Candy Chaos

I worked five days through the last weekend, which is just a normal workweek, but something about the Thursday-Monday schedule is exhausting! Hence the late post. Also all the take-out this week in lieu of cooking!

Adam and I both had the weekend nights off and we went on some great dinner dates! And did some wonderful exploring around Bushwick, aka the best street art neighborhood in New York.

Other highlights from the week included…

Wycoff Star quad iced latte, best coffee of the month.

About Time Coffee‘s Summer Breeze – cold brew with tangerine and cola.

Still very into these Barebell protein bars, the vegan ones in particular are delicious and filling.

New favorite, old favorite – Pazzaz apples are crunchy and juicy / the potato chip peanut butter cups are the best candy of all time and I eat at least one a week.

These new cola Sour Patch Kids are delicious too.

A Spring moment – lavender vodka in homemade rose lemonade.

Caffe Panna affogato special – Candy Chaos; candy-studded ice cream, chocolate ice cream, graham crunch, mini Reese’s cups, Rolos, panna, caramel, and espresso.

Dinner at Faro. I had vodka in a great housemade citrus soda with lime, lemon, and orgeat.

Roasted beets with almonds, ricotta, strawberry and vinaigrette / sourdough sesame focaccia.

Adam had pasta with rabbit (yuck) and we shared bucatini with confit chicken, basil, pecorino, and chili flakes and mafalde with braised short rib and chili pangrattato.

We had the “chocolate” for dessert – hazelnuts, chocolate cremeux, olive oil cake, dulce de leche, and cocoa crumble.

We had a wonderful dinner at Piggyback but it was too dark for photographs. The hands-down best dish was the deconstructed pho – fried rolled noodles, choy sum, soy marinated beef, and a concentrated pho broth sauce. We also had this tuna tartare with yuzu soy vinaigrette, Asian pear, and shisho.

A homemade meal! Hedgehog baked tofu with sauce and sautéed bok choy and celery.

Rose Colored Coffees

Some highlights from this week include…

This week’s coffee combo – Chamberlain espresso roast and homemade rose syrup.

This seed and oat bar was great; it reminded me of one of those old-fashioned sesame bar candies.

Yogurt bowl – plain yogurt with golden nugget mandarin, red plum, honey, Heritage Flakes, and chia seeds.

A taro and salted egg yolk cake from 99 Ranch Market; overall we weren’t impressed with their prepared foods selection but this was fantastic.

Chewy, fruity Japanese candies. The grape ones were the best.

Leftovers of our duck two ways from Glasserie – honey and spice crusted duck breast and braised duck thigh with nuts and raisins in phyllo dough. Plus veggies from home – roasted cauliflower and gojuchang cabbage.

Chicken salad loosely inspired by Waldorf Salad. Shredded chicken with dressing (plain yogurt, mayo, salt, lemon, honey, and horseradish), apple, green onion, celery, toasted cashews, and dried cherries.

Loaded

Some highlights from a work weekend…

Aggressively eclectic work brunch snacks. Coffee Nutrament / chocolate pretzel bar / golden nugget mandarin.

Green juice and a Japanese jelly drink (the mango wasn’t actually ready yet).

Tropical candies from my Easter basket – Adam loved the chocolate but the nougat was more my speed.

Frozen cherry coke cocktail(!!). I blended whiskey and amaretto with frozen cherry coke cubes and dark cherries.

Loaded Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes plus roasted green beans. With hoisin, Kewpie, furikake, Korean chili flakes, and bonito.

Starlight

The best parts of my week looked like this –

Highlights include…

This week’s coffee combo was sweetened condensed milk with the beans that they brew at our favorite Cuban spot in Virginia.

See also, homemade cola coffee.

No one is surprised that I am at an 11/10 for the new Starlight Diet Coke. It is pink and it tastes like space if space tastes like marshmallows!

Cookie dough remains my favorite perfect bar flavor.

An eclectic but wonderful yogurt bowl. Plain skyr, strawberries, dried hibiscus, Luxardo cherries, chia seeds, nut butter, and cookies and cream granola.

Sparkling yuzu matcha.

