Passionfruit Coffee. This was a quad skim iced latte with caramelized milk chocolate sauce.
We are head over heels for these Nightingale ice cream sandwiches. Adam is a traditionalist but this cinnamon roll variety is my favorite.
We went to Food Bazaar recently (home of Rokstar Chicken) and brought home some great snacks. This weekend I enjoyed key lime grapefruit Polar seltzer,
honey butter chips,
Jom gummy candy,
and spicy beef ramen.
We waited in line two and a half hours for Cuts and Slices pizza — worth it! We got chopped cheese, chicken and wafles, jerk chicken, and stewed oxtail.
Leftovers from a wonderful lunch at Mao Mao (I didn’t have my camera). Fried fish cakes with sweet chili sauce / steamed dumplings with chicken, shrimp, and mushroom / vegetarian rice rolls. We also had great poached chicken with chicken fat rice.
Roasted sheetpan hash. Fennel, bok choy, purple sweet potato, chicken pesto sausage, soy puffs, mint, and pesto.
And an egg burrito with extra veggies. This was only ok (who puts carrots on a burrito? And it needed way more hot sauce) but Adam’s egg and cheese sandwich was a work of art.
Cookie x cookie coffee wins. I 11/10 loved the Stew Leonard’s cookie dough flavored coffee and also enjoyed the Califa cookie butter almond milk creamer far more than I was expecting to.
Sliced Hunnyz apple (a new favorite) with honey, cinnamon, and chunky peanut butter.
Yogurt bowl with plain skry, vanilla bean paste, honey, persimmon, passionfruit, chia seeds, and vanilla almond granola.
See also, plain skyr with cinnamon, blueberry jam, persimmon, Mineola tangerine, and granola.
We spent an obscene amount of money on Taco Bell delivery for dinner one night so I tried to bring balance back to the Force with a green juice. Lol, unfortunately I grabbed the wrong bottle because this ended up basically being lemonade with aloe and chlorophyll.
We liked these Zapp’s honey mustard pretzels a lot. Not as much as Dot’s but more than their voodoo variety which ended up being too seasoned for us. Also, I use the adjective “jazzy” at least four times a week so clearly I had to buy these.
We loved these Trader Joe’s lentil and chickpea crisps. Great texture.
These Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites are my favorite thing I’ve ever eaten. I love everything about them but the truffles specifically are mind-blowing.
Leftover jalopeno cheddar hushpupies from Sweet Chick with honey and leftover crab dip.
The Burrito Blvd near our apartment has the best toppings; this rice bowl was 40% rice and 60% chopped zuchinni (my ideal burrito bowl ratio). Also chicken, corn, tomato, cheese, and mild salsa.
Homemade laab. I followed this recipe. We quite enjoyed it and were not sad to have sourced toasted rice powder. Plus sauted bok choy with ginger and sesame seeds.
Spicy, tomato-y chickpea bowls. I sauteed graffiti eggplant and sweet onion with fire-roasted diced tomatoes, harissa, and chickpeas. Topped with plain yogurt and fresh mint.
Homemade cashew chicken. I followed this recipe except that I swapped breasts for thighs and added red bell pepper. With brown basmatti rice and roasted broccoli.
P.S. We have exciting dinner reservations tonight for Omakase at Koyo. I’m not bringing my camera but from what I can tell online everything should be gorgeous (and delicious!).
Peppermint pour-over coffee with egg nog cold foam.
Dalgona iced coffee with eggnog.
Red and green yogurt bowl. Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, and vanilla granola.
Holiday special scoops from Odd Fellows Ice Cream. Buddi’s Spaghetti Sundae – maple ice cream, chocoalte cookie crumbs, mini marshmallows, m&m’s, sno caps, and corn nuts / Moose Nog – egg nog ice cream with fudge swirls and peanut butter cups.
Seasonal brews from Ardent Brewing. The gingerbread was perfect, not too spicy at all, and the Fog Nog is truly my all-time favorite beer/alcoholic beverage/beverage in general. 15/10.
