Beautiful Things, Berries, Bowls

Things from this week – Doing: I had a good treadmill run, 3.25 miles at a 7:49 pace. I recently set a lofty goal of 2 miles at a 7-minute pace and I am having fun trying to work towards it. // Listening: Adam and I are obsessed with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.” I also recently fell head over heels for Milky Chance’s “Flashed Junk Mind.” I adore that whole album actually. // Eating: Highlights below…

Fruit-forward yogurt bowls this week (I need to stop, these yogurts were both good but I always prefer plain skyr best). Elleno’s pink guava Greek yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Painterland Sisters’ meadow berry 6% skyr with berries, 88 Acres’ cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter (9.5/10), and Made Good’s cocoa crunch granola (9.5/10).

Little Sesame caramelized onion hummus with Simple Mills everything seed flour crackers.

Served with baby carrots, of course. The crackers were a 9.5/10 but the hummus was too lemon-forward for my tastes.

Summer-y strawberry sparkling beverages.

Hawaiian/Li Hing Mui seasoned candies we brought home from Vegas.

It was Carnival back home last week and my parents sent me some goodies from Food Fair.

The banana coquito I blended with espresso, half and half, brown sugar, and frozen banana and it was delicious. Topped with sprinkles and nutmeg.

I am a fan of Yasso’s chocolate-covered Greek yogurt bites. Coffee was good but not as good as salted caramel.

Dinners in bowls are the best kind. Brown Jasmine rice / celery and scallion sauteed with ginger / roasted zucchini / Gyeran-jjim – Korean steamed egg, I make mine with just a bit of water with white miso paste and fish sauce / chili crisp.

Rice / zucchini / sauteed spinach with green onion, sesame oil, and sesame seeds / Trader Joe’s beefless bulgogi (high in sodium but delicious) / soy marinated egg.

Cottage cheese / soy marinated eggs / heirloom tomato / sliced cucumber – I let them sit in the leftover egg marinade for 20 minutes and they were great / North River crunchy yellow peas.

Not a bowl – I am going to finish out Thursday with nachos when I finish this post!

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

NYC is warm approaching hot and positively bursting with beautiful flowers. Of course my highlights from the week include an array of spring-y foodstuffs.

I enjoyed this passion fruit & hibiscus simple syrup in a variety of applications – diet coke (7/10), iced matcha (7.5/10), iced coffee (8.5/10), plain skyr (9/10).

Plan skyr bowl with blueberries, lolliberry strawberries, yuzu curd, honey almond granola, and edible flowers.

Whole-wheat bread with vanilla granola butter and strawberry guava jam. This was actually the best snack of the week.

These jalapeño cheddar Corn Nuts were delicious and almost too spicy for me.

Hu dark chocolate with vanilla crunch. It’s rare to find a vanilla chocolate though I wish the flavor was a little more prominent here (honestly the bar was a bit salty).

Noosa honey vanilla bean frozen yogurt gelato (so good!) with yuzu curd, strawberries, purple sprinkles, and edible flowers.

Important shout out – I am still completely head over heels for these Ben & Jerry’s s’mores bites.

This week’s dinner them was — SALAD. It was such a success, each night was better than the last! Potato salad. Baby potatoes that I boiled, smashed, topped with evoo and extra-sharp cheddar, and baked until crispy / celery / cucumber / smoked sockeye salmon and salmon candy / dressing – plain skyr, mayo, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, sesame oil, mustard powder, paprika, and celery seed.

Greek salad. Romaine / balsamic vinaigrette / celery / crispy-baked chickpeas / feta / Trader Joe’s tabbouli / TJ’s dolmas.

Fancy salad. Romaine / dressing – skyr, dijon mustard, yellow mustard, maple syrup, vinegar, and lemon juice / sugar bomb grape tomatoes / sauteed asparagus / Wildwood black truffle and sea salt baked tofu / extra-sharp cheddar / homemade pretzel bread croutons.

BBQ salad. Romaine / homemade ranch – skyr, mayo, dijon mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, ranch seasoning / tomatoes / orange bell pepper / fresh corn / Corn Nuts / cheddar / baked chicken breast tossed with Stubbs BBQ sauce. <– best of the week

Americana Idiot

My other song title option was “Like It Was 1980,” and if you don’t get that reference you are sorely missing out! This week’s dinner theme was Americana/nostalgia. We made Salisbury steak, tuna pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, and chili and grilled cheese sandwiches!