These ice cream mochi from Bubbie’s are some of the best I’ve ever had. And passionfruit!

I made a loose version of this recipe for fried paneer with peppers and tomato gravy.

Snacked on crunchy yellow peas while I cooked.

Poppy, Peppermint, Pink Lady

Some highlights from this week include…

This week’s coffee was a gift from home!

Other drinks of note – lemon lime sparkling matcha / blueberry lavender kombucha / peppermint watermelon sparkling water.

I am very into these Barebell protein bars, the vegan hazelnut nougat flavor was great. Paired with a Pink Lady apple.

We made poppy seed cookies! They were delicious.

And I used leftover poppy seed filling in a yogurt bowl with lemon skry, granola, blackberries, and cinnamon.

For dinners this week we made some old favorites (and got a lot of take-out!). Buffalo blue cheese black bean burgers. With roasted cauliflower and broccoli.

Jalapeno popper turkey burgers. With roasted baby cauliflower and honey mustard sauce.

Kimchi + Cheese

Highlights from this week include…

Vanilla bean iced latte with a cookie dough Perfect Bar.

Cookie dough iced coffee with cookie dough!

Still obsessed with these Kishu mandarins. They are so easy to peel!

Still obsessed with these brown sugar boba ice cream bars.

I bought every marshmallow cookie at Brookfield. Dulce de leche marshmallow sandwich cookie and a Lucky Charms bar.

We made taro milk shakes.

I cooked dinner every night this week! Quesadillas with kimchi, Kewpie, and Oaxaca cheese. Plus sautéed bok choy with Sichuan pepper salt.

Sweet potato waffle fries with pastrami-smoked salmon, bonito flakes, Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake. Plus a quick-pickled cucumber salad on the side.

Roasted cauliflower rice topped with roasted yellow bell peppers and sweet onions, Wild Planet chorizo-spiced tuna, Oaxaca cheese, sour cream, and salsa. This was delicious and I will likely never sauté peppers and onions again.

Chicken salad (a blend of breast and thigh meat) with mayo, kimchi, and toasted slivered almonds. Plus roasted brussel sprouts and off-screen sourdough toast.

It’s So Cold Outside!

Some highlights from this week include…

A very-berry smoothie. Frozen triple berry blend plus grapes, chia, brown sugar, and ube flavoring.

Some exceptionally good bars (plus mandarin oranges). Both were filling, sweet but not saccharine, and had a nice chewiness. 10/10, would buy both again!

Fun lattes from Grind House. This was raffaello-inspired, with coconut and white chocolate.

Still on my take-out sandwich obsession. This was a bbq chicken crunch wrap.

Homemade pasta. Whole-wheat spaghetti with sautéed mushrooms and ground turkey with smoked paprika, mace, and garlic plus sour cream and parmesan.

Taco night. Seasoned ground turkey on flour tortillas with sour cream and Whole Foods’ roasted chipotle salsa (our favorite). Plus tiny tomatoes and roasted cauliflower.

12/31/21

Last week of 2021! Here were some highlights…

The week after Christmas is still an acceptable time for eggnog coffee.

See also – I made a chestnut iced latte. Strong espresso plus half and half with chestnut paste, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and mace.

This grape kombucha was wonderfully juicy.

See also – rainbow sherbet Hi-Chews.

Whole Food’s peanut butter and jelly bites plus mandarins.

Christmas dinner leftovers – roasted brussel sprouts with duck sausage, sharp cheddar, and chili flakes.

We might actually be addicted to Roast Sandwiches. I’ve been getting take-out from them at least once a week the past month and I think about their roast beef sandwiches constantly. This was a bbq chicken crunch wrap.

Sautéed maple sriracha kale with an herby bean salad. Great Northern beans with green onion, turkey bacon, garlic oil, Sichuan pepper salt, and tons of fresh mint and cilantro.

An even fancier salad. Sautéed kale with garlic and balsamic vinaigrette topped with roasted beets, deglet dates, pomegranate, honey goat cheese, and crumbled beef bacon.

P.S. Starting tomorrow Adam and I are both on vacation together for a week!