Author Archives: Emily

Peep This

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No post from me last weekend because I was away in Kingston! My cousin invited me to go with her and some friends for the weekend and we had a fabulous time. I had not seen her since her wedding last summer and it was so good to catch up! Also Kingston is super cute and packed with coffee spots and bakeries — I will be bringing Adam for a day-trip ASAP. And this weekend we are heading to PA to visit Adam’s family for Easter.

Some things I ate between trips…

This Chameleon Cafe Cubano Cold Brew was great. I wasn’t super impressed with the last few bottles I tried from them but this had good body and roastiness.

I found super juicy, ruby colored watermelon plums at Trader Joe’s so obviously my yogurt bowls this week were winners. Plain Greek with plum and salted caramel granola.

Plain Greek with plum, peanut butter, honey, and Heritage Flakes.

I am usually not a snack cake person but these Lidl milk & honey bars were lovely. Maybe I would also like Devil Dogs if they were served cold?

This boring photo is a reminder to myself that hummus makes a great after-work snack.

So much Easter candy!

P.S. Dad – the Brach’s jelly beans were great this year and totally worth buying. There is a grape flavor now!

See also – I infused Peeps into vodka. Served with lemon seltzer and edible glitter.

Dinner date at Youta Ramen. They have the sake jelly drinks!

We shared spicy cucumber salad (Persian cucumber, Serrano lime cilantro sauce, with sesame oil).

And Karaage (deep fried chicken with garlic mayo).

And I got the veggie ramen – truffle veggie broth, maitake, shitake, wood ear tempura, fermented bamboo shoots, and scallion – plus an egg and chili paste.

Brinner wraps. I sauteed Trader Joe’s soyrizo with red onion then scrambled in eggs and extra-sharp cheddar. Wrapped in a TJ’s lavash bread. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Sandwich roll-ups on TJ’s whole-wheat lavash – baked honey harissa chicken, roasted garlic hummus, chopped cucumber and yellow bell pepper. Plus a raw bok choy salad with homemade miso vinaigrette (1 Tbsp miso paste whisked with 1 Tbsp warm water until smooth, 1 Tbsp each sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha, and 3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar).

Best meal of the week was these loaded baked potatoes. I rubbed the potatoes in evoo and salt and baked at 400 for 60 minutes without wrapping in foil and they were perfect. Topped with leftover soyrizo, roasted broccoli and red onion, and extra-sharp cheddar.

Halva Good Time

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Some things from this week…

I celebrated the 1st day of Spring with a Starbucks iced espresso with white chocolate sauce and lavender cold foam.

See also – Trader Joe’s Meyer lemon yogurt. I bulked it up with some plain Greek with halva pecans, blueberries, and blackberries on top.

These Seed + Mill halva-coated pecans are delightful.

Yuzu matcha spritzer because I am a woman obsessed.

Bars on bars. The Barebells one was so creamy!

We pulled the last of our Christmas coffee cake down from the freezer.

Brinner. This cornmeal pancake recipe was a winner. Plus turkey bacon, sumo mandarin, and berries (and, of course, maple syrup!).

Chicken sandwiches – Whole Foods’ Early Bird multi-seed bread, dijon mustard, mayo, brie, and chicken (thin sliced breasts marinated in Greek yogurt, lemon, honey, and harissa, then sauteed). Plus maple tahini broccoli salad (I swapped in dried cherries and roasted pumpkin seeds) and pickles.

Green With Satisfaction

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Some weekend highlights…

St. Patrick’s Day iced latte. A Shamrock vanilla protein shake that I dyed green plus Starbucks espresso and pistachio sauce. I also topped it with gold sprinkles! This tasted fantastic.

Hometown Bakeshop‘s insane tres leches cake iced latte.

I also brought home a s’mores bar and a blondie that were some of the gooiest and most decadent desserts we’ve ever tasted.

Will I ever get tired of yogurt bowls? Unlikely! Plain Greek with blueberries, blackberries, Heritage Flakes, and chocolate chips.

We both were fans of these lemon frosted Trader Joe’s animal crackers. Crispy without being too crunchy and the lemon was well-balanced.

