Salted Caramel And Black Sesame

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Some highlights from the last week include…

I was 100% influenced by social media, but I did not hate the coffee + protein shake combo.

Adam and I are both smitten with the salted caramel Perfect Bars.

We had a weekday morning off together so we went on a doughnut date! Salty caramel pretzel and birthday cake.

Mushroom snacks. The jerky was good, the crispy ones were great.

Trader Joe’s snack plate dinner. Crispy okra, baby carrots, and buffalo chicken bites.

Thai take-out dinner. Drunken noodles plus spicy chicken salad with cucumber and tomato.

Paired with a black (sesame) and white milk shake – vanilla ice cream, chocolate milk, and black sesame paste.

Speaking of dessert, unsurprisingly since they came from Milk Bar, these are the best ice creams I’ve ever eaten.

Mostly Vegan

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Five highlights from a low-key weekend…

A perfect snack plate.

Plant-based jerky.

These gummies were – a) delightfully mini; b) some of the best textured candy I’ve ever eaten; c) how I fueled for a longer run; d) all of the above.

x2 double IPAs.

A super quick Trader Joe’s meal – cheese tortellini, cheddar, artichoke hearts, tuna fish and dorado, balsamic fig dressing.

Call Me Buffy

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Highlights from an extra-garlicy, pizza packed week!

Mini cucumbers and Trader Joe’s caramelized onion dip are a very good combo.

As is coffee syrup and brown butter almond ice cream.

Hummingbird High’s Supernatural Brownies are out of this world good (we made the small batch version and it took less than 30 minutes!).

Homemade meat lovers pizza! I made a big batch of sauce by cooking down jarred marinara with yellow onion, garlic, turkey bacon, ground turkey, shallot oil, urfa chili, Korean chili flake, smoked paprika, and fish sauce. On a Trader Joe’s frozen crust with whole-milk mozarella balls. Plus roasted caulilini.

We had leftover sauce with roasted zucchini and Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi.

And I put leftover bacon in some homemade okonomiyaki (eggy cabbage pancakes). I also stuffed it with ginger and chili crisp and topped it with Sriracha, Kewpie, and furikaki.

We also made a sandwich style pizza that was my favorite meal of the week. With mozzarella, cheddar cheese curds, sliced turkey, and a homemade roasted garlic aioli. Plus sautéed snap peas and red bell pepper with tons of garlic and butter.

Toasted And Dipped

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Highlights from an amazing weekend…

Our first trip to Little Island. It was way too crowded but the layout is quite neat and the landscaping is fantastic.

Ice cream galore! Chocolate soft-serve dipped in peanut butter from Mister Dips.

Vanilla soft-serve mixed with Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles and topped with toasted marshmallow from Spoons.

An outstanding dinner from Fandi Mata, including heirloom tomatoes with lemon tahini crema, dill mojo, toasted pine nuts, smoked salt, and feta cheese.

An outstanding dinner from Rule of Thirds including amazing cocktails like the Douglas Fir-Banks – sesame shochu, gin, Vetiver, peach, douglas fir, and lime in a cup painted with umeboshi.

Mango-Lllama

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Three (out of the house!) highlights from the past week —

Fancy caffeine at New York Beanery. We had a lavender matcha and a peanut butter cup iced latte.

Mixed fruit mangonada! Somehow this was Adam’s first time trying chamoy but now he’s hooked.

Dinner at Llama Inn. A former coworker got us a gift certificate as a thank you (I helped train her when she moved from acute care to critical care) because it’s her favorite restaurant.

Everything was amazing. Atlas Shrubbed = Pisco, Shochu, aloe vera liquor, kiwi, lemon, and lime.

Asparagus with salsa, pickled green almonds, and huacatay // bok choy with huacatay, sunflower seeds, and grapes.

Scallop tiradito with kiwi leche de tigre and tapioca. <– best dish of the night!

Beef with scallion pancake, avocado, pickled chilis, and fries.

Chipotle, Coconut, Curry, Callaloo

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I hope all of my American readers are enjoying Memorial Day long weekends. I worked Friday-Monday; womp, womp. But Adam and I are off together next weekend and I am so excited I could burst. Meanwhile, most of what we ate last week was truly fantastic. Highlights include…

Phin-brewed coffee with herbed cold foam.

Tropical yogurt bowl – Trader Joe’s guava and passionfruit Greek yogurt with coconut chips and fresh mango.

This hibiscus water was nice and refreshing.

How excited was I to find Dr. Brown’s in a 2-liter?!

IPAs brewed with milk sugar are my favorite. The Founder’s was good and the Evil Twin is god-tier.

Pretty much any time I go to any store for any reason I come out with at least one ice cream.

Caribbean beans and rice – brown rice cooked with coconut milk, red kidney beans, habanero pepper, urfa chile, garlic, ginger, and onion // with curry chicken breast – baked after marinating in goat’s milk yogurt, green Tabasco, lemon juice, Jamaican curry powder, and paprika // and roasted zucchini.

Salad night – baby spinach and spring mix blend with green onion, red bell pepper, avocado, coconut chips, roasted garlic salmon cakes, and homemade creamy passionfruit vinaigrette.

I made callaloo! A very loose take on callaloo but a good one nonetheless. Spinach cooked with green onion, yellow onion, habanero pepper, spices, coconut milk, and crab meat.

Often eaten with rice, I paired mine with chipotle cheese crisps.

Black Sesame

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I’m late — I worked the weekend and it knocked me out — but last week was too yummy not to post! Tons of ube, black sesame, and homemade fried shallots, oh my!

Highlights included…

Vietnamese coffee combo all week.

See also, phin-brewed coffee with sweetened condensed milk and black sesame paste.

Cookie dough Perfect Bar and a fresh peach = my new favorite breakfast combo.

Calpis filled marshmallows.

Everything new and ube from Trader Joe’s! P.S. we made epic sundaes with those items plus sliced banana, frosted flakes, sweetened condensed milk, and black sesame paste.

We have loved everything we’ve tried from Fat Orange Cat, particularly this sour double IPA.

Udon noodles / roasted zucchini, shredded rainbow carrot, green onion / ground turkey / sauce including doubangijang (spicy bean paste), chili crisp, tahini, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / fried shallots.

Roasted eggplant with shallot oil and sumac / roasted super firm tofu / sauce including tahini, black sesame paste, gojuchang, lemon, maple, and rice vinegar / green onion and fried shallots.

Baked chicken thighs / roasted green cabbage with carrots and green onion plus tons of fresh mint and cilantro / Nuoc Cham / fried shallots.

Garbanzo Gang

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Highlights from the last week include fruits + grains and Greek-ish homemade dinners.

There is cocoa granola and milk under that mountain of blueberries.

This Guava Squad double dry hopped IPA was lovely.

Baby chocolate milkshake!

One of our best sheet-pan hash dinners. Potato, purple sweet potato, zucchini, and Trader Joe’s sweet apple chicken sausage. I topped mine with zhoug.

Dolmas / homemade roasted garlic hummus / everything pretzel thins / Persian cucumbers / baby carrots / bell pepper.

My favorite take on a Greek salad. Chopped romaine, Persian cucumber, Trader Joe’s Greek feta dressing, sumac, crispy roasted chickpeas, and zhoug.

Trader Joe’s kunefe, aka the best packaged dessert you can buy.

P.S. No post from this weekend – now that I have include sunblock in my bag again it felt too heavy for a camera – but we are living our best lives with a long walk through Central Park and a stop at Butterfield for many desserts yesterday. Today we have a run on the boardwalk in Long Beach planned!