And Now My Favorite Color is Zhough

Highlights from the week…

Fancy shmancy coffee.  I cold pressed espresso roast with vanilla bean powder, brown sugar, and clove.

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Honestly though, my current favorite-favorite combo is espresso, ice, and chocolate milk.

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Milkadamia sent me a box for review [no cash was exchanged, all opinions are my own, yadda yadda].  Their macadamia nut milk is vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, and gluten-free.  The unsweetened vanilla has 50 calories, 1 gram of protein, and zero grams of sugar (1 gram carbohydrate) per 8 oz serving.  The milk has almost no flavor, but that is pretty much what I’m looking for in my nut milks because I want them to make my coffee creamy without distracting from the coffee taste.  The unsweetened vanilla went perfectly with a cup of iced coffee this week, no clumping or separation to be found.

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I also used it in a smoothie with frozen blueberries and coconut chunks, vanilla, maple, and chia seeds.

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My packed work eats were all about the Sumo mandarin and plain Greek yogurt combo.  With maple or granola.

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Snack attack.  Peanut butter puffs.

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Mexican marshmallow shortbread cookies.

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Super sour soda and cola hard candies.

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Mini sundae from Van Leeuwen.  Cookies and cream topped with hot fudge, almond brittle, and sprinkles.

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All of our dinners this week had a Middle Eastern bent, thanks to lots of zhough and copious amounts of olive oil.  Like scrambled egg pita sandwiches.  Scrambled eggs / sauteed orange bell pepper and red onion / whole wheat pita / zhough.  With roasted zucchini.

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Pita chip nachos!  Sharp cheddar / red onion and cucumber / marinated chickpeas with lemon juice, olive oil, fresh parsley, oregano, cayenne, and paprika / zhough and tzatziki.

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Veggie bowls.  Sauteed red onion, yellow bell pepper, and roasted eggplant / tomato sauce / marinated chickpeas / zhough and tzatziki / fried egg.

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Also pizza.  Is there a better food on the planet than buffalo chicken pizza??

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It’s almost the weekend!  Who has green beer on their Saturday agenda?

Best Babka In Brooklyn

Best bites from the weekend…

Best chocolate babka in Brooklyn, probably the world, at Oneg Bakery.  It was so chewy!  Yet crumbly and crisp too.  And the chocolate was basically brownie batter!  We were absolutely smitten and I ate too much and made myself sick.

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Vanilla iced latte at the adorable Hearts Coffee in Bushwick.

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Brunch at Meadowsweet.  My iced Oslo espresso had sugar, milk, and bourbon in it.

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And I had a beyond fantastic bowl of duck pastrami hash with parsley salsa verde and poached eggs.

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Snack attack.  La Columbe canned coffee and a cheesecake cup.

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Fruity yogurt bowl, with citrus yogurt, sumo mandarin, and pomegranate.

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Leftover breakfast casserole with the dregs of my veggie drawer.

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Snazzy pasta bowls.  Whole wheat spaghetti / brown butter and lemon / peas, green onions, and sun-dried tomatoes / crab meat.

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Dotted Line

My favorite bites this week…

A breakfast date at Dot & Line.  I had a maple iced latte and a croissant stuffed with vanilla cream and chocolate.

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Breakfast casserole.  Like this one, but with extra sharp cheddar, smoked rainbow trout, and the addition of green onions.  With broccoli and cauliflower on the side.

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BBQ chicken salad.  Romaine with blue cheese dressing / green onion / cucumber / pomegranate / smoked almonds / sharp cheddar / shredded chicken with bbq sauce.

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Sparkly mint brownie from The Fat Witch.  <– best brownies in New York

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It’s the freaking weekend!

Charcoal And Cheez-its

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From this weekend I have some exceptional highlights and some cautionary tales…

I am a marketer’s dream – I’ll buy pretty much anything that says limited edition; it’s not a lifestyle I can really recommend, as both of these coffees were just terrible!

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This coffee shop, on the other hand, was worth the hype.

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Saltwater Cafe gave me a very tasty charcoal vanilla chai latte.

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Other Lower East Side spots that redefine hypeworthy?  Ice & Vice and Baohaus.  I had an epic cup of Milk con Leche with goat milk cajeta and kaya jam.

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And an Uncle Jesse Bao and a Spiceland Bao – fried tofu and spicy fried chicken with pickled cabbage, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar, and cilantro.  Plus housemade lemonade.

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Representing from the frozen section, Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes are damn good.  With Sriracha on top and yellow bell pepper on the side.

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And one night I cooked a great plate of Cheez-it crusted chicken tenders with homemade cole slaw.

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P.S.  CW Pencil Enterprise looks like what the inside of my soul looks like.

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Hope everyone enjoys their week!

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Smoked Cheddar To Chocolate Almond

Flavor themes of the week: coffee, cauliflower, seltzer, croissants.

White Noise.  Iced latte and black sesame and milk frozen yogurt swirl fantasticness.

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Home coffee for the week.  Starbucks espresso roast with chocolate milk.

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Breads Bakery.  Smoked cheddar croissant.

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Orwashers.  Almond and chocolate croissant.

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Yogurt bowl.  2% Fage with pomegranate, golden raisins, and luxardo cherries.

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Snack time.  Soursop yogurt drink / red walnuts and marcona almonds with rosemary / pinata apple.

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Kakigōri from a pop-up at Canal Street Market.  Japanese-style shave ice with black currant chocolate sauce, smoked almonds, and torched meringue.  Toasted meringue is one of my all-time favorite flavors.