A very close 2nd all-time-favorite is Leyenda’s Candy Striper – a frozen delight with cachaca, coconut, vanilla, lemon, peppermint, maple, and cardamom.
We went to their Sleyenda holiday pop-up for seasonal drinks and a wonderful dinner (it was too dark for photos but my shrimp arepas were amazing). I also had a Reindeer Games with tequilla, cachaca, banana, honey, maple, lemon, pine, and bitters.
Chinese take-out from Blue Wave. I got fantastic veggie stir-fried udon. Also the best scallion pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
Red and green salads. Red leaf lettuce with homemade ranch, red bell pepper, fresh mint, a soft-boiled egg, and a garlic and herb lobster cake (frozen, from Luke’s via Whole Foods).
Red and green rice bowls. Brown rice / sauted bok choy / sourkraut sauted with gojuchang and sugar / soy marinated eggs.
P.S. I am off of work most of this week, which is just lovely! I sipped a fancy coffee while I wrote this post!
We tried the newest Coke flavor – Dreamworld. It was a bit too fruity for me; I preferred the Starlight and would much prefer if they would just bring back Diet Cherry Coke.
Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with maple, chia, praline pecan granola, and chopped aprium.
10/10 loved this new flavor from Over Easy.
On the other hand, this is a reminder for myself to stop buying this Oreo coffee because I do not like it. It tastes like a watery Oreo with no coffee whatsoever.
This Whole Foods almond milk ice cream was pretty good but not as good as non-vegan ice cream.
A breakfast bowl cheese fry situation. Trader Joe’s seasoned fries with mozarella, soft-scrambled eggs, roasted zucchini, and chicken breakfast sausage.
Chinese take-out!
So much Chinese take-out. Bok choy and mushrooms, fried tofu, sesame noodles, and a cheeseburger egg roll.
We did not enjoy this key lime sour, but I am posting a photo as a reminder to Adam and myself because it so seems like something we would like.
On the other hand, we loved the flavor profile and political stance of this Greenpoint IPA.
Typically I don’t buy vegan ice creams but these bites are pretty satisfying.
Our favorite sheetpan hash – roasted Japanese sweet potato, bok choy, and green onion; topped with smoked salmon candy and roasted Norwegian salmon. I also added tons of Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Big summer salads. Local lettuce, honey mustard dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted corn, baked tofu, and homemade croutons.
Best bowl of the week – sauteed cabbage, snap peas, baby tomato, and green onions, with chicken maple breakfast sausage, peanuts, Korean chili flake, Sichuan pepper salt, and a nuoc cham inspired sauce.
Tons of Roast take-out – chicken taco sandwich, fries, buffalo-style roasted potatoes – plus roasted purple cauliflower.
Coconut tres leches iced latte! Espresso with a blend of coconut milk, condensed milk, and half and half. I was making a rose coffee syup at the same time so I went ahead and dyed it pink!
Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with chia seeds and strawberry jam, yellow peach, passionfruit, and praline granola.
My birthday is this weekend so these felt appropriate. We have loved every single thing we’ve tried from Made Good.
Boozy grape slushie – grape soda ice cubes blended with vodka. <– my best idea of the summer
A take on callaloo. Collard greens, turkey bacon, and crab meat cooked with coconut milk, onion, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, and chili flakes.
Adam paired his with rice like an adult and I paired mine with pizza like a winner.
Creamy, spicy, peanut noodles. Ramen noodles + stir-fried cabbage and red bell pepper + a sauce with cream cheese, peanut butter, and gojuchang.
I gussied up store-bought marinara to make a delicious meat sauce – turkey bacon, ground turkey, onion, chili flake, urfa pepper, fish sauce, and tons of garlic. Served on Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocci with a side of garlic bok choy.
We also used meat sauce on homemade pizza. Plus sauteed broccoli with butter, chili flake, and garlic.
I worked all weekend but we still managed to make/go out for some amazing food in the evenings! It was so cold Sunday night that we refused to walk more than a few blocks but Saturday we had a great time wandering around the Lower East Side and across the Williamsburg Bridge. Highlights include…
A fantastic latte with a giant iced cube from Kodawari.
