Mellow

by Emily

Weekend highlights include…

A ridiculous coffee daily. This was phin-brew with espresso powder, caramel, and half and half. I also made an iced coffee with fluff(!) and had a great Oreo cold foam cold brew from Wired.

Strawberry cheesecake smoothie bowl! Plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, cream cheese, brown sugar, chia seeds, and frozen strawberries; topped with maple pecan granola.

Fluffernutter dessert smoothie. Plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, frozen banana, peanut butter, and toasted marshmallows.

P.S. This Fix and Fogg super crunchy is the best peanut butter I’ve ever tried.

Also, the Half Day green tea with honey and ginsing is the best canned tea I’ve ever tried.

So excited about summer fruits. Green plucot + a blood orange.

We ordered crystal candies from Silky Gem and were big fans. We actually tried to make these ourselves a few weeks ago and they did not work out. The crunchy outside and chewy/soft interior make a great contrast.

Hash leftovers with roast sauce.

I made jalopeno popper turkey meatloaf! It was amazing and Adam and I both went back for seconds. Ground turkey, panko bread crumbs, ketchup, diced pickled jalopenos, jalopeno juice, chopped white onion, egg, and diced sharp cheddar. With roasted orange and purple cauliflower on the side.

22May2022

Coconut Caramel

by Emily

Hi, there! It was a great week in snacks and eclectic dinners. We also ate an obscene amount of late-night pizza take-out but I took no pictures.

Highlights included…

Fruit salad! Fresh blackberries and Golden Nugget Mandarins dressed in maple and key lime juice.

Peanut-themed bars. Both were great.

Sparkly beverages. Both were good but not unmissable; surprisingly I prefer the original hibiscus water.

I recently bought coconut caramel from a Filipino store and, of course, it featured heavily in this week’s snacks.

Like kaya toast – whole wheat toast with coconut caramel, banana, and cinnamon.

And in yogurt bowls with blackberries and Whole Food’s Vietnamese coffee granola.

Boba milk tea mochi. These had just enough sweetness and just enough chew, I would definitely buy them again.

Adam is pretty sure he loved this Whole Food’s cinnamon bun kettle corn but he can’t be certain because I ate all of my portion and the majority of his too!

Cheeseburger inspired pasta bowls. Whole-wheat rotini / ground turkey cooked in a sauce that included tomato paste and yellow mustard / roasted baby tomatoes / baby spinach / chopped pickles / chopped white onion / smoked cheddar cubes.

Insanely good turkey meatloaf seasoned with hoisin sauce, cheddar cubes, and roasted sweet onion. Plus roasted purple and orange cauliflower.

Daring vegan chicken nuggets (10/10!) / roasted zucchini and brussel sprouts sautéed with a spicy black bean and nut butter sauce / homemade honey mustard.

6May2022

Rose Colored Coffees

by Emily

Some highlights from this week include…

This week’s coffee combo – Chamberlain espresso roast and homemade rose syrup.

This seed and oat bar was great; it reminded me of one of those old-fashioned sesame bar candies.

Yogurt bowl – plain yogurt with golden nugget mandarin, red plum, honey, Heritage Flakes, and chia seeds.

A taro and salted egg yolk cake from 99 Ranch Market; overall we weren’t impressed with their prepared foods selection but this was fantastic.

Chewy, fruity Japanese candies. The grape ones were the best.

Leftovers of our duck two ways from Glasserie – honey and spice crusted duck breast and braised duck thigh with nuts and raisins in phyllo dough. Plus veggies from home – roasted cauliflower and gojuchang cabbage.

Chicken salad loosely inspired by Waldorf Salad. Shredded chicken with dressing (plain yogurt, mayo, salt, lemon, honey, and horseradish), apple, green onion, celery, toasted cashews, and dried cherries.

29Apr2022

Trader Joe’s Frozen Aisle Wins

by Emily

TGIF! Highlights from this week included…

Perfectly ripe champagne mangos. In a yogurt bowl with plain skyr, chia seeds, and granola.

Blue Point’s Gelato Drip double IPA was good but not as good as I was expecting.

Synergy’s Bloom kombucha (with elderflower, jasmine, and violet) was twice as good as anticipated. Floral and sweet, it’s my new favorite.

Whole Food’s cinnamon roll chocolates were a 7/10.

