A very-berry smoothie. Frozen triple berry blend plus grapes, chia, brown sugar, and ube flavoring.
Some exceptionally good bars (plus mandarin oranges). Both were filling, sweet but not saccharine, and had a nice chewiness. 10/10, would buy both again!
Fun lattes from Grind House. This was raffaello-inspired, with coconut and white chocolate.
Still on my take-out sandwich obsession. This was a bbq chicken crunch wrap.
Homemade pasta. Whole-wheat spaghetti with sautéed mushrooms and ground turkey with smoked paprika, mace, and garlic plus sour cream and parmesan.
Taco night. Seasoned ground turkey on flour tortillas with sour cream and Whole Foods’ roasted chipotle salsa (our favorite). Plus tiny tomatoes and roasted cauliflower.
For a week of easing back into real life from vacation the past 5 days weren’t too bad! I even managed to cook a few dinners. That said, work has been insane and I am not sad that I’m heading into a three day weekend!
Highlights from the past week include…
Coffee combo – Hudson Roastery with sweetened condensed milk.
Layered halvah. P.S. We also bought halvah-crusted pecans and they were insane.
Leftovers and lettuce wraps converged for the perfect dinner. We used butterhead lettuce to wrap ground turkey sautéed with gojuchang with celery, peanuts, quick pickled cucumber and carrot salad, and pickled radish. Plus leftovers from great take-out we got over the weekend – kimbap and Korean fried chicken.
It’s possible we over-purchased fried chicken… we snacked on it all week long!
A quick and easy dinner – chicken burgers from the freezer with sautéed bell peppers and green onion, mashed avocado, a fried egg, and fantastic hot sauce from back home.
The best dinner of the week/month/new year! I made buffalo chicken meatballs (with ground turkey since we were shopping during a winter storm, hot sauce, cream cheese, and blue cheese) with sautéed carrot and celery, and homemade garlic bread (garlic, butter, spices, and tons of parmesan baked on everything ciabatta rolls).
Very into these chocolate peanut butter squares at the moment.
I even put one in a yogurt bowl – with vanilla bean yogurt, cinnamon, banana, and plum.
Yogurt bowl with plain Greek, pumpkin seed butter, pumpkin spice granola, and gumdrop grapes.
This week’s sparkling matchas – yuzu and mango.
This week’s pumpkin beers – the seasonal ale and imperial stout from Southern Tier.
These veggie crisps are great at baseline and even better with homemade guacamole.
I had orange juice in the house for the first time in years so I took the opportunity to make creamsicle milkshakes.
I made an amazing sundae with the guava and soursop ice creams from this fantastic line. Plus sweetened condensed milk, multi-grain Cheerios, and Luxardo cherries.
Brussel sprouts roasted with grapes, turkey kielbasa, white cheddar, and sweet and spicy pecans.
This citrus rice – I skipped the carrots and subbed almonds for cashews – with sautéed fennel and kielbasa. This was our first time cooking fennel – I used the bulb and the fronds – and we loved it.
One-tray sheet-pan hash – potato, sweet potato, red onion, bell peppers, sharp cheddar, and pinto beans, topped with guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce, and heirloom baby tomatoes.
Highlights from the weekend include – amazing coffees, gooey marshmallow desserts, and some of the best Vietnamese food we’ve ever eaten. Also we – went to a Farmers’ Market on the water in Garvies Point, drove up to the tip of the North Fork for a picnic at Orient Point, stopped at several farm stands, walked around an apple orchard, visited a few LI craft breweries, took strolls around Greenport and Greenpoint…
We took Korean fried rice with duck (from Ellen’s) on a picnic at Orient Point.
An Apple Month toasted cheese sandwich – sharp cheddar, smoked turkey, and tons of apple butter on sourdough. With cotton candy grapes and roasted broccoli.
Best dinner of the month at Falansai – a great Vietnamese spot with a koi pond in the back garden! Beef dumplings.
Eggplant with fermented tofu bbq sauce and crispy shallots. Plus a housemade salted plum drink and Vietnamese iced coffee.
Spicy green curry with seasonal veggies and silken tofu. Broken rice on the side.
Coconut chia pudding with plums, peanuts, and hibiscus ice.
The world’s most satisfying snack = apple slices dipped in peanut butter.
It is actually my birthday today(!) so obviously I’ve been excitedly saving these themed items for months.
A week of exciting salads! A new take on our favorite bean salad – black beans with green and yellow bell pepper, Dubliner cheese, peanuts, and green Tabasco.
BBQ inspired – Local greens with pulled chicken with bbq sauce / cheddar / grapes / black beans / corn nuts / esquites-style corn.
Greek inspired – bell peppers, baby tomatoes, cucumber, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, and roasted chickpeas.
Plus chili oil pizza from a new restaurant that is dangerously close to our apartment.
P.S. Adam and I are both off for a few days next week and we’re going on a little trip upstate-ish to the Hudson Valley! I am not packing a camera but I’m sure I’ll be posting a ton on instagram.
S’mores iced coffee! I blended coffee with ice, cold brew powder, chocolate milk, vanilla bean powder, and toasted marshmallows.
Yogurt bowl set up – vanilla skyr with Made Good chocolate granola and Jelly Berry grapes.
I quite liked these crispy onion chips from Trader Joe’s.
Toasted turkey and cheddar sandwich. On sprouted wheat sourdough with mayo and pickled jalapeños.
Mexican-ish vegetarian bowls. Brown rice, cauliflower rice roasted with green onion and poblano pepper, Trader Joe’s soyrizo, cojita cheese, and orange Soss.
Crab fried rice. Leftover brown rice stir-fried (with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce) with blue crab, eggs, green onion, peas, and carrot.
Dinner inspired by a dish we loved recently at Llama Inn – sautéed bok choy with grapes, sunflower seeds, and black garlic vinaigrette. Plus tuna cakes made with soyrizo.
I work all this weekend so clearly I jumped right back into my non-vacation life. It was actually a really busy work-week for me, I’ve been updating the hospital’s parenteral nutrition guidelines which is a fun but time-consuming project (in addition to my patient load). I am already quite excited for the next weekend – – in 8 days!
Double cherry truffle ice cream. I have been more than a little obsessed with these Magnum tubs throughout quarantine and cherry was my favorite variety yet!
These Slush Puppie ice pops fill me with an unfathomable amount of joy. They’re a total childhood favorite throwback and delicious to boot.
Biggest event from this week – I left the house to donate blood. Guys, things in NYC are bleak. If you are able to donate blood please consider it (we are facing a critical supply shortage because so many planned blood drives were canceled) and otherwise please stay home if you can!
Biggest culinary discoveries this week – 1) I love cinnamon in yogurt. 2) I love mint in smoothies.
Homebound food highlights this week include…
A tasty smoothie made with nectarine, grapes, blackberries, yogurt, honey, and fresh mint leaves.
Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon, honey, TJ’s mixed nut butter, and granola.
It feels weird to be obsessed with a low-calorie ice cream but this mocha fudge brownie flavor from Ben & Jerry’s moophoria line is kind of the best. Especially topped with hot fudge!
We are also very into these new peanut butter cup options from Theo.
I made deep dish pizza with TJ’s dough (loosely based on this method) with turkey pepperoni. Plus roasted veggies.
I topped my leftovers with copious amounts of honey, Cholula, and chili flakes because the only benefit to eating all your meals at home is easy access to your condiments.
TJ’s cauliflower gnocchi with pepperoni and pizza sauce.
Leftover smoked salmon / roasted brussel sprouts with lemon zest, pepper, and parmesan / homemade garlic knots.