I made a frozen rum and coke. This was actually the best frozen cocktail I’ve ever had, the texture was perfection. I blended golden rum, amaretto, key lime juice, and frozen coke ice cubes.
We made hedgehog tofu aka crispy pull-apart baked tofu. With this sauce and sautéed celery and bok choy.
Dinner on the Lower East Side. We did veggies/appetizers at one stop and entrees at another! First Fat Choy for baby bok choy and rice rolls with charred scallion, black vinegar, and Chinese broccoli. <– the rice rolls were the best thing we have eaten so far in 2022!
Then Bronson’s Burgers. I went with cheddar, pickles, and crispy onions.
And we got a toasted marshmallow shake.
Dinner at Chela in Park Slope. I quite liked the food and was head over heels for the cocktails. Like the Cosita – mezcal, tequila reposado, guava, grapefruit, lemon, and a spicy rim.
And the Mojito De Mata with white rum, fresh tamarind, lime, saline solution, and burlesque bitters. All mojitos should have tamarind, apparently. We also tried a Movie Night with buttered popcorn fat washed rum, homemade cola syrup, and fresh lime and a margarita with fresh passionfruit!
I got a salad for dinner — watermelon, baby arugula, onions, jicama, queso fresco, peanuts, cilantro vinaigrette, and beef barbacoa.
Vanilla bean iced latte with a cookie dough Perfect Bar.
Cookie dough iced coffee with cookie dough!
Still obsessed with these Kishu mandarins. They are so easy to peel!
Still obsessed with these brown sugar boba ice cream bars.
I bought every marshmallow cookie at Brookfield. Dulce de leche marshmallow sandwich cookie and a Lucky Charms bar.
We made taro milk shakes.
I cooked dinner every night this week! Quesadillas with kimchi, Kewpie, and Oaxaca cheese. Plus sautéed bok choy with Sichuan pepper salt.
Sweet potato waffle fries with pastrami-smoked salmon, bonito flakes, Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake. Plus a quick-pickled cucumber salad on the side.
Roasted cauliflower rice topped with roasted yellow bell peppers and sweet onions, Wild Planet chorizo-spiced tuna, Oaxaca cheese, sour cream, and salsa. This was delicious and I will likely never sauté peppers and onions again.
Chicken salad (a blend of breast and thigh meat) with mayo, kimchi, and toasted slivered almonds. Plus roasted brussel sprouts and off-screen sourdough toast.
This post includes highlights back through last weekend; it was Adam’s birthday and I didn’t want to waste his time blogging. We had a wonderful weekend including great weather for two days of long walks in Brooklyn, lots of delicious meals, a trip to Sundays in Brooklyn’s Snow Days in Brooklyn winter pop up (which included egg nog soft serve and a Dark and Snowy cocktail, among other things), and a drive-through holiday light show.
Highlights…
Breakfast at Ursula. We split a pine needle mocha(!!).
And a cream cheese frosting stuffed cinnamon roll(!!!).
And I had a sandwich with scrambled egg, cheddar, and green chile on housemade brioche.
Chestnut and vanilla iced latte from Nerd Be Cool.
A Christmas yogurt bowl – Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with kiwi, pomegranate, and granola.
See also – plain Greek yogurt with honey, cinnamon, granola, kiwi, pomegranate, and fresh mandarin.
We went to Oddfellows for a scoop of coquito ice cream.
And Brooklyn Cupcake for a coquito cupcake. Plus flan and guava cheese, since it was a birthday!
These chip-stuffed Reese’s cups were just as good as I thought they would be! Completely worth the months of gas station stops to search for them.
We were also pretty pleased with these Dove truffles.
I ate an obscene amount of take-out this week but here were two really good “homemade” dinners. Chili cheese fries plus roasted romanesco.
Cold silken tofu with chili oil (I used urfa pepper paste with garlic oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, white sugar, and scallions) plus sautéed eggplant, bok choy, and red bell pepper with ginger and peanuts.
Eating Chalk 