Open Toasted Sesame

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

Lemon shortbread Greek yogurt with a Jaffa mandarin and a coconut seltzer.

Coconut Chobani with Heritage Flakes and a sumo mandarin and a lemon seltzer.

Cookie butter cotton candy.

Sandwich night. Mock beef shaved tofu sauteed with red bell pepper and bbq sauce / served on a brioche bun / with mayo and provolone. Plus broccoli.

Barley bowls. Barley / roasted zucchini / crumbled seaweed snacks / canned mackerel and smoked sardines mashed together with some mayonnaise / Sriracha and gojuchang on top.

A knock-your-socks-off good dinner date at Gristmill.

The Ali Baba cocktail = gin, lemon, cream, egg white, and toasted sesame.

I went with the pre-fix option because I wanted too many things to choose!

Local greens salad with carrot, watermelon radish, and toasted sesame vinaigrette. This was delicious af and while we were eating it the owner came by and excitedly told us about sourcing his greens, so that was fun.

Chicken liver mousse with bread crackers, concord grape jam, and dulce de leche.

Best plain cheese pizza I’ve ever eaten. <– Gristmill is famous for their wood-fired oven.

Plus we had an affogato and that thing lurking in the back is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten with caramelized white chocolate ganache and sourdough pretzel crumbs.

I work the weekend so I’m off today, woo hoo!

26Mar2018

Comfy And Cozy

by Emily

Five best things I ate this weekend…

{1} Mint iced coffee from Project Cozy.

{2} Pastries at Supermoon.

Chocolate doughnut with salted caramel and a ferrero rocher croissant. Both with meringue on top!

{3} Macrons from Laudrée.

Wow, so these were by far the best macarons we’d ever tasted. We got strawberry candy with marshmallow and chestnut, both of which were fantastic.

{4} Brunch at Mother’s Ruin.

I got a fantastically spicy Bloody Mary.

And the best chicken and waffles on Earth. They have a cholula honey glaze that is everything.

{5} Crab grilled cheese at home.

Shredded crab meat, mayonnaise, Old Bay, and extra sharp cheddar, toasted in butter on white whole wheat bread.

With Trader Joe’s cruciferous veggie blend with kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and green and red cabbage sauteed with honey and soy sauce.

And a really delicious beer – a sour with Italian plum.

‘Twas a great weekend!

23Mar2018

Well There Goes Your Social Life

by Emily

Another New York snowstorm?! Can it be Spring already??! I shouldn’t complain, Adam and I both were off from work on Wednesday and I already drink enough coffee to power a small city so it’s not like the few minutes I had to wake up earlier on Thursday to deal with the snow were a big deal. <– I should note that I literally mean that I only need a few extra minutes, I don’t have to dig out my own car because I’m married to the kindest man on earth!

Highlight bites this week…

Coffee, coffee! Cafe Bustelo.

Cold brew with coconut palm sugar (and skim milk).

Protein cookie and a sumo.

Coffee Greek yogurt with coconut butter, red walnuts, and granola, plus a Pink Lady apple on the side. The coconut/coffee combo is 10/10.

These 7-11 bites are super cute, and I love anything that tastes like cake batter.

It seemed like half of Queens had closed up shop on Wednesday but Adam and I still managed to find a good lunch. Chicken and udon soup.

With an Oreo milk tea with pudding.

Plus we went to Coffee Factory for a ridiculously adorned coffee shave ice.

It’s a testament to how good Stumptown is that I was equally excited about my iced latte.

Do you remember last year when I declared that the spring holidays deserve theme flavors too? Easter gets lemon, coconut, and anything in the shape of an egg!

I snacked on coconut shortbread cookies and candied lemon slices to welcome the first day of Spring.

The Trader Joe’s eggs were cute, but the chocolate to caramel ratio was too large for my liking. I much prefer a thinner, softer shell, so the Godiva eggs were absolutely perfect.