Loaded salad from Burrito Blvd. With chicken, zucchini, tomato, corn salsa, and cheese. I added ranch dressing and hot sauce at home. Plus chips and guacamole.

We got take-out from Brooklyn Dip & Burger and their steak sandwich blew my mind. Thin sliced black angus ribeye, cheddar, and five spice dusted fried onions on a buttery brioche hero. Plus a mountain of fries that were crispy and well-seasoned. We got a bunch of their appetizers and loved those too!

Brie-bimpap bowls, inspired by Cafe Maddy. I bought light Brie at Trader Joe’s and it tasted like nothing and thus added nothing to the bowl but my bibimpap base was a 10/10. Brown rice / terrible brie / this sauce / crispy tofu – extra-firm tofu that I shredded and marinated (gochugaru, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar) overnight before baking at 400 degrees for 40 minutes / sauteed brown beech mushrooms / roasted zucchini / frozen chopped spinach sauteed with chili oil, sesame oil, and sesame seeds / fried egg.

Sushi roll bowl. Leftover brown rice reheated with gochugaru, Sichuan pepper salt, seaweed, and butter / Sriracha salmon salad made with Kewpie, Sriracha, and hot smoked salmon / spicy cucumber salad / pickled ginger.

Pie Versus Cake

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Things from this week — It was 70 degrees yesterday and the dog and I took an afternoon walk sans coats! Adam and I started watching Farzar on Netflix – it is basically just Paradise PD in space but both shows are so funny I can’t even fault them. Thursday was Pi(e) Day and Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day – so many theme food opportunities.

Food things —

Cherry pie smoothie – frozen dark cherries, salted caramel granola, water, vanilla protein powder, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Yogurt bowl win – plain Greek, yuzu marmalade, blueberries and blackberries, and granola.

Iced matcha with yuzu marmalade and yuzu mandarin seltzer. <– I am hooked on this combination

Adam got a Zero Gravity Irish cream porter for St. Patrick’s Day so I tried their Power Jones IPA – 9/10.

I was so excited to find these puddings at 99 Ranch but we ended up throwing them out; they tasted like slightly milky gelatin.

Haribo lemon ginger chews. Better than gummy bears but not as good as the grapefruit slices.

Cake! We brought this home from Butterfield over the weekend. This sprinkled/cookies and cream frosting filled slice is one of my favorite desserts in NYC.

I searched for this limited edition Tillamook ice cream since last summer and it fully lived up to my expectations.

This Sriracha shrimp bowl from Trader Joe’s has consistently been my favorite frozen meal option for years now. I always top it with Kewpie and more Sriracha and it is so satisfying.

Roast’s St. Patrick’s Day sandwich special – corned beef reuben with swiss, sauerkraut, onion rings, and thousand island dressing on marble rye. Plus fries and rainbow cauliflower (Trader Joe’s frozen bag that I sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, and celery seed – delicious).

Our best meal of the week took less than 20 minutes to make. Buckwheat soba / sauteed celery / Korean steamed eggs (made with water, miso, and fish sauce) / sesame oil, sesame seeds, and chili crisp.

A take on okonomiyaki – roasted cabbage and green onion, shredded egg tofu, white pepper, gochugaru, minced ginger, flour, baking soda, lime seltzer, and eggs. Topped with Kewpie and Sriracha.

Frame Worthy

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Some highlights from a tasty weekend…

Coffee at Frame. The Upper West Side location is currently our favorite Manhattan coffee. We got the special latte with cinnamon and caramel.

We had to make a couple of stops to find worthwhile bagels near us in Long Island but this everything egg with salmon cream cheese did the trick.

We did a very fun 1990’s theme night and watched “Hey Dude” and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” while eating throwback snacks. The Combos were lackluster but we had forgotten just how wonderful Bugles and Gushers are.

I tried tanghulu for the first time and loved it. Fresh fruit with a delicate layer of crispy sugar.

Treats at Lady Wong. The baked ube rice cake was the very best thing we ate all weekend.

Lunch at Bahn. This was the best meal of the weekend. Egg cream cold brew!!

We shared vermicelli bowls with butter beef.

And beer-battered chicken.

