eating sushi with mr. shellfish allergy.
haven’t you heard yet? danny “developed a shellfish allergy” while in asia. and according to mr. research, “it is very common for adults to…
breakfast of champions at the phx burrito house.
every day we’ve been driving by this newish little spot in downtown phoenix’s melrose district and always talk about checking it out. so this…
craving a night in asia.
we haven’t had much asian food since being home, but the other night we needed ramen and we needed it now. we landed at the…
trader joes favorites :: snack edition
trader joe’s is kinda cultish. and if you’re like us, there’s no where else you’d rather shop. in fact, wandering around trader joe’s was…
boozy birthday cupcakes.
for my girlfriend alicia’s birthday party i wanted to bring a surprise treat. my theme for her birthday was “a magical year” so i…
sushi in japan. not as easy as you’d think.
leading up to japan, all danny and i could think about was endless, fresh & inexpensive sushi. melt in your mouth nigiri and crazy…
japanese comfort food: okonomiyaki
okonomiyaki is called “japanese pizza” or “japanese pancakes” and it’s officially one of my new favorite hearty meals. (“yaki” means “what you like/want” –…
need a snack? how about some octopus balls.
no, for real. they’re delicious. takoyaki is a signature street food snack in japan (read more here on wiki). a few friends told us…
daily ramen… from a vending machine.
we ate a lot of ramen in japan. probably more than we should admit. and much to our surprise, most ramen shops were synonymous with…
hong kong // our neighborhood dim sum.
dim sum :: a style of eating chinese/cantonese food that’s all small, bite-size portions and usually served in bamboo steamer baskets. in some cases,…
cambodian food + drink.
at home our mouth’s water for this cambodian restaurant, so we were super pumped to get our fill of authentic cambodian fare. sadly, the only thing…
taking on asia’s giant oysters.
danny really wanted a good seafood dinner while we were in the thai islands. so once he discovered a place of his liking, we…
The Art of Eating in India.
Hands down, India wins the best food award. We couldn’t enough. Unlike everywhere else we’ve been, we didn’t crave diversity once. Every day was…
Giving Thanks in Tucson.
thanksgiving ’13 was spent in tucson with danny’s folks and “the grandmas.” it was a small group but everyone was in high spirits and…
taco guild: a place for confessions & cocktails
taco guild is central phoenix’s newest restaurant and it’s unlike anything else in the valley. a restored 19th century church, the restaurant is filled with…
piece of cake in 2 minutes.
we’re not big on sweets around here, but there are definitely those times i’ll get a craving for a brownie, cupcake or slice of…
doubling dan at the gladly.
while sir dan was in town for his monthly work trip to phoenix, we decided to give the biltmore’s newest restaurant a whirl. the…
a night at the famous pizzeria bianco.
our collegiate amigo and fellow phoenician, mr. scott coffey, has seized an opportunity to move back to his home state of colorado. of course…
downtown’s funky welcome diner.
we decided to mix up sunday pizza for burgers & ventured to downtown’s welcome diner. it’s just that: a diner. retro with a few…
cambodian gem – reathrey sekong restaurant.
if you’re in Phoenix and looking for delicious cambodian food, check out reathrey sekong restaurant at 11th & indian school. since discovering it, we…
homemade bruchetta.
some of my favorite things. bread. oil. cheese. fresh tomatoes. i dug around the fridge and found pesto & a jar of sundried tomatoes which…
ethnic fare for four.
after happy hour, nick, angela, d & i decided on indian food for dinner. tempe has a ton of ethnic options – indian, thai,…
linner is the new brunch.
just you watch. it’s gonna be the next big thing. i’m a big fan of linner (super late lunch). it just needs a cooler…
sunday pizza in the neighborhood.
there’s no denying it: we eat pizza 3 out of 4 sunday nights a month. it’s kinda a thing. (more about sunday traditions here). judge…
summertime sweets.
a 10-minute escape from the heat. reeses peanut butter cup for her. oreo for him.
