Tag Archives: cucumber

Shalom, Mars

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It was a FANTASTIC weekend! We had perfect Brooklyn dates (Gowanus and Williamsburg) with the best foods, drinks, sights, and walks.

Some highlights…

Blue Brown. We really enjoyed this coffee spot and shared an espresso with palm juice and a dirty Thai iced tea.

Homemade coffee shake. Iced coffee with frozen banana, half and half, instant coffee powder, black sesame paste, vanilla protein powder, and brown sugar.

Yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with Heritage Flakes, plucot, blueberries, and birthday cake granola butter + sprinkles.

NYC tip – the Williamsburg location of Bon Bon has a beautiful storefront and all of the selections of the Lower East Side location with a tenth of the line.

Pokito is my favorite bar in the city. My paloma jell-o shot was a work of art and my frozen rum punch came with a bird I got to keep.

Finback Brewery. They didn’t have small pours/flights so I skipped beer and got a delicious Guavamente cocktail – gin, guava, sorel, lemon, and nutmeg.

Three’s Brewing. We tried a few small pours and had a nice smoked peach saison that obviously couldn’t compare their Super Burrito window. We shared a California-style burrito with carne asada, french fries, jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.

Taglio Pizza takeout (buffalo chicken and vodka slices for me) with roasted shredded brussels sprouts and homemade Greek yogurt ranch dip.

Cafe Mars. Aka “unusual Italian.” Aka my favorite meal I’ve ever eaten. My photos were not great with the lighting but the food tasted spectacular. Also the inside was a neon retro dream. [photo from their Instagram]

I had an unphotographed El Diablo – tequila, ginger, lime, and cassis. The service was impeccable and we also started and ended the evening with complimentary drinks. We shared a bunch of things and have some very exciting leftovers. Inside Out Italian Beef – thin sliced Italian spiced chuck eye wrapped around focaccia and giardiniera and served with pepperoncini-beef jus.

Cucamelon – with cucumber, smoked trout roe, and whey granita.

Fried nectarines (my favorite savory dish I have ever been served) – with heirloom tomatoes, ricotta, and shiso. Also garlic knot monkey bread with red sauce.

Waves – homemade pasta, with shrimp, zucchini, mint, squash blossoms, and Calabrian chili. This was the other dish that blew me away; the sauce was a tiny bit sour in a way that balanced everything perfectly.

Scallops with new potato salad, cured egg yolk, and spicy cucumber salad.

Steak Pizzaiola with penne fries.

Desserts – liquor soaked cake with a chocolate pudding sauce and candied eggplant (not for me, apparently, though Adam liked it) and a watermelon sorbet with pistachio cookies and sea salt.

Shalom Japan. Another wonderful dinner where we shared and loved many things. Two cocktails that were greatly enjoyed but I can’t remember a thing about.

Corn ribs with Kewpie, parmesan, chili, and lime. Their special was the best dish of the night, a take on a caprese salad – heirloom tomatoes, plums, umeboshi dressing, koji-marinated tofu, and shiso.

Okonomiyaki with Wagyu pastrami and bonito flakes.

Lox bowl with sushi rice, avocado, Japanese pickles, fried capers (<– divine), and chili mayo.

Matzoh ball ramen soup. We added a foie gras dumpling and a soy-marinated egg.

P.S. I couldn’t take a photo because I was immediately sticky but we also had a Milk Bar marshmallow gooey brownie that was a 20/10.

Nom Win

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This weekend included some fun Long Island stops as well as a trip to Bushwick for dinner and my favorite street art in the city.

Some highlights…

Brunch at Orwasher’s. We shared an Edith’s tahini frozen iced coffee.

And lox toast with goat cheese and capers.

Instant coffee I carried home from Denver.

Summer fruit.

Gong Cha‘s cream brulee series has my heart. With strawberry milk and pudding.

S’mores! My sister-in-law got us a mini fire pit kit so we took Webster on a mini picnic.

I used peanut butter sandwich crackers, milk chocolate, and vegan marshmallows.

Whole Foods’ pineapple pie cookie with sprinkles!

Reminder to myself that the Whole Foods hot bar has great options when you go at lunch time. Spicy cucumber sesame salad, hard-boiled egg, sauteed veggies.

Salmon salad rolls. Canned sockeye salmon with mayo, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, celery seed, smoked paprika, and scallions on brioche hot dog rolls. Plus sauteed asparagus with lemon, pepper, and garlic.

Nowon – best dinner of the summer so far. We tried and loved their wood-fired margherita pizza with gojuchang marinara, mozzarella, basil, and chili oil.

Horchata with hibiscus, pineapple citrus, almond, and cinnamon / Smoke & Mirrors – spicy mezcal, amaretto, and pineapple / seasonal cocktail with cherry, sour plum, yuzu, and soju.

The best drink of the night was the Dew Drop with added Tito’s; lavender, yuzu, and juniper.

We shared the seven-course “Mix Tape” pre-fixe and every dish was a showstopper. Whipped ricotta toast with homemade focaccia, citrus jam, and chili oil. I was expecting not to care for this but it ended up being my second favorite dish of the night!

