Tag Archives: fruit

Summer Salad

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Things from the week…

It is my birthday month so I, of course, opened my stash of birthday cake coffee concentrates.

Trader Joe’s sparkling matcha lemonade. Not too sweet but the flavor was weak.

Fruity candies. The freeze-dried orange slices were okay (good texture but the flavor was off) but we loved the strawberry gummy assortment from Trader Joe’s.

We are head over heels for protein peanut butter cups this week. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter mixed with 1 Tbsp malted milk powder, 1 Tbsp vanilla protein powder (for texture), 1 Tbsp total maple and/or honey, and a pinch of salt; topped with chocolate shell.

Summer salad! Heirloom tomatoes with plum, peach, nectarine, pan-fried paneer, and crispy roasted chickpeas, topped with salt, chili oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar.

We paired our mostly fruit salad with a side of roasted romanesco, which was delicious.

This meal was a watery fail and I am blogging it to remind myself not to put cold silken tofu on top of dumplings again. Silken tofu / pan-fried Trader Joe’s Thai shrimp gyoza / celery and green onion sauteed with garlic, Sichuan pepper, and white pepper / homemade dumpling sauce – rice vinegar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, chili oil, sugar, sesame seeds, green onion, and chopped smoked almonds.

BBQ plates. Mashed potato salad (we overcooked our potatoes so we leaned into the mashed vibe and made them extra creamy) with celery and cornichon pickles, dressed with plain Skyr, Duke’s mayo, Dijon mustard, pickle brine, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Turkey meatballs with panade, egg, ranch seasoning, bbq sauce, and shredded sharp cheddar. And roasted green beans.

I don’t know what to call this bowl but the combination worked! Roasted zucchini and orange sweet potato topped with pan-fried paneer and tempeh sauced with Dijon, rice vinegar, and apricot jam.

Pistachio, Passionfruit, Pickles

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Some things from the weekend…

This pistachio butter was perfect in an iced latte.

Also in an ice cream sundae! Jeni’s darkest chocolate with pistachio butter, Heritage Flakes, and Trader Joe’s chocolate shell.

Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with blueberries and tons of fresh passionfruit.

We did not care for this Trader Joes tarragon chicken salad wrap. The flavor was hollow; we split it and neither of us wanted to finish our half.

But I did quite enjoy their packaged southwest salad.

We got take-out from the Burger Spot for the 1st time so we ordered a bunch of things to try — Country Veggie salad – chopped kale, cabbage, avocado, cucumbers, cranberries, red onion, and a homemade veggie patty with cilantro ranch dressing / fries and onion rings (their sauces were all a 10/10!) / chicken parm sandwich – chicken fillet with marinara and mozzarella on ciabatta / and the special chicken burger with pickled jalapenos, pickles, coleslaw, cheddar, and bourbon sauce. We will be back!

We also had a shockingly good meal at Little Beet – herby rice with charred broccoli, smoky maple carrots (some of the best vegetables I’ve ever eaten!), baked tofu, and chimichurri.

Savory oatmeal bowl. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds / frozen broccoli sauteed with gochujang, ginger, fish sauce, and gouda / fried egg / chili crisp.

Cheese And Bread

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We did Caribbean-ish dinners this week so of course I pulled out some fun on-theme drinks. Sparking pina colada energy drink (I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this favor), passion fruit soda (made into a fun coffee with espresso and sweetened condensed milk), coconut soda (not as tasty as it was aesthetic), and soursop juice (blended into a great smoothie with frozen banana, peaches, and cherries, and vanilla protein powder)

And you can assume every meal this week got topped with my favorite hot sauce from back home – Blind Betty’s.

Chopped chicken salad with homemade dumb bread. I shaped my bread too thin to slice so we ate these deconstructed which was actually perfect. Baked chicken chopped with extra-sharp cheddar, mayo, and garlic sauteed collard greens.

A loose take on callaloo. Spinach, yellow onion, habanero pepper, crab meat, beef bacon, coconut milk, and spices. Served with dumb bread with butter and cheese.

