbed a side of guacamole and hot sauce. YUM!

My Rating 

aesthetics: 8

-drenched in cheese, hot sauce, and guacomole
-served in a mini pizza box 

taste: 8.5

health: 6