Key lime skyr with passionfruit, banana, and chia seeds; plus granola halfway through.
These guava crackers were weird in a wonderful way; super thin and crispy and a bit sweet.
Fun drinks – tasty spiced hibiscus bissap tea and soursop nectar.
I enjoyed my soursop in a margarita!
See also – rum and coke slushies. Frozen coke ice cubes blended with Cruzan rum and fresh lime.
We made some really great dinners, all of which received a healthy dousing of hot sauces. I stuck with these three for a Caribbean theme.
Coconut rice and beans – brown rice cooked with coconut milk, dark kidney beans, onion, ginger, habanero, and spices / curried fish cakes – canned tuna and salmon with egg, panko, mayo, and Jamaican curry powder / rainbow chard and celery sauteed with some fish sauce and rice vinegar.
Sauteed zoodles with pineapple pulled chicken (a loose take on this recipe).
Roasted kabucha squash with a very loose take on callaloo – frozen kale with coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, habanero, turkey, bacon, fresh crab, and spices.
An array of pink and/or chocolate-covered-berry coffees. Strawberry milk with espresso and mocha / raspberry pour-over with chocolate milk / iced coffee with chocolate milk and Luxardo cherry.
Prospector Popcorn’s chocolate strawberry flavor was a 9.9/10. We also had themed marshmallows and conversation hearts.
On-theme probiotics – Pure Love kombucha.
Chocolate-covered cherry smoothies. Frozen cherries with chocolate milk and plain Greek yogurt.
Note to future Emily – I did not love the plum version of this hard seltzer.
However, this caramel peanut butter candy bar flavor from Jeni’s is possibly my favorite ice cream.
We loved this cozy dinner. Chicken salad with Candy Snap grapes and smoked almonds / roasted brussel sprouts / roasted delicata squash.
Easy lox toasts. Toasted rye with butter, cream cheese, furikake, gochugaru, and smoked sockeye salmon.
We enjoyed our veggie in green smoothie form – fresh tangerine, frozen spinach, mango, and banana, with water, honey, and key lime juice.
Highlights from a perfect weekend. Adam and I had a big chunk of time together / we walked thirteen miles from Penn Station around Central Park and through Harlem and back / we tried several spots that became new favorites / we watched the Super Bowl (aka Adam watched the Super Bowl and I cartoons while eating themed snacks).
Flourish. This space is decorated like the inside of my brain and quickly became my new favorite Long Island spot. We shared a salted caramel latte and a fantastic Shakerato.
Bagel sandwich (on a house-made sourdough everything bagel) with fried egg, hashbrown, herby cream cheese, and pickled onion.
House sourdough with miso braised short rib, gruyere, fontina, hatch chiles, and au jus.
Butterfunk Biscuit. We had a fried chicken biscuit with pimento cheese, pickles, and hot honey. And the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever eaten.
Noodle Bar. I love David Chang’s ethos and I read his memoir but somehow this was the first time I’ve visited one of his sit-down restaurants. Sweater Weather – El Buho mezcal, Kraken rum, sweet vermouth, tamarind maple cordial, and lemon.
Tuna crudo with leche de tigre, cilantro, chili, and lime.
Caulini with anchovy crumbs.
Bao with caramelized shiitakes.
Winter salad with pickled golden beets, gochugaru vinaigrette, and pepita sesame crumble.
Crispy potatoes with peppadew sauce, paprika, and salt.
Cumin lamb noodles. These were super numbing and amazing.
Whisps cheese pretzel and honey mustard bites (9/10).
We have been killing it with dinners lately, this was another exceptionally tasty week! Highlights included…
This Cuban coffee packet made pretty solid cups.
But this Blue Bottle cold brew was better.
Feast x Famine IPA. Abomination Brewing is 100% my favorite beer company at the moment.
Double meat sandwich. Local Brooklyn Cured smoked beef salami and Apple Gate Farms honey and maple sliced turkey on a pretzel bun with mayo, yellow mustard, and sourkraut. Plus roasted broccoli.
