Tag Archives: berries

King

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Highlights from the weekend…

Homemade breakfast. A sandwich with scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar, and Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter. Plus wonderful berries and a Vietnamese iced latte.

Trader Joe’s jalopeno and cream cheese wontons. These are good, better and spicier than I was expecting.

Pumpkin beers! Southern Tier Caramel Pumpking (9.5/10 – this was so sweet and creamy, my favorite so far this year) and Schlafly vanilla pumpkin ale (8/10 – very nice for a pumpkin beer but not something I would reach for year round).

I got bar food take-out on Friday. Popcorn chicken bites with Memphis bbq dry rub and Cajun fries. Plus roasted broccoli from home. <– yes, we accidentally made too much broccoli last week

So that Saturday I had leftover fries available for chili cheese fries! Fries topped with leftover pumpkin turkey chili and tons of Trader Joe’s unexpected cheddar. Plus pickled jalopenos on top and Trader Joe’s buffalo chicken dip on the side. Plus more broccoli.

I am showing you Sunday’s dinner both to prove that I occasionally eat grown-up food and to remind me of how wonderfully this salad kept. Leftover kale salad with leftover roasted squash that I sauteed with a peanut butter gochujang sauce.

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!

Cardamom, Maple, Pumpkin

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Things from this week…

This maple chocolate instant coffee did not have nearly enough flavor (maple nor coffee) but it did mix instantly.

This new Trader Joe’s vanilla cardamom cold brew was more successful.

Pumpkin Noosa (best in the game) topped with blueberries, blackberries, and Purely Elizabeth double chocolate cookie granola.

Pumpkin beers! Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin was one of our favorites years past but it was too syrupy for us this year. Meanwhile, Great South Bay’s Baked pumpkin pie ale was a new hit; it was very well balanced between beer, pumpkin, and pie.

This isn’t a flattering picture but it serves as a reminder PSA – if you live near a Nuts Factory you NEED to go get their viral Dubai pistachio chocolate bar.

Peanut butter noodles. Udon stir-fried with eggs, peanut sauce (chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, and water) and sesame seeds. Plus spicy green beans – steamed and then sauteed with honey, rice vinegar, yellow mustard, and chili crisp.

Thai basil chicken. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and added red bell pepper and baby corn. Served on a bed of roasted riced cauliflower.

Korean-ish tofu plates. Shirakiku frozen kimchi pancake / super-firm tofu that I shredded, baked, then tossed in a skillet with Trader Joe’s green tea yuzu jelly, gochujang, sesame oil, and rice vinegar / bok choy, asparagus, and green onions sauteed with ginger and sesame seeds.

Salad, Candy Salad

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Things from the week…

New apple treats! My coffees this week were made with Califia Farms caramel apple crumble creamer.

See also – apple seltzer and caramel apple energy drink.

Loved these rosemary and herbs buckwheat crackers.

Trail mix blend – smoked almonds, dried fruit (apples, peaches, and persimmon), and Simple Mills Pop Mmms cheddar crackers.

Leftover blueberry cream pie in plain skyr with fresh blueberries. <– best bite of the week

We hopped on the candy salad trend and ended up with a pretty good mix – apple harvest Sour Patch Kids, grape strawberry Nerds gummy clusters, watermelon rings with Tajin, and Target sour gummy insects.

Big salads. Red leaf lettuce, balsamic dressing, smoked almonds, smoked tofu, sharp cheddar, and Oishii strawberries.

Pasta night. Basil peso plin pasta from Whole Foods with Rao’s marinara, duck fennel sausage, and parmesan cheese. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Laminated And Caffeinated

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We had a fantastic weekend! Friday we watched Beetlejuice, Bettlejuice. Saturday we did a driving trip up the North Fork to Greenport. We kept seeing fields of wildflowers, it was amazing! Sunday we did a walking date through Greenpoint. [Yes, my alternative time was “From Port To Point”]

All of my favorite food things this weekend were pastries or coffees, go figure. The highlights…

Aldo’s Coffee. Their (quad shot) iced latte is my all-time favorite!

Rhythm Zero in Greenpoint. We got a cold foam topped iced Americano which made a very solid iced latte.

Pastries from Paloma Coffee and Bakery. Pistachio chocolate “something” plus a white chocolate butterscotch miso cookie.

A perfect guava cheese bun from Pan Pan Vino Vinvo. Plus an iced cortado with toasted coconut syrup.

Blueberry cream pie from Briermere Farms.

We sat at a picnic table and ate it straight out of the tin.

