Tag Archives: cucumber

Epsilon Alpha Tau

by

No post from me last week because we were on vacation in Texas! We went to Meow Wolf in Dallas and Houston and also visited Austin. It was a fabulous time and we ate some of the best food of my life (including the best bbq, the best burrito, and two Michelin starred meals!).

Some highlight since we’ve been home…

This week’s coffee. I am picky about bottled coffee but this Nescafe espresso concentrate is pretty solid.

One morning I paired it with a Barebells Vanilla Milk Drink; good but not great, it was better than the soda but too sweet (7/10).

Good loaded skyr bowls this week. This one was plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, pineberries, and Oat Haus cookie dough granola, and edible flowers.

This one was plain skyr, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, maple syrup, and all the berries.

I got my hands on the cherry float Coke Zero so of course I made a float with vanilla ice cream and whiskey cherries. P.S. My current soda ranking is cherry Coke Zero > cherry Diet Coke > cherry float Coke Zero > Diet Coke.

Paired with cherry cola Squashies!

Dinners this week were all (loosely) Greek-inspired. Meatballs (ground turkey baked with panko, baba gannouj, tabbouleh, salt, pepper, and egg) / asparagus sauteed with lemon, dried basil, salt, and pepper / potato salad (peewee potatoes with sauteed celery and red onion, feta, lemon zest and juice, evoo, skyr, mayo, smoked paprika, and white pepper).

Baked eggs with feta plus sauteed zucchini, Bahama Bomb tomato, and red onion with salt, pepper, and dried basil. Scooped with pita chips.

Salads. Spring mix, Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, roasted chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, baba gannouj, roasted garlic hummus, and Trader Joe’s dolmas.

Glowy Day

by

The three best things from the weekend…

A nice IPA at Formosa Dumpling.

Brunch at Roberta’s. I had a solid Bloody Mary.

We loved the marinated cucumber with garlic, chili, chrysanthemum greens, and spicy seeds.

Buttermilk pancake with butter and syrup.

The burger (made from a house-blend of meat) didn’t make my top five but was good. Plus it came with crispy potatoes.

The best coffees of 2026 so far at Dayglow. A Warhol (orange and cream with espresso) and a coquito latte. We also had a fantastic cocktail.

Blueberries And Bears

by

We survived the coldest week of the year! Here were some highlights…

A good skyr bowl with Crofter’s blueberry jam, Olyra blueberry bites, and fresh blueberries.

A better skyr bowl with cinnamon, honey, vanilla powder, blueberries, and honey granola.

These fun-flavored chocolate were good but not great like we expected them to be.

These milk chocolate covered gummy bears on the other hand? 11/10!

Salmon sushi bake. I used brown rice and added parmesan to that layer. Served with avocado and a quick-pickled cucumber salad.

Great homemade pizza. Store-bought grilled whole-wheat crust / sauce = Trader Joe’s pizza sauce gussied up with tomato paste, 2 bulbs of confit elephant garlic, and dried basil / oyster mushrooms sauteed with salt, pepper, and butter / mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Served with roasted cauliflower.

Packaged chicken meatballs (mine are better) with leftover sauce. Plus asparagus sauteed with pecans and parmesan.

Goodbye, 2025

by

Here were some highlights from THE END OF 2025?!…

Peppermint divinity candy, 9/10.

O’Jelly plum and kiwi gummies, 100/10. These are my new favorite peelable candies.

World Taco Factory. Esquites, chicken al pastor taco, jerk chicken taco, and a Korean beef bbq taco.

Spicy salmon roll bowls. Brown rice / canned salmon with skyr, mayo, minced ginger, Sriracha, and soy sauce / quick pickled cucumbers with sugar, salt, and rice vinegar / seaweed salad / seaweed sheets.

Packaged wide noodles in spicy sauce plus sauteed seitan and roasted zucchini.

Maple x2

by

Highlights from this week…

This week’s coffee combo. Trader Joe’s knocked both of these items out of the park.

Fancy yogurt bowl. Plain skyr, cinnamon granola, yellow dragonfruit, and persimmon.

New new-to-me pear. This wasn’t as good as the last two but still not bad.

A dips/dippers situation. Little Sesame Herby Jalapeno hummus and Red Clay pimento cheese (hands down the best pimento spread we’ve ever tasted!) with bell peppers, baby carrots, and Crunch Master pimento cheese rice crackers.

Warm salads. Sauteed Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch topped with dressing (maple syrup, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and sesame oil), lamb sausage, and roasted honeynut and delicata squash.

Tofu salads. Romaine / Trader Joe’s mano vinaigrette / cucumber / extra-sharp cheddar / crispy broad beans / and tofu (marinated, dredged in a flour, cornstarch, salt, white pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, and toasted rice powder mix, then stir-fried).

A very, very loose take on the Very Fresh Noodles Dan Dan noodles. Buckwheat soba / dinosaur kale, baby bok choy, and scallions sauteed with fish sauce and rice vinegar / ground turkey sauteed with hoisin, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and five spice powder / crunched up crispy broad beans / sauce – peanut butter, garlic, onion chili crisp, chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, five spice powder, Sichuan peppercorn, and chicken broth.

P.S. I put pecan pie chocolate chip cookies into the oven as I wrote this post!

Haggis And Highlands

by

No post from me last week because we were in SCOTLAND! We went with Adam’s brother and sister-in-law on a road trip and had a fabulous time. We tried haggis (I loved it!), got to pet a Highland Cow, saw a thousand castles, and stayed at a bread and breakfast with baby seals.

Less exciting but still fun things from this week back in the US included…

This week’s coffee combo – beans from our last vacation (Alaska) and dulce de leche.

