Bananas, Bowls

Highlights from the week…

Banana malted ice latte. Blended frozen banana, ice, malt powder, and chocolate milk topped with espresso. <– this was fantastic

Banana bread snack mix. Whole-wheat Chex, cinnamon sugar pretzel sticks, walnuts, and banana chips baked with butter, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and brown sugar.

Nola malted. Vanilla ice cream blended with milk, Blue Bottle’s instant Nola coffee, and malt powder.

Garlic tofu dinner bowls. Roasted shredded brussels sprouts tossed with lemon zest and parmesan cheese / homemade pretzel bread croutons / super-firm tofu boiled and then sauteed with garlic, butter, lemon juice, miso, gochujang, and smoked paprika // I went back and topped my bowl with pickled red onion.

Veggie whipped cottage cheese dinner bowls. Food-processed cottage cheese / roasted baby zucchini / tomatoes sauteed with honey, chili oil, and gochugaru / Milu everything seasoning. Yes, there was a more significant protein component planned. No, my idea did not work out. Yes, I chased dinner with chopped cheese fries take-out.

BBQ chicken dinner bowls. Roasted riced cauliflower sauteed with blended cottage cheese and shredded sharp cheddar / baked chicken thighs tossed in a skillet with homemade bbq sauce (tomato paste, brown sugar, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapeño brine, smoked pimento, onion powder, garlic powder, and water) / sauteed poblano pepper and green onion / crispy onion and garlic.

Buffalo tofu dinner bowls. Celery sauteed with green onion and then tossed with plain skyr, Duke’s, jalapeño brine, and Trader Joe’s ranch seasoning / shredded super-firm tofu baked until crispy and then tossed with Frank’s buffalo sauce / crispy onion and garlic.

Blueberries And/Or Breakfast Foods

On-theme things from the week, all delicious…

Smoothies! Strawberry malted – frozen strawberries blended with water, malted milk powder, and chocolate protein powder.

Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries blended with water, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, and cottage cheese.

A breakfast-y, dessert-y, waffle yogurt bowl situation. Fage with blueberry topped with blueberries, Evergreen peanut butter banana bread waffles, and maple syrup.

Nightingale lemon blueberry pound cake ice cream sandwich.

Bagels with cream cheese and lox, chopped. We did a mix of cream cheese, Kewpie, smoked salmon, Trader Joe’s pickled onions, chili crisp, and honey. Plus roasted broccoli.

Egg tacos, chopped. Our filling was a mix of chopped together scrambled egg with extra-sharp cheddar, fried plantains, sauteed poblano pepper and green onion, avocado, and Cholula chipotle cremosa sauce. Plus roasted zucchini.

Savory oatmeal bowls. Our favorite oatmeal (Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds) topped with sauteed kale, crispy baked shredded tofu, a fried egg, and chili crisp.

Blueberry cottage cheese pancakes. I used this recipe but added vanilla bean powder, lemon zest, lemon juice, and some blueberries. Plus sauteed kale and homemade turkey sausage (ground turkey with sharp cheddar, maple syrup, fish sauce, smoked paprika, urfa, gochugaru, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper). I coved the whole plate in maple syrup and Cholula chili garlic hot sauce!

Marchmallow

Some things from the weekend…

I made graham cracker pie crust for some baking next week so of course I put crumbles in a skyr bowl with jumbo blueberries.

Reese’s marshmallow peanut butter cup is a 1000/10, obviously.

Trader Joe’s ranch cottage cheese dip is great, especially scooped with their ranch flavored rolled tortilla chips and some bell pepper slices.

Diner dinner date at Laurel Diner. We adore it there and not just because they give you a pickle plate!

I had a Broadway – an egg cream with a coffee ice cream float.

And a mac and cheese burger with sweet potato fries. Plus some of Adam’s great pancakes. And they sent us home with muffins they were going to throw out that ended up being outstanding!

Hot Honey Butter Crunch

‘Twas a yummy week! Some highlights…

Cottage cheese with cinnamon, vanilla bean powder, granola, and pineberries.

A savory cottage cheese bowl dinner with sauteed zucchini and green onion, a fried egg, sunflower seeds, Milu everything spice, and chili crisp.