Viral Dubai Chocolate Bar

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Highlights from the week…

Yogurt bowls. This one was plain skyr, plucot, blackberries, blueberries, crunchy peanut butter, and Nature’s Path blueberry cinnamon flax cereal.

The Sprinkles red velvet cake cup is good but not as good as the birthday cake one.

I made two-ingredient ice cream with burrata mixed in. It was good but not great but this bowl with honey and aged balsamic vinegar was pretty great.

Nuts Factory viral Dubai pistachio chocolate bar. This was the most amazing dessert we’ve ever eaten. We ate a whole bar in one night and then went back to our mall to buy a second one the next day.

Lox plates. Radish cakes / heirloom tomatoes with salt and pepper / cream cheese mixed with sauteed garleek / fried capers / avocado with togarashi / cold-smoked sockeye salmon.

Pasta bowls. Goodles cavatappi / sauteed ground turkey / sauteed mushrooms and garleek / salt, pepper, smoked paprika, mustard powder, and gochugaru / dijon mustard / cream cheese / parmesan cheese. With sauteed asparagus with lemon and butter.

Pastry Party

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We had an amazing weekend including lots of snacks, coffees, walking, and great sights!

Saturday we took the LIRR into Manhattan, walked down to the Seaport, took the Ikea ferry to Brooklyn, walked through Red Hook back to Fort Greene, then took the LIRR back home. <– a perfect day!

Some highlights…

Kismet Coffee Company‘s Rocket Fuel cold brew with coconut milk, amaretto syrup, and pina colada mix.

Honey mustard protein pretzels. These were filling and nicely spiced; I would buy them again.

Mentos fruity jelly drink, basically a nonalcoholic version of the jelly sake I am obsessed with.

Bon Bon’s Red Hook location is as lovely and uncrowded as their Williamsburg one!

The Bakery at Greywind convinced us we need to come back for dinner at the restaurant ASAP. We had a fudgy brownie with sesame and citrusy brown butter cake.

Clover Club for cocktails. Cannonball Cola – spiced rum, overproof rum, cherry cola cordial, pineapple, and lime / Dear Judy – brioche-infused gin, blueberry alpine amaro, lemon, maple, egg white, and blueberry essence / Rouge Wave – Guyanese and Jamaican white rums, blue curaçao, coconut, condensed milk, pineapple, lemon, and orgeat.


Brunch at the Dogwood Cafe pop-up at Figure Eight was my favorite thing we did all weekend. Black sesame cloud cold brew topped with the best meringue I’ve ever eaten.

Steamed egg breakfast sandwich with cheddar and chili aioli on a sweet bolobao.

Duck yogurt croissant and a yuzu lavender Kouign Amann.

Red Hook Tavern exceeded my (high!) expectations. Provence Julep – gin, mint, Provencal Cavaillon melon, sloe gin, Lillet Blanc, and lime / Isle Old Fashioned – Toki whiskey, Giffard Pineapple, allspice dram, and jerk bitters.

We shared the kale salad with toasted almonds, gouda, and champagne dijon vinaigrette.

The burger with American cheese and white onions.

And the cavatelli with oxtail ragu.

Fan Chinese. I had perfect spicy dry-fried Sichuan chicken.

And sauteed string beans.

Sandwich Week Forever

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Sandwich highlights from the week…

Ice cream sandwich. Nightingale makes the best.

PB&J things. Smash Bites with chia seed jam. These were a bit savory-sweet and had a great texture; I ended up loving them.

Yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with crunchy peanut butter, blueberry jam, and blueberries and blackberries.

Chip City peanut butter cookie (perfect blend of chewy and crispy) stuffed with grape jelly.

Turkey. We baked thin patties out of ground turkey, seasonings, and parmesan cheese. On toasted whole-wheat bread with an artichoke spread (plain Skry, marinated artichokes, dijon mustard, and lemon juice). Plus roasted cauliflower.

Chicken. Chopped on hero – baked chicken breast (marinated in yogurt, gochujang, and oyster sauce), sharp cheddar, radish kimchi (crisped in a skillet with green onions and sugar), and Kewpie mayo. Plus roasted brussel sprouts.

Beef. Takeout from Roast – roast beef with mozzarella, horseradish sauce, garlic butter, and crispy onions on an everything ciabatta / shaved rib eye, mozzarella, and garlic aioli on a housemade onion hero / fries. Plus green beans that I steamed then sautéed with honey, mustard, and vinegar.

Crab. Rangoon-style filling (crab meat, green onion, sharp cheddar, sugar, sweet chili sauce, and cream cheese) on toasted whole wheat bread. Plus roasted zucchini.