what felt like the longest drive EVER back from california.
leaving friends post-brunch on the most beautiful california day and waving goodbye to the beach to drive back into the blow dryer (what the…
danny turns thirty one.
packages! lots of shirts this year. and a new tie clip. hunter was really interested in the oatmeal creame pies that came in vicky…
hey, arizona summer. back so soon?
the heat’s been hovering in the 90’s, but this weekend we got a heat wave punch to the face when it hit 109. and…
photos from alex’s paella party.
the birthday boy with the chef extraorindares, heather & charlie aka colucci ting and his new summer hair do with john, erinn’s beau arizona…
a full moon paella birthday party.
every weekend should be a three day weekend. no ifs, ands or butts about it. on saturday night, a group of us celebrated our…
baking for a craving.
it’s official. i’m a terrible baker. good thing i usually only crave all things savory. but when i do want something sweet and my…
phoenix public market & cafe.
about this time last year, the downtown phoenix market and wine bar closed. they continued to host the outdoor farmer’s market & food trucks…
trader joe’s easy & delicious greek gyros.
hers & his chicken sausage gyros made with all trader joes ingredients in less than 6 minutes {mine with extra tzatziki, his with spicy…
running from summer & eating every single meal outside while we still can.
a downtown phoenix staple. a place where you’ll be greeted by the owners, have delicious pizza to the sounds of live music and if…
flamenco night & menu favorites at downtown’s gallo blanco.
danny had a craving for mexican food, so off to gallo blanco we went. when we got there, it was packed and we realized…
edamame for two at sushi brokers arcadia.
just one of those random weekday nights that we decided to skip the gym and bail on our list full of errands for sushi…
the great expiration date debate.
danny’s a freak about expiration dates. if it’s a day over – it’s trashed. period. i’m more in the camp of “if it still…
doin’ our willo thing.
a little spread to get filled up on before the willo home tour. we chatted. we sipped. we toured. it was a lovely little…
love notes, sweatpants & steak on february 14th.
it was a lovely little valentine’s day. it started for d with a series of love notes around the house. and then at noon,…
eat, drink & play at phoenix’s newest hangout – the yard.
our dear quinn flew into phoenix last night for work, so a few of us got together for a tuesday night dinner at sam…
our first spaghetti squash.
(yes, i changed half way through making dinner because i knew the white knit sweater was going to be bad news) have you made…
rainy weekend morning pancakes.
plain for me. chocolate chip for him. mini for huntie. red out! one of the plates i acquired during my recent raid of mom’s…
eating local, an intimate boho farm dinner in arcadia.
a couple of weeks ago i was invited to a super unique dinner party. a local couple, caroline + david, have an amazing farmhouse in arcadia…
my annual girl’s wine & cheese party.
hard to believe the thursday before thanksgiving has come and gone already. i was a little late to get to planning my annual little…
oh the PASTAbilities!
said the tings one recent saturday night at the old spaghetti factory. that’s right, folks. the OSF. and you know what? it was delicious…
federal pizza :: the newest slice in town.
postino has a new sister restaurant and her name is Federal Pizza. located in the uber hip, up and coming North Central area of Phoenix, this…
the world’s smallest lobster roll.
before attending a charity fundraiser event last saturday night (Scottsdale 20/30’s NiteFlite), we tried out a new restaurant in scottsdale, “the house,” an old…
another candle on the cake.
today marks the first day of the last year of my twenties. i’m okay with it, but i am a little sad to think…
healthy dinner in 7 minutes.
if you’re lucky enough to have a Trader Joe’s close by, grab a bag of Quinoa Duo next time you’re shopping. we always have…
cooking class for two.
not the two you’re thinking… … danny and kayman, say cheeeeeeese (literally). a couple of weeks ago danny let me know that he’d be…
just what the doctor ordered.
it’s been a busy week. tonight called for the couch + my boys + one of my favorite dinners… cheese, crackers, meats, mixed nuts,…
cooking in our new galley kitchen.
