Tag Archives: beans

Snowday Sley

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The 1st week of December has been fantastically festive!

Highlights include…

Red and green yogurt bowl; plain skyr with frosted bran flakes, strawberries, and pumpkin seed butter.

One of Blue Bottle‘s winter specials is a chocolate mint Nola.

I was not a fan of either of these “winter” energy drinks.

But I loved this Target brand eggnog in iced coffees.

Also with iced matcha.

Leftover brownies from Thanksgiving. I make the Baker’s Chocolate recipe – with the addition of chocolate chips and espresso powder! – and they always get rave reviews.

White chocolate peppermint ice cream from Jeni’s; it is pink!

Malai‘s ice cream has the perfect texture and their nutmeg flavor tastes exactly like eggnog.

Coquito cupcake from Brooklyn Cupcake.

Taco salads. Spinach / baby bell peppers / homemade dressing with Greek yogurt, mayo, lime, and ranch seasoning / sharp cheddar / Love Corn sour cream and onion corn nuts <– 10/10 / ground turkey and sweet onion sauteed with fajita seasoning / Frontera double roasted tomato salsa.

Nachos with baby bell peppers instead of chips (plus leftover turkey, salsa, and tons of sharp cheddar). I know this sounds like a bad TikTok trend but these were delicious.

Chilaquiles casserole. A spin on this recipe with shredded chicken; roasted bell pepper, poblano pepper, zucchini, and scallion; crushed tortilla chips; sharp cheddar; salsa; and eggs and chicken broth.

We’ve been to TWO holiday pop-ups already. Both were fabulously decorated and unflatteringly lit. Sunday – Sunday in Brooklyn‘s Snowday in Brooklyn.

We thought their themed drinks were great/better than last year. Noggin’ Toboggan – Australian whiskey, allspice, eggnog soft-serve, and Thai tea soda / Yule Shoot Yer Rye Out! – NY Distilling Jaywalk rye, Japanese whiskey, pawpaw fruit, pineapple, artichoke amaro, and curry leaf.

Polar Bear Club –  frozen rum, Aquavit, coconut, pineapple, banana, and coffee bean.

North Pole Dancer – Haku vodka, passionfruit, popcorn tea, saffron, and sparkling sake. This was my favorite of the night and not just because it came with caramel corn.

We also had some really wonderful food. Wood-fired pita topped with spinach, artichoke, white cheddar, and bechamel.

Roasted honeynut squash with coffee tahini, brown butter, and a watercress salad.

Wood-roasted brussel sprouts with toasted pistachio, golden raisins, and lemon gremolata. <– these were 10/10 leftover

French Dip – grilled brisket, provolone, Gold’s mustard, and beef jus.

Wood-roasted chicken with Herb De Provence, roasted garlic jus, and seasoned fries.

Wednesday – Leyenda‘s Sleyenda. I am not a talented enough photographer to deal with their low lighting but they were decked to the nines.

I also only took a single food photo even though we great drinks and dinner. We shared fried plantains and I had the Panuchos – fried corn tortillas topped with coconut habanero shrimp, refried black beans, avocado, and pickled onions. Once again the themed drinks were great and better than last year! My favorite (always) was the frozen Candy Striper – Diplomatico planas rum, cachaca, coconut, maple, vanilla, peppermint, and cardamom.

Gourd Eats

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Things from the past week…

Current yogurt bowl – plain Greek, blueberries and blackberries, and frosted bran flakes.

Target’s version of Thanksgiving stuffing potato chips. I don’t think they are as good as the original Trader Joe’s version but Adam loved them (I am a kettle chip loyalist).

The Nuts Factory birthday cake bar was good but not what I was expecting (some sort of cake butter); it was literally a slice of cake enrobed in chocolate.

Butternut squash bowls. Roasted with roasted shredded brussel sprouts, dried cherries, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans, duck fennel sausage, and sauce (mayo, German mustard, honey, lemon juice, and Crystal hot sauce).

A take on our favorite broccoli salad. Roasted broccoli, red onion, and white beans with dried cherries and a fantastic sauce (food processed – cilantro, macadamia nuts, smoked sardines, gochugaru, pepper, evoo, honey, and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos). Plus roasted delicata squash.

Leftovers on leftovers. Plus Whole Food’s buffalo chicken nuggets.

Falling For Fall

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Things from the week, mostly pumpkin…

Yummy, on-theme coffees. Vanilla cardamom cold brew with salted caramel and pumpkin butter.