Another pretzel bun, this time with brie and shredded chicken breast tossed in a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette. Plus a big pile of roasted green beans.
Veggie tofu bowls. Roasted Japanese sweet potato and purple sweet potato, orange cauliflower, broccoli, and green onion, with five spice tofu roll, topped with chili crisp.
We made insane cheese plates for dinner. Obviously the best meal of the week! Tofu roll with chili crisp, seasoned seaweed sheets, blueberry jam, Candy Snap grapes, Hunnyz apple, salami, smoked almonds, sweet and spicy pecans, sweet red grassfed cheddar, brie, raw cow’s milk cheese with edible flowers, blue cheese, and amazing sourdough crackers.
Plus green smoothies to get our veggie in – frozen spinach, mango, and banana, with honey, key lime juice, and water.
An eclectic but wonderful line up of things from the past week…
Late July street corn seasoned tortilla chips. Good but not great, I would buy them again but definitely wouldn’t eat them with salsa.
I am glad I bought these mini bottles of insanely flavored whiskeys from Skatter Brain because the resulting cocktails were perfect. Sidenote – I learned while writing this post that that is how you pluralize whiskey.
Birthday Cake Shake – Vanilla cake whiskey vigorously shaken with amaretto, fresh orange juice, sugar, and an egg white.
P.S. I used my egg yolk to make a fantastic mug brownie. I topped it with Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor (vanilla ice cream with salted caramel, graham cracker swirl, and cookie dough) and swooned.
Peanut Butter and Jellies – Peanut butter whiskey (plus a bit of vodka for balance) with blueberry jam, Luxardo cherry, and strawberry seltzer.
Related – I love passionfruit and this Truly hard seltzer was just great.
Roast take-out sandwich (bbq brisket with onion rings and jalopeno slaw on a pretzel roll!!) with a mountain of roasted green beans.
Spicy salmon sushi bake that we adored. With leftover brown rice and a blend of canned and hot smoked salmon. Plus a cucumber salad.
Best meal of the week – Trader Joe’s Thai Vegetable Gyoza (yum!) / sauteed bok choy / homemade turkey meatballs with panade, hoisin, and gojuchang / homemade Sriracha mayo and dumpling sauce (yum!).
Peppermint pour-over coffee with egg nog cold foam.
Dalgona iced coffee with eggnog.
Red and green yogurt bowl. Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, and vanilla granola.
Holiday special scoops from Odd Fellows Ice Cream. Buddi’s Spaghetti Sundae – maple ice cream, chocoalte cookie crumbs, mini marshmallows, m&m’s, sno caps, and corn nuts / Moose Nog – egg nog ice cream with fudge swirls and peanut butter cups.
Seasonal brews from Ardent Brewing. The gingerbread was perfect, not too spicy at all, and the Fog Nog is truly my all-time favorite beer/alcoholic beverage/beverage in general. 15/10.
A very close 2nd all-time-favorite is Leyenda’s Candy Striper – a frozen delight with cachaca, coconut, vanilla, lemon, peppermint, maple, and cardamom.
We went to their Sleyenda holiday pop-up for seasonal drinks and a wonderful dinner (it was too dark for photos but my shrimp arepas were amazing). I also had a Reindeer Games with tequilla, cachaca, banana, honey, maple, lemon, pine, and bitters.
Chinese take-out from Blue Wave. I got fantastic veggie stir-fried udon. Also the best scallion pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
Red and green salads. Red leaf lettuce with homemade ranch, red bell pepper, fresh mint, a soft-boiled egg, and a garlic and herb lobster cake (frozen, from Luke’s via Whole Foods).
Red and green rice bowls. Brown rice / sauted bok choy / sourkraut sauted with gojuchang and sugar / soy marinated eggs.
P.S. I am off of work most of this week, which is just lovely! I sipped a fancy coffee while I wrote this post!
Eating Chalk 