Pumpkin spice Chobani with Whole Food’s cinnamon granola and blueberries.

Pumpkin smoothie – canned pumpkin with frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple sugar, and water.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (this perfect rice from Hummingbird High).

P.S. I put cookies into the best dessert bowl – plain skyr, peanut butter, dulce de leche, crumbled cookies, and blueberries.

We brought home this tablet (basically a sweetened condensed milk fudge) from Scotland. We’re glad we didn’t try it until we left the country or we probably we would have bought another 20 bars!

This treat from America (Canada?) was also good – Trader Joe’s maple pancake flavored puffs.

Thai chicken satay inspired bowls. Brown rice / baked chicken – marinated in yogurt, coconut milk, lime juice, red curry, curry powder, and ginger / roasted broccoli / peanut sauce – peanut butter, red curry, lime juice, sugar, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water / cucumber salad – cucumber, scallion, salt, sugar, rice vinegar, and chili oil.

Callaloo inspired bowls. Chopped spinach cooked down with crab, coconut milk, sauteed onion, ginger, ufra pepper, and habanero pepper. Plus roasted honeynut squash and delicata squash.

An easy soup. Leftover rice / shredded garlic-y baked chicken / sauteed dinosaur kale, green onion, garlic, and canned green chilis / chicken broth, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little sesame oil.

Swooning

by

We had a perfect weekend! Tons of great food, several good walks (a part of Brooklyn we don’t usually explore, Astoria, Manhattan, and our neighborhood back home), and a run on the boardwalk! Here were five food highlights…

1) Between the Bagel. Bulgolgi egg and cheese bagel heaven. And the owner is the nicest man.

2) Somedays Bakery. I fully get the hype. Pistachio lattice, chocolate chunk cookie, and a crab and cheese pastry.

3) Treats on the Lower East Side. We didn’t think that the Papa D’Amour Hokkaido milk soft serve with a French butter shell was that exciting.

But I thought the croissant bao with butter, red bean, and granulated sugar was fantastic. Plus yuzu lemonade + pear green iced tea.

And Adam adored the scallion and Thai basil pesto scallion blossom.

Noonas is my favorite ice cream in the city. We shared ube Vietnamese coffee latte and pandan ice creams with mochi and black sesame jam.

4) Brunch at Naks. Para Sa Paborito Kong Apo cocktail – dry gin, mezcal, campari, ginger, citrus sherbet, and chile; served in a toasted frozen grapefruit.

The Filipino platter was my favorite. Short rib with garlic rice, fried egg, bone broth, fried tofu, salad, and pickled veggies. Adam loved the (pork) bone broth and I thought the rice and fried tofu were perfect.

The salted egg pancake with citrus butter and salted egg cream was Adam’s favorite thing he’s ever eaten.

Plus flan for dessert.

And Taho – sea buckthorn spirit, silken tofu-soya milk, burnt sugar syrup, and tapioca pearls.

5) Dinner at Swoony’s. The vibe is great and they have cute matchbooks. My Swoon Cycle cocktail was delightful and interesting – rum and amaretto with ginger, lime, and cucumber.

Tuna crudo with avocado, capers, scallions, and citrus vinaigrette with buttery brioche. We loved the diced avocado here.

Brussels sprouts with horseradish sauce, shallots, and toasted breadcrumbs. These were the best non-fried brussels spouts I’ve eaten in a restaurant.

Crab toast with jalapenos and tomato.

Swoony’s burger – double patty with thousand island and American cheese plus fries. Meant in the most complimentary way — this tasted exactly like an upscale McDonald’s burger and fries! It made my top five New York burgers list (Nomwon, Sonder, Rolo, Swoony’s, Rippers).

Chocolate mousse for dessert with vanilla cream and strawberry topping.

Wet Fruit, Dry Fruit

by

Highlights from a yummy week…

This yogurt bowl was good in theory but unfortunately it was so wet. Plain skyr with blueberries, golden kiwi, and passionfruit. Scooping kiwis out of their skin (rather than trying to peel and cut them) has been a game changer for me; I eat them all the time now.

Hummus and crackers. Both good but not my favorites.

These Patagonia sourdough crackers are amazing though.

Trader Joe’s freeze-dried watermelon candies. Our bag seemed a little stale but the flavor is great.

Lindt Dubai style chocolate bar. 9/10 but nothing is as good as the original Nuts for Nuts Dubai bar.

The best candy is these sour slices from Whole Foods. The calamansi lime ones are ridiculous.

Dinner out at Varli Indian Street Kitchen. Mango lassi.

I got chili paneer which came with tons of onions and peppers and Adam had excellent butter chicken.

Greek baked turkey meatballs. Ground turkey with tabbouleh, feta, salt and pepper, urfa chili, onion powder, garlic powder, and egg. Served with fresh tomatoes and fantastic snap peas (sauteed with feta, piquante peppers, walnuts, honey, rice vinegar, and gochugaru.

In the style of orange chicken, Tangerine Apricot Yuzu Tofu. Firm tofu (I froze/thawed mine which gives it the best texture) tossed with gochugaru, white pepper, and cornstarch / baked with broccoli, red bell pepper, and green onions / tossed with sauce – cornstarch slurry, fresh tangerine juice, apricot jelly, yuzu ponzu, dark soy sauce, chili oil, rice vinegar, honey, and garlic whisked over medium heat / topped with sesame seeds. We added cashews afterwards too! Served on brown rice.

Crispy rice spicy California roll bowls. We love this meal. This iteration was imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, and green onion / tossed with yuzu ponzu and Kewpie / on top of crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil and baked until crispy / topped with furikake.