Soursop And Szechuan Peppers

by Emily

Today is my 1st day back in at the hospital after a day off and a two-day stint of project days at home. I had to recertify in ServSafe and I had a big task to work on (updating the Nutrition Department’s Clinical Practice Guidelines to be more current/evidence-based) so my boss let me work from home, which was lovely. I got to leisurely brew Phin coffee and sip while I worked! Plus I ate a million snacks. <– Normally I sit in the ICUs and wear an N-95 for most of the day so I took full advantage of having a free face!

Highlights included…

The company that makes the instant espresso we love for Dalgona coffees also makes a really good espresso roast.

Plain Greek yogurt bowl with blackberries, peach, cashew butter, and a chopped up Bueno Bar. <– I realize it is ridiculous to stir a candy bar into your lunch but this was breath-takingly good and I’m glad I did it!

Vanilla skyr yogurt bowl with blackberries, black plum, cashew butter, coconut chips, and starry sprinkles.

Adam and I had to go into Manhattan for a doctor’s appointment so we stopped by Bibble and Sip for a cream puff. A cream puff topped with crème brûlée and filled with milk tea cream and boba!

I snacked on nuts every day this week. These sweet Thai chili almonds were a favorite.

Still obsessed with Hal’s caffeinated cola seltzer.

Adam and are both head over heels for these dinner mints. We made it through 12 years of marriage before we realized we are both fans of these guys!

This soursop ice cream was possibly the very best packaged ice cream I’ve ever tasted.

I topped this cheese enchilada meal with more cheese, sour cream, and Crystal hot sauce and it was 10/10. P.S. I highly recommend Amy’s frozen meal options, this one is good even if you aren’t over the top about it.

There’s a newish poke place in our neighborhood that lets you add a thousand toppings. This was white rice with crabcake, tofu, eel sauce, spicy mayo, cucumber, shiitakes, shredded carrot, string bean, green onion, tamago (shredded egg omelet), oshinko (pickled veggies), inari (tofu skin), garlic crisps, and lotus chips.

Blistered green beans – sauteed with garlic, ginger, and chili oil – with Trader Joe’s mini chicken and cilantro wontons.

Have a great – safe, distanced – weekend!

13Jul2020

Boots On The Moon

by Emily

Five things from the past week —

{1} I really enjoyed these two cans from Nitro Coffee Company. The nitro gives them a super velvet-y mouthfeel.

{2} A very hydrating cocktail. Vodka with lime, watermelon juice, and watermelon seltzer.

{3} We made twice-baked potatoes that were delicious. Stuffed with butter, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, green onion, Kewpie, and fish sauce.

{4} A very loose take on homemade okonomiyaki. Made with shredded brussel sprouts!

{5} Did I mention yet that we adored Space Force? We also loved the new SF-themed ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s.

6Jul2020

Camp Fire Cuisine

by Emily

Pretty much everything we ate this weekend fit in the theme of summertime fresh or July 4th BBQ, which was lovely. Five highlights include…

A camp fire latte from Upstate Stock.

Trader Joe’s pineapple kiwi Greek yogurt with plumcot, apricot, and pie crust.

BBQ popped chips. Served with homemade cheese burgers!

Watermelon margaritas.

S’more no-churn ice cream! <– whipped heavy cream + sweetened condensed milk with fudge sauce, marshmallow fluff, and graham cracker pie crust

It officially feels like summer.

3Jul2020

Summer Fruits And Veggies

by Emily

It was a very good week in fruits and vegetables here! We went to Whole Foods on Saturday to stock up. With our new, pandemic-induced, bimonthly grocery schedule our first week of dinners/snacks always feels a lot fresher than the second week.

Highlights include…

Could Perfect Bars be any more perfect? They are the optimal balance of sweet and savory. I loved this trail mix flavor.

My parents sent us a box of tamarinds and I found these strawberry cherries at Whole Foods.

I also snagged a bag of genips (<– Caribbean fruit that I grew up picking from a tree near my house but have had an impossible time finding in New York) on the street corner near my hospital!

IMG_20200630_153811_864

Watermelon-themed things since it’s almost July 4th. The winner of the bunch was definitely the Hal’s Seltzer.

This dinner was brought to you by the color orange! Salmon/trout salad bagel melts / local heirloom tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper / roasted gold zucchini.

We have been loving this black-eyed pea salad combo for almost a decade. This batch was actually made with fancy heirloom yellow eyed beans since BEP were sold out at the store. Beans, green pepper, smoked almonds, sharp cheddar, and green Tabasco. It is such a simple combination but super satisfying.

Roasted green zucchini topped with Moroccan tofu cubes and a simple yogurt sauce (plain skyr, mayo, olive oil, sumac, paprika, salt, and a little water).