Phin brew with pumpkin butter and marshmallow cream.

Siggi’s pumpkin skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and Nature’s Path blueberry cinnamon flax cereal.

Plan skyr with berries, Purely Elizabeth double chocolate cookie granola, and butter mochi.

Whole Food’s prepared foods section is nice for snack options. This week I bought kimchi dumplings and their Sonoma chicken salad.

Crunchy snacks. Everything bagel protein pretzels and Korean BBQ crunchy chickpeas.

These gummy bears from Buck Naked Bears are the perfect consistency, so firm without being overly chewy.

Hummingbird High’s pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies – pumpkin, chocolate chip, or otherwise – you’ll ever make. They are chewy – NOT cakey or crispy – and almost taste like butterscotch.

Open face chicken sandwich melts. Toasted bread with pumpkin butter and sharp cheddar / baked chicken marinated with Greek yogurt and tons of garlic / homemade chicken gravy. Plus roasted broccoli.

Pumpkin chili. With ground turkey, pinto beans, canned pumpkin, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, chicken stock, yellow onion, poblano pepper, zucchini, spices, and one tablespoon of dark soy sauce. Topped with plain skyr, extra-sharp cheddar, and Caribbean hot sauce and served with Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.

Big salads. Kale massaged with evoo, lemon juice, and salt and pepper / homemade dressing with tahini, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, evoo, and vinegar / crispy roasted chickpeas with Sichuan pepper salt, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and sugar / extra-sharp cheddar / dried cherries. Plus roasted honeynut squash and carnival squash, both of which were delicious!

Maximum Bueno

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This was easily one of our best weekends! I say that every weekend I get to spend with Adam, but still! We got to eat a thousand tasty things and admire a thousand beautiful things in Long Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. And our fridge is full of the most exciting leftovers! Highlights…

Amano Cafe Rocket Fuel, cold brew with maple and oat milk.

Southdown Coffee granita with agave and oat milk.

Strawberry smoothie. Frozen strawberries and cherries with water and vanilla protein powder. You can’t tell that those gummies were strawberry cake-shaped but I had a whole theme going.

Something & Nothing seltzer’s new flavor – pineapple and pink grapefruit – was a hit

This Hubba Bubba/Skittles min gum is an 11/10 and I recommend purchasing it. And it’s sugar-free!

Postcard Bakery 100% lived up to the hype. We had raspberry mochi donuts (best donut of my life), a lemon roll, and a sesame chocolate chip cookie.

Sea Cliff shave ice. We got cola and butter pecan with vanilla ice cream (they have the best, chewy ice cream) and mochi.

Thick ice cream. They were out of the chocolate cola flavor (so they will be seeing me again) but we did get to try buttered cherry pie.

We visited the Deep Roots farmers’ market (which is lovely and right on the water in Garvey’s Point) and had several treats. Jerk chicken empanadas.

S’mores cookie.

Homemade garlic bread chicken sandwiches. These were insane. Ciabatta baked with a mixture of butter, garlic, sugar, smoked paprika, gochugaru, and mozzarella cheese / baked chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon, and tons of garlic. Plus roasted broccoli.

Honey’s Bistro. We had a blueberry shaken espresso.

And split a bowl with jerk chicken, sweet plantains, macaroni salad, grilled zucchini, spicy corn, coleslaw, cilantro aioli, and white rice.

Noreetuh. The lighting at this cute/cozy Hawaiian spot was abysmal but I am going to share my unattractive photos because the food was so great. They were doing a pre-fix menu for Restaurant Week so I got to try a ton of stuff. Bigeye tuna poke with macadamia nuts. Plus an amaretto Colada with dark rum, pineapple, and coconut. I also had an unphotographed Mai Tai – best I’ve ever tasted – with dark rum, pineapple, apricot brandy, and orgeat syrup.

Garlic butter shrimp bowl with pineapple, chili, macaroni salad, and steamed rice.

Sundae with chocolate haupia, graham crackers, almonds, Hawaiian black salt, and coconut ice cream.

Super Bueno. These were some of the very best cocktails we’ve ever tasted (and we tried most of the menu!). Salted Plum and Tamarind Milk Punch – charanda, ayuuk, salted plum & tamarind, lojana tea, and milk + Roasted Corn Sour – corn whiskey, reposado tequila, roasted corn, guajillo, lemon, and egg white. 

