New York, New York

Adam and I drove to New York for a fantastic weekend visit!

IMG_20180909_090634_553

We did tons of city walking punctuated by coffees and ice creams // Brunched with friends at Vinegar Hill House // Tried a new place for dinner on Saturday that was just terrible and ended up having the best night ever getting a variety of things from DeKalb Market and eating in bed in front of Chopped //  Bought coffee and halvah to bring home to Charlottesville…

Also, I didn’t snap a picture, but we shared a a baklava croissant from Cafe D’Avignon that was the best thing I ate the whole trip month!

Here were five highlights…

{1}  Maple Shay from Brooklyn Roasting Co.  Espresso (four shots for me!) with ice, milk, and maple syrup.

IMG_1114

{2}  An iced latte from Terremoto, with housemade rose syrup.

IMG_1065

{3}  Drinks from Ramona in Greenpoint.  We had a frozen mango Thai iced tea with coconut whipped cream and “The Harpooned Heart” – vodka, coconut, almond, vanilla, mint, lime, pineapple, and peppercorn bitters.

IMG_1086

{4}  Big Gay Ice Cream.  I got vanilla soft serve, in a cone lined with Biscoff, topped with dulce de leche, and coated in sprinkles.  It was out of this world.  The sprinkles were the best part, the best I’ve ever tasted.

IMG_1073

{5}  The Little Mule combo from Chef’s Club Counter.  It was white american cheese, cotija cheese, pickled jalopenos, fried egg, and chipotle mayo.  Served on an Impossible Burger.  We kind of swooned over it.

IMG_1082

IMG_1083

Okonomiyaki And Almost Green Papaya Salad

Loves of late – “Making It” (again), I am sad this season is almost over.  Also “Stan Against Evil;” I just learned that the 3rd season premiers on Halloween and I could not be more excited.

Flavor themes this week – cream cheese, salmon, bacon, cabbage, coffee (always)

Here were the highlights…

Coffee = cold pressed Brooklyn Roasting Company.

IMG_0916

On the snack front, the hospital cafeteria stocks a big variety of yummy trail mixes and I am obsessed with them.

IMG_0934

And this month’s Snack Crate was from Japan and it was super exciting.

IMG_0960

IMG_0963

Jalopeno popper chicken.  Chicken baked with a topping of cream cheese, jalopeno, cheddar, and turkey bacon.  Plus roasted green beans.

IMG_0945

Salmon strata.  This recipe, but I subbed in cream cheese for cheddar and added dill.  Also I added an extra egg and used fat-free half and half in place of a 1/2 cup of milk which made the custard extra creamy.  Pro tip – we used Trader Joe’s white whole wheat and it was perfect.  Plus cherry tomatoes and roasted zucchini.

IMG_0976

Frozen salmon burgers (which frankly weren’t that good) on a delicious slaw.  I made green papaya salad but with cabbage.

IMG_0923

Americanized okonomiyaki, I used russet potato with turkey bacon and sharp cheddar.

IMG_0954

Buchi, Boba, Bacon

Highlights from a yummy week…

Coffee combo = Brooklyn Roasting Co with sweetened condensed milk, shakerato style.

IMG_0759

This pineapple + mint Buchi is my new favorite kombucha.

IMG_0791

Kung Fu Tea served me a fantastic bubble tea, rosehip milk tea with coconut jelly and boba.

IMG_0765

Chipotle salads are possibly one of my top five favorite foods.  Romaine, chicken, fajita veggies, pinto beans, hot salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese.

IMG_0774

Homemade green curry.  Chicken sausage and zucchini / on cauliflower rice / with green curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, and lime.

IMG_0807

Tasty egg sandwiches.  Seeded challah rolls with fried eggs, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and mayo and gojuchang.  Plus the simplest salads – romaine with ranch.

IMG_0788

Dinner out at Bebedero.

IMG_0814

We had great drinks – a paloma with mezcal, rosemary, and black sea salt and tepache, a fermented pineapple drink.

IMG_0819

IMG_0822

And I had nachos with cheese sauce and house-pickled jalopenos.

IMG_0826

 

Hell Of A Halvah

Highlights from this week…

It’s really lovely to have a husband who arranges me flowers and buys me cupcakes when I’m cranky!  Related note – it’s also really nice to live walking distance from Sweethaus because apparently they are our favorite cupcakes on the planet.

IMG_0377

Random drink assortment from work, the lemon rose blossom water was surprisingly delicious.