after just a week in our new home, we were feeling settled enough to make dinner and spend the night in front of the…
belated mother’s day celebration.
last sunday we got the fam together to celebrate the phoenix moms postino style. a sunday brunch with plenty of bruchetta, beer, wine, sangria…
pizza date night at the parlor.
for some reason our happy hours at The Parlor always turn into multi-hour dinners (as also seen here). we totally get sucked into the cozy…
eat your brussels sprouts, mister.
why do brussels sprouts have such a bad rap? they’re delicious! and we just figured this out. i also just realized that brussels sprouts…
down in t-town.
we made our way down to tucson this weekend for a little family time. we relaxed poolside, i read a stack of magazines &…
kitchen tip :: veggie storage.
we’ve started chopping our vegetables in bulk and storing them in mason jars in our fridge (or any old glass jar – pickle or…
scottsdale date night at The Saguaro.
we recently gave Scottsdale’s newest hotel, The Saguaro, a whirl. for you locals, The Saguaro was formerly The James Hotel turned The Mondrian turned…
recipe: take-out at home. spicy red curry.
i love me some asian food. it’s by far my favorite type of cuisine, so i was really excited when this red curry recipe…
super simple & tasty vegetarian fajitas.
’tis the season to get back on track with healthy eating. no matter how hard you try, the holidays are just a lost cause…
ladies lunching in downtown phoenix.
this morning i got a text from my girlfriend angela to see if i was interested in a last minute friday lunch at the…
saturday night lock-in.
we must still be in relaxation mode after our weeklong vacation because neither of us felt much like going out this weekend. well, i…
the happiest of hours at arcadia’s north.
last night i walked a couple blocks and met a few fantastic ladies at North for happy hour bites, wine and chit chat. happy…
hummus. the homemade way.
homemade garlic hummus the tings love us some hummus. its a go-to snack around our home but we can polish off a little $5…
faux beef with real beef cakes.
we (especially my ting) are so excited that our dear dan has landed a new job that requires him to be in phoenix one…
celebrating christmas in tucson.
we really stretched the christmas holiday this year with a christmas eve family party, a full christmas day followed by a trip down to…
a friend’s first s’more.
during a recent holiday party danny taught alex how to make a s’more. danny explained how there are two ways to toast your mellow……
like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.
you know when companies or shows will add up the amount of something you eat in a year? i honestly wouldn’t want to know…
simple pleasures.
donuts. coffee. sweatpants. sunday morning on the patio. cuddling a frenchie. i love donuts. danny not so much, but i do love them. i’m…
autumn wine & dine {girls only}.
at what point is something considered annual? it feels a little premature, but i guess this was my second annual autumn girls wine party…
it’s a date – cibo pizzeria
last friday was a good day. a real good day that turned into an even more super night. we started with drinks at the vig,…
a new menu in the ‘hood – north arcadia
we love our neighborhood. we can’t imagine living anywhere else in the valley. it’s one of the more “urban” areas in phoenix simply meaning that we…
sometimes you have to splurge.
and this weekend that meant a trip to red robin for a bottomless basket of steak fries and a whiskey river bbq burger. yuuuuuum….
getting my bake on.
as mentioned here, one of my goals this fall is to be more open minded about pumpkin flavored things. so last night i whipped…
fiesta friday.
danny’s office is having a salsa contest today and we all know ting loves him some salsa. he buzzed over to food city and…
dinner with the dudes at st. francis.
one of our dearest friends from college is in town for a conference and staying with us for a couple nights. last night i…
danny does meat at delux.
well, folks. he did it. ting dominated his 30-day vegetarian challenge. he took it very seriously – in fact, when one of my recipes called…
taking our sushi game to the next level.
now that ting and i are getting more confident in our sushi making abilities (our first time seen here), we decided to take our…
chef boyardee.
it’s so nice after a crappy day (my mood was sour) to come home to a happy husband whipping up some italian fare (using our…
super zesty sunday night.
