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.
Adam was free on vacation last week – and I managed a few overlapping days off as well! – and we had a wonderful time. Tons of dinners out, tons of time together (but never enough!), we walked from Williamsburg across the bridge to Koreatown and back, took a long stroll eating around Ridgewood/Bushwick, and spent some time at Rockaway Beach. A great week!
Highlights include —
Breakfast on the beach boardwalk. Nutella iced latte from Rockaway Roaster and an amazing guava cheese danish from Rockaway Bakery (they also have croissant bread loaves and I’m dying to go back!).
Maple oat-milk matcha lattes.
Freeze-dried honeycrisps with a seed bar.
Boozy apple pie milkshakes!
This double IPA from Stone was very drinkable.
Chips with what ended up being the best jarred salsa I’ve ever eaten.
Mochi things from Mochii, mochi stuffed with cookies and cream ice cream and mochi balls with toasted rice powder and peanuts.
Chamoyada from Maya’s Snack Bar – tamarind ice cream with fresh mango and tons of chamoy and tajin.
Leftovers from Mud Club in Woodstock were still great.
Omakase at Shinn East. Every single bite was perfectly composed and it was so fun to watch the chef up close.
We had one of the best dinners of our lives at Little Mad.
I didn’t take many pictures because I was too busy swooning. Favorites were fried maitake mushrooms with sour cream and onion dip served in an onion(!!).
And this insane, upscale take on corn and cheese – baby corn, fried corn silk, caramel popcorn, and comte cheese fondue.
Adam and I just spent an absolutely fantastic weekend in the Hudson Valley. We did a day and a half in Hudson followed by a day exploring Tivoli and Woodstock. We had a million coffees and desserts, explored cute downtowns, hiked a bit at the High Falls Conservation Area, and took a quick walk at the Tivoli Bay.
Food and drink highlights include…
Perfectly roasty iced lattes at Hudson Roastery. This was how we started both mornings in Hudson.
Inventive, extra-flakey pastries from Breadfolks in Hudson. This was a lemon meringue danish and a baklava croissant(?!!).
Concord grape sorbet and peanut butter swirl ice cream at Fortunes in Tivoli. This is quite possibly the best ice cream I have ever eaten.
Pupusas with queso and loroco at Casa Latina in Hudson.
Lunch outside at the food truck at Phoenicia Diner in Phoenicia. Sourdough toast with mashed avocado, sweet corn, heirloom tomato, poached egg, lime tofu, and farmers cheese // tuna salad sandwich with line-caught tuna, mayo, herbs, and wasabi tobiko.
A pimento cheese smothered hot dog at The Maker in Hudson.
Woodfired sourdough pizzas at The Mud Club in Woodstock. Bianca Rustica – mozzarella di bufala, vesuvian semi-dry red and yellow tomatoes, and evoo + hot honey // Mellanza de Pesto – tomatoes, roasted eggplant, mozzarella, aged gouda, and house-made pesto.
A terrific dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis in Hudson. Maiden Voyage – rum, spicy vermouth, soursop, tajin salt rim.
Tuna crudo with mango-habanero water, plum, husk cherry, and kohlrabi // sweet plantains with cilantro yogurt.
Crispy potatoes with lime pickle aioli, curry leaf, and pickled chilis.
Bok choy and endive salad with caesar-poblano dressing, pistachios, and anchovy.
Plato tropical – rice, black beans, and garlicy greens.
Fermented lentil dosa with marinated shiitakes, radish, and herbs. I am a sucker for mint in savory dishes and this ended up being one of my favorite things I’ve ever eaten!
How are we in the 2nd to last week of August??! Some highlights from this week included…
A blackberry and soursop smoothie (with banana, plain Greek yogurt, and brown sugar).
A banana and coffee smoothie (with cinnamon roll oat milk creamer, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cold brew powder).
Whole Foods snacks. The baru nuts are fantastic! They taste like a cross between peanuts and almonds. I brought some to work and got all of my coworkers hooked as well.
Quinn pretzels with Bitchin’ sauce. A coworker recommended this dip and she did not steer me wrong. We are also both obsessed with these delicious pretzels.
Kombuchas and or matchas.
A loose interpretation of this chicken and corn stir-fry recipe. Instead of rice we paired ours with sautéed shishito peppers and mushroom.
So much Thai take-out! We had pad see ew, cashew chicken, and amazing spicy ginger eggplant.
Very fancy salads – local lettuce, black garlic vinaigrette, pistachios, dried apricots, and goat cheese.
Spicy peanut chicken pizza (a Trader Joe’s crust with spicy peanut sauce, shredded chicken breast, quick-pickled carrots, and cheese) with smashed cucumber salad.
The world’s most satisfying snack = apple slices dipped in peanut butter.
It is actually my birthday today(!) so obviously I’ve been excitedly saving these themed items for months.
A week of exciting salads! A new take on our favorite bean salad – black beans with green and yellow bell pepper, Dubliner cheese, peanuts, and green Tabasco.
BBQ inspired – Local greens with pulled chicken with bbq sauce / cheddar / grapes / black beans / corn nuts / esquites-style corn.