Something I will be making again – crispy baked butter beans and shredded super-firm tofu tossed with honey, butter, chili oil, and gochugaru. Served on top of sauteed shredded brussels sprouts.

We ate the leftovers (still great!) on salads with romaine and chicory blend lettuce, cilantro salad dressing, sauteed baby broccoli with garlic, and Dubliner cheese.

A loose take on callaloo with yellow onion, red jalapeño, frozen chopped spinach and kale, ginger, urfa, coconut milk, and tons of crab. Plus homemade dumb bread.

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.

Brinner Winner

We did breakfasts for dinners this week. Here was everything I ate on theme…

Coffee, obviously. Sweetie Pies on Main makes some of our favorite lattes in Long Island. These specials were crazy – tres leches and tiramisu!

Cereal [milk latte]. Espresso plus skim milk I infused overnight with Cocoa Pebbles.

Orange juice. I wanted to be on-theme but I hate juice so we made cocktails. OJ with vodka and amaretto plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some Target rainbow sherbet seltzer.

Smoothie. Blueberry pancake smoothie. Frozen blueberries blended with cottage cheese, butter extract, maple syrup, vanilla protein powder, malted milk powder, and water.

Blueberry muffins. I think these protein mini muffins are disgusting in a delightful way.

Yogurt bowl, obviously. This was plain Greek with blueberries, blackberries, and cookie dough granola.

Egg and cheese biscuit. Hometown Bakeshop‘s build-your-own breakfast sandwich. We got a cheddar biscuit with two over-medium eggs, cheddar-jack cheese, caramelized onions, and smoked aioli.

Avocado toast. Whole-wheat bread toasted with butter topped with smashed avocado (with lemon, salt, and gochugaru) and cold-smoked sockeye salmon. Plus sauteed purple asparagus.

Cottage cheese bowls. Topped with cucumber salad (sesame seeds, gochugaru, rice vinegar, and sugar) and baked chicken meatballs (panade, hoisin, gochujang, oyster sauce, and white pepper). I ate several meatballs before they could make it to my bowl!

Oatmeal. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds – 10/10, it is perfect out of the microwave – topped with a fried egg, chopped baby broccoli sauteed with lemon and garlic, spicy caramelized peanuts (sugar, salt, white pepper, evoo, gochugaru, and togarashi), and chili crisp.

Bacon, egg, and cheese bagel salad. This was my best idea of the week. Arugula dressed with garlic Dijon dressing and horseradish Sriracha aioli / sharp cheddar / beef bacon / homemade bagel croutons (Bagel Joint sesame gochujang bagel tossed with evoo, salt, white pepper, and gochugaru and baked) / six-minute eggs.

Hoppy Easter

Somethings from this week, mostly on-theme and/or coffee…

No one is surprised that I’ve been buying Easter candies for months.

I also have been saving up lemon and coconut bars. The Melo bars are all 10/10 but the lemon flavor is actually my favorite. I also was very pleased with how lemony the 88 Acres one was.

Buzz’d Express Coffee‘s marshmallow Peep cold foam cold brew is maybe my favorite coffee of 2025.

I also made my own version with toasted birthday cake Peeps blended into an iced coffee with cream, sugar, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla extract.

Coconut water with dalgona-style espresso (9/10).

A spring-y cottage cheese bowl with leftover fermented banana cake, kiwi, blackberries, and edible flowers.

Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples. These are nicely sweet and chewy.

We tried the rice paper noodles hack with brown rice spring roll wrappers (loved it, the chew was perfect). Stir-fried with Pad See Ew sauce, baked chicken, green onion, broccolini, and egg.

Buffalo chicken cabbage bowls. I made a cole slaw with green cabbage, green onion, tomato, Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, white pepper, sugar, and blue cheese. Topped with baked chicken that I tossed in a skillet with butter, dijon, and Frank’s buffalo sauce.

Sheet-pan hash. Sprouted extra-firm tofu baked with brussels sprouts, yam, green onion, blue cheese, and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans. I topped my bowl with honey and chili crisp.

Pizza night! Two-ingredient crust plus two ingredients (garlic and onion powder) / Trader Joe’s pizza sauce zhuzhed up with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and urfa pepper / pizza-blend shredded cheese / sauteed mushrooms (a frozen blend with white, crimini, portobello, and shiitake) with green onions, gochugaru, and butter. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower.