Banana protein coffee shake – coffee blended with frozen banana, chocolate milk, cinnamon, and vanilla protein powder.
Elleno’s lemon curd Greek yogurt in a giant yogurt bowl with strawberries, jumbo blueberries, and granola.
Rhythm Tajin-seasoned dried jicama. 10/10. These had a lovely airy crunch.
Local pizza – vodka and buffalo chicken.
Trader Joe’s chicken, cheese, and green chili papusas (very meh, I would not buy again) with perfectly roasted broccoli with togarashi and ranch dipping sauce. Our optimized veggie method is roasting on a foil-lined tray and folding the foil over halfway through the cooking time to create a steam-packet. The dipping sauce was Greek yogurt, mayo, rice vinegar, and ranch seasoning.
Wonton soup. Trader Joe’s frozen mini chicken cilantro wontons (fantastic), green onion, baby bok choy, gochugaru, white pepper, and salt in chicken broth plus water and white miso paste. I topped my bowl with chili oil and this was surprisingly satisfying for how quick and easy it was.
It was a fantastic weekend (including a 6+ mile Manhattan walk)! Highlights include…
Banana protein coffee (blender – coffee, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, frozen banana); Adam and I both decided we adore this.
Interlude‘s Cadenza is one of the most exciting coffees we’ve had in a while. Shaken espresso served with Mexican Coke topped with cold foam and vanilla whipped cream.
Sadly, Doughnut Project is closing this month so we had to go get a final fantastic maple cruller.
Related – Daily Provisions‘ monthly cruller special is lemon poppy seed so obviously we got that too! This was even better than DP.
Rigor Hill Market‘s hot chocolate is a 10/10; thick and creamy, a good balance of bitter and sweet, and it comes with toasted marshmallows.
Joe’s Steam Rice Roll, we got beef with egg and scallions. The sauce trio makes this.
Dinner at Thai Diner. We arrived early and managed to snag a table. I got Phat See Ew with beef shortrib. Any dish with broad rice noodles and Chinese broccoli is a hit with me.
Plus pea shoots with garlic, chili, and salted soybeans.
Guava sour with vodka and mint.
Dinner at Backyard BBQ in Freeport. I didn’t have my camera but I did Instagram our giant spread because we loved it here. Brisket, chicken with an amazing bbq rub, candied yams, and pickles.
Plus smoked baked mac and cheese that we both thought was perfect. We also had an unphotographed cheese burger!
An easy homemade dinner – Trader Joe’s chicken taquitos baked topped with ground turkey, zucchini, smoky salsa, and cheddar.
Our dinners all knocked it out of the park this week. Highlights…
This week’s coffee combo. Note – I give both a 7.5 for flavor but I did have to add half and half with the creamer to get it as creamy as I’d like and dark roast to the coffee to get it as roasty as I’d like.
This drink started out butterfly pea tea blue, then turned purple when I added lemon juice and seltzer, then turned swamp monster when I added matcha.
I have no idea where I found this Jamaican cookie-flavored protein drink but it was tasty and I would buy it again if I found it.
Grapefruit sodas; these both made for great cocktails.
Fun Asian Kit-Kats my cousin sent me from a trip.
Bubbie’s passionfruit ice cream mochi. Hands-down my favorite mochi brand.
Adam and I have both been loving yogurt bowls lately. This one was plain skyr, sugar cookie granola, chia seeds, persimmon, and blueberries.
Congee made with brown rice and turkey broth. Topped with meatballs (turkey with panade, garlic, gochugaru, and fish sauce), sauteed red chard, and chili crisp.
This bowl was a wonderful mishmash – leftover congee / sauteed fairytale eggplant / Korean steamed eggs / vegan tuna salad / green onion / sesame seeds / chili crisp.
Amazing tofu (Trader Joe’s sprouted extra-firm tofu, baked until crispy and then tossed in toasted rice powder, white pepper, and Sichuan pepper salt) / Ming Bings plant-based sausage egg and cheese bing (10/10 – will buy again) / roasted romanesco.
Breakfast from Simple Loaf Bakehouse – a giant, cheesy turkey cheddar jalapeño croissant.
Scrambled eggs with Dubliner cheddar and chili crisp. Plus cucumber on the side.
Mentioning these dried baby pineapples again because we are still loving them.
The vegan tuna salad I was obsessed with at the Charlottesville Whole Foods has finally made its way to Long Island.
Giant ice cream sundae. I topped Phish Food with melted peanut butter, sprinkles, granola, and cocktail cherries.
This Trader Joe’s Sriracha shrimp bowl remains my favorite frozen meal. It is so satisfying. I do always add more hot sauce and a bit of Kewpie though.
We got bowls and Cava and loved them. I got rice and honey harissa chicken with so many toppings I can’t remember them all. Plus the amazing pita crisps. Best of all – we hit the soda fountain and had diet cola mixed with blueberry soda!
