King’s Coast coconut iced latte with coconut cold foam. 100/10.
See also – Beanmonger‘s strawberry white chocolate iced latte. A little too sweet for me.
Paris Baguette Dubai chewy cookie. Nowhere near as good as Bear Donut but still delicious (obviously).
Veggie cheese fries. Baked fries tossed with furikake, garlic powder, and onion powder / poblano pepper, corn, green onion, and honey goat cheese / six-minute eggs tossed in a skillet with butter, evoo, gochujang, chili crisp, maple syrup, soy sauce, and lime.
Bean salad. Great Northern beans, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, peanuts, sesame seeds, and sharp cheddar tossed with evoo, sesame oil, chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar.
No post last week because we were on vacation! Adam and I went to New Mexico (my first time there) – Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and a night in the desert in Taos. We had a wonderful time! It was beautiful, the food was outstanding, and we visited our final Meow Wolf.
Things from the week back in real life…
A sugar plum yogurt bowl! The plums were the leftover solids from a plum syrup I made (red and black plums simmered with sugar and water — ok in iced coffee, better in seltzer) plus plain skyr and granola.
Veggie snacks. Fun to try but not for me (the sweet potato was too chewy and the okra was too crunchy); I brought them to work and at least one person liked each thing.
The best vegan jerky.
Tofu veggie bowls. This was the best meal of the week. Hedgehog-cut baked super firm tofu and roasted brussels sprouts topped with chopped white mushrooms sauteed with evoo, butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, dark soy sauce, miso paste, Dijon, garlic, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.
Chickens salad. Shredded baked chicken, six-minute eggs, Wilde chicken chips, and sauteed hen of the woods mushrooms tossed with plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, pickle brine, chopped pickles, salt, Sichuan pepper, white pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Plus succotash we did not suffer for – frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans, and baby lima beans) sauteed with butter and lemon.
Inspired by our chicken salad we also made a chickens migas! Eggs scrambled with shredded chicken, Wilde chicken chips, kettle chips, honey goat cheese, and sauteed tomato, poblano pepper, corn, and green onions. I topped my bowl with tons of Green Cholula (the sweet goat cheese was possibly not the best cheese for this dish!).
Highlights from a perfect weekend with my favorite boys! September 1st kicked off Apple Month. Here is my 2023 hual (I restrained myself) –
I started my Friday 9/1 with a Starbucks’ cold brew with cinnamon cold foam, apple syrup, and apple drizzle and it was pretty great. And Saturday Adam and I got a caramel apple iced latte from New York Beanery.
I made a yogurt bowl with vanilla skyr, aprium, and caramel apple granola.
Apple snacks. Caramel apple Sugar Babies – 8.5/10 / Apple harvest Sour Patch Kids – 12/10, the best gummy candy I’ve ever tasted / giant Rave apple – 8/10, juicy and crisp but a bit sour for our tastes.
We went glamping this weekend in a refurbished school bus!
With Webster!
It was great, mostly because it put us within walking distance of so many amazing restaurants. Saturday night we went to Elder Greene. “A quick one before the dinner,” Mezcal, orange, lime, and simple syrup with a Tajin rimmed glass.
Amazing crispy brussel sprouts with goat cheese and a walnut maple aioli.
The best, crispiest tater tots I’ve ever eaten. Plus we took burgers back to the bus for dinner! Elder Greene makes our favorite burgers in the city. Their classic is Pat LaFrieda short rib blend, cheddar, American, pickles, onion, and special sauce (#1) and they also make a Waygu burger with white cheddar, arugula, and lemon herb aioli on a brioche bun (#2). P.S. Nomwon is my #3.
Sunday morning we got goodies from Radio Bakery. Triple chocolate croissant and an earl grey morning bun.
Plus an everything focaccia sandwich with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
With a Voodoo Child Vietnamese iced coffee from Sweet Leaf.
The week after Christmas is still an acceptable time for eggnog coffee.
See also – I made a chestnut iced latte. Strong espresso plus half and half with chestnut paste, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon, and mace.
This grape kombucha was wonderfully juicy.
See also – rainbow sherbet Hi-Chews.
Whole Food’s peanut butter and jelly bites plus mandarins.
Christmas dinner leftovers – roasted brussel sprouts with duck sausage, sharp cheddar, and chili flakes.