Greek inspired – bell peppers, baby tomatoes, cucumber, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, and roasted chickpeas.
Plus chili oil pizza from a new restaurant that is dangerously close to our apartment.
P.S. Adam and I are both off for a few days next week and we’re going on a little trip upstate-ish to the Hudson Valley! I am not packing a camera but I’m sure I’ll be posting a ton on instagram.
Adam and I had a fantastic time on vacation! I have no photos to share, but not to worry, we ate all of the things! We spent the weekend in the city with my parents (Roosevelt Island, Central Park, Seaport, Williamsburg, Montauk, +) and then drove to Virginia (Charlottesville and Richmond) to visit with friends and family and visit a million craft breweries. And then we came home and had insane work-weeks and no longer feel relaxed at all, the end.
Some highlights from the week include…
Dessert-y cold brews. Salted caramel from Whole Foods.
S’mores snack mix – Trader Joe’s ube shortbread cookies with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.
Dipping plate – pimento cheese with pretzels, baby carrots, and mini cucumbers.
Reuben nachos! Whole Food’s pastrami on rye potato chips with shredded gouda and swiss cheese, roast beef, and homemade Russian dressing. Plus sautéed broccoli slaw with pecans.
Our best sheet pan hash to date – yellow potatoes, zucchini, white onion, corn, Cajun-style chicken sauce, and cojita. Topped with diced radish and an esquites inspired sauce with Kewpie, garlic mayo, sour cream, lime juice, paprika, and gojuchang.
Paired with these tamarind chamoy bears from 7-11 that I cannot recommend enough.
Weekend dinners — Chipotle makes quesadillas now. I got a chicken one because I am incapable of passing up anything that is promoted as a new and/or limited release.
We made wonderful chicken and veggie bowls. Roasted cauliflower rice / baked chicken thighs (marinated in lime, brown sugar, Sriracha, rice vinegar, and soy sauce) / scallion peanut sauce (loosely based on this recipe).
I was not able to get my hands on any pie but I celebrated Pi Day with key lime pie beer and buffalo chicken pizza pie!
This was an exceptionally tasty week! My snacks were on point, we tried a fantastic new restaurant, and the dinners we cooked were total successes. Highlights include…
Brunch at Xilonen, a new vegetarian Mexican spot in Greenpoint. We were blown away by the scrambled egg tostada with salsa mache, queso, and a crispy blue corn tortilla.
Heirloom corn tamal, stuffed with sweet potato al pastor, and topped with smoked crema and poblano rajas.
Boba-studded popsicles are currently my favorite snack category.
10/10 leftovers from The Meat Hook. The french onion dip was the best I’ve ever had.
Farro / glazed, baked tofu / sautéed bok choy and green onion / chili crisp / fried shallots (which we made in the microwave!!).
Soba noodles / peanut sauce (loosely based on this one) / cabbage / zucchini / ground turkey / chili crisp and smashed peanuts.
Oven-baked crispy chicken tenders (loosely inspired by this recipe) with brown sugar chili crisp sauce + roasted broccoli with fried shallots. I went back for thirds of that chicken!
Adam and I had a ton of time together this week, which is just the best. We both had time off in the day on Monday and Wednesday and we liked our date so much on Monday – breakfast at Winner, a walk through Prospect Park, and lunch at Ix Restaurant – that we did the exact same things in reverse on Wednesday!
Prospect Park was an iced-over death trap but it was my absolute favorite activity of the week because we got to see swans.
Highlights from the week include…
Lots of fun in coffee. I enjoyed these new Cokes with coffee exactly as much as I thought I would.
This Trader Joe’s instant cold brew is weak on it’s own but it can total save a not-great cup of coffee.
Coffee-flavored Nutrament with a canned Stumptown.
Fancy lattes from Brooklyn Perk, mine was made with rose.
Winner’s sourdough croissant was a total win.
Meal 1 at Ix. Corn thickened Champurrado hot chocolate.
I had the kimchi soup with chicken, noodles, and poached eggs.
Meal 2 at Ix. Hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Chips with bean dip and crazy-good housemade hot sauce.
Corn with cotija cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and chile.
Caldo Tlalpeno Rojo – soup with chicken, tomato, garlic, onion, peas, chickpeas, corn, achiote, chipotle, Oaxaca cheese, and tortilla strips.
Ciao, Gloria blew our minds with their lemoncello pistachio bars. Also we had an unphotographed housemade Oreo that was the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.
Trader Joe’s smoked salmon dip is a household favorite.
Leftover Thai green beans with soft-scrambled eggs, vegetarian pork floss, and chili oil.
Homemade taco bowls. Brown basmati rice / ground turkey / sharp cheddar / sautéed orange and yellow bell pepper and onion.
Loxchos(!!) with roasted brussel sprouts. Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning chips with swiss and Gruyere, hot-smoked salmon, and green onion.
Take-out dinner from Winner, plus roasted zucchini. We split a smoked chicken salad sandwich and a grilled cheese with cheddar, provolone, and romesco sauce on sourdough.
Eating Chalk 