adventures in baking

On a recent dreary Saturday, I whipped up some peppermint bark (already eaten in entirety), lime melt-a-ways (not shown), and zucchini-vanilla cupcakes. Yes, the holidays are upon us.

portugal: eating

Eating in Portugal is easy - all fish, all the time. Yes, you could have meat, but you are on the ocean! Enjoy it, I say. If it swam, we ate it - octopus (above), shrimp (below), clams, lobster, and a variety of local fish. Some culinary highlights included a fantastic lunch at Tasquinha do Oliviera in Evora, a delicious dinner at Agua na Boca in Salema, and super good bar food at Sol e Pesca in Lisbon.

Another speciality I should call out is a flaky egg custard called pastel de nata (below). We got ours from Pastèis de Belèm. As you can imagine, it was delicious.

©top and bottom photo by me. middle photo by Jeff via Instagram (@drinkeatlove)

philadelphia: reading terminal market

Reading Terminal Market was the first stop on our tour of Philly (it's very similar to Grand Central Market). Being dorky tourists, we were especially excited to see the array of Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish offerings (below).

After some research we settled on Dinic's as our lunch. Recently, the Travel Channel had declared their roast pork "the best sandwich in America" (below). Obviously, with that kind of credential, it's pretty hard to be objective. While I did enjoy the sandwich, both Jeff and I were hesitant to declare it the best in the nation.

Our final stop was a Termini Bros. cannoli, made to order. I wish there was a way to just get the filling and less of the shell....

© all photos by me

ocean grove

Ocean Grove is barely separated from Asbury Park (We took a small bridge, above. I'm the one in the hat.), but it couldn't be more different. For starters, it's a completely dry city, with a strong religious history. It feels much older and much more quaint.

The town centers around a large auditorium, originally built to establish a permanent Christian camp meeting community. Surrounding the auditorium are tents (although I use that term loosely) - seasonally based structures that you aren't allowed to purchase (the church owns all the land), only lease for a period of 99 years. The tents are super cute:

The town also boasts a number of lovely victorian homes...

 ...as well as some delicious coconut flavored Italian ice.

Thanks for the tour James!
© all photos by me

summer activity list

Once again, in no particular order:
1. Stay a night at the Boatel (yup, exactly what it sounds like).

2. Visit Ocean Grove (below) and Asbury Park.

3. Try all the sno-cone flavors at Handsome Dan's (I had the Earl Grey Cream last weekend and it was delicious).

4. Tour the battery at Sandy Hook.

5. Have an overpriced cocktail at a fancy rooftop bar.

6. Eat key lime pie by the water in Red Hook.

7. See the Brooklyn Cyclones play in Coney Island.

8. Barbecue in someone's backyard (not my non-existent one, obvs).

recent pins

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kings of pastry

Kings of Pastry follows the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition, held once every four years. This grueling three day event crowns four winners of the sixteen contestants to be the "best craftsman in France" and includes six foot sugar sculptures, wedding cakes and countless petit fours. It's emotional and intense - a really fascinating look into another world.

Don't forget to enter the 1000th post giveaway! More info here.

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See all my pins here. 

hot chocolate

Photo from here.
In case you weren't already jealous that I live in NYC, February is Hot Chocolate month at City Bakery.

foods this weekend

Cooked: two pumpkin pies (above), crackers, edamame, red pepper and spiced carrots dips.

Enjoyed: cheese picnic in the park (above), classic nyc dinner, and dim sum.

What do you eat?

yum

Another day, another donut.
Dulce de leche donut from Dough via Smorgasburg.

scenes from a weekend

Donuts | Park | Hot chocolate | Snow | Friends