Godiva actually sent me the eggstra special chocolates to review on the blog {I received no additional compensation / all opinions are my own}. The box includes solid milk chocolate, dark chocolate ganache (3rd favorite), dark chocolate with raspberry, milk chocolate with almond butter (my favorite), and milk chocolate caramel (2nd favorite). There’s 60 calories per egg, which feels more than fair because these are definitely a two-to-three-bite candy.

Important note – Godiva also has an assorted gift-box special for Spring that includes both cookie dough truffles and white chocolate pralines – among other flavors – and I’m having a very hard time not buying it immediately.

My dinners were darn impressive this week. Spicy Cajun shrimp pasta bowls on whole wheat linguine with tons of roasted zucchini and sun-dried tomato.

Homemade turkey Reuben burgers / roasted green beans / french fries / with ketchup and thousand island.

Chicken sandwiches. Boneless skinless breasts marinated in lemon juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, Sriracha, fish sauce, and ginger; breaded in panko; and baked / on brioche buns / with mayo and provolone.

Plus we had sauteed bok choy and leeks on the side.

And buttermilk and chive chips while I cooked.

Last night a girlfriend and I went on a balls tasting tour of the Lower East Side for dinner. Boba Guys for Hong Kong milk tea with tapioca balls and almond jelly.

Meatball Shop for chicken meatballs with pesto. Plus a Dead Flowers & Red Bottoms cocktail – mezcal, tequila, lime, honey, and hibiscus.

p.s. who is 1990’s enough to get the joke in my title??

19Mar2018

Green With Fun

by Emily

We had a great weekend! My aunt and uncle came into the city and we had a wonderful time showing them around. I even caught some of the parade.

Top three best things I ate…

{1} local beers

Greenpoint Brewery.

Brooklyn Brewery.

Iconyc‘s saison with soursop!

{2} homemade turkey reuben cheese fries

Fries / swiss and gouda cheese blend / sliced smoked turkey / sauerkraut / 1000 island dressing / parsely.

With broccoli on the side for green.

{3} brunch at Sunday in Brooklyn

How adorable is my aunt’s cocktail?

And my Care Bear Stare was one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. With Aperol, cream sherry, redeemed fruit, and cinnamon.

We shared the pancakes, which are a must-order if you visit SiB, but my flatbread was still my favorite. Ramp kimchi, mushrooms, fried eggs, and toasted spices on top of the most wonderfully chewy flatbread.

Have a great week!

16Mar2018

And Now My Favorite Color is Zhough

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

Fancy shmancy coffee. I cold pressed espresso roast with vanilla bean powder, brown sugar, and clove.

Honestly though, my current favorite-favorite combo is espresso, ice, and chocolate milk.

Milkadamia sent me a box for review [no cash was exchanged, all opinions are my own, yadda yadda]. Their macadamia nut milk is vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free. The unsweetened vanilla has 50 calories, 1 gram of protein, and zero grams of sugar (1 gram carbohydrate) per 8 oz serving. The milk has almost no flavor, but that is pretty much what I’m looking for in my nut milks because I want them to make my coffee creamy without distracting from the coffee taste. The unsweetened vanilla went perfectly with a cup of iced coffee this week, no clumping or separation to be found.

I also used it in a smoothie with frozen blueberries and coconut chunks, vanilla, maple, and chia seeds.

My packed work eats were all about the Sumo mandarin and plain Greek yogurt combo. With maple or granola.

Snack attack. Peanut butter puffs.

Mexican marshmallow shortbread cookies.

Super sour soda and cola hard candies.

Mini sundae from Van Leeuwen. Cookies and cream topped with hot fudge, almond brittle, and sprinkles.

All of our dinners this week had a Middle Eastern bent, thanks to lots of zhough and copious amounts of olive oil. Like scrambled egg pita sandwiches. Scrambled eggs / sauteed orange bell pepper and red onion / whole wheat pita / zhough. With roasted zucchini.

Pita chip nachos! Sharp cheddar / red onion and cucumber / marinated chickpeas with lemon juice, olive oil, fresh parsley, oregano, cayenne, and paprika / zhough and tzatziki.

