Paired with a cookie dough latte! Starbucks blonde espresso with cold foam with brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla bean paste.
Jeni’s Gooey Butter Cake is my new favorite ice cream (second only to the Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites); cream cheese ice cream with vanilla cake and butterscotch sauce.
Whole Foods’ pimento mac and cheese bites. <– swoon
Microwave Korean rose tteokbokki .
An assortment of dippable things for dinner (I had three dipping sauces so clearly this meal was a winner) – Popeye’s chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, roasted broccoli, leftover cauliflower wings.
Deconstructed hash. Roasted Russet potato and purple Japanese sweet potato / Trader Joe’s breaded cheese curds / chicken breakfast sausages / sauted red onion, green bell pepper, and poblano pepper / plus chipotle aioli.
This was our best Sandwich Week yet! We also had some good snacks and fantastic veggie sides. Highlights included…
We tried and loved the new Ralph’s Coffee location. I made an affogato with espresso and their coffee/vanilla soft serve.
Weird Tea – good not great but a nice level of sweetness.
Tropical skyrs. The guava Siggi’s was surprisingly disappointing but the mango passionfruit Icelandic Provisions was top-notch.
With blueberries, blackberries, and cookie dough granola.
We had leftover Cheez-Its from our tofu (<– that sentence is funny. P.S. The extra-toasted variety is great) and I made this unhinged plate of microwave nachos.
Cabot seriously sharp cheddar popcorn. I usually don’t care for cheesy popcorn outside of Chicago mix but this was so sharp.
Whole Food’s lemon and yuzu jam cookie.
Another week of me really enjoying both of these chewy snacks.
Turkey and cheese, french-toasted. Trader Joe’s sourdough sandwich bread, jam, smoked sliced turkey, and sharp cheddar, french-toasted. With roasted brussel sprouts that I sauteed with red onion, baby bell pepper, butter, honey, and harissa.
Turkey and cheese, chopped. How have I never had a chopped sandwich like this before? It was amazing. We chopped together smoked turkey, maple roasted turkey, sharp cheddar, leftover garlic baby broccoli, banana peppers, yellow mustard, mayo, and paprika. On sub rolls.
Tuna, blended. We took our tuna salad to the next level by putting it in the food processer; with smoked trout, mayo, and capers. On sourdough with avocado and pickled red onion. Plus garlic sauteed baby broccoli; I topped mine with butter-toasted cheez-its and baby bell peppers sauteed with candied jalopenos.
Eggs, doubled. My dad and I had a conversation awhile back wondering why no one makes egg sandwiches with more than one kind of egg? They absolutely should! This was a soft-scrambled egg and a fried egg, with yellow mustard, mayo, and sharp cheddar, on sourdough. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.
I love a good set of theme dinners! Some highlights from this week include…
I am definitely a fan of the BelliWelli bars, cinnamon swirl was soft and not too spiced.
Summer fruits are bringing me a lot of joy. It was a great week of yogurt bowls. Plain 2% Greek with cinnamon, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough granola.
Plain Greek with maple syrup, mandarin, blackberries, granola, and chia seeds.
Adam and I really enjoyed this Mabi tea with mauby and strawberry.
Instant topokki.
Two non-traditional jerkies, both a 10/10 – Louisville Vegan Jerky Co maple bacon and Trader Joe’s salmon – both had wonderful textures and great balance of flavors.
McConnell’s double peanut butter chip ice cream is a new favorite. This was the year I discovered that chocolate flakes are a top tier ice cream mix-in.
This packaged Alfajor was surprisingly moist; we would buy it again.
Two of my current favorite canned tequilla cocktails – Superbird paloma and Onda passionfruit seltzer.
Taco salad. Arugula with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing / black beans / cheese flavored corn nuts / homemade tortilla chips – baked with lime and togarashi / poached chicken / roasted veggies – bell peppers, poblano pepper, and sweet onion / roasted zucchini / salsa – Frontera chipotle.
Chilaquiles. Shredded chicken – breasts and thighs cooked in the crockpot / all the leftover veggies / homemade tortilla chips / salsa / sharp cheddar and mozarella / topped with a fried egg / and plain Greek yogurt and hot sauce.
Crispy quesadillas. Shredded chicken reheated with green onions and taco seasoning / seasoned and mashed black beans / mozarella and sharp cheddar. Plus a trio of dipping sauces (guacamole, salsa mixed with yogurt, serrano mayo) and roasted broccoli.
Homemade burrito. Shredded chicken, black beans, salsa, avocado, and sharp cheddar. The surgeon did an excellent job rolling.
New Wave burrito. Sirloin Steak, chimichurri, rice, french fries, lime crema, chihuahua cheese, ranchero beans, and pico de gallo.
Other things — Amazing/sweet/perfect summer berries are back! I had great yogurt bowls this week. This one was vanilla bean skyr, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough granola from Safe + Fair.
I am definitely smitten with these new Layers Perfect Bars; the bit of crunch is nice and the sweet-salty balance is spot on.
My best lunch of the week was obviously this comically large container of Whole Foods’ hot bar. Garlic green beans, sweet and spicy chicken, vegan meatballs, hard-boiled egg, lemon and peanut celery salad, two types of tortellini salad, mac and cheese, and scalloped potatoes.
We loved this Le Chocolat des Francias bar, definitely one of the creamiest milk chocolates we’ve tried.
I am not a big m&m person but I tried these new caramel cold brew ones at work and they were so good I had to go buy Adam and myself a bag.