But these Trader Joe’s frozen egg tarts were a 13/10! They could hold their own with any of the ones I’ve had from Portuguese bakeries.

Roast Sandwich shop sandwich-salad combo take-out with a theme – bbq chicken crunch wrap, bbq chicken crunch salad, bbq potato chips.

Trader Joe’s turkey corndogs and veggie and sunflower seed bites plus roasted orange cauliflower, broccoli, and romanesco (plus leftover fry sauce – which I order every time I get Roast, regardless of if I get fries).

I took a naked food of the Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes so I could show you guys what they look like. Then I dressed them up with Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.

Best meal of the week – hashbrown, roasted brussel sprouts, soft-scrambled eggs. Topped with a mix of fry sauce, chili crisp, and rice vinegar.

14Apr2022

Crumbs

by Emily

This is an early post because it’s a short week – I am heading to Ohio today to visit my grandma! And my mom will be there too!

Pre-vacation highlights included…

This week’s coffee combo.

We brought home brigadero balls from Cafe Patoro and they were great. The caramel was my favorite.

I made a batch of milk crumbs and obviously put them on everything. Like an ice cream sundae with the last brownie.

And an insane yogurt bowl sundae with vanilla bean Greek yogurt, nut butter, and chocolate peanut butter granola.

Simple but great dinners this week. From the Trader Joe’s freezer section – veggie and sunflower seed bites and turkey corn dogs. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Faro / sriracha mayo salmon / spiralized zucchini / furikake / kimchi.

Homemade butter chicken. With roasted cauliflower rice and I added toasted cashews after I took that photo.

8Apr2022

Yes, Yes, Yes

by Emily

It was a very tasty week! Adam and I had a weekday off and a few evenings together (woo-hoo!) and we made the most of them. Some of the best highlights included…

Fun things in cans. Sparkling blackberry hibiscus tea. <– this was incredibly pleasant

Tepache.

Tiramisu latte from Kore.

Treats from 10,000 Coffee. A croissant with chocolate ganache and banana.

And an Einspänner and an espresso cream latte (we added espresso to the second and were in love with both).

The least exciting but best coffee of the week was an iced latte from Kodawari.

Fresh mango! With plain skyr with honey, chia, and granola.

We spent an afternoon walking around Chinatown and buying basically everything that sounded good! Including a black sugar tea with strawberry boba.

And a fantastic bun with pineapple jelly and salted egg yolk from Kamboat Bakery.

Lunch at Deluxe Green Bo. I got soup with seaweed and egg custard.

And rice cakes with veggies.

Great chicken salad melts with roasted baby cauliflower and Japanese potato chips.

Even better roast beef melts with roasted brussel sprouts and green beans.

Yes, yes, yes to dinner at NoNoNo.

We ordered a bunch of things and our favorites were – assorted charred mushrooms.

Chawanmusi, steamed egg custard with shrimp, snow crab, and salmon roe.

Black sesame panna cotta with salted whipped cream / raindrop pudding with soy bean powder and kuromitsu sauce.

Best meal of the week/month/year was Taiwanese from 886. These fried fish cakes were a spicy, delicious standout.

Crispy silken tofu with shredded radish.

Black pepper beef.

Pea shoots.

Sesame noodles.

25Mar2022

Fizzy

by Emily

It was a yummy week! Highlights include…

A yogurt bowl with tons of fresh mango. Plain skyr with honey, granola, and chia seeds.

This week’s fizzy, fermented drink line up. Pineapple mint kombucha (too sweet – I prefer other flavors from this brand) / strawberry ginger prebiotic soda (too ginger spicy) / grapefruit lime tepache (just right!).

I made a mule at home and it was delicious. I tossed in a splash of pickled jalapeno juice too.

This Trader Joe’s cinnamon dragons are good but not quite strong enough for me.

We made a batch of simple but tasty chili with black beans and shredded chicken. Topped with sour cream, TJ’s sweet and spicy jalapenos, and sharp cheddar.

The chili was even better leftover (duh!) on loaded baked potatoes. With tons of cheddar, sour cream, and hot sauce. Plus roasted baby cauliflower on the side.

In my ongoing quest to turn every dish into fries and/or nachos – bagels with lox. This was fries and roasted cauliflower topped with TJ’s smoked salmon dip, hot smoked salmon, capers, quick pickled red onion, and chopped cucumber and tomato.