Boozy And Frothy

by Emily

An eclectic but wonderful line up of things from the past week…

Late July street corn seasoned tortilla chips. Good but not great, I would buy them again but definitely wouldn’t eat them with salsa.

I am glad I bought these mini bottles of insanely flavored whiskeys from Skatter Brain because the resulting cocktails were perfect. Sidenote – I learned while writing this post that that is how you pluralize whiskey.

Birthday Cake Shake – Vanilla cake whiskey vigorously shaken with amaretto, fresh orange juice, sugar, and an egg white.

P.S. I used my egg yolk to make a fantastic mug brownie. I topped it with Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor (vanilla ice cream with salted caramel, graham cracker swirl, and cookie dough) and swooned.

Peanut Butter and Jellies – Peanut butter whiskey (plus a bit of vodka for balance) with blueberry jam, Luxardo cherry, and strawberry seltzer.

Related – I love passionfruit and this Truly hard seltzer was just great.

Roast take-out sandwich (bbq brisket with onion rings and jalopeno slaw on a pretzel roll!!) with a mountain of roasted green beans.

Spicy salmon sushi bake that we adored. With leftover brown rice and a blend of canned and hot smoked salmon. Plus a cucumber salad.

Best meal of the week – Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza (yum!) / sauteed bok choy / homemade turkey meatballs with panade, hoisin, and gojuchang / homemade Sriracha mayo and dumpling sauce (yum!).

Fellow Northeasterners, stay warm this weekend!

2Sep2022

Apple Month

by Emily

It’s September, aka Apple Month! Here is this year’s themed-food haul –

P.S. I started yesterday morning with an apple crisp macchiato from Starbucks and it was perfect!

My favorite eats this week were mostly fun beverages and eclectic dinners. Highlights included…

A yogurt bowl with blackberries and my newest nut butter obsession – oaty nut butter from Fix & Fogg.

The grapefruit lime is my favorite of this non-alcoholic tepache.

Yuzu brown sugar sparkling iced matcha.

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.

Tangerine sparkling soju. <– we were not expecting to enjoy this as much as we did

Caramel apple margarita!!

Egg casserole with crusty bread, chicken soup sausage, sauteed mushrooms, roasted zuchinni, and gouda. Plus a side of blackberries.

I wanted leftover rice for dinners so I ordered a bunch of Thai food! This bowl was chicken pad see eiw, cashew chicken, and shrimp dumplings.

Salmon roll bowls. Thai sticky rice, baked salmon, spicy cucumber salad, avocado, roasted zucchini, Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.

Fried rice with onion, bok choy, chicken sausage, eggs (plus aromatics and seasoning).

27May2022

Pesto, Pasta, Peanut Butter

by Emily

Highlights from the week…

Smoothie A – frozen cherries with plain skyr and chocolate milk.

Smoothie B – frozen mango and blueberries with plain Greek yogurt, key lime juice, and honey.

I 100% topped skyr with a chopped-up Reese’s cup. Plus nectarine, chia seeds, and honey.

The Flowers of Life Kombucha did not impress – vaguely tasted like ginger and was not at all floral – but Adam and I both enjoyed the Concord Grape.

Sparkling yuzu matcha. I still can’t beleive that I only started liking matcha in the past few years.

I made egg casserole with shredded mozarella, roasted zuccini, and chives. And I made homemade dumb bread! Served with golden nugget madarin.

Leftovers (topped with chili crisp) with yellow heirloom tomato with salt and Korean chili flake.

Whole-wheat spaghetti with a homemade spinach and pesto sauce plus shredded chicken and extra parmesan and pine nuts.

Trader Joe’s frozen Tteok Bokki (rice cakes in spicy sauce) with chicken, zuccini, and mozarella.

7Mar2022

Marshmallow, Marzipan, Matcha

by Emily

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.

5Mar2021

Destination Charcuterie

by Emily

Adam and I are both off this Saturday and Sunday, so obviously it’s going to be the best! weekend! ever! Highlights from the week include…

Crispy waffles from Costa Nova. Mine was stuffed with peanut butter, marshmallows, and banana.

Grimm’s Destination Neon double IPA was an absolute delight.

Black sesame ice cream with all the toppings.

Baked cabbage and shrimp with lemon, pepper, and fresh dill (similar to this recipe).

Egg casserole with vegan chorizo, kale, and sharp cheddar (similar to this recipe).

Cheese plate night! Roasted yellow cauliflower / ruby chocolate covered cherries / salted dark chocolate almonds / smoked beef salami / truffle cheese aged in ashes / triple cream blue cheese.

29Jan2021

Crisp

by Emily

I bookended this week with two weekends in a row at work which meant I had Tuesday-Wednesday off and it was just lovely. New York has been too cold for venturing into the city to sound appealing but I did read two books and finish watching Schitt’s Creek!

Food highlights included…

We tried two new apple varieties. Evercrisp > Cosmic Crisp.

We also tried two great, new-to-us gummy candies. The Sour Patch Kids are officially my all-time-favorite cola candy.

An Irish-cream cold brew (enjoyed this far more I was expecting too!) plus espresso-spiked s’mores.

A sweet and spicy mango cocktail.

We found our new favorite Chinese take-out spot and tried a bunch of dishes. Garlic baby bok choy / spicy crispy chicken / rice cakes with cabbage and shredded chicken / scallion pancakes.