Highlights from the past four days include…

After-school snacks. Apple + peanut butter (I didn’t have mini marshmallows to make smiles!). This was a Sugar Bee apple and it was wonderfully crisp and sweet.

Important note – the Whole Foods unsweetened crunchy peanut butter is wonderful. It is some of the best I’ve ever had and certainly outranks the other options at this price point. Just peanuts and salt.

This week’s yogurt bowl combo was plain skry, blackberries, peanut butter, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Love Corn bbq corn nuts. These have a very satisfying consistency.

Junior Mints minis are fantastic. They are like the popping boba of chocolate candies.

Fun in sparkling waters – Target caffeinated cherry cola and Ruby tart hibiscus. Both were an 8/10.

I had never actually tried Salisbury steak before but I loved it. We loosely followed this recipe but I used ground turkey and way more mushrooms. Plus roasted purple and Japanese sweet potato and zucchini.

I did not use Italian dressing in my tuna pasta though that is how I grew up eating it. Whole-wheat macaroni, canned tuna, roasted zucchini, edamame, extra-sharp cheddar, and balsamic vinegar. Maybe Italian is the way to go though? Adam and I both went back and topped our bowls with hot sauce.

Macaroni and cheese muffins. I used extra-sharp cheddar instead of parmesan and added mustard powder. Plus roasted broccoli.

Plus we had bbq Wilde chicken chips.

Chili = ground turkey, celery, white onion, fire-roasted tomatoes, fire-roasted green chiles, kidney beans, chicken broth, evoo, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I topped my bowl with plain yogurt and hot sauce. Plus I made amazing grilled cheese sandwiches; the filling was a mixture of extra-sharp cheddar, marinated artichoke hearts, mayo, white pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of sugar.

What’s With Today, Today

So many things to celebrate this week, the eclipse and Rex Manning Day were both on Monday. We are on vacation starting tomorrow and I am READY – it took a lot of little treats (TM) to get through this week.

Some highlights…

This week’s yogurt combo – plain skyr, giant blackberries, and cookie dough granola.

I brought this birthday cake drink syrup back from my trip to Kingston. Not bad but too fruit-forward for my tastes. I tried it in iced coffee, iced matcha, lemon seltzer, and diet coke.

Chocolate-covered frozen cheesecake bites (9/10).

Dark chocolate peanut butter bites (10/10). <– I can’t remember where I found these but I would rebuy if I found more.

Our King’s does a fantastic chocolate cake with ganache, marshmallow, and cookie dough (11/10).

A Moon Pie to celebrate the eclipse. All I could find last-minute was a protein bar Power Pie which was actually delicious.

And I, of course, celebrated Rex Manning Day with pizza, brownies, and an Empire Records rewatch.

Roast’s special of the week – brisket, mac and cheese, crispy onions, and bbq sauce on a roll.

Homemade veggie and meatball bowls. Roasted cabbage, baby cauliflower, Japanese sweet potato, and red bell pepper / turkey meatballs with panko, fish sauce, half and half, ginger, urfa chili, gochugaru, and egg / peanut sauce with chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and warm water / green onions and sesame seeds.

Peep This

No post from me last weekend because I was away in Kingston! My cousin invited me to go with her and some friends for the weekend and we had a fabulous time. I had not seen her since her wedding last summer and it was so good to catch up! Also Kingston is super cute and packed with coffee spots and bakeries — I will be bringing Adam for a day-trip ASAP. And this weekend we are heading to PA to visit Adam’s family for Easter.

Some things I ate between trips…

This Chameleon Cafe Cubano Cold Brew was great. I wasn’t super impressed with the last few bottles I tried from them but this had good body and roastiness.

I found super juicy, ruby colored watermelon plums at Trader Joe’s so obviously my yogurt bowls this week were winners. Plain Greek with plum and salted caramel granola.

Plain Greek with plum, peanut butter, honey, and Heritage Flakes.

I am usually not a snack cake person but these Lidl milk & honey bars were lovely. Maybe I would also like Devil Dogs if they were served cold?

This boring photo is a reminder to myself that hummus makes a great after-work snack.

So much Easter candy!

P.S. Dad – the Brach’s jelly beans were great this year and totally worth buying. There is a grape flavor now!

See also – I infused Peeps into vodka. Served with lemon seltzer and edible glitter.

Dinner date at Youta Ramen. They have the sake jelly drinks!

We shared spicy cucumber salad (Persian cucumber, Serrano