Almond, Peanut, Pecan, Pistachio

Some favorites from this week…

Fun syrups from El Guapo, pecan and almond. They were good in iced coffees, okay in an iced matcha, and fantastic in an iced diet coke!

Obviously the best coffee of the week was the Dubai bar monthly special latte from Buzz’d.

My favorite skyr bowl this week had honey, salted peanuts, blackberries, and blueberries. I have been head over heels for the Driscoll’s “sweetest batch” blueberries.

I think I have tried and loved every flavor of these peelable gummies from Duane Reade. Peach was lovely and floral.

I’ll buy pretty much any new product Ben & Jerry’s puts out and this sundae style pint did not disappoint. It had butter toffee pecans!

I love a good egg salad. This one had chopped cornichons, poblano pepper, tons of mayo, and dijon mustard. Plus roasted broccoli on the side.

This dinner looks horrible but it really was good; brown rice and roasted riced cauliflower / baked eggplant sauteed with gochujang, black sesame paste, and sesame oil / a take on Korean steamed eggs / topped with chili crisp and peanuts.

I used leftover cauliflower/rice in kimchi fried rice. With poblano peppers, peas, green onions, eggs, soy sauce, fish sauce, and rice vinegar. Topped with surprisingly great grilled shrimp from Whole Foods.

Creamy gochujang pasta. Brown rice noodles tossed with cream cheese, gochujang, and sauteed dinosaur kale and green onions. Topped with sesame seeds and gochugaru and served next to some baked turkey meatballs.

Our favorite dinner of the week (month!) was savory oatmeal bowls. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds / bok choy sauteed with ginger / TJ’s frozen tofu sheets / chili crisp / six-minute egg / candied peanuts with gochugaru.

Chop Chop

Things from this week…

Two types of blueberry drinks. We adore the Once Upon a Coconut blueberry, it is my favorite coconut water.

I bought a box of Melo bars without tasting them (flavor untasted?) and fortunately the 1st two kinds I tried were great.

I obviously bought this Slice soda because of it’s font/branding but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

Gigantic dessert yogurt bowl – plain skyr, Ben and Jerry’s s’mores bites (this was a fantastic idea!), cereal, granola, and tons of blueberries and blackberries.

Chopped chicken sandwiches. I am so glad we started making these! Chopped together on the cutting board – baked chicken, sharp cheddar, Kewpie, garlicy sauteed broccoli rabe, kimchi sauteed with scallions and butter and sugar. Plus a side of roasted green bell pepper and purple cauliflower with curry powder, sweet and spicy pecans, and dried cranberries.

Big salads. Romaine with ponzu vinaigrette, bell pepper, scallions, bean sprouts, sharp cheddar, packaged fried tofu, and Trader Joe’s crispy mochi nuggets (10/10).

Chicken salad. I put so many things in here I don’t think I remember them all but this was definitely baked chicken with skyr, mayo, dijon, hoisin, lemon juice, scallions, celery, and toasted slivered almonds. Plus a Bibigo kimchi and cheese rice ball, buttered toasted baguette, and roasted zucchini.

A take on chicken laab. I loosely followed this recipe but used ground chicken, doubled the onion, swapped guava jelly for tamarind, and added bean sprouts. Plus a quick cucumber salad (sugar, rice vinegar, Sriracha, and yuzu ponzu).

Long/Mom Weekend

My mom was in New York this weekend! She came up to see our condo and celebrate her birthday next weekend. We had a fabulous time and did all sorts of NYC things like – admiring the ceiling at Grand Central Station / admiring the ceiling at Albertine Bookstore / admiring the ceiling at Chelsea Market / admiring the snow in Central Park / shopping in Greenpoint / getting a flight of fruity milkshake beers at Evil Twin.

Here were some food highlights…

Morning coffees at home with this power duo (brown butter cookie cold foam!!?).

Egg foam Vietnamese coffee from Larry’s Ca Phe.


Brunch at Empire Dinner. The roasted broccolini was a standout. And I had the perfect bite of mac and cheese, egg yolk, and Calabrian chili.

Luke’s Lobster roll flight with original, honey butter, and truffle.

Tofu sandwich with cabbage, scallion tahini sauce, and chili crisp from Radio Bakery.

Tuna melt slider at Twenty Grams Cafe.

The best dinner at Hellbender. We ended with every dessert on the menu (chocolate mousse, churros, coffee tres leches, strawberry chamoy jello).

Super Duper

Some things from the past week…

I had a day off for a doctor’s appointment and got myself a decadent brunch at East Rock Coffee. Tres Leches French toast! And a great iced latte.

I have to eat at least one yogurt bowl per week. I have also personally taken down a pint+ of blueberries every week for the past several months. This was vanilla bean skyr with maple pecan granola, peanut butter, blueberries, and pineberries.

We adored the peppermint coffee syrup from El Guapo but sadly I was underwhelmed by their Polynesian Kiss bitters; I tried them in coffee, seltzer, and diet coke and thought the flavor wasn’t strong enough.

Meanwhile these Every Body Eat chive and garlic crackers were delightful; like a crispy scallion pancake!

We homemade baked snack mix! Crispix cereal, crispy cheese, cheddar pretzels, and peanuts. I seasoned mine with butter, onion powder, garlic powder, and gochugaru.

If you’re looking for a Valentine’s week treat make Broma Bakery’s single-serve double chocolate cookies. We made them two nights in a row!

This week’s dinner theme (let’s be real, there is almost always a theme) was American classics — reformatted. Poutine — dip-style. Whole Foods frozen garlic and herb parmesan fries (10/10), Jack and Annie’s jackfruit nuggets, and roasted broccoli dipped in homemade chicken gravy.

