Tag Archives: fruit

Egg(nog)head

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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.

Chobani eggnog yogurt with cinnamon, blackberries, and coffee cake (from my mom).

Boozy tiramisu eggnog from Dante West Village.

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!

Chestnuts Blending

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Five things from the 1st weekend of December…

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.

Thankful 2023

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I hope all of my American readers had a lovely Turkey Day! My parents flew up yesterday evening and we got to spend the holiday together. They are here through the long weekend and it is going to be a great visit. I am feeling extra grateful for family time this year – my grandmother passed away earlier this month at 94 years old. I am obviously sad, but mostly I have been feeling thankful. Thankful that I had my grandmother until my late thirties and she remained her funny, gracious, smart as a whip self until the end. Thankful she died so soon after her birthday and we had all just gotten to see her. Thankful we had such a perfect last visit – I took her out for lobster and she ate every bite and we went to a family birthday dinner and she and I shared nachos and had a wonderful talk about her life and my grandpa.

I am also grateful for cheese and good coffee, both of which I got to enjoy this week! Highlights included…

Look at my impressive stash of on-theme snacks! I was very pleasantly surprised by the popcorn.

And drinks!

Wired Coffee‘s holiday specials include a tiramisu cold foam and it was just divine.

Plain skyr with fresh persimmon, maple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and granola.

Roast‘s holiday specials are unmatched – Thanksgiving crunchwrap with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry jam, crispy onions, green beans, and stuffing / potato croquettes with cheddar, green onion, and a side of ranch. Plus homemade green beans – sauteed with garlic, lemon, and honey dijon.

This stuffing-inspired fried cauliflower rice was one of the best dishes I’ve ever made. Riced cauliflower stir-fried with smoked turkey, celery, yellow onion, portabella mushroom, butter, dried cranberries, spiced pecans, and eggs.

But the best dish of the week was Thanksgiving nachos. These nachos are at least a quarter of why my parents wanted to brave the cold and visit now. Trader Joe’s stuffing chips, white cheddar, swiss, gouda, smoked turkey, poblano peppers, and cranberry sauce. Plus sided of roasted cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

Plus for dessert we ate Ben & Jerry’s pecan pie ice cream (I thought it was only fine, basically butter pecan, but my mom and Adam were fans) with homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Winter Banana

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Highlights from the week…

We are both really enjoying this flavored s’mores coffee from Bones Coffee Company.

Extra-purple smoothie – frozen grapes, frozen berries, Greek yogurt, and butterfly pea tea.

Yogurt bowl with fresh persimmon, caramel apple granola, honey, and nutmeg.

This giant apple was labeled a “Winter Banana” at the farmers’ market so obviously we bought it.

Such good packaged snacks this week. Jalapeño and honey chicken jerky (9/10) / peanut butter dark chocolate Over Easy bar (8/10).

Abomination Brewing’s marshmallow double IPA with a marshmallow fluff rim!!

True or False – I buy anything new Ben & Jerry’s has to offer? At least once! The peanut butter cup cookie dough bites were a new favorite, 2nd only to the s’mores option, but the Oat of this Swirled flavor wasn’t for me.

We also shop Seed & Mill pretty indiscriminately! These halvah coated pecans were a 10/10.

Take-out steak soft tacos from our local Mexican place. With zucchini, chopped tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Noodle bowls loosely inspired by Khao Soi. Hand-cut noodles / shredded chicken breast / brothy sauce with coconut milk, red curry paste, and chicken broth / dinosaur kale sauteed with shallots, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / topped with tons of cashews and chili crisp.

Caribbean-inspired rice and beans (brown rice cooked with yellow onion, habanero pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, and dark red kidney beans) / roasted broccoli / curried chicken salad (shredded chicken with mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sauteed onion, dried cranberries, salt and pepper, and Jamaican curry powder). I topped my bowl with pineapple Blind Betty’s hot sauce and the whole thing was divine.

This Is Halloween

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I didn’t dress up this year but still considered it a successful Halloween; Adam and the dog and I packed bags of candy and drove around admiring decorations.

Related – this candy corn hared cider was better in concept than flavor but still fun.

Other highlights from the week…

This Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin was the last of (and one of the best of) the pumpkin beers.

Made Good cinnamon bun oat bar with fresh strawberries.

Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapple. Their selection of (unsweetened and unsulfured) dried fruit is unmatched.

An aggressively Southern snack hour. Stubbs BBQ chips with pimento cheese. Pro-tip – I served the dip warm with honey and spiced pecans on top.

This week’s dinners were all about the sauces! Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes + cucumber salad with Sriracha, sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar + canned salmon salad with Sriracha, mayo, and soy sauce + Sriracha, Kewpie, oyster sauce, and furikake.

Fried mini tofu, Sea For Yourself bechamel and sherry lobster cake, roasted purple cauliflower, and a toasted miso sesame dipping sauce (in a saucepan over low heat – canola oil, miso, tahini, urfa pepper; whisked with mayo and a squeeze of lemon).

