King’s Coast coconut iced latte with coconut cold foam. 100/10.
See also – Beanmonger‘s strawberry white chocolate iced latte. A little too sweet for me.
Paris Baguette Dubai chewy cookie. Nowhere near as good as Bear Donut but still delicious (obviously).
Veggie cheese fries. Baked fries tossed with furikake, garlic powder, and onion powder / poblano pepper, corn, green onion, and honey goat cheese / six-minute eggs tossed in a skillet with butter, evoo, gochujang, chili crisp, maple syrup, soy sauce, and lime.
Bean salad. Great Northern beans, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, peanuts, sesame seeds, and sharp cheddar tossed with evoo, sesame oil, chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar.
Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with honey, blueberries, and two types of kiwi. I started scooping kiwis out of their skin with a grapefruit spoon (rather than trying to clumsily peel them) and now I eat them all the time.
“Mountain city spicy flavor” rice snacks.
We had leftover pandan white chocolate blondie from Chim Chim in our freezer and I blended it into a great milkshake with vanilla ice cream, milk, pandan syrup, and malted milk powder.
Passionfruit smore’s! Effie’s pecan biscuit crackers, oven-roasted Malvi passionfruit marshmallows, and Chocxo dark chocolate passionfruit cups.
Dinners listed in order of how much we liked them. Satay-inspired tofu (just ok-good). Tofu – sauteed extra-firm tofu that was marinated in Jamaican curry powder, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and coconut milk / lackluster peanut sauce – peanut butter, Sriracha, lime juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and coconut milk / marinated cucumbers – with rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, Milu everything crisp, and sesame seeds / on a packet of Ben’s Original coconut jasmine rice.
Tuna joomukbap (very good). We’ve made this Cafe Maddy recipe before and will definitely make it again. I used leftover brown rice, two cans of tuna, and a poblano pepper instead of a bell pepper. Plus chopped baby broccoli roasted with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Red curry beans (excellent). Great Northern beans sauteed with garlic and ginger and cooked in a curry sauce (coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, dark soy sauce, and Sriracha). Served on a mix of roasted cauliflower rice and brown rice.
Kimchi migas (best meal of the week!). Sauteed kimchi, green onion, and tomatoes with gochugaru, gochujang, honey, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, plus kimchi flavored kettle chips, eggs, and sharp cheddar.
I stole my title from a great cocktail at Finback. Some highlights from the weekend…
Yogurt bowl with blueberries and granola (sprinkled granola!).
Quad iced latte with guava and white chocolate at Humble Cafe. They have the best syrup options.
We went to a fun little neighborhood food truck festival to try the dirty sodas at Island Fizz. We shared two custom flavors – Diet Coke with strawberry syrup, cherries, and cream and Diet Coke with guava syrup and marshmallow fluff (my favorite).
It is finally popsicle weather! I got these from 99 Ranch. The grape cheese one is one of my favorites; it is delightfully weird.
Pest chicken salad. Chopped chicken breast with pesto, plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, North River crunchy yellow peas, and Wooly soft sheep’s milk cheese with espelette pepper. This was a great mix of creamy and crunchy and creamy and spicy. Served with baby carrots and leftover fries (we got Slider Joe’s take-out last week and it was fantastic).
Cheesy kimchi chicken dip. Plain skyr and Duke’s mayo with chopped chicken breast, extra-sharp cheddar, sauteed green onions, and chopped/caramelized kimchi. Scooped with kimchi flavored Kettle Chips! Plus broccoli roasted with salt, dried green mango powder, and garlic powder.
Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with malted milk powder, brown sugar, and vanilla bean powder topped with Uncle Crumbles sugar cookie granola and all of the berries (blackberries, blueberries, and jumbo blueberries!).
Malted. Vanilla ice cream blended with milk, malted milk powder, and toasted rice powder.
A patty melt that was probably the best thing I’ve made all year. Turkey patties (ground turkey, lime juice, fish sauce, panko, and egg) cooked in a skillet with smoky pimento cheese melted on top on Trader Joe’s sourdough with mayo, lime juice, and red curry.
Paired with great seasoned fries. Baked green beans and frozen french fries tossed in a homemade spice mix – salt, white sugar, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, toasted rice powder, dried fish roe, and green mango powder.
BBQ chicken bowls. Baked chicken breast tossed in a skillet with homemade bbq sauce (ketchup, gochujang, maple syrup, rice wine, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds) on a bed of sauteed bok choy, green onion, tomatoes, and ginger.
A very floral yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with rose simple syrup, blueberries, edible flowers, and flower-shaped Swedish candies.
I love a good dinner theme and this week was beans! Bean burgers (food-processed black beans, dark red kidney beans, and garbanzo beans with egg, panko, salt, urfa chile, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder; cooked in a skillet) with extra-sharp cheddar on top, on a bun with mayo and yellow mustard. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with dill pickle mustard and rice vinegar) and sweet potatoes (roasted then sauteed with maple syrup, chili crisp, and soy sauce). We loved how smoky the burgers were.
Bean dip (kidney beans and garbanzos food-processed with evoo, water, lemon juice, cilantro, salt, ranch seasoning, and minced garlic), scooped with two types of crackers (Mary’s Gone Crackers original and Everybody Eat chive and garlic thins) plus eggplant on the side (roasted then sauteed with peanut butter, miso paste, Sriracha, honey, and water).
Cuban-ish veggie bowls. Cauliflower rice (sauteed with salt, lime juice, and cilantro) topped with black beans (sauteed with white onion, green bell pepper, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder), Cholula’s chipotle creamosa sauce, and Trader Joe’s frozen maduros.
Things from this week — NYC was cold again (after being HOT last week) and we leaned into cozy foods. I had a weekday off – just for fun – and took myself on a walk in/to Chelsea. Highlights…
Rose iced latte from Terremoto. They make the best floral coffee I’ve tried.
Tall Poppy‘s sugar cookie croissant is stupendous. It is stuffed with marzipan!
Not cozy – a smoothie. Frozen peaches and blueberries with water, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla protein powder.
Very Fresh Noodle‘s very spicy vegan Dan Dan Mian. I love everything about this dish but especially the spice level and cold pops of cucumber salad.
Turkey chili. We have several beans on our meal plan for next week so I skipped them here and added some riced cauliflower for extra fiber instead. Plus onion, bell pepper, poblano pepper, diced tomatoes, and tons of spices. I made cheddar jalapeño bread on the side (my go-to dumb bread recipe plus sharp cheddar and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalopenos).
Homemade pasta sauce. In the blender – roasted baby tomatoes, canned peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, silken tofu, parmesan cheese, fish sauce, and dark soy sauce. Served on whole-wheat bowtie pasta with roasted zucchini and more parmesan (plus I added some Milu Everything Spice). The tofu adds protein and creaminess.
Adam and I had the whole weekend together and it was just the best! We had two days of Manhattan fun (East Village and the Upper East Side) including great food, a long walk, time loving the trees in Central Park, and a trip the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. The highlights…
Fancy Kook‘s carrot cake iced latte with cream cheese foam, cinnamon, and pecans.
I was disappointed in this egg coffee from Le Phin but we also had the best pandan iced latte I’ve ever had.
Cola and lemonade slush from Slik. Perfect consistency and not too-too sweet.
We quite enjoyed this bowl from Yogurt Club. Super thick strained Greek yogurt with blueberries, Biscoff kataifi sauce, and mochi.
Speaking of mochi and kataifi – Bear Donut‘s new chewy cookies are amazing. We got white chocolate hazelnut.
Before they closed, Bao Haus served my favorite food in New York and their new iteration is even better! We had lamb bao and unphotographed duck bao.
The Birdhaus bao was as fantastic as I remembered.
The new location does large plates like these outstanding noodles with chilis, pickled greens, and burnt ends. The wonderful schmaltzy pea shoots are hiding in the back.
I also had a guava gose with a delightful rim (li hing mui, maybe?).
Cambodian food at Bayon. We shared shrimp, crabmeat, and corn chowder.
Tamarind duck. Perfectly crispy skin!
Sauteed eggplant with beef, fresh basil, garlic, chili peppers, and oyster sauce. The beef was even better than the duck.
And the Spicy Siem Reap Noodles – sauteed wide rice noodles, basil, scallions, eggs, onion, chili, fish sauce, and soybean, with beef, extra spicy.
I tamed the spice with a creamy iced tea.
P.S. The leftover noodles were great reheated in a skillet with kale and an extra egg.
Nachos. Stew Leonard’s salsa verde protein tortilla chips (delicious!) with sharp cheddar, ground turkey, and onion, poblano, and bell pepper sauteed with taco seasoning.
This chocolate banana protein drink made my iced coffees extra fun.
See also – banana milk with Blue Bottle’s instant Nola (my favorite at-home coffee) was quite tasty.
A mostly blueberry bowl, plus plain skyr and Cascadian Farm chocolate chip cookie granola.
See also – a blueberry smoothie with dark cherries, chocolate protein powder, vanilla bean powder, and water.
An eggcellent snack – hard boiled egg with Milu everything spice alongside Peelerz caramel pudding gummy eggs (<– the fruit flavors are better but this was obviously fun).
See also – an easy egg salad. Hard boiled eggs smashed with mayo, plain skyr, yellow mustard, and leftover marinated cucumbers.
One of the best soups I’ve ever made – leeks sauteed with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika / extra-garlicy chicken meatballs / roasted sweet potato and zucchini / chicken broth. I topped my bowl with chili crisp. Plus a side of sourdough with blueberry jam.
Homemade tomato soup. In the blender – white onion sauteed with butter / cannellini beans / canned whole peeled tomatoes and tomato paste / veggie broth, white pepper, and dark soy sauce. Paired with a grilled cheese, of course; sourdough, mayo, extra-sharp cheddar, honey, and chili crisp.
I’m usually committed to the bit but a final night of soup felt like too much so we had twice-baked potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts instead. Turkey Reuben twice baked potatoes – with sauteed ground turkey, homemade Russian dressing, sourkraut, and white cheddar.
Eating Chalk 