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Luke’s Lobster.  Lobster rolls taste like butter squared.

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Pelicana.  Korean fried chicken is the best fried chicken, period.

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Not a winner dinner.  Cauliflower rice / sauteed bok choy with rice vinegar / ground turkey sauteed with chopped kimchi and gojuchang / soft boiled egg.  This had so much potential but I ended up stopping halfway through and eating fried chicken leftovers instead.

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Another night we were supposed to have cauliflower soup for dinner but I couldn’t deal with the blender so at the last minute I ended up making… whatever the hell this is.  At least it was tasty!  Sauteed yellow onion and leeks with celery seed and smoked paprika / roasted cauliflower / turkey bacon / sharp cheddar.

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Have a great weekend!

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Fresh On The Blog

Gotta love a three day weekend!  I don’t work today (hence the late post) and my plans include the dog, my bed, and The Office, the end.

My Friday, Saturday, Sunday were all pretty great too.  Friday, Adam drove me into work so we had before-work breakfast date and after-work dinner date (plus we basically consider the time driving in the car to be a date too!).  Saturday, I met up with girlfriends for brunch and discovered that Bayside, Queens – which is about 10 minutes from my house – is actually kind of great.  And Sunday, we had friends in from out of town and we got to show them the magic of Grand Central Whispering Gallery; plus the magic of coffee from Cafe Grumpy!

highlights…

Apertif.  I had a croque canard sandwich with duck rillettes, apple, brie, and béchamel.

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F.O.B.  A newish Filipino spot in Cobble Hill people have been (rightly) raving about.

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We got so much good food!  Corn bibingka – rice cake with farmers cheese, kesong puti, and coconut butter.

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Overnight chicken adobo and pechay – sautéed Chinese cabbage with chili and garlic.

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And Halo Halo – shaved ice with nata de coco, red beans, tapioca, mango, jackfruit, and ube ice cream!

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French Workshop.  We split something with white chocolate mousse, and hazelnuts, and milk chocolate ganache but there were about a million other things that looked good too.

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Joyce Bakeshop.  We’ve decided that we don’t love their coffee, but their kouign amann is my all-time favorite pastry.  Seriously, I like it more than filled croissants from Union Fair and cronuts from Dominique Ansel, and that bar is set pretty damn high.

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Kame Ramen in Nomad.  I had spicy chicken miso with sesame oil and a soft boiled egg.

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I did manage to cook one meal at home – loaded baked potato casserole / shredded chicken with bbq sauce / spinach salad with pomegranate, marcona almonds, and Trader Joe’s cilantro salad dressing.

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Have a great week!

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Emily Of Sandwich

This was a short week for me on the work front, I was off Monday from the weekend (with Adam!!) and off Thursday for a doctor’s appointment.  Wear your sunblock, kids – I have to have two moles surgically removed, one on my chest and one on my back, complete with stitches, giant gross scars, and a month straight of no gym and no normal showers.  At least I got a good lunch in Manhattan out of the deal?

Highlights…

We finally made it to Doughnut Project!  The Malter White was great, malted milk chocolate with a malted chocolate chip mini cookie and cookie crumble.

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We got a gift certificate to the Russian Tea Room for Christmas this year and we enjoyed a super fancy lunch.  We had vodka, of course.

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And caviar.

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And I had delicious Kulebiaka for my entree –  salmon with slow cooked onions, mushrooms, and vegetables wrapped in pastry, served with braised caraway cabbage and mustard beurre blanc.

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Yogurt bowl wins.  Greek with fresh strawberries and caramel almond butter.

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Strawberry Icelandic style with a fancy tangerine.

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Chicken quesadilla from La Esquina.

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Best ever ice cream from Ice & Vice.  Malted vanilla with sea salt caramel.

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Dessert at Vanilla Bean.  Banoffee tart for me and a crazy good iced latte.

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Caramelized banana peanut butter cups.

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It was sandwich week for dinners!  Croque Madame – rye bread, smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, strawberry jam, french toasted – with roasted broccoli and shishitos.

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Jalopeño popper turkey burgers with smoked gouda and roasted green beans.  We didn’t have buns but I’m still counting this as a sandwich.

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Asian-style turkey reubens – with gojuchang mayo and kimchi – with roasted shredded brussel sprouts.

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You Do Win Friends With Salad

Weekend highlights…

**Brunch at Freeks Mill a gorgeous, airy, much lauded restaurant in Gowanus.

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Paloma – Cimarron Blanco tequila, lime, contratto bitter, grapefruit, preserved lemon, salt.

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I had the puntarelle salad with anchovy vinaigrette, grana cheese, and a soft boiled egg.

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Plus Shishito peppers with honey and salt.

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We want to go back for dinner!

**Coffee and treats at Abboutsford Road, a fantastic coffee shop and roastery in Gowanus staffed and owned by handsome, friendly Aussies.  I had a yummy iced latte plus bites of a cheddar chive biscuit and lamington (chocolate cake, raspberry jelly, coconut) cupcake.

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I also had a ridiculously delicious cup of strawberry iced tea.

***Tea cake at Charlotte Patisserie.

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Macadamia nut cake filled with salted caramel and covered in milk chocolate.

**Cheese plate.  A crazy simple cheese plate, but a good one nonetheless.  Roasted green beans / baked whole wheat tortilla chips / smoked gouda / sweetened dried lemon.

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Plus chocolates from Dylan’s.

**Homemade Caesar salads with salmon.

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Romaine tossed in homemade dressing <– not worth the effort / crispy cheese bites for croutons / dijon and brown sugar baked salmon.