Last Sunday we had plans with our friend Alex to come over for pizza and beers, but after Danny’s parents called to see what we…
danny’s new diet.
I’ll admit it. I had beef with Danny’s new diet – pun fully intended. A couple weeks ago Danny started talking about doing a…
minnesota on a stick.
nothing says summer in the midwest quite like the minnesota state fair. together with meg and quinn we took on the crowds, the live…
greek freak.
lately i’ve been craving greek food – a lot. perhaps its the heat, but all i’ve wanted are greek meals. here are two recipes that have…
crazy shot at citizen public house.
after a sushi dinner at roka akor, we were in the mood for a drink at one of our favorite places in scottsdale, citizen…
ZINful burgers with the bfg.
My BFF’s fiance Jake is in Phoenix for work. Earlier this week, Danny, Jake and Alex had a boy’s night at the old George &…
the orange table – an oldie, but a goodie.
what a great weekend. nothing too exciting to report but just one of those really good weekends. a perfect blend of productivity and relaxation….
guilt-free ranch dipping.
Ting and I love us some ranch. Salads, pizza crusts, buffalo wings, veggie sticks… you name it, we’ll dip it. But unless you choke down…
delicious blueberry & herb pork.
I’ve been looking for recipes that use all the fresh berries that are in season (and so cheap) right now. I was flipping through…
double the digits. double the fun.
Tonight, a big ‘ole group of us are celebrating Aunt Chilada’s birthday at eh, Aunt Chiladas. Yup, many of you know I call my…
tasty & easy summer fish recipe.
On Sundays, we take a look at what we have on the calendar for the week, plan our meals and get our grocery shopping…
red, white and bbq.
What a wonderful weekend we had! The weather in San Diego could not have been more gorgeous and the weekend couldn’t have been more…
cook off: pizza war.
Ting and I love making homemade pizza. It’s so fun and you feel a little less guilty about eating homemade verses store bought. This…
homemade cookies & cream, kinda.
Ting decided to take his craving for Cookies & Cream ice cream into his own hands and whip up a frozen creation. Watching him…
friday night date at the arrogant butcher.
We hadn’t been on a proper D&T friday night date night in what felt like ages. Danny of course thinks I’m ridiculous when I say these…
this sunday morning.
fresh strawberries. milk. cinnamon rolls. sunflowers.
grillin’ weather.
We’re on a major kabob kick. Lately, they feel like the perfect summertime meal. We typically use a mixture of beef, shrimp, chicken and…
two mom’s in the house.
Danny and I hosted Mother’s Day dinner for his mom and sister. It was a big one for the family – Tricia’s first as…
i’m not a baker.
All of my baking attempts usually end in a disaster as evidenced by last night’s attempt at a boxed cake. I’m definitely a “salty” person verses a “sweets”…
grand opening of el hefe.
Friends of ours, Rachel & Mikis, are opening a new restaurant in Scottsdale called El Hefe. We were invited to be a part of the sneak…
super bowl sunday eats.
We’re not football fans but we do enjoy Super Bowl Sunday for very obvious reasons – I love the ads & homemade Chex Mix…
meat & potatoes.
Last week, Danny picked up some meat and decided to make steak and baked potatoes for dinner. Between you and me, in the past…
sometimes you just need something sweet.
{a slice of red velvet cake + cream cheese frosting from tammie co. bakery} happy fridaysplurge a little this weekend.
healthy santa fe chicken soup.
I think we have a new hobby – cooking. Over the years, Ting and I have started cooking a lot and we really enjoy it….
going’ downtown for food trucks & americas tacos.
Over the past couple years there’s been a big revitalization push in downtown Phoenix. Old neighborhoods are turning hip and cool, new restaurants are…
recipe for chili relleno casserole
After two weeks apart, we were finally reunited with our little man last night. Oh we missed him so much! We felt bad having…
nomads in LA.