Hello, 2024! I am not superstitious, but I do like to start every new year with a run and some traditionally lucky foods. This year we got in black eyed peas, collard greens, and grapes. Plus something sweet for a sweet year!
Highlights from a tasty week…
1/1/24 brunch date at For Five while I set up my planner.
I got a roasted turkey sandwich with cheese, sprouts, and avocado.
Plain skyr with strawberries, persimmon, and sugar cookie granola.
These jelly sakes are my favorite drink. Related – we played trivia at a bar midweek and got to try Abomination Brewing’s Christmas cookie Fog Nog (fantastic).
Hawaiian fruit jellies; the starfruit and passionfruit ones were obviously the best.
The best snack plate of the year – Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka samosas (with spicy truffle mayo and plum sauce) / Lolliberry strawberries / jam grapes.
Not a bad runner up – soy marinated eggs / cucumber / cheddar.
Dinner on the 1st – sauteed collard greens with green onion and garlic and black eyed pea salad with garlic and black pepper almonds, green bell pepper, Kerrygold Dubliner cheddar, and mayo and chipotle Cholula.
We tried the Bombay Sando from Oak and Orange – toasted ciabatta with grilled chicken, amul cheese, seasoned potatoes, pickled red onions, and a housemade chutney. Plus the best green smoothie I’ve ever made – frozen spinach, banana, and cherries, fresh tangerine, and water.
Sheetpan hash. Roasted brussels sprouts, grapes, poblano peppers, sweet potato, and chili verde chicken sausage with green onion and dried cranberries. I went back and topped this with a maple-Cholula aioli.
Blogging a day early… My New Years Eve celebration of choice has always been going to bed at a reasonable hour and starting the new year refreshed. We are finishing our year with junk food and a nice bottle of champagne 🙂
The cinnamon bun Chamberlain Coffee didn’t have enough flavor for us but the grapefruit elderflower Aura Bora is my favorite.
We met up with friends for coffee, a Bayside walk, and crepes. Mine had red bean, matcha ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. Plus I got a jasmine tea with an ice-bear.
Mexican street corn popcorn. I don’t love pre-popped popcorn but this variety was well-seasoned and a bit spicy.
Caramel on caramel. Great caramels that my parents made and even better Reese’s caramel big cups (sorry guys, yours would have won against a lesser candy!).
We’ve decided these Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites were the very best buy/new find of the year.
We were impressed with this Trader Joe’s orange chicken rice bowl.
Trader Joe’s frozen fish sticks (these I would not buy again) with roasted broccoli and delicata squash.
Food things from the 1st week of December – good dinners / baked goods my parents brought us from home during their visit / EGGNOG! Highlights included…
Jelly doughnut iced coffee! Iced coffee with blueberry jam and a cold foam with cinnamon, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.
As much as I adore plums and plucots I think I am most excited for mandarin season each year. These are seedless and the peel slips right off so they are so easy to eat.
Trader Joe’s spicy tempura seaweed snack. This is heavy on togarashi, which I love.
Eggnog in my coffees, of course.
Eggnog iced matcha latte.
Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt (my favorite) with nutmeg, fresh persimmon, and Target sugar cookie granola.
Abomination Brewing‘s best beer – Fog Nog, a double IPA with spices and lactose.
Xi’an Famous Foods‘ spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles are consistently an 11/10.
A take on the broccoli salad we are obsessed with. Roasted broccoli / sauteed green onion / crispy baked tofu / dried cranberries / food-processed sauce: evoo, serrano pepper, parsley, peanuts, smoked sardines, soy sauce, rice vinegar, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Plus pumpkin bread (from my aunt) toasted with butter.
Roast‘s weekly special was a short-rib grilled cheese so we obviously had to get it, with cheddar and crispy onions on sourdough. Plus leftover broccoli salad and leftover roasted cabbage with Sriracha and Sriracha-ranch peanuts.
A 1st night of Hannukah feast. Trader Joe’s cheese blintzes topped with blackberries, blueberry jam, and Greek yogurt with lemon and brown sugar. Plus Trader Joe’s latkes, roasted brussel sprouts, and a honey Sriracha dipping sauce.
P.S. Happy Hannukah to all of my readers who celebrate!
Chestnut iced coffee – I blended skim milk, half and half, chestnut paste, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The flavor was good but unfortunately the blender did not work at all to create a cold foam texture.
I am still very much enjoying these Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples.
These nuts from 7-11 were very ranch-y but not as spicy as I was hoping for.
A red and green yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with pomegranate, pumpkin seed butter, and halvah.
A weirdly wonderful dinner. Roasted cauliflower / roasted baby zucchinis / sauce – Greek yogurt, Kewpie, Sriracha, and lime juice / Trader Joe’s frozen fish sticks.
P.S./Number six – I had the cheesy nacho fries with steak from Taco Bell this weekend (I didn’t take a photo because I ate them out of the bag like a rat) and they were fantastic.
Eating Chalk 