Adobada Bam Bam – mezcal, adobada falernum, pineapple, lemon, and pineapple shrub, frozen.

Vodka Y Soda – vodka, guava, pasilla, and soda. This is hands-down my favorite drink I’ve ever tasted.

We got nachos as an afterthought and they ended up being the best nachos I’ve ever bought. With mushroom carnitas, poblano, pickled jalapeño, red onion, crema, Mexican cheese blend, cilantro, and mole negro. Now we need to go back again for a full meal!

Win Son. This was my favorite meal of the year (Adam chooses Noreetuh). Plant Daddy cocktail – cilantro-mint tequila, matcha, lemon, simple syrup, and egg white. I also had an unphotographed Breakfast of Champions with almond milk, roasted black sesame, El Dorado 5 year rum, rum cream, and toasted coconut.

Pea shoots with yun hai bean paste, sesame, and fried garlic.

Fried eggplant with black vinegar, labne, and spiced cashews.

Beef roll with garlic-ginger cucumbers and tons of herbs.

Sesame noodles with roasted oyster mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts.

Wavy noodles with lamb and fermented bean sauce.

Sundae with fried sweet dough, golden sesame ice cream, and red rice condensed milk plus we added butter fried peanuts and cilantro and made it a 15/10.

Gochujang, Kimchi, Sichuan

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This week was yummy! Some highlights include…

Delicious birthday cake iced latte special from New York Beanery.

Trader Joe’s green tea and yuzu spread is pretty good. I shook some into an iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk (8/10).

Used it in a citrus matcha spritzer (9/10).

And stirred it into plain skyr (6/10 – too sweet) with Heritage Flakes, blueberries, and blackberries.

We are still loving/working our way through this giant bin of snack mix. If you spot it at Whole Foods buy it, it contains the best crunchy chickpeas I’ve ever had.

Sushi dinner that we plucked from a conveyer belt ourselves at Kura Revolving Sushi.

It was was a fun meal and the crunchy spicy handrolls were quite good.

Pre-gamed with a green (turquoise!) smoothie from home for some veggies – frozen spinach, banana, and blueberries with water and vanilla protein powder.

Leftover spinach and artichoke gnocchi casserole. We decided we need to make this again asap.

Homemade Dan Dan Noodles. I used ground turkey instead of pork, brown rice udon noodles, and skipped the peanuts but otherwise followed the recipe.

The best nachos I’ve ever made. Kettle sweet and spicy gochujang chips / extra-sharp cheddar cheese / baked chicken breast that was marinated in yogurt, gochujang, gochugaru, and lime juice / chopped radish kimchi and preserved mustard greens caramelized in a skillet with a bit of sugar. Plus steamed/sauteed asparagus with gochujang and sesame seeds on the side.

I Don’t Hate Mondays

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Highlights from the weekend…

Fluffernutter frozen iced coffee. With half and half, cold brew powder, roasted marshmallows, vanilla protein powder, frozen banana, and chunky peanut butter.

Summer fruit! This bowl was blueberries and Rainier cherries.

Chip City did a blueberry Eggo Waffle cookie special with maple icing and it was devine.

Chocolate snacks I loved. Tru Fru dried strawberries with dark and white chocolate.

This brownie Perfect Bar was lovely. The level of salt was a pleasant surprise.

We are really enjoying this (giant bin of) Spanish cocktail mix. It has the best crunchy chickpeas I’ve ever tasted.

I picked up this frozen vegan kimchi kimpap at 99 Ranch and was blown away but how well it reheated.

Friday night we had late errands and ate a mall food court dinner (bourbon chicken, duh) so we pregamed with a green smoothie. Frozen spinach, mango, pineapple, banana, lime juice, vanilla protein powder, and water.

Breakfast patty melts for brinner. Whole-wheat bread with dijon mustard / turkey patties seasoned with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, gochugaru, and maple syrup / sliced Dubliner cheese. Plus green beans – steamed then sauteed with honey, German mustard, yellow mustard, Sriracha, and water.

P.S. I will show a picture next post but I currently have a HOMEMADE LASAGNA in the oven. I am so excited for dinner! Layers of lasagna noodles / equal parts ricotta, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese with eggs, salt, and pepper / sauce = sauteed ground turkey and yellow onion with Fresno chili pepper, fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and gochugaru / mozzarella on top.

