This is a delayed post because we got back from vacation and both immediately had crazy work schedules including weekend coverage. But I declared last week “Sandwich Week,” which meant that all of our take-out was actually on-theme!
First – vacation was amazing. Truly one of the best weeks of our lives. We road-tripped to Provincetown Cape Cod –> Boston –> Portland, Maine –> Hudson, NY –> home. We got lucky with beautiful weather, admired astonishingly pretty flowers/landscaping, and ate some of the best meals of our marriage. I don’t have a single photo to share but I will link to some of our favorites.
Cape Cod: Bookstore (great lobster rolls and view) / Scott’s Cakes (yellow cake with pink buttercream only, best I’ve ever tasted)
Portland: Bao Bao (our favorites – bang bang chicken salad, crab rangoon spring rolls) / Crispy Gai (wonderful Thai, plus cocktails) / Duck Fat (duck on duck on duck poutine) / HiFi (all-time best doughnuts) / Izakaya Minato (amazing crudo and okonomiyaki) / Time and Tide (inventive lattes)
Hudson: Breadfolks (all-time best pastries) / Gracie’s Lunchonette (our favorites – pink horchatta iced latte, tuna melt with freshly baked tuna) / Kitty’s (Adam’s favorite meal of the week; our favorites – potato chips with dip and salmon roe, crispy broccoli) / Lil’ Deb’s Oasis (caribbean/eclectic, one of my favorite restaurants on earth)
Second – Some non-sandwich highlights from the past week…
This week’s coffee combo.
It’s stone fruit season! I will be snacking on nectarines, peaches, plums, and plucots for the foreseeable future.
Malted blueberry smoothie. Frozen blueberries with chocolate milk, plain Greek yogurt, and malted milk powder.
I scored cake-flavored beer that wasn’t a stout and loved it.
Turkey cheeseburger-inspired salad. Local lettuce with honey mustard dressing, baby tomatoes, dill pickle almonds, dill pickle slices, turkey meatballs (seasoned with dill pickle juice and yellow mustard), sharp cheddar, and homemade croutons with furikake.
I made my first ever loaf of banana bread! I added tons of coconut caramel jam to a traditional recipe and we loved it.
See also – banana bread cubes on a Greek yogurt bowl with nectarine, cinnamon, and honey.
This bar + coffee combo was a 10/10. I also ate a mini York with it – perfection.
See also – I made a mint syrup for my iced coffees this week and it was great in this iced matcha latte.
Sooo many snacks! The highlight of which was these crab roe flavored broad beans. They were the perfect amount of crunchy and the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
See also – aloe drink and my two favorite seltzers.
Tyger leftovers (sauteed water spinach and pad see ew) stir-fried with eggs and peanuts. The leftovers were mind-blowing so we clearly need to go back ASAP.
I made fantastic brown rice chicken congee. Filled with chopped chicken thighs and spicy chopped kale and red chard. We topped our bowls with peanuts, green onions, and chili crisp.
It was a very tasty week! Adam and I had a weekday off and a few evenings together (woo-hoo!) and we made the most of them. Some of the best highlights included…
I worked six of the last seven days so we’ve eaten a lot of take-out chicken nuggets but also managed to go on a few nice dates! Highlights from the past week include…
Mint pour-over with chocolate sweetened condensed milk.
Drinks and snacks at The Linwood. I had a cocktail with tequila, sage, honey, lime, blood orange, and grapefruit soda.
Plus housemade chips with onion ranch dip.
Caribbean-inspired food at Coastal. My jerk chicken rice bowl was great.
But we were there for the drinks! Like a painkiller made with Soggy Dollar Bar rum (aka rum from the place that invented painkillers).
I also had a lovely drink with vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile, guava, pineapple, lemon, and soda.
Homemade chilaquiles with Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, sweet onion, and bell peppers. Topped with sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, and a fried egg.
We made the best salads. Local lettuce with dijon balsamic dressing / stir-fried/charred snap peas / crunchy mung beans / cheddar / bbq chicken – shredded chicken breast and thighs from the crockpot tossed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven.
A yogurt bowl with tons of fresh mango. Plain skyr with honey, granola, and chia seeds.
This week’s fizzy, fermented drink line up. Pineapple mint kombucha (too sweet – I prefer other flavors from this brand) / strawberry ginger prebiotic soda (too ginger spicy) / grapefruit lime tepache (just right!).
I made a mule at home and it was delicious. I tossed in a splash of pickled jalapeno juice too.
This Trader Joe’s cinnamon dragons are good but not quite strong enough for me.
We made a batch of simple but tasty chili with black beans and shredded chicken. Topped with sour cream, TJ’s sweet and spicy jalapenos, and sharp cheddar.
The chili was even better leftover (duh!) on loaded baked potatoes. With tons of cheddar, sour cream, and hot sauce. Plus roasted baby cauliflower on the side.
In my ongoing quest to turn every dish into fries and/or nachos – bagels with lox. This was fries and roasted cauliflower topped with TJ’s smoked salmon dip, hot smoked salmon, capers, quick pickled red onion, and chopped cucumber and tomato.
Eating Chalk 