Our best meal of the week was this trio – baked tofu (cooked with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, Sriracha, and honey) / Chinese smashed cucumber salad / fancy mushroom medley sauteed with salt, pepper, and butter.

29Jun2020

Sweet Polly, Sweetie Pies

by Emily

Adam was on vacation this weekend and since we couldn’t travel anywhere we did all of the fun, social-distancing things in New York! Highlights include…

Breakfast from Sweetie Pies on Main in Cold Springs Harbor. We got a cookies and cream scone

and a quad, non-fat, iced latte with toasted marshmallow syrup

and ate while walking around and admiring the water.

Lunch from Lunch Lobster Roll in Montauk. We got lobster rolls for take-out and ate near the beach. They gave us so much lobster!

Drinks from Sweet Polly in Park Slope. The fact that social distancing rules have pretty much killed open container laws in NYC is a giant silver lining. This pina colada was perfect for enjoying on a long stroll.

Dinner from Takumen in Long Island City. We got take-out and ate on the water!! <– best ambiance of the weekend

Hoji-cha bubble tea with oat milk.

Karaage fried chicken.

Ban ban chicken ramen for me. Topped with chili oil and a soft-boiled egg.

26Jun2020

Bridge + Brigadeiro

by Emily

Highlights from this week include…

Adam and I were both off on Tuesday and we had a great city/social-distancing date! Walks across the Manhattan Bridge.

And take-out lunch in Seaport. Brigadeiro iced latte from Cafe Patoro. <– one of the best lattes I’ve had in awhile, even aside from the fact that the cup was slathered in Brazilian fudge sauce!

And a kimchi scallion pancake sandwich from Vanessa’s Dumplings.

My homemade dinners don’t look that exciting but were totally delicious. A cheesy, crunchy, veggie-filled casserole with cauliflower rice / ground turkey sauteed with smoked paprika, sweet onion, and orange and yellow bell pepper / black beans / Trader Joe’s pineapple salsa / and a topping of buttery crushed tortilla chips and sharp cheddar.

Ground turkey with gojuchang, Korean chili flakes, and green onion on a bed of roasted cabbage. I went back and topped the whole thing generously with Kewpie and Sriracha and loved every bite.

We made fantastic daiquiris this week! Cruzan rum and soursop nectar with lime juice and sweetened condensed milk.

Is it even summer in New York yet if you don’t eat an Italian ice? I got toasted marshmallow with key lime and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be my combo for the rest of the summer.

22Jun2020

It’s Easy Being Greenpoint

by Emily

Non-food things I’ve been loving lately —

Seinfeld! I obviously quite enjoyed it in the ’90’s as well but we’ve been doing a rewatch on Hulu. I can’t tolerate any TV that isn’t light/funny lately so old sitcoms are perfect for me.

“Adore” by Amy Shark has been played at least once on every one of my runs recently. I heard it on an episode of Schitt’s Creek, which I’m also completely obsessed with but had to stop watching in the middle because the final season isn’t out on Netflix yet.

Dave Chapelle’s new special, “8:46,” should be required reading for any white person who still isn’t clear on why the Black Lives Matter protests are happening/necessary.

We spent Sunday getting take-out and picnicing around Greenpoint and it was a perfect day. I love everything about how the businesses in that neighborhood brand themselves, it’s such a delight just to walk around and admire stuff.

Edible highlights this weekend —

Quad shot iced Americano with skim milk from Maman. Plus an absolutely divine double chocolate cookie with oat milk ganache.

Toasted coconut almonds. I’ve been having a real love affair with nuts lately and these were a perfect blend of salty and sweet.

Take-out cocktails and a cheeseburger from Elder Greene was obviously our best lunch of the year so far.

Plus we got cocktails from Ramona – frozen painkiller!! – for dessert.

Our long-time favorite pizza spot recently reopened so we got a giant buffalo chicken pie.

I made spicy salmon roll fries. With Kewpie, Furikaki, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and smoked salmon.

19Jun2020

Bubble, Bubble

by Emily

There was no weekend post because I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and life felt a little hectic. Things are definitely starting to ramp up at work (and that’s with some of my units closed due to Covid still!). I have my eye on some fancy cocktails for this weekend.

Highlights from the past week…

My new favorite coffee combo – the Cafe Bustelo is perfectly extra-dark and roasty to pair with the sweetness of the condensed milk.

My best snacks this week were bubble tea themed things and fruity beers. Also ranch-flavored roasted chickpeas mixed with Trader Joe’s olive and herbed mixed nuts. I eat five full handfuls straight from the bag, why do I bother to put it in that little bowl?!