Dinner at Maldon and Mignonette. The lighting was bad but the food was surprisingly good. I had a nice cocktail with tequila and passionfruit and a crunchy salt rim.

Seasoned roasted carrots.

We share two (amazing) pastas. Ravioli with duck confit, sweet potato, sage, and pecorino and pappardelle with short rib and vodka sauce.

And two desserts. Cinnamon bundt cake and cheesecake-stuffed oatmeal cookies!

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza

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Some things from this week that weren’t pizza (but are mostly fruit and/or yogurt and/or dessert) –

Cherry cheesecake Chobani yogurt and a sumo orange. 5.5/10 – I need to accept that I mostly prefer the flavor of plain yogurts. That said, I added granola and the texture was fantastic.

Loaded yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with peanut butter, a Reese’s caramel peanut butter big cup (!!), granola, and blueberries.

Berry smoothie. This was good, I don’t know why the dog looks so dubious. Frozen cherries and berries blended with water, vanilla protein powder, and matcha tea powder.

Trader Joe’s had several pizza-flavored crunchy snacks and obviously that spawned a whole theme week for dinner –

Pizza Party kettle chips. 7.5/10 – they were excellently seasoned but ultimately I didn’t love how tomato-y these were.

Pizza flavored baked crisps. 6.5/10 – these were a bit too airy for me but Adam was a fan.

Homemade pizza bagels. Everything egg bagels with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and turkey pepperoni. Plus some heirloom tomato.

Homemade pizza bites. This recipe – I skipped the basil but added turkey pepperoni, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning. Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower and a homemade blue cheese dip (Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, ranch seasoning, and blue cheese crumbles).

Supreme pizza inspired nachos. Pizza party chips with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Trader Joe’s plant-based pepperoni, chicken parmesan sausage, red onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms. This was a spot-on flavor match! Plus marinara/chili oil for dipping.

Actual pizza. We got takeout from Dario’s and loved it. Eggplant and ricotta / birria / spicy chicken and peppers. This was the best eggplant pizza I’ve ever had.

From Egg To Yolk

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Some highlights from the weekend…

A perfect egg sandwich. Whole-wheat bread with salt, pepper, mayo, and yellow mustard and soft-scrambled eggs with extra-sharp cheddar.

Plus a fancy latte (at home!).

These salted egg yogurt rice crackers are one of the best snacks I’ve ever tasted.

Leftover chocolate peanut butter banana bread with a scoop of Cold Stone’s Lucky Charms ice cream.


Plant-based sausage, egg, and cheese bing plus steamed green beans tossed in a skillet with chili crisp, honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.

An excellent sheet pan hash. Chicken parmesan sausage / brussels sprouts / blue cheese / dried goldenberries / roasted pumpkin seeds / sauce – chili crisp, yuzu marmalade, and rice vinegar.

Tops

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Fun things from this week – we finished watching the series Detroiters and loved every minute, Tim Robbinson is a gem / I got up early on Friday to run before work and it left me in such a good mood all day / we had really good topping options in the house (see below) and therefore had really good snacks!

Oathaus cookie dough granola butter + Purely Elizabeth chocolate chip cookie dough granola.

Yuzu marmalade.

Highlights from the week…

I saw a lot of love for this vanilla Shamrock Farms protein shake online so I tried it in a coffee – delicious!

Iced matcha with yuzu marmalade and yuzu lemon seltzer.

Smoothie with frozen cherries, vanilla protein powder, butterfly pea tea, and chocolate milk.

Cookie x cookie yogurt bowls, plain skyr with granola, oat butter, and blackberries.

P.S. Family yogurt bowl hour!

No Meating seitan vegan jerky. This had great flavor but the texture verged on too chewy.

Apple whiskey with yuzu marmalade and seltzer.

This new Ben & Jerry’s flavor is a 10/10; all ice cream needs a pretzel swirl!

Rice cakes with Chinese broccoli, egg, seitan vegan chicken, and a pad see ew style sauce.

I liked this bowl so much I ate it for dinner two nights in a row. Baked chicken (we’ve been doing variations of this recipe and it always turns out perfect) reheated in a skillet with butter and buffalo sauce on top of homemade cole slaw.