Bok choy sauteed with miso and ginger and Mandu chicken and vegetable dumplings. Plus a spicy peanut dipping sauce (for 2 big servings – 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 2 Tbsp hot water, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, heaping 1/2 tsp Sriracha, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp rice vinegar).

Staycation 2023

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I am off of work for one week! What I wanted out of vacation was good walks, great food, and Webster cuddles so I stayed (mostly) in NYC for a staycation and have checked every box! Some food highlights – mostly coffee and desserts! – from the first half…

Wired Coffee. Cold brew with marshmallow cold foam.

Coffee Grind. A newish spot in Massapequa with a fun menu. This was a quad latte with marshmallow, chocolate, and whipped cream.

Uluhuluh. Extra-creamy iced latte with an egg on top (some kind of citrus and maybe cream cheese? I am not actually sure what this was but it tasted good).

Rockaway Beach Bakery. This may actually be my favorite bakery in NY. We had a cheesy scone and a guava cream cheese croissant.

Drowned Lands in Warwick.

Janie Bakes. Pie crust cookies; the guava cream cheese was an 11/10.

Gonggan. I loved everything about this spot, whose interior reminded me a bit of Meow Wolf.

We had an Americano with yuzu and an affagato with meringues on top.

The cheeseburger.

And the sweet potato cheese cake! It was encrusted in frosting, cake, and meringues. Not quite as delicious as it was stunning but it was tasty.

Ando Patisserie. Durian parfait and an earl grey tart with boba.

Wolfie’s in Warwick. We shared matzoh ball soup.

A sandwich with corned beef and pastrami on rye with mustard and swiss. <– 10/10

And chocolate cake with marscapone filling.

Bob White Counter. 2nd best fried chicken sandwich in NYC.

Dinner at The Tyger. It was too dark for photos but this was our favorite meal so far! Standouts include garlic stir-fried water spinach, red curry short ribs, and a creme brulee tart. Also my layered drink – Espolòn tequila, Shoumei white tea, peach, lemon, and smoke layered with tequila, mango, lemon, honey, and cardamom

Apple Of My Eye

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Things from the past week – So much Apple Month fun. Adam was out of town at a confernce and amazingly I served myself an adult meal almost every night. Highlights…

Apple pie sundae. Vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and apple pie granolas.

Caramel apple cider doughnut cookie. I am actually not a Chip fanatic but this one is perfection! It’s a brown sugar cookie made with apple butter, with a carmel apple filling, topped with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Caramel apple boozy milkshake. Michigan apple whiskey with vanilla ice cream, ice, cinnamon, and caramel sauce.

Still loving the caramel apple Sugar Babies.

These fruit bites were good not great; something about the mango flavor was a bit gaggy to me.

A bowl of blackberries and Sumo mandarin delicious enough to document.

Homemade take on okonomiyaki. I filled mine with crumbled super-firm tofu, cabbage, cauliflower rice, and green onions (plus ginger, eggs, flour, and ginger lime seltzer – I always use seltzer here instead of water). Topped with Sriracha, Kewpie, and furikake.

Korean steamed eggs on a bed of roasted cabbage and cauliflower rice with chili crisp. Topped with sesame seeds and way too much gochugaru because my shaker broke.

Red curry salmon cakes (there was green onion, panko, egg, and cauliflower rice in there too) and rainbow cauliflower with water chestnuts, stir-fry sauce, and Trader Joe’s chile and garlic cashews.

Pizza night (this was a successful too good to go order so I don’t know exactly what they were, fried eggplant and ??). Plus more cauliflower rice; it was a big bag for one person!

Tonight we have a fun couple date – dinner reservations at Hav & Mar!

Magical Fruit

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Highlights from the week…

I tried another new-to-me protein coffee. This one was a 7.5/10, I’d prefer a stronger coffee taste but the flavor was nice.

Excitement in yogurt. A very sweet, very tasty soursop drinkable yogurt.

Did you know Haagen Dazs makes yogurt now?!

I’m glad I tried it but it’s too sweet to be a new staple. I topped the coffee flavor with aprium and peanut butter banana granola.

Fruity booze for the end of summer. I disliked the rum punch hard seltzer and greatly enjoyed the paloma sour.

Guava caramel candies. These are so good, the crunchy sugar is perfect.

This edible cookie dough is a 12/10. I warmed some up and made the best sundae of my life.

Bean week dinners; I am always looking to top my weirdest theme week! Buffalo blue cheese black bean burgers. With roasted broccoli, leftover fried tofu, and spicy ranch dipping sauce.

A take on our favorite black eyed pea salad. With green pepper, hearts of palm, peanuts, extra-sharp cheddar, and Caribbean hot sauce.

Spicy saucy chickpeas. Sauteed with sweet onion, orange bell pepper, eggplant, tomato sauce, spices, and harissa. I didn’t cook the eggplant enough and I actually hated this but it’s a good idea for the future if I pre-roast the eggplant.

Crispy butter beans. Tossed with evoo, cornstarch, panko, salt, gochugaru, furikake, and ranch seasoning and then roasted in the oven. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.