Baked salmon cakes (Trader Joe’s canned pink salmon, sockeye salmon, and lightly smoked salmon with panko, yellow bell pepper, mayo, Dijon, eggs, salt, white pepper, and curry powder) with rice and beans (brown rice with coconut milk, yellow onion, habanero pepper, and dark kidney beans), and roasted zucchini.

Unbrielievable

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Some things from the weekend, two sweet and two savory. My savory items had a brie and sourdough theme going (and as I write that I really want a sandwich on sourdough with brie!). We also did some out of the house stuff that I didn’t bring a camera for – treats and lattes at a local coffee spot that we hated and will keep unnamed and our 1st trip to Dave’s Hot Chicken which we loved.

Marzipan! I saved a few to put in a yogurt bowl.

Passionfruit and chocolate is a surprisingly good combo.

Baked brie with honey and walnuts. Served with roasted baby zucchinis and Trader Joe’s sourdough rye chips.

Sourdough fusilli pasta with chicken breast, caramelized sweet onion, and sauteed baby spinach tossed with tons of lemon juice and zest and melted brie.

Pierogi, Calzone, Hot Pockets

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This week’s dinner theme has to be my most unhinged — foods in an edible package. I am mentally categorizing “edible packages” as packets, by the way (i.e. no turducken!).

Mochi-wrapped ice cream. This milk tea flavor from Bubbies was fantastic and these are possibly the best ice cream mochi I’ve ever eaten.

Gummy mangos in an edible candy peel. The peelable gummies from Walgreens are top tier. It was a yummy week!

Rice noodle rolls with shrimp. From Trader Joe’s.

Soup dumplings. We went to Nan Xiang to try their chicken soup dumplings and thought they were great.

We also had their mustard greens with tofu skin and edamame which were good.

And their stir-fried rice cakes with shredded beef which were only ok.

And ube bao stuffed with red bean paste (more packets!).

Potstickers. Trader Joe’s chicken and vegetables. Paired with roasted broccoli and a dumpling salsa inspired by Leah Cohen (crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, gochugaru, sugar, Fly by Jing Sichuan chili oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, and green onions).

Tortellini. Whole Foods kale and cheese. We tossed them with orange baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, baked chicken, sharp cheddar cubes, and a green sauce (fresh baby spinach food-processed with evoo, chili oil, sesame oil, salt, garlic, and walnuts).

Samosas. Trader Joe’s mini vegetable ones. Paired with curry cauliflower (roasted cauliflower sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder) with pickled red onions and fried eggs.

P.S. We’re going to Queens for empanadas tonight. Other than the other thousand varieties of things stuffed into pastas, did I miss any??

Word Salad

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We don’t always have a weekly dinner theme (often!) but I do have several queued up in a row. This week was SALAD…

Fruit salad skyr bowl. Plain Siggi’s with blueberries, blackberries, mango, and kiwi.

Candy salad! A mix of Nerds Easter items and sour tropical Mike and Ike’s (<– wonderful).

Dinners are listed from least to most favorite (though we quite enjoyed them all). Shredded tofu salad. Super firm tofu (shredded and tossed with evoo, hoisin, and gochujang and then baked until crispy) with roasted cabbage, scallions, bell peppers, and peanut sauce (chunky peanut butter, lime juice, rice vinegar, horseradish Sriracha aioli, sugar, and a bit of water).

Lox bagel inspired salad. Romaine, roasted garlic dijon dressing, hot-smoked sockeye salmon, Biena everything chickpea snacks, capers, cucumber, and pickled red onion.

Nacho chicken salad. Baked chicken, poblano pepper, tomato, scallion, black beans, sharp cheddar, Quest nacho cheese and loaded taco flavored protein chips, plain skyr, mayo, lemon, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Plus roasted cauliflower.