Veggie bowls. Sauteed red onion, yellow bell pepper, and roasted eggplant / tomato sauce / marinated chickpeas / zhough and tzatziki / fried egg.

Also pizza. Is there a better food on the planet than buffalo chicken pizza??

It’s almost the weekend! Who has green beer on their Saturday agenda?

12Mar2018

געשמאַק

by Emily

Adam is post-call this morning and I am taking my weekend day off so we get to share the same space for a bit, woo-hoo! We have some really exciting date options to chose from, like a grocery trip and maybe the gym.

I worked Saturday and Sunday – and was off on Friday but spent the entire day reading and/or watching tv – so I don’t have too much excitement to share this recap. We did go on a very delicious dinner date Saturday night though.

weekend highlights…

Coffee coffee.

Cinnamon chocolate pudding.

Snowdays shaved ice! Black sesame with grass jelly, mochi, and strawberry sauce.

Yesterday I made a dish that was moussaka-adjacent. No potatoes but the other layers were there. Roasted eggplant / sauteed turkey with tons of onions, spices, and tomato / mornay sauce with parmesan.

And Saturday we did an awesome Israeli dinner at Timna. You select an entree and then the table gets all of the appetizers tapas-style. Also we ordered two desserts because we just couldn’t choose! It was one of our best meals to date. Falafel with pickled mango.

Kubneh bread baked in a flower pot served with crushed tomato, creme-fraiche, and jalapeño salsa.

Grilled beet salad with beluga lentils // tuna sashimi with green tabouli, tatziki, and ponzu // grilled cauliflower and artichoke with curried yogurt, homemade raisins, and pickled onion // smoked eggplant with feta cheese and sumac.

I had “the fish,” striped bass with cherry tomato confit, grilled zucchini, grilled fennel, fried eggplant, Greek yogurt, and bread crumbs. We loved the meal from start to finish but the fried eggplant was my favorite bite of the night.

Kubneh bread with creme patisserie, white chocolate, and honey and sage ice cream.

Sicilian pistachio ice cream with tahini, silan, and shredded halva. swoon

Back to the grind we go!

9Mar2018

Popcorn And Poutine

by Emily

Random updates…

Both sets of excisional biopsy stitches are out and today I am finally allowed to go to the gym, woo-hoo! Also important – both biopsies came back clean.

We are finally catching up on Agents of Shield and LOVING it. Hilarious as always and just crazy touching. I’m not loving the “big bad” for this season but Fitz’s story-line is good enough that I don’t care.

I work this weekend but have super fun dinner date plans with the husband on Saturday.

Best bites from the week…

Coffee can and an Envy apple.

Vanilla yogurt with nougat halva from Seed + Mill and a sumo on the side. Halva mixed into yogurt is one of my favorite things. I also really like key lime pie in yogurt. Apparently I think you can improve dessert with Greek yogurt?!

Tamarind my parents sent me from home. I rode horses as a child and our stable had a patch of trees you could pluck tamarinds from and it’s one of my favorite memories.

No photo because I ate it while sitting in traffic but I had the most deliciously meta thing from Schmackary’s – a chocolate chip cookie topped with chocolate chip cookie dough frosting!

Piles of popcorn.

Spaghetti casserole with whole-wheat spaghetti, marinara, Trader Joe’s soy chorizo, and sharp cheddar. Growing up, I hated spaghetti but adored this casserole. This version was smokey and delicious. With roasted broccoli on the side.

Dinner at Mile End. The poutine of the month is Nashville hot chicken, so obviously we ordered that.

I also had a za’atar chicken salad with Boston lettuce, mint, Israeli salad, cucumber, and crispy chickpeas. Fresh mint in salad is so good, it genuinely makes me smile.

Happy almost weekend.

5Mar2018

Best Babka In Brooklyn

by Emily

Best bites from the weekend…

Best chocolate babka in Brooklyn, probably the world, at Oneg Bakery. It was so chewy! Yet crumbly and crisp too. And the chocolate was basically brownie batter! We were absolutely smitten and I ate too much and made myself sick.