IMG_0397

Weirdest/most exciting snack award goes to – this Japanese candy we brought home from NY.  It was like a fun dip but with a cola flavored lollipop and fizzy milk powder.

IMG_0404

Fantastic product sample – Absolutely Gluten Free sent me their newest snack item: TahiniBARs.  Halvah is a candy made of sesame paste and it is both Adam’s and my very favorite treat.

IMG_0277

The TahiniBARS come in vanilla, pistachio, and cocoa nibs.  They are certified kosher, dairy free, and gluten free.  Each serving has 100 calories.

IMG_0292

We LOVED them!  They absolutely stacked up to the halvah I grew up eating and the artisinal varieties we’ve had in NY.

IMG_0295

One of my favorite ways to eat halvah is crumbled up in yogurt, so one day I made an absolutely ridiculous snack – plain Greek yogurt / vanilla TahiniBAR / Soom chocolate tahini spread / red plum and green pluot.  Delicious.

IMG_0343

We had some tasty dinner too.  Like bbq chicken fried rice.  Fried rice / carmelized red onion / shredded rotisserie chicken / fresh corn / collard greens cooked with rice vinegar / bbq sauce / eggs.

IMG_0348

Jalopeno popper pasta, loosely inspired by this recipe.  We used whole-wheat shells, turkey bacon, no cream, and less cheese; plus I topped mine with panko.  With roasted zucchini.

IMG_0367

Leftovers with an assortment of baby wines.  I do NOT recommend the rose.

IMG_0389

Homemade buffalo chicken dip / scooped with baby carrots and potato chips / celery sauteed with butter, salt, pepper, and celery seed.

IMG_0412

I’m trying out a recipe that sounds super fun this weekend, so please cross your fingers for me that it turns out!

A New York Weekend

We just had the best! weekend!! ever!!!  Or at least that’s what Adam and I told each other multiple times each day.  It’s my birthday tomorrow (the 24th) and he took me back to New York to celebrate.

20180721_132745

20180721_132737

We got super lucky with the weather and managed to do a million fun things, including try out a few new restaurants that we missed going to before the move, eat all the ice cream, and drink all the coffee (and put ice cream in our coffee!).

IMG_0106

 

 

 

Here were the highlights…

Staying in Williamsburg in the Pod hotel, which was adorable and totally big enough for us.  And they had games and a bar in the lobby with Grimm Icing on the Cake on tap.

Brunch at Fausto, our new favorite spot.  I had a cocktail with ontratto aperitif, aperitivo select, grapefruit, and tonic.  Polenta with braised duck, poached egg, and pea greens.  And hashbrowns with chili aioli.

IMG_0128

IMG_0132

IMG_0129

Quad, non-fat, iced lattes from Black Brick.

Aussie iced coffee from Sweatshop.  Basically a quad, non-fat, iced latte with a scoop of ice cream in it.

IMG_0124

West Side Story from Paper Plane Coffee = guava, sweetened condensed milk, and espresso.  It was surprisingly delicious, and pink!

IMG_0084

Running along the East River.

Lunch at Sauvage.  We split baked eggs and a salad with arugula, charred corn, pistachio, and whipped chevre.

IMG_0102

Smorgasburg!  We got fantastic okonomiyaki and a scoop of mint ice cream with toasted Swiss meringue on top.  <– my favorite iteration of marshmallow of all time

IMG_0071

IMG_20180721_122432_530

Ice cream at Milk Bar.  I got a babyquake (aka mini blizzard) with birthday cake truffles and the best sprinkles.

IMG_0110

Stocking up on Japanese goodies at Midoriya.

Buying an adorable bear t-shirt for me and a succulent pin for Adam at Brooklyn Flea.

Dinner at Dez.  We shared cauliflower and crispy capers and chimichurri and I had a chopped vegetable salad with roasted potato, crispy eggplant, a seven minute egg, umbah, zhough, and tahini.

IMG_20180721_190857_371

Beating our favorite team shooting game (Ghost Hunter) at Barcade.

Getting drinks with old friends at Freemans.

Beers at Greenpoint Brewery.

IMG_0091

IMG_0087

Walking across the Williamsburg Bridge.

I love New York.

IMG_0077

IMG_0059

IMG_0053

IMG_0114

Bells, Poblanos, And Shishitos, Oh My

Highlights from this pepper-filled week…

Coffee coffee.