Broccolini a la Caesar with black sesame, parmesan, and candied anchovies.

Spicy gojuchang fried chicken.

Chopped cheese rice cakes.

Honey garlic butter tater tots. <– my favorite dish. These guys are so perfectly crunchy!

Legendary cheeseburger = double smashed patties, kimchi special sauce, roasted kimchi, pickles, onion, and American cheese. After Elder Greene, I think this is the 3rd best cheeseburger in NYC.

Plus dessert I didn’t capture – honeydew panna cotta with mint and lime.

Not Bitter

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Highlights from a LOVELY weekend…

Our 1st trip to Utopia Bagel in Manhattan. Everything with scallion cream cheese. <– worth the hype but still not as good as La Bagel Delight

Blended iced coffee. With vanilla protein powder, half and half, and black sesame paste.

The Freshly Durian iced latte from Not as Bitter stole my heart. Fresh durian with coconut milk and espresso. This was my first time trying actual durian and I loved it as much as much as I expected.

Brunch at Potluck Club. I got a green tea with citron honey, soda, and lime.

We shared too much food and had a wonderful time. French toast stuffed with salted egg yolk and topped with with condensed milk and salted butter.

Radish cakes with arugula and sunny side up eggs.

Chow Mein with hanger steak and chili oil.

Gotham Burger Social Club. We split a double smash burger, fried pickles, and perfectly crispy tater tots.

Cava takeout. My bowl was giant so I don’t remember it all but I got honey harissa chicken, roasted veggies, crazy feta, date vinaigrette, and more.

Pride Month special multi-layered cake from Red Gate Bakery. Per their Instagram – “naturally dyed vanilla bean layers with fillings that include strawberry, raspberry, clementine, mango, passionfruit, matcha, pistachio, blueberry, and cherry just to name a few.” We loved it.

Passionately Crabby

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Good things from this week…

Yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with blueberries, passionfruit, and chocolate cookie granola.

Cookie dough protein yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla bean powder, vanilla protein powder, and chocolate chips. Blueberries on the side, of course.

Hojicha tea with yuzu curd and passionfruit syrup.

Bougie candies. Candy Kitten raspberry + guava (7/10) and Jom cola (10/10).

I really enjoyed this Buldak cheese spicy chicken ramen. This flavor wasn’t too spicy and the noodles were so bouncy! I added an egg and a slice of cheese to my bowl and it was great.

A take on callaloo. Frozen spinach cooked down with light coconut milk, yellow onion, habanero pepper, ginger, urfa pepper, salt, pepper, turkey bacon, and crab.

I topped my bowl with soursop hot sauce and paired it with hot mustard Doritos.

Sushi roll bowls. Brown rice and roasted riced cauliflower with furikake, white sugar, and rice vinegar / imitation crab with green onion, Greek yogurt, mayo, soy sauce, and Sriracha / cucumbers tossed with white pepper, Sichuan pepper, and rice vinegar / avocado / pickled ginger / seaweed snacks on the side.

Crab fried rice. Leftover cauliflower/rice stir-fried with soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, green onion, crab meat, and eggs. Plus fairytale eggplants that I roasted and then sauteed with gojuchang, tahini, and sesame oil. We want to remake this eggplant immediately.

Passion, Peach, Persimmon

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Things from this week…

Yogurt bowls of note – Plain skyr with passionfruit syrup, white chocolate passionfruit truffle, blackberries, blueberries, and maple pecan granola.

Plain skyr with granola, strawberries, and persimmon.

Iced matcha with condensed milk and plum seltzer.

These Kodiak s’mores bars taste exactly like the Chewy bars from your childhood.

Abomination Brewery’s Fogsicle is obviously our new favorite summer beer – sour double IPA with peach, vanilla, and marshmallow.

I liked the flavor of this maple cardamom candied pecan ice cream but the texture was a little funky.

I finally hopped on the TikTok smashburger taco trend and it was worth the hype. With ground turkey, extra-sharp cheddar, and a house sauce on the side. Plus roasted cauliflower.

Dinner inspired by my favorite dish from Very Fresh Noodles. Buckwheat soba / quick cucumber salad with sugar and rice vinegar / in the food processor – crumbled super-firm tofu baked until crispy, roasted serrano pepper and green onion, basil, Sichuan peppercorn, extra-virgin olive oil, crunchy yellow peas / topped later with chili crisp.

Beautiful Things, Berries, Bowls

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Things from this week – Doing: I had a good treadmill run, 3.25 miles at a 7:49 pace. I recently set a lofty goal of 2 miles at a 7-minute pace and I am having fun trying to work towards it. // Listening: Adam and I are obsessed with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” I also recently fell head over heels for Milky Chance’s “Flashed Junk Mind.” I adore that whole album actually. // Eating: Highlights below…

Fruit-forward yogurt bowls this week (I need to stop, these yogurts were both good but I always prefer plain skyr best). Elleno’s pink guava Greek yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Painterland Sisters’ meadow berry 6% skyr with berries, 88 Acres’ cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter (9.5/10), and Made Good’s cocoa crunch granola (9.5/10).

