Catalina Crunch Wine Mixer

Things from the week…

I tried a new canned coffee and was fairly impressed. It was not too weak or watery.

I did not like the key lime Barebells bar as much as I was expecting to though.

Triple berry yogurt. Plain Greek with chocolate coffee granola and blueberries, blackberries, and a few raspberries (which I hate but added to be festive).

Soursop juice!

I used it in a matcha spritz with lime seltzer.

We are fans of this bougie Chex Mix.

Seattle Chocolate Moon Rocks bar with pop rocks! We bought a bunch of mini bars from this company while were are at the Seattle airport on our last vacation and they made the flight home exponentially more pleasant.

Red curry tofu. I loosely followed this recipe for the sauce but used light coconut milk and more broth. We used firm tofu, scallions, red bell pepper, green beans, and basil.

Chicken and rice soup. Sauteed shitake mushrooms and dinosaur kale with scallions, garlic, ginger, and white pepper / leftover brown rice / baked chicken breast / chicken broth, light coconut milk, white miso, fish sauce, and Sriracha. I topped my bowl with chili oil.

Lavish Lavash

Tasty things from the week…

Yogurt bowl! Plain Greek with blueberries, Rainer cherries, and cute Swedish gummies.

Iced matcha. With lime seltzer and strawberry and rose syrups.

Peach yogurt jelly gummies.

This baked chicken flatbread was the best thing we ate all week! Trader Joe’s whole-wheat lavash baked with evoo until crispy / topped with TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar / baked chicken breast / roasted red onions / and marinated artichoke hearts. Paired with great veggies – baby bok choy, brown beech mushrooms, and shallots sauteed with butter.

This taco turkey flatbread was also pretty good. Lavash / TJ’s shredded three cheese blend / ground turkey sauteed with taco seasoning / roasted veggies – yellow and orange bell pepper, white onion, zucchini, evoo, salt and pepper, Jamaican curry powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Served with smashed avocado (mashed with salt, gochugaru, and TJ’s mango vinaigrette).

Paired with chips and dip.

Nacho night! Mike’s Hot Honey kettle chips / all of the cheeses / three grain tempeh sauteed with salt and gochugaru until toasty / snap peas sauteed with pecans, piquante peppers, gochugaru, cheddar, and honey.

This plate of leftovers was as yummy as it was orange. Leftover roasted veggies / leftover cauliflower okonomiyaki from Olmsted / leftover Indian take-out from Varli – butter chicken momo, house-spiced fries with cheese and minced chicken, and Baingan Bharta (spicy eggplant).

ApPEELing

Food themes from this week were – fun fruits / limited edition snacks / and tortilla dinners (we used Mission Carb Balance flour tortillas and were big fans). Highlights…

Skyr bowl with blueberries and mamey.

In addition to my ongoing blueberry obsession I was also into golden kiwis this week. I’ve been scooping them out of their skins with a grapefruit spoon!

The Marshmallow Peanut Road Barebells flavor was good but not mind-blowing like I was expecting. P.S. I also tried a David bar this week and now I’m in love with those.

This El Guapo strawberry syrup was not very good in iced coffee but quite nice in an iced Diet Coke.

Liquid Death Cereal Criminal sparkling water really does taste like Fruity Pebbles. P.S. I also found the A&W zero sugar ice cream sundae root beer!!

Adam knocked it out of the park with my birthday gift this year by hunting down the newly released Ben & Jerry’s – Fudgy Flan.

The newest peelable candy flavors – kiwi and lemon – were a 20/10. The lemon ones easily make my top three all time favorite candies; they are so creamy.

Big salads – romaine, house sauce dressing (mayo, honey, yellow mustard, Dijon, lemon juice, and bbq sauce), baked chicken (marinated with yogurt, pickle brine, and pickled jalapeno brine), cucumber, Bahama Bomb tomatoes, pickles, smoked almonds.

Breakfast burritos – eggs soft-scrambled with extra-sharp cheddar, chopped green chilis, roasted green onions, and potato tots. Plus yummy eggplant – roasted and then sauteed with gochujang, peanut butter, white miso, sesame oil, honey, and rice vinegar.

