Tag Archives: citrus

Two Kinds Of Cola Cocktails

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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.

A vegan chocolate chip sandwich cookie from formerly Babycakes.

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.

And we got fantastic churros for dessert.

Twosday

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In honor of Tuesday 2/22/22 we bought two kinds of take-out sandwiches (brisket grilled cheese and a breakfast burrito) for dinner and in the morning I made a coffee with two kinds of coffee (concentrate and instant), two kinds of milk (half and half and condensed) and two kinds of ice (regular and coffee cubes). I also included lots of x2 snack combos in my week! Double jerky – salmon for me and bison for Adam.

Double marshmallow – vanilla bean and matcha filled.

Double mochi – lemon custard and some of the best ice cream mochi I’ve ever eaten in green tea and passionfruit.

My coffee combo for the week was Javy coffee concentrate with chocolate milk. I’m not totally sold on the concentrate concept yet but I did enjoy it when I doubled their recommended ratio of coffee to other.

Not a twofer, just booze with similar asthetics. I quite liked the Blue Point sour double IPA (Positive Tension) and head over heels loved the Trip hard seltzer with grapefruit and tangerine.

I am still having a love affair with mandarin oranges; these satsumas were juicy, seedless, and a snap to peel.

On the crunchy snacking side, I really enjoyed these yellow peas.

We were back in our old neighborhood for an appointment so we got our favorite pizza for dinner. I had all of the buffalo chicken. On a pizza.

And in a giant salad with cheese, avocado, black beans, roasted corn, fried onions, and creamy chipotle dressing.

Baked tuna cakes (canned tuna with panko, egg, mayonnaise, Korean chili flake, and fermented black garlic) and sautéed broccoli with nut butter and spicy bean paste.

Trader Joe’s riced cauliflower stir-fry cooked with eggs / shredded potatoes / gojuchang green beans.

Kimchi + Cheese

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Highlights from this week include…

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.

It’s So Cold Outside!

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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

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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.

12/31/21

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Last week of 2021! Here were some highlights…

The week after Christmas is still an acceptable time for eggnog coffee.

See also – I made a chestnut iced latte. Strong espresso plus half and half with chestnut paste, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and mace.

This grape kombucha was wonderfully juicy.

See also – rainbow sherbet Hi-Chews.

Whole Food’s peanut butter and jelly bites plus mandarins.

Christmas dinner leftovers – roasted brussel sprouts with duck sausage, sharp cheddar, and chili flakes.

We might actually be addicted to Roast Sandwiches. I’ve been getting take-out from them at least once a week the past month and I think about their roast beef sandwiches constantly. This was a bbq chicken crunch wrap.

Sautéed maple sriracha kale with an herby bean salad. Great Northern beans with green onion, turkey bacon, garlic oil, Sichuan pepper salt, and tons of fresh mint and cilantro.

An even fancier salad. Sautéed kale with garlic and balsamic vinaigrette topped with roasted beets, deglet dates, pomegranate, honey goat cheese, and crumbled beef bacon.

P.S. Starting tomorrow Adam and I are both on vacation together for a week!

‘Twas The Week Before Christmas…

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…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.

Chestnut, Coquito, Eggnog, Mint

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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!

We really loved this chocolate mint sparkling water.

Trader Joe’s Thai tea mini ice cream mochi.

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.