IMG_0040

I made bang bang shrimp with zucchini noodles loosely following this recipe.  I swapped in gojuchang and honey for sweet chili sauce and tossed the shrimp in some cornstarch to help give it a nice crust.

IMG_9994

Nacho night.  Kettle chips / shredded turkey breast / Camembert and cheddar cheese sauce / parsley // roasted green beans.

IMG_0004

Veggie bowls.  Sauteed red, orange, and yellow bell pepper with sweet onion and garlic / black beans sauteed with charred poblano pepper and cojita cheese / avocado / fried egg / sour cream and Cholula hot sauce.

IMG_0027

Cheese plate.  Grapes / Camembert and sharp cheddar / olives / tamari almonds / shishito peppers with sea salt, lime juice, and honey. <– I was so excited for this meal and it ended up not having enough protein being the least filling thing on earth and we both had to make sandwiches

IMG_0047

Local dessert love.  Cheesecake ice cream.

IMG_9984

Cupcakes from Sweethaus.  That middle one is cookie dough!

IMG_0022

We’re doing something fun this weekend…

Let’s Taco ‘Bout The Weekend

Booze, tacos, doughnuts, and iced coffees… it was a good weekend!  Here were the highlights…

Cookie dough milk iced coffee.

IMG_9913

Cinnamon vanilla iced latte.

IMG_9929

Iced latte with toasted marshmallow syrup.

IMG_9922

Also I had a caramel macchiato doughnut.  Sugar Shack makes some of the best doughnuts I’ve ever tasted!

IMG_9923

Brunch at Marie Bette, a European-style bakery.

IMG_9962

I had a ho-hum grapefruit hibiscus cider.  <– I need to stop ordering ciders, I think I really am not a fan!

IMG_9952

And the quiche of the day – tomato and white cheddar.

IMG_9964

Sandwiches at Hot Cakes, another super cute bakery.  Rye, smoked turkey, muenster, and cole slaw.  I think cole slaw on sandwiches is the best.

IMG_9970

Take-out from Silk Thai.  Fried tofu and chicken pad see ew.

IMG_9944

Saturday night, we got tacos with my cousin and her boyfriend.  Brazos is dog-friendly, which is fantastic, and our tacos were delicious.  Triple pickle = refried black beans, mushroom bruja, roasted pepitas, chopped jalapeños, red onion pickles, jalapeño pickles, and pickled watermelon // tres quesos = Oaxacan cheese, manchego cheese, and queso fresco, with refried black beans, sliced avocado, roasted corn pico, and pickled watermelon // and a hibiscus margarita.

IMG_9932

Then we went to Three Notched and I had vodka (with mint limeade) and a dog in my lap – aka all my favorite things!

IMG_9937

Salads In C-Ville

We moved!  I officially live in Virginia now.

The move itself was kind of terrible but we made it here intact with the dog and most of our stuff so I really can’t complain.  And first we took a fabulous trip home to St. Thomas!  Complete with highlights of the best banana daiquiri on earth and salmon pattys eaten in the airport with a vodka soda and local beer.

IMG_20180625_111042_402

IMG_20180625_124303_143

Post-move, once the apartment was sort of set up, I focused on the really important stuff like finding all of the nearby beverage and dessert options.  Like La Flor Michoacana – a Mexican dessert place with the most exciting menu I’ve seen in my entire life.  I already had a scoop of soursop ice cream (with a scoop of mamey on the bottom)!

IMG_9704

And an eggnog paleta.

IMG_9717

Sweethaus for a quad iced latte and a crazy good salted caramel cupcake.  <– maybe the best frosting of my life.

IMG_9682

Grit for Cuban coffee.

IMG_9686

Also I loved this locally made fresh mint kombucha.

IMG_9692

On the food-food side I don’t have much to share because I’ve done zero cooking both due to being busy and having not moved any of our pots or pans.  We’ve mostly been eating junky take-out, and salads at home, and take-out salads.  Sweet baby lettuce blend / poppy seed dressing / strawberries / shredded chicken.

IMG_9699

Spring mix and herbs / Trader Joe’s sesame soy ginger vinaigrette / shredded chicken / roasted peanuts.

IMG_9712

From Fuzzy Taco – romaine / tomato / onion / fajita veggies / grilled fish / shredded cheese / tortilla strips / vinaigrette.

IMG_9723

From Roots Natural Kitchen – Arcadian mix / charred corn / pickled onion / roasted broccoli / hard-boiled egg / bbq tofu / cilantro lime dressing.

IMG_9670

Wish me luck exploring!