Staycation 2024

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We spent the second half of our vacation back home and had a fabulous time! The past four days were spent cuddling with the dog, catching up on errands, checking out new spots in Brooklyn, running on the Long Beach boardwalk, and spending a perfect day in Hudson.

Some highlights include…

Hudson Roasters. They have my favorite espresso in New York.

Blue Bottle. Vanilla Nola Cola. Also our favorite seltzer – Something & Nothing.

Mel the Bakery. We got a fantastic pistachio and almond twice-baked croissant (plus a chocolate chip cookie).

Bread and Butter. We got a key lime pie soft serve (a swirl of key lime and graham cracker).

And an insanely good ube roll.

Huckleberry gummy bears we brought home from Colorado.

Lady Moo Moo. Sprinkles ice cream with sprinkles.

Cafe Mutton. My “excessive garnish” Bloody Mary came with a lamb chop!

Plus we had an omelet with trout roe, creme fraiche, and potato chips and the best buttered toast of my life (and chicken congee).

Lido Kosher Deli. Love a deli with pickles! Plus pretty great cole slaw.

We had an outstanding brisket sandwich on a knish (and a bagel loaded with lox).

Hidden Gem Cafe. We shared a Knockout – shredded beef, caramelized onion, Swiss cheese, Hidden sauce, and hashbrowns on a garlic roll (also a smoked turkey with tomato, spinach, cheddar, and bbq Dijon on ciabatta bread).

Kitty’s. Toki Kollins – Suntory Toki whisky, yuzu juice, club soda, sea salt, and thyme.

Romaneso with green chickpea, puntarelle, broken parsley bay oil, and limequat young coconut sauce.

Spring lamb sugo with treccione, Kinderhook lamb shoulder, fennel, green garlic, and shaved Pecorino Romano.

Rotisserie chicken with roasted Yukons and sunchokes, citrus, date, and charred spring onion relish.

Salted devil’s food cake.

Miso butter bean dip with roasted broccoli, baby carrots, and Trader Joe’s chicken samosas.

Egg salad (shredded hard-boiled eggs / sauteed white onion, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, and garlic / Greek yogurt, Dijon, mayo, rice vinegar, mustard powder, smoked paprika, celery seed, and salt and pepper) / baby zucchini sauteed with a tahini harissa honey sauce / chicken chips and 7-11 garlic bread chips.

Beautiful Things, Berries, Bowls

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Things from this week – Doing: I had a good treadmill run, 3.25 miles at a 7:49 pace. I recently set a lofty goal of 2 miles at a 7-minute pace and I am having fun trying to work towards it. // Listening: Adam and I are obsessed with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” I also recently fell head over heels for Milky Chance’s “Flashed Junk Mind.” I adore that whole album actually. // Eating: Highlights below…

Fruit-forward yogurt bowls this week (I need to stop, these yogurts were both good but I always prefer plain skyr best). Elleno’s pink guava Greek yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Painterland Sisters’ meadow berry 6% skyr with berries, 88 Acres’ cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter (9.5/10), and Made Good’s cocoa crunch granola (9.5/10).

Little Sesame caramelized onion hummus with Simple Mills everything seed flour crackers.

Served with baby carrots, of course. The crackers were a 9.5/10 but the hummus was too lemon-forward for my tastes.

Summer-y strawberry sparkling beverages.

Hawaiian/Li Hing Mui seasoned candies we brought home from Vegas.

It was Carnival back home last week and my parents sent me some goodies from Food Fair.

The banana coquito I blended with espresso, half and half, brown sugar, and frozen banana and it was delicious. Topped with sprinkles and nutmeg.

I am a fan of Yasso’s chocolate-covered Greek yogurt bites. Coffee was good but not as good as salted caramel.

Dinners in bowls are the best kind. Brown Jasmine rice / celery and scallion sauteed with ginger / roasted zucchini / Gyeran-jjim – Korean steamed egg, I make mine with just a bit of water with white miso paste and fish sauce / chili crisp.

Rice / zucchini / sauteed spinach with green onion, sesame oil, and sesame seeds / Trader Joe’s beefless bulgogi (high in sodium but delicious) / soy marinated egg.

Cottage cheese / soy marinated eggs / heirloom tomato / sliced cucumber – I let them sit in the leftover egg marinade for 20 minutes and they were great / North River crunchy yellow peas.

Not a bowl – I am going to finish out Thursday with nachos when I finish this post!