Tag Archives: beans

Maximum Bueno

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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

by

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!

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

by

NYC is warm approaching hot and positively bursting with beautiful flowers. Of course my highlights from the week include an array of spring-y foodstuffs.

I enjoyed this passion fruit & hibiscus simple syrup in a variety of applications – diet coke (7/10), iced matcha (7.5/10), iced coffee (8.5/10), plain skyr (9/10).

Plan skyr bowl with blueberries, lolliberry strawberries, yuzu curd, honey almond granola, and edible flowers.

Whole-wheat bread with vanilla granola butter and strawberry guava jam. This was actually the best snack of the week.

These jalapeño cheddar Corn Nuts were delicious and almost too spicy for me.

Hu dark chocolate with vanilla crunch. It’s rare to find a vanilla chocolate though I wish the flavor was a little more prominent here (honestly the bar was a bit salty).

Noosa honey vanilla bean frozen yogurt gelato (so good!) with yuzu curd, strawberries, purple sprinkles, and edible flowers.

Important shout out – I am still completely head over heels for these Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites.

This week’s dinner them was — SALAD. It was such a success, each night was better than the last! Potato salad. Baby potatoes that I boiled, smashed, topped with evoo and extra-sharp cheddar, and baked until crispy / celery / cucumber / smoked sockeye salmon and salmon candy / dressing – plain skyr, mayo, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, mustard powder, paprika, and celery seed.

Greek salad. Romaine / balsamic vinaigrette / celery / crispy-baked chickpeas / feta / Trader Joe’s tabbouli / TJ’s dolmas.

Fancy salad. Romaine / dressing – skyr, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, maple syrup, vinegar, and lemon juice / sugar bomb grape tomatoes / sauteed asparagus / Wildwood black truffle and sea salt baked tofu / extra-sharp cheddar / homemade pretzel bread croutons.

BBQ salad. Romaine / homemade ranch – skyr, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, ranch seasoning / tomatoes / orange bell pepper / fresh corn / Corn Nuts / cheddar / baked chicken breast tossed with Stubbs BBQ sauce. <– best of the week

Americana Idiot

by

My other song title option was “Like It Was 1980,” and if you don’t get that reference you are sorely missing out! This week’s dinner theme was Americana/nostalgia. We made Salisbury steak, tuna pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, and chili and grilled cheese sandwiches!

Highlights from the past four days include…

After-school snacks. Apple + peanut butter (I didn’t have mini marshmallows to make smiles!). This was a Sugar Bee apple and it was wonderfully crisp and sweet.

Important note – the Whole Foods unsweetened crunchy peanut butter is wonderful. It is some of the best I’ve ever had and certainly outranks the other options at this price point. Just peanuts and salt.

This week’s yogurt bowl combo was plain skry, blackberries, peanut butter, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Love Corn bbq corn nuts. These have a very satisfying consistency.

Junior Mints minis are fantastic. They are like the popping boba of chocolate candies.

Fun in sparkling waters – Target caffeinated cherry cola and Ruby tart hibiscus. Both were an 8/10.

I had never actually tried Salisbury steak before but I loved it. We loosely followed this recipe but I used ground turkey and way more mushrooms. Plus roasted purple and Japanese sweet potato and zucchini.

I did not use Italian dressing in my tuna pasta though that is how I grew up eating it. Whole-wheat macaroni, canned tuna, roasted zucchini, edamame, extra-sharp cheddar, and balsamic vinegar. Maybe Italian is the way to go though? Adam and I both went back and topped our bowls with hot sauce.

Macaroni and cheese muffins. I used extra-sharp cheddar instead of parmesan and added mustard powder. Plus roasted broccoli.

Plus we had bbq Wilde chicken chips.

Chili = ground turkey, celery, white onion, fire-roasted tomatoes, fire-roasted green chiles, kidney beans, chicken broth, evoo, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I topped my bowl with plain yogurt and hot sauce. Plus I made amazing grilled cheese sandwiches; the filling was a mixture of extra-sharp cheddar, marinated artichoke hearts, mayo, white pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of sugar.

Peep This

by

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.