Since Thursday we’ve gone from LA – San Diego – Orange County – LA… and this isn’t our last stop. Nomads. Danny’s been a…
uncle matt loves hunter & vice versa.
Our friend Matt is in town from DC to spend the holidays with his family here in Phoenix. In fact, his sister and brother-in-law…
christmas morning at the bocktings.
Santa brought Christmas early to the Bocktings this year. We woke up in Tucson on Saturday, December 18 to a proper Christmas morning with…
farewell, friends. adios at local bistro.
On Friday night we met Matt and Mallary for dinner to say farewell and wish them luck in their next chapter… in Des Moines,…
farmer’s market.
Today’s unseasonably warm December weather was the perfect excuse to start the weekend with a walk to Vincent’s Camelback Farmers Market. We soaked up…
overdue date night.
It’s been a busy past couple weeks with work and home stuff plus we’ve had “roommates”… my in-laws, Vicky & Joe, were staying with…
girlfriends, wine & cheese.
The holidays are upon us and ’tis the season to reflect on what we’re thankful for. On my list: wine, girlfriends & cheese. So…
weekend recap – comfort food at beckett’s table.
We had another really mellow weekend at home and loved it. A few snaps from our weekend… 1. Date night. We tried out the new…
pan-fried chicken fingers with dipping sauce.
The weather is changing and so are our appetites. Warm comfort food is starting to sound good so I turned to Cooking Light for some new…
brunch, baby.
If there are two words that go absolutely perfectly together, they are sunday and brunch. I spent Sunday afternoon catching up with Rachel, Kristina, Stephanie…
the rouge goes downtown to the duce.
Last night a group of us went to The Duce in downtown Phoenix. It. Was. Fantastic. An old 1928 brick warehouse, the space is all indoor/outdoor,…
green chili enchiladas.
After tonight’s workout Danny made homemade green chili chicken enchiladas for us. I love when he cooks. And of course, Hunter’s always a huge…
parents, paella & a pig pick-up.
We had a super mellow weekend – it was nice. Friday night we saw The Social Network – and really enjoyed it, have you…
first lunch of october.
Just one more thing to add to my “TG” list this week… an impromptu lunch with my husband at a cool downtown spot – The…
super sunny california.
The Arizona sun followed The Tings to Southern California this weekend. The entire state saw record breaking heat … similar to when we visited…
yelpers unite.
Last night, Danny and I went to our first “Elite Yelp Event” at Blancos Tacos y Tequila (love Sam Fox) in Scottsdale. We didn’t…
first day of school.
For a while now, Danny and I have talked about putting Hunter in “Paw Play” a couple days a week to help with his…
just another night.
When I started this blog, one of my goals was to capture our everyday life. To take photos around the house when we’re not…
mexican lasagna.
It’s not as sinful as it sounds. I promise. A couple girls from my sorority started a cooking blog called Forks & Amusement – check it…
stormy night = thai lahana take out.
A monsoon rolled in on my way home from work tonight. At that point, I decided to skip the treadmill and hit the couch…
modern date at modern steak.
After much deliberation last Friday, we ended up doing date night at Modern Steak. In Arizona, Sam Fox is a restaurant God. He’s know for fab concepts with cool…
quick & easy fish tacos.
At one point in my life, I think I claimed that Rubio’s was one of my favorite restaurants. Since then, my taste has evolved…
wilkommen zuhause!
…That’s “Welcome Home” in German. We made a last minute decision to spend the weekend in Tucson with Danny’s parents. They just returned from…
recipe for the world’s best chex mix.
I’m one of those freaks who doesn’t really love sweets. I mean, I eat sweets and will absolutely snag a donut or brownie if…
healthy strawberry summer salad.
If you’re like us, the question of the day is, “what’s for dinner?” It’s just us, so you’d think this would be easy –…
sweet surprises.
I got the sweetest surprise today. Danny called out of the blue to see if I wanted to grab lunch (we very rarely have lunch…