Little Sesame caramelized onion hummus with Simple Mills everything seed flour crackers.

Served with baby carrots, of course. The crackers were a 9.5/10 but the hummus was too lemon-forward for my tastes.

Summer-y strawberry sparkling beverages.

Hawaiian/Li Hing Mui seasoned candies we brought home from Vegas.

It was Carnival back home last week and my parents sent me some goodies from Food Fair.

The banana coquito I blended with espresso, half and half, brown sugar, and frozen banana and it was delicious. Topped with sprinkles and nutmeg.

I am a fan of Yasso’s chocolate-covered Greek yogurt bites. Coffee was good but not as good as salted caramel.

Dinners in bowls are the best kind. Brown Jasmine rice / celery and scallion sauteed with ginger / roasted zucchini / Gyeran-jjim – Korean steamed egg, I make mine with just a bit of water with white miso paste and fish sauce / chili crisp.

Rice / zucchini / sauteed spinach with green onion, sesame oil, and sesame seeds / Trader Joe’s beefless bulgogi (high in sodium but delicious) / soy marinated egg.

Cottage cheese / soy marinated eggs / heirloom tomato / sliced cucumber – I let them sit in the leftover egg marinade for 20 minutes and they were great / North River crunchy yellow peas.

Not a bowl – I am going to finish out Thursday with nachos when I finish this post!

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

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NYC is warm approaching hot and positively bursting with beautiful flowers. Of course my highlights from the week include an array of spring-y foodstuffs.

I enjoyed this passion fruit & hibiscus simple syrup in a variety of applications – diet coke (7/10), iced matcha (7.5/10), iced coffee (8.5/10), plain skyr (9/10).

Plan skyr bowl with blueberries, lolliberry strawberries, yuzu curd, honey almond granola, and edible flowers.

Whole-wheat bread with vanilla granola butter and strawberry guava jam. This was actually the best snack of the week.

These jalapeño cheddar Corn Nuts were delicious and almost too spicy for me.

Hu dark chocolate with vanilla crunch. It’s rare to find a vanilla chocolate though I wish the flavor was a little more prominent here (honestly the bar was a bit salty).

Noosa honey vanilla bean frozen yogurt gelato (so good!) with yuzu curd, strawberries, purple sprinkles, and edible flowers.

Important shout out – I am still completely head over heels for these Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites.

This week’s dinner them was — SALAD. It was such a success, each night was better than the last! Potato salad. Baby potatoes that I boiled, smashed, topped with evoo and extra-sharp cheddar, and baked until crispy / celery / cucumber / smoked sockeye salmon and salmon candy / dressing – plain skyr, mayo, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, mustard powder, paprika, and celery seed.

Greek salad. Romaine / balsamic vinaigrette / celery / crispy-baked chickpeas / feta / Trader Joe’s tabbouli / TJ’s dolmas.

Fancy salad. Romaine / dressing – skyr, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, maple syrup, vinegar, and lemon juice / sugar bomb grape tomatoes / sauteed asparagus / Wildwood black truffle and sea salt baked tofu / extra-sharp cheddar / homemade pretzel bread croutons.

BBQ salad. Romaine / homemade ranch – skyr, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, ranch seasoning / tomatoes / orange bell pepper / fresh corn / Corn Nuts / cheddar / baked chicken breast tossed with Stubbs BBQ sauce. <– best of the week

Gummy Worm Sprinkles

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Weekend things – I worked on Sunday and managed to get home on time / We went on a mall date and I bought new running shoes (the next generation of the Brooks’ Adrenalines) that seem great / We ate champagne mangos that were so juicy and perfect / I ordered a ton of Taco Bell take-out from their new Cantina menu and it was shockingly good!

Highlights…

Still on my yuzu iced matcha spritzer kick. Matcha tea, orange mandarin passionfruit jam, yuzu marmalade, and yuzu mandarin seltzer.

This beautiful sludge was actually a black sesame caramel dirty iced matcha. Matcha, espresso, skim milk, caramel Nut Pods vegan creamer, black sesame paste, and caramel drizzle.

We ate at Shukette last weekend and were sadly/surprisingly underwhelmed but we did have a fantastic dish of labne with candied kumquats and black sesame seeds. Hence this bagel – toasted egg bagel with cream cheese, yuzu marmalade, and sesame seeds. Also the other half with peanut butter, honey, and poppy seed filling.

I have been searching obsessively and I finally found the Dirt Cake Oreos! They are delicious and more importantly they are topped with gummy worm inspired sprinkles!!!

Spicy cold tofu. With roasted zucchini and Trader Joe’s mini chicken and cilantro wontons.

The best nachos I’ve ever made. Adam and I were both swooning! Trader Joe’s plantain crisps / extra-sharp cheddar / chopped baked chicken tossed with bbq sauce / green bell pepper, poblano pepper, baby tomatoes, and scallions sauteed in evoo with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder / homemade guacamole and chipotle lime ranch.