Turkey reubens — as coleslaw bowls. Russian dressing coleslaw (shredded cabbage with skyr, mayo, dijon, ketchup-style chili sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, and smoked paprika) topped with sauteed ground turkey and crispy cheese bites.

Deviled eggs — egg salad. <– meal win of the week. Hard-boiled egg whites and chopped cornichons dressed with deviled egg filling (hard-boiled yolks, mayo, skyr, dijon, and paprika). Plus shredded brussel sprouts sauteed with garlic and parmesan.

Chicken nachos — as salad. Shredded iceberg lettuce / roasted sweet onion and bell peppers / Cholula medium salsa / extra-sharp cheddar / garlic baked chicken / Beanitos white bean tortilla chips.

Buffalo chicken wings — turned bean burgers. We always love this recipe and it was perfect for Super Bowl dinner. Plus roasted zucchini, store-bought fried ravioli, and a chipotle honey aioli.

Dips and Sips

This post is late because my laptop was in the shop. Things from the week/end, many dips and sips, 50% seasonal!…

Kings Coast Coffee Company‘s The Griswald – espresso with cinnamon and housemade oat nog.

Iced matcha latte with candy cane syrup.

Cheesecake-y smoothie – cottage cheese, vanilla protein powder, water, and frozen blueberries, cherries, and pineapple.

A take on our favorite seasonal smoothie – plain Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, vanilla protein powder, chocolate milk, and candy cane syrup.

Hint chocolate peppermint flavored water. Good but not something I would seek out again.

Chobani eggnog Greek yogurt with blueberries and Heritage Flakes (and tiny star sprinkles!).

I also had a really great bowl with fresh persimmons, blueberries, granola, and plain Greek.

I made extra chestnut cream cheese frosting so that I could scoop it with pretzel thins and that was a very good idea.

See also – Trader Joe’s blue cheese roasted pecan dip with garlic parmesan pretzels.

I tried two new-to-me Trader Joe’s prepared items – crunchy slaw salad and peanut udon salad – both 8/10’s; both had some nice spice and fresh vegetables.

This soup was so easy and so satisfying – baby bok choy sauteed with scallions and ginger, chicken broth, and Trader Joe’s mini chicken cilantro wontons.

Hedgehog roasted super-firm tofu – topped with a mix of thinly sliced scallions, gochugaru, sesame seeds, furikake, sesame oil, honey, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water – and roasted baby zucchini.

Butter And Pepper

Things from the week…

Still not tired of yogurt bowls. This one was plain Greek with granola, cereal, blueberries and pomegranate.

Nuts Factory released new versions of their viral Dubai chocolate bar and I obviously bought them. S’mores was a 10/10; almost as good as the pistachio flavor.

Mediterranean-ish rice bowls. Brown rice and black rice slow cooked congee-style with chicken broth / ground turkey sauteed with garlic, smoked paprika, harissa, and tomato paste / roasted zucchini / topped with local Za’atar chili crisp.

Pepper beef inspired tofu. Super-firm tofu and onions sauteed in this sauce and served on garlic sauteed cabbage.

Butter chicken inspired slow cooker meal. In the crock pot – chicken breast, sweet onion, serrano pepper, black pepper, celery seed, smoked paprika, curry powder, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and butter. I stirred in some half and half after the heat was off. Served with riced cauliflower and roasted zuccini.

Stuffed

Things from the week…

This Target brand stuffing-seasoned popcorn had a great flavor but the texture was a bit stale.

I was also left luke-warm by the cinnamon roll Noosa (Adam loved it though).

Spinach and artichoke dip-inspired salad. Spinach / chopped pickled artichoke hearts / Trader Joe’s 4 cheese blend / shredded chicken breast / homemade dressing – Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, evoo, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar / panko bread crumbs crisped in a skillet with evvo, garlic, and gochugaru.

Peanut sauce chicken pizza. This was great! Homemade 2 ingredient dough / peanut sauce – peanut butter, water, white sugar, Sriracha, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar / shredded chicken breast / sauteed broccoli slaw / green onion / sharp cheddar / sesame seed crust with egg wash. Plus roasted broccoli.

Cabbage salad. Sauteed with green onion and broccoli slaw / shredded chicken breast / dry roasted peanuts / sauce – rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, Sriracha, and brown sugar.

All Hallows’ Eats

It was a yummy Halloween week!

Highlights…

You already know I had a cache of on-theme snacks.

Dunkin Donuts’ potion macchiato is marshmallow and ube flavored; obviously a great idea but unfortunately it was fairly underwhelming.

Skyr bowl with Cara Cara orange and double chocolate granola.

Pumpkin smoothie. Pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean powder, and water and ice.

I saved my best pumpkin beers for last. Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin (10/10) / Fat Orange Cat Pumpkin Patch Kittens (9.5/10) / Abomination Forbidden Pumpkin (10/10).

Served with a brown sugar cinnamon rim!

Veggie rice bowls. Jasberry rice and riced cauliflower / Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews / avocado / chopped kimchi crisped up with a bit of butter and sugar.

Mac and three cheese muffins with baked chicken and roasted brussels sprouts.

Pumpkin pasta. Whole-wheat rotini topped with ground turkey sauteed with pumpkin puree, chili crisp, and cream cheese. Plus roasted orange cauliflower.

Black and orange big salads! Local lettuce / cucumber / homemade dressing – pumpkin butter, brown sugar, evoo, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and fish sauce / roasted kabocha squash / crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with chili crisp and black sesame paste and baked. We loved this.