Loaded tuna salad. Canned tuna and smoked trout with mayo, dijon, salt and pepper kettle chips, scallions, sweet baby gherkins, and Trader Joe’s hot and sweet pickled jalapenos. Plus a big pile of roasted green beans.

Hoppy Easter

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Somethings from this week, mostly on-theme and/or coffee…

No one is surprised that I’ve been buying Easter candies for months.

I also have been saving up lemon and coconut bars. The Melo bars are all 10/10 but the lemon flavor is actually my favorite. I also was very pleased with how lemony the 88 Acres one was.

Buzz’d Express Coffee‘s marshmallow Peep cold foam cold brew is maybe my favorite coffee of 2025.

I also made my own version with toasted birthday cake Peeps blended into an iced coffee with cream, sugar, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla extract.

Coconut water with dalgona-style espresso (9/10).

A spring-y cottage cheese bowl with leftover fermented banana cake, kiwi, blackberries, and edible flowers.

Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples. These are nicely sweet and chewy.

We tried the rice paper noodles hack with brown rice spring roll wrappers (loved it, the chew was perfect). Stir-fried with Pad See Ew sauce, baked chicken, green onion, broccolini, and egg.

Buffalo chicken cabbage bowls. I made a cole slaw with green cabbage, green onion, tomato, Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, white pepper, sugar, and blue cheese. Topped with baked chicken that I tossed in a skillet with butter, dijon, and Frank’s buffalo sauce.

Sheet-pan hash. Sprouted extra-firm tofu baked with brussels sprouts, yam, green onion, blue cheese, and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans. I topped my bowl with honey and chili crisp.

Pizza night! Two-ingredient crust plus two ingredients (garlic and onion powder) / Trader Joe’s pizza sauce zhuzhed up with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and urfa pepper / pizza-blend shredded cheese / sauteed mushrooms (a frozen blend with white, crimini, portobello, and shiitake) with green onions, gochugaru, and butter. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower.

3.1425

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Highlights from the week…

New York Beanery is doing a pistachio cold foam iced mocha special. The pistachio, while a lovely green, could have been more flavorful but I loved their mocha.

My homemade blueberry iced latte was better – coffee blended with brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and frozen wild blueberries.

This week’s yogurt bowl – plain skyr with Kodiak cookie butter granola (fantastic) and blackberries and blueberries.

An array of watermelon things. 9/10 for all but positioned from least to most favorite.

Whole Food’s pie cookies are great. These were pineapple and guava. <– this is foreshadowing

Tuna salad sandwiches. Canned tuna with mayo, dijon, chopped pickles, scallions, and crushed bbq kettle chips on toasted Trader Joe’s whole-wheat bread with gouda spread.

Monday night Adam and I met up at Gup Shup for dinner in the city and had the best Indian food in recent memory. I had a non-alcoholic refresher with kokum and fig purée, mint leaf, and club soda. Adam had a cocktail with clarified tamarind that I will be going back for.

We shared a bunch of things and ended up with to die for leftovers. Mutton Sukka – goat meat, onion-curry leaf, black pepper, bone marrow stock, and malabar parotta (poppy seed).

Butter Paneer Masala. I was pleasantly surprised by how spicy this dish was.

Chicken Biryani with saffron basmati rice and burani raita. This was the most succulent and flavorful chicken. The dish came topped with a seeded bread dome that they excavated tableside.

Our favorite dish was Nizaam’s Haleem – lamb shank cooked overnight, haleem garnish, and butter naan.

Dessert was fantastic too; carrot halwa with gajar halwa ice cream from Caffè Panna.

Friday night we made a homemade pizza pie for Pi Day! Two ingredient crust topped with spinach pesto (spinach and basil food-processed with water, evoo, salt, pepper, and parmesan), extra-sharp cheddar, and tons of sauteed mushrooms.

I, of course, actually did a Pie Week. Turkey cottage pie. I loosely followed this recipe but used ground turkey and added baked cauliflower rice.

And chicken tot pie.

I very loosely followed this recipe but added sauteed mushrooms and substituted frozen potato tots for crust.