I made a nice mule with this Trader Joe’s ginger beer; it is a little sweet and not too spicy and honestly wouldn’t be a bad ginger ale substitute.
Pizza things — Nostalgic – Pizza Hut. With mushrooms, olives, and beef. This was only fine.
P.S. Pizza Hut will sell you a 2 Tbsp container of cream cheese frosting for 84 cents. I stirred it into a yogurt bowl because I’m a genius.
Roman-style/local – Nadya’s and Taglio. Chicken parmesan, grandma, pesto, and roasted potato. These were wonderful.
Pizza salad! Romaine with ranch / Sugar Bomb grape tomatoes / Applegate Farms turkey pepperoni that I crisped up in the oven / four cheese cheese crisps.
Pizza bites with olives and pepperoni / homemade baked garlic turkey meatballs / a mountain of roasted green beans / a trio of dipping sauces (homemade honey mustard, ranch, and marinara).
And an egg burrito with extra veggies. This was only ok (who puts carrots on a burrito? And it needed way more hot sauce) but Adam’s egg and cheese sandwich was a work of art.
Cookie x cookie coffee wins. I 11/10 loved the Stew Leonard’s cookie dough flavored coffee and also enjoyed the Califa cookie butter almond milk creamer far more than I was expecting to.
Sliced Hunnyz apple (a new favorite) with honey, cinnamon, and chunky peanut butter.
Yogurt bowl with plain skry, vanilla bean paste, honey, persimmon, passionfruit, chia seeds, and vanilla almond granola.
See also, plain skyr with cinnamon, blueberry jam, persimmon, Mineola tangerine, and granola.
We spent an obscene amount of money on Taco Bell delivery for dinner one night so I tried to bring balance back to the Force with a green juice. Lol, unfortunately I grabbed the wrong bottle because this ended up basically being lemonade with aloe and chlorophyll.
We liked these Zapp’s honey mustard pretzels a lot. Not as much as Dot’s but more than their voodoo variety which ended up being too seasoned for us. Also, I use the adjective “jazzy” at least four times a week so clearly I had to buy these.
We loved these Trader Joe’s lentil and chickpea crisps. Great texture.
These Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites are my favorite thing I’ve ever eaten. I love everything about them but the truffles specifically are mind-blowing.
Leftover jalopeno cheddar hushpupies from Sweet Chick with honey and leftover crab dip.
The Burrito Blvd near our apartment has the best toppings; this rice bowl was 40% rice and 60% chopped zuchinni (my ideal burrito bowl ratio). Also chicken, corn, tomato, cheese, and mild salsa.
Homemade laab. I followed this recipe. We quite enjoyed it and were not sad to have sourced toasted rice powder. Plus sauted bok choy with ginger and sesame seeds.
Spicy, tomato-y chickpea bowls. I sauteed graffiti eggplant and sweet onion with fire-roasted diced tomatoes, harissa, and chickpeas. Topped with plain yogurt and fresh mint.
Homemade cashew chicken. I followed this recipe except that I swapped breasts for thighs and added red bell pepper. With brown basmatti rice and roasted broccoli.
P.S. We have exciting dinner reservations tonight for Omakase at Koyo. I’m not bringing my camera but from what I can tell online everything should be gorgeous (and delicious!).
This week’s eats were like a mini vacation; the highlights were mostly things we brought back from Hawaii!
Coconut creme coffee with coconut cream. The cream was a terrible idea – it was too fatty and it clumped in the cold coffee – but the coffee with plain skim milk was dreamy.
Local jellies.
I made a yogurt bowl with passionfruit butter, banana, and vanilla almond granola.
And a killer drink with guava jelly, vodka, lime, and ginger seltzer.
The last of our 7-11 candy stash. The creamy peach seeds (basically candied peaches with li hing) were my favoite.
I didn’t bring this jelly sake drink back from Hawaii but that is where I discovered them. So thrilled to have found them close to home now too – they are definitely in my top five favorite drinks. They are sweet and fizzy and loaded with jelly (think grass jelly consistency from boba shops).
Finally, this dinner has nothing to do with Hawaii but it was too good not to share. Roasted riced cauliflower / locally made lamb sausage / topping made with deglet dates, pistachio, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, and parsley.
Adam and I ended the year on a celebratory note with our fifteen year wedding anniversary! I thank my lucky stars everyday – realistically about 20 times a day! – that he’s my person! We had two fun nights that unfortunately I didn’t take a single photo of – at trip to Sundays in Brooklyn for their Snow Days pop-up (including themed cocktails, upscale popcorn, a giant burger, and fantastic roasted honeynut squash) and an evening of pizza take-out and tv in bed (an activity so wonderful I mentioned it in my wedding vows!).
Other highlights from last week included…
Jelly doughnut iced coffee for the last day of Hanukkah. Iced coffee with blueberry preserves and skim milk frothed with cinnamon, cocoa powder, and brown sugar.
Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with kiwi, persimmon, and vanilla almond granola.
Even more exciting than fresh persimmons is the start of citrus season; this Cara Cara was delicious and I also just bought a bunch of Sumos.
Snacks we brought home from Hawaii. Honolulu Cookie Company makes the best shortbread I’ve ever eaten.
Mochi and furikake seasoned popcorn.
Also these vegan gummies my mom put in my stocking were 10/10.
I’ve been seeing this ramen all over Instagram and I had to try it. Even with the addition of Kewpie and an egg it was almost too spicy for me!
A homecooked dinner. Roasted cauliflower and chopped onion / roasted chickpeas / fresh mint / tossed in honey, rice vinegar, and smoked paprika.
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 