One set of ingredients cooked two different ways. First eggs soft-scrambled with maple-smoked cheddar with chicken breakfast sausages and kale sautéed with tons of garlic and gojuchang.

Then all of the above baked into an egg casserole. Plus leftover scallion pancakes. This was the best meal of the week!

23Oct2020

Pumpkin Spice And Everything Nice

by Emily

Highlights from this week include…

Phin-brewed Cafe Du Monde chicory coffee with sweetened condensed milk is obviously my new favorite thing of all time.

Pumpkin Noosa with papaya and cocoa granola. Was pleasantly surprised by how well these three flavors paired together.

Yummy candies my parents sent us from back home – tamarind balls and guava hard candies.

Be sure to grab yourself a bag of these cinnamon pretzels the next time you’re at a 7-11.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale is one of our original pumpkin favorites.

And this limited release Stone double IPA was pretty great too.

Cheese plates for dinner! Bartlett pear / homemade spiced candied walnuts / maple-smoked cheddar / papaya / durian chocolate and milk chocolate / Manchego / garlic naan crackers from Trader Joe’s.

Egg casserole – with broccoli, green onion, shallot, TJ’s turkey summer sausage, and maple-smoked cheddar – plus beer cheese kettle chips. Inspired by this recipe.

Whole-wheat matzoh brei with roasted brussel sprouts.

A great take on sheet-pan fried rice (loosely based on this method) with cauliflower rice (seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and gojuchang), peas, green onions, and sausage.

26Jun2020

Bridge + Brigadeiro

by Emily

Highlights from this week include…

Adam and I were both off on Tuesday and we had a great city/social-distancing date! Walks across the Manhattan Bridge.

And take-out lunch in Seaport. Brigadeiro iced latte from Cafe Patoro. <– one of the best lattes I’ve had in awhile, even aside from the fact that the cup was slathered in Brazilian fudge sauce!

And a kimchi scallion pancake sandwich from Vanessa’s Dumplings.

My homemade dinners don’t look that exciting but were totally delicious. A cheesy, crunchy, veggie-filled casserole with cauliflower rice / ground turkey sauteed with smoked paprika, sweet onion, and orange and yellow bell pepper / black beans / Trader Joe’s pineapple salsa / and a topping of buttery crushed tortilla chips and sharp cheddar.

Ground turkey with gojuchang, Korean chili flakes, and green onion on a bed of roasted cabbage. I went back and topped the whole thing generously with Kewpie and Sriracha and loved every bite.

We made fantastic daiquiris this week! Cruzan rum and soursop nectar with lime juice and sweetened condensed milk.

Is it even summer in New York yet if you don’t eat an Italian ice? I got toasted marshmallow with key lime and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be my combo for the rest of the summer.

17Apr2020

Back At It

by Emily

Big news I’ve been waiting to share – I went back to work this week! I finally found a job that is a good fit for my experience; I’ll be responsible for the ICUs at a hospital in Queens. Great timing, right?! I actually will be able to do some work-from-home days but this week I had to go into the hospital for training.

Food highlights from this week include…

This week’s coffee combo.

I made Adam and myself dalgona coffees and he is smitten now too.

Usually I don’t keep a ton of candy in the house but now that I’m unable to pop out for an ice cream whenever I wish I’ve started building up a stash.

Amy’s chile relleno bowl with hot sauce. <– my 2nd all-time-favorite frozen meal

Trader Joe’s sriracha shrimp bowl with cashews on top. <– my all-time-favorite frozen meal

Brown sugar garlic chicken thighs / on a bed of roasted broccoli and green beans / topped with zhoug and Korean chili flakes.

Egg casserole (very similar to this recipe) with tons of roasted broccoli and mozzarella. Plus turkey breakfast sausage.

We got take-out last night to celebrate the almost-end of my first work week. Pizza loaded with vegetables – broccoli rabe, roasted zucchini, and olives – and garlic knots loaded with cheese.

27Jan2020

LES = Let’s Eat Snacks

by Emily

Adam and I spent both Saturday and Sunday walking around the Lower East Side eating all the things, admiring street art, and just generally having a fabulous time. Plus we walked back and forth across the Williamsburg Bridge which is one of our favorite activities.

Weekend highlights include…

Smoothie time. Beary flavored! Banana, blueberry, blackberry, almond milk, and brown sugar.

Brunch at Sonnyboy. Bloody Mary.

I got the harissa folded eggs with brussel sprouts, mushrooms, and basil. I traded my avocado for a slice of Adam’s halloumi.

Malaysian eats at Kopitam. Bandung – condensed milk and rose syrup.

Nasi Lemak – coconut rice, fried anchovies, cucumber, peanuts, and hard-boiled egg.

Criss Cross ‘Shrooms – red chilies, wood ear mushrooms, and lotus. These were actually a bit too spicy even for me, but I loved the fried basil.

How exciting is this caffeinated cola flavored seltzer??! It was basically diet Crystal Pepsi!

Cookies at the newish Red Gate Bakery. A caramel brownie and a housemade oreo.

Ice & Vice always knocks it out of the park and their latest special is my new favorite thing – cream cheese soft-serve with guava white chocolate drizzle!

A veggie-packed riff on my buffalo chicken baked pasta. Spinach, riced cauliflower, whole-wheat pasta, ground chicken, cream cheese, honey habanero hot sauce, cheddar, and blue cheese.