Buffalo chicken quesadillas – extra-sharp cheddar, baked chicken nuggets, and a mix of roasted cauliflower rice with Duke’s mayo and Frank’s hot sauce. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Nachos – baked tortilla chips, extra-sharp cheddar, ground turkey (sauteed with taco seasoning, green chilis, and cauliflower rice), and roasted poblano pepper, orange and yellow bell pepper, and green onion.

Younger Than Dirt

It was my birthday this week so I made some of my favorite things for dinners – nachos and weird salads!

Birthday nachos. Chili crisp Kettle chips <– these were fantastic, perfectly seasoned / shredded sharp cheddar and gouda cheese / crispy tofu (shredded super-firm tofu baked with gochugaru). I planned to add chili crisp on top but these tasted so good I didn’t want to mess with them! Plus lovely green beans (steamed and then sauteed with evoo, yellow mustard, honey, rice vinegar, and togarashi).

We had fancy dirt cups for dessert! Chocolate pudding / dirt = crushed Oreos baked with butter, sugar, sprinkles, and edible glitter / Haribo rainbow gummy worms.

And we champagne-toasted a la Tom Hanks. I used rosé champagne and added rose syrup to mine. These were actually really good!

Bacon egg and cheese on a bagel salad. Hard-boiled eggs with turkey bacon, sharp cheddar, green onion, and homemade bagel croutons (poppy seed bagel baked with evoo, sesame seeds, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika) dressed in skyr, Kewpie, Dijon, pickled jalapeno juice, salt, and white pepper. Plus roasted zucchini.

Caesar chicken salad. Baked chicken with Whisps parmesan crisps and homemade Caesar dressing (food processed Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon, evoo, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic, capers, parmesan, and black pepper). Plus roasted purple and yellow cauliflower.

Loaded tuna salad. Canned tuna with green onion, poblano pepper, pickles, chili crisp chips, mayo, skyr, Dijon, and pickled jalapeno juice.

The only other things worth mentioning from the week were two really good smoothies. Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries, vanilla protein powder, malted milk powder, butter extract, cinnamon, cottage cheese, and water.

Berry chocolate – frozen cherries and strawberries, chocolate protein powder, Dutch processed cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and water.

May Versus Mah

Highlights from the weekend…

Homemade matcha lemonade. Iced matcha in ginger yuzu seltzer with some homemade Meyer lemon curd.

Mentos makes (new?) liquid-center sugar-free fruity gum and it is delicious.

I 100% dipped this cheesy crab dip pretzel into smoked salmon dip.

Trader Joe’s frozen okonomiyaki was surprisingly good. It was so creamy. It comes with bonito flakes and sauce and I added Kewpie and Sriracha.

Leftover noodles with Sriracha and chili oil. This was delicious but I did have to swig some milk.

Mac and three cheese muffins made with gouda instead of cheddar / buffalo chicken meatballs – ground chicken with panade, Frank’s buffalo sauce, ranch seasoning, white pepper, eggs, and shredded gouda / and roasted broccoli.

Roast sent me a coupon for my birthday month and I made good use of it. Fries with house sauce, a roast beef sandwich (with mozzarella, horseradish sauce, garlic butter, crispy onions, and an everything ciabatta), and a crispy chicken a la vodka sandwich (with sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, basil and a garlic semolina hero), and carrots from home.

The sandwich we made ourselves the next night was even better! Fancy BLT – whole-wheat toast / sauce (Duke’s mayo with smoked paprika, gochugaru, garlic powder, and honey) / sweet and spicy turkey bacon (baked with maple syrup, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and Sriracha) / heirloom tomatoes / we hate lettuce on sandwiches. Plus delicious snap peas sauteed with smoked almonds, gouda, gochugaru, and salt and pepper.

Chia, Crumb, Curd

Yummy things from the week…

These Smash Bites are hard to find but they are a great snack. This flavor – peanut butter and concord grape jam) is my favorite.

Plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and homemade meyer lemon curd.

Homemade amaretto sours! I used meyer lemons, rose syrup, and added vodka.

Homemade cinnamon brownies with crumb cake topping. I left the eggs out of the batter like an idiot but they were still quite good.

We got For Five vodka pasta over the weekend and it was both surprisingly good and surprisingly good reheated.

Congee (brown rice cooked slowly with chicken broth, ginger, and white pepper) topped with a take on Thai basil turkey (ground turkey sauteed with dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, onion, and basil) with a fried egg and some crunchy chili flakes. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Sesame herb salads. Raw cabbage, boy choy, green onions, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, Fresno chili, and cilantro / dressed with sesame oil, lime juice, yuzu ponzu, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and Sriracha / with baked chicken, Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews, and sesame seeds.

Peanut butter red curry noodles. Brown rice Pad Thai noodles / baked extra-firm tofu / sauteed cabbage, bok choy, spinach, green onion, and cilantro with white pepper and rice vinegar / sauce – peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and water.

Coconut Iced Coffee

Completely unintentionally, the bulk of what I have to share from this weekend is coconut iced coffees. I’m not mad about it. The highlights…

New York Beanery‘s seasonal special – Moonbeam Iced Latte – coconut-infused espresso with coconut sweet cream and marshmallows.

See also – Cholita‘s Cocada – espresso with oat milk, sweetened condensed milk, and coconut.

Finally, we had brunch at Hellbender and I had a coconut shakerato. And a spicy Bloody Maria!

Hellbender is one of our favorite restaurants in the city and this was our first time trying their new brunch menu so we shared a bunch of things. Crispy lamb taco with avocado salsa, onion, and cilantro. 10/10.

Soft scrambled egg tostada with black beans, cheddar cheese, salsa macha, and sesame. This was my favorite dish of the meal. Plus chorizo-spiced crispy potatoes.

We didn’t love our heirloom masa pancakes because they tasted a bit burnt but if the edges weren’t overdone I could see this being fantastic.

Jell-o flavor of the day for dessert – coconut lime. Definitely the best jell-o I’ve ever eaten.

I find Chip City hit or miss but I was a fan of the oatmeal cream thinwich.

Chicken and waffle fries! Waffle fries with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, crispy chicken, and a crispy Whole Food’s Belgium waffle.

Plus a jumbo salad for balance – romaine with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, baby tomatoes, cucumber salad (thinly sliced cucumbers with sugar, salt, and togarashi), raisins, and smoked almonds.

Summer Sips

No post from me last week because we were on vacation! On a cruise!! In Alaska!!! It was a great trip and we had a fabulous time. We saw two glaciers and tons of animals (including but not limited to whales, dolphins, sealions, and orcas!).

Here were the highlights this week back at home, mostly things that scream *SUMMER!*…

Watermelon cotton candy. The texture of this Charms brand was perfection.

S’mores-y things. I also opened my very last bag of Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites!

Summer-flavored energy drinks and seltzers.

We tried the Shake Shake Dubai chocolate shake. Our location’s chocolate shell was not successful/crackable. I thought it was good but needed way more chocolate.

Before we got groceries we got giant take-out salads from Guac Shop. Mine had romaine (with honey mustard dressing added at home), fajita veggies, corn, cabbage, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, pico de gallo, mango salsa, roasted tofu, shredded cheese, and crispy tortilla strips.

Esquites-style pasta. Brown rice udon / roasted super-firm tofu / garlic sauteed spinach / and a loose take on esquites – fresh corn sauteed with poblano pepper, green onion, cotija cheese, Duke’s mayo, lime, gochugaru, and salt and pepper.

BBQ chicken salad. Baked chicken, corn, poblano pepper, green onion, sweet gherkin pickles, smoked almonds, and bbq kettle chips dressed with a mix of plain skyr, Dukes, Dijon, and Whole Food’s Memphis-style bbq sauce. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with mustard, honey, and chili crisp).

Served with this zesty popcorn from Trader Joe’s.