We might actually be addicted to Roast Sandwiches. I’ve been getting take-out from them at least once a week the past month and I think about their roast beef sandwiches constantly. This was a bbq chicken crunch wrap.
Sautéed maple sriracha kale with an herby bean salad. Great Northern beans with green onion, turkey bacon, garlic oil, Sichuan pepper salt, and tons of fresh mint and cilantro.
An even fancier salad. Sautéed kale with garlic and balsamic vinaigrette topped with roasted beets, deglet dates, pomegranate, honey goat cheese, and crumbled beef bacon.
P.S. Starting tomorrow Adam and I are both on vacation together for a week!
An epic homemade cheese plate. Smoked goat cheese / red plum / bucheron / whole-wheat matzoh / roasted purple cauliflower / 2 year aged cheddar / espresso-infused dark chocolate / mixed nuts / dried apricots.
We made the best pizza. Trader Joes crust / marinara sauce that we jazzed up with sardines, urfa pepper, gojuchang, chili oil, and tons of garlic / sautéed oyster mushrooms / chicken and wild mushroom sausage / cheese. Plus roasted green beans.
How are we in the 2nd to last week of August??! Some highlights from this week included…
A blackberry and soursop smoothie (with banana, plain Greek yogurt, and brown sugar).
A banana and coffee smoothie (with cinnamon roll oat milk creamer, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cold brew powder).
Whole Foods snacks. The baru nuts are fantastic! They taste like a cross between peanuts and almonds. I brought some to work and got all of my coworkers hooked as well.
Quinn pretzels with Bitchin’ sauce. A coworker recommended this dip and she did not steer me wrong. We are also both obsessed with these delicious pretzels.
Kombuchas and or matchas.
A loose interpretation of this chicken and corn stir-fry recipe. Instead of rice we paired ours with sautéed shishito peppers and mushroom.
So much Thai take-out! We had pad see ew, cashew chicken, and amazing spicy ginger eggplant.
Very fancy salads – local lettuce, black garlic vinaigrette, pistachios, dried apricots, and goat cheese.
Spicy peanut chicken pizza (a Trader Joe’s crust with spicy peanut sauce, shredded chicken breast, quick-pickled carrots, and cheese) with smashed cucumber salad.
I don’t have a ton of photos to share from last week because I ate a bunch of celebratory meals sans camera. By the time I leave for real next week it is going to feel fairly anticlimactic!
A work friend and I went out for drinks at Vitae {highlights include a maple cinnamon sour with smoked rum}.
A big group of co-workers took me out for lunch at Asado {highlights include a smoked chicken quesadilla}.
And my team took me out for dinner at Junction {highlights include a rum and coke with allspice syrup and charred baby carrots with goat cheese and carrot top chimichurri}.
This weekend was all about fancy coffees, restaurant brunches, and yummy home-cooked dinners.
I took a vacation day on Friday – just for funsies – and had lunch with one of my favorite former co-workers and her new baby! Plus I took myself on a long walk: Penn Station down to Chelsea Market, over to Gramercy Park, and back up to Penn Station. Saturday I had a literal every cloud has a silver lining situation – the gloomy weather gave me an excuse to wear my snazzy new rain boots!
The O.C. = cara cara and blood orange, tequila, and Tang.
I ordered the greens with chili oil and a fried chicken biscuit sandwich with spicy maple syrup and root vegetable slaw. The picture does not do justice to just how gigantic that sandwich is.
Cake! I wish I had more photos because this cake is officially my new favorite thing I’ve ever eaten. Vietnamese iced coffee cake with condensed milk frosting and cocoa cardamom fudge. Moist cake, fluffy icing, perfectly balanced.
Midwinter Kitchen. I had a salad with pistachio crusted goat cheese, frisée, watercress, a sunny side up egg, and sherry vinaigrette. Those goat cheese balls were out of this world.
Home-cooked dinners – Trout salad melts. Trader Joe’s canned smoked trout with mayo and gojuchang on toast with sharp cheddar. Plus roasted zucchini with sumac.
And I had this killer drink line-up while I cooked – creamy mango soda and key lime pie gose.
Gojuchang turkey burgers on toast, smothered in a tasty sauce – kewpie mayonnaise, honey, dijon, and miso. With a side of pear slices and chips – gojuchang kettle chips from Whole Foods and kettle popcorn chips from Trader Joe’s.
Eating Chalk 