Marshmallow, Marzipan, Matcha

It was a low-key but tasty weekend! Highlights include…

Iced matcha lattes. I can’t believe that I wasn’t a matcha fan until so recently.

(P)Pb&J toast. Toasted whole wheat bread with mixed nut butter and a mix of strawberry jam and poppy seed filling.

An almond-y yogurt bowel. Vanilla skyr, fresh strawberries, maple almond butter granola, and chopped marzipan.

S’morenola! Aka granola s’more nachos aka my new favorite snack. I broiled vanilla bean marshmallows and chopped chocolate on granola. It was wonderful, and yes, I ate it with milk.

This single-sheet pan dinner was so easy and so filling. I roasted Seemore chicken parm sausages with Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and kale gnocchi, then tossed with red sauce.

Buffalo chicken casserole. We baked together whole-wheat rotini pasta, ground chicken cooked with buffalo sauce, sautéed onion and celery, roasted cauliflower rice, cheddar, and blue cheese.

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.

Strawberry, Soursop, Taro, Pine

Highlights from this week include – coffee, pastel-colored foods, breakfast for dinner, my favorite Caribbean fruit…

This week’s coffee combo was beans from India with Chobani brown sugar creamer.

See also – espresso with strawberry milk.

I made a smoothie with soursop nectar. Plus Greek yogurt and frozen grapes.

See also – creamy soursop cocktails with rum, amaretto, and brown sugar coffee creamer.

I really loved this Blue Point pine needle IPA. It was interesting without being overwhelming.

Taro milk chia pudding with honey Chobani yogurt and jumbo blueberries.

Take-out Philly cheesesteak with roasted yellow French beans.

Seemore’s chicken, kale, and pesto sausage / jumbo blueberries / hash with shredded potato, leek, red pepper, and kimchi / ketchup + Sriracha.

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.

Breakfast For Dinner And Flowers For Lunch

Some highlights from the past week…

Ben and Jerry’s new tiramisu ice cream is 10/10.

Caribbean-inspired snacks. Guava paste + mozarella cheese. And hibiscus things.

Breakfast for dinner. Avocado toast (on rye, with turkey bacon) and fruit salad (blueberries, strawberries, mandarin, and banana). Plus a Bloody Mary! P.S. No, this single slice of toast was not enough dinner. I had other items planned but I had my cocktail before I started cooking and I ended up eating the tiramisu ice cream instead!

Big salads. Trader Joe’s herb salad mix with balsamic fig dressing, baby corn, blue cheese, peanuts, chickpeas, and ground black garlic.

Pasta night. Udon noodles with sautéed shitake and oyster mushrooms with cream cheese, lemon, and gojuchang; topped with kelp granules. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

A take on okonomiyaki with roasted cabbage and turkey bacon. Topped with Sriracha, Kewpie, furikake, and bonito flakes.

Nut Butter Cups

Highlights from a low-key weekend…

I made a peanut butter iced latte!

Strawberry cheesecake oatmeal bowl with cream cheese and caramelized bananas.

Yogurt bowl with cinnamon, coffee cake, and blueberries.

Snack highlights; sweet.

And savory.

Our Whole Foods’ hot bar is rarely open so when it is I impulse buy all the things.

Two kinds of takeout sandwiches (brisket grilled cheese with mushrooms on sourdough // chicken panini with truffle artichoke spread) with two kinds of carrots (sautéed with celery // raw baby carrots).

Mint, Matcha, Meatball

For a week of easing back into real life from vacation the past 5 days weren’t too bad! I even managed to cook a few dinners. That said, work has been insane and I am not sad that I’m heading into a three day weekend!

Highlights from the past week include…

Coffee combo – Hudson Roastery with sweetened condensed milk.

See also – we are head over heels for this dulce de leche instant coffee.

Really enjoyed this energy tea; I’ve been loving mint drinks since December.

See also – we made green Thai tea iced lattes.

We also made fruity matcha spritzers. Matcha with key lime La Croix and fresh lime and orange juice.

Berry (beary!) milkshake – Thai tea ice cream mochi blended with vanilla almond milk and frozen strawberries and grapes.

Yogurt bowl – vanilla yogurt with peanut butter, chia, and granola.

These apple pie rice cakes have milk powder in them and a great sweet/savory thing going.

Vegan pepperoni-inspired jerky + everything seasoning chickpea snacks. Both were good but not my favorite. But a nice snack paired together.

Layered halvah. P.S. We also bought halvah-crusted pecans and they were insane.

Leftovers and lettuce wraps converged for the perfect dinner. We used butterhead lettuce to wrap ground turkey sautéed with gojuchang with celery, peanuts, quick pickled cucumber and carrot salad, and pickled radish. Plus leftovers from great take-out we got over the weekend – kimbap and Korean fried chicken.

It’s possible we over-purchased fried chicken… we snacked on it all week long!

A quick and easy dinner – chicken burgers from the freezer with sautéed bell peppers and green onion, mashed avocado, a fried egg, and fantastic hot sauce from back home.

The best dinner of the week/month/new year! I made buffalo chicken meatballs (with ground turkey since we were shopping during a winter storm, hot sauce, cream cheese, and blue cheese) with sautéed carrot and celery, and homemade garlic bread (garlic, butter, spices, and tons of parmesan baked on everything ciabatta rolls).

‘Twas The Week Before Christmas…

…And we made the most of it with tons of decadent and/or on theme snacks! I worked the holiday weekend but Adam and I were both off Christmas Eve so we got to spend time cuddling the dog, took a trip into the city to enjoy the light display at Hudson Yards, and drove around our area in the evening admiring decorations. Highlights included…

Peppermint cold brew with eggnog.

Stumptown’s salted maple iced latte.

This layered red and green smoothie was more successful in flavor than artistry. Ube, strawberry, grape layered with matcha banana.

The fanciest yogurt bowl – plain skyr with cinnamon, chia seeds, strawberries, nougat halvah, and chestnut paste!

Green juice and a candy cane.

Mint sparkling matcha.

Eggnog iced matcha latte.

Is there anything more luxurious than freshly made fruit salad? This was golden pinepple, strawberries, and mandarins.

This crab dip was a 6.5/10 but these crackers were a 9.5/10.

Peppermint chocolate crinkle cookie from Chip.

Repeat of my two new favorite beers. Cinnamon marshmallow cola sour ale from Evil Twin and an eggnog double IPA from Abomination Brewing.

Lunch at Dante in the West Village. It was worth sitting outside on one of the coldest days of this month! We split steak with salbitxada and a baby kale salad with beats, butternut squash, goat cheese, and hazelnuts. Plus fancy cocktails.

Avocado toast plus a quick pickled cucumber salad. Toasted sourdough, mashed avocado, a fried egg, and chili flakes.

Sautéed cabbage with peanut lime sauce and five spice candied peanuts (very loosely based on this recipe).

Roasted brussel sprouts (with chili flakes and smoked paprika) plus Christmas nachos! Kettle chips with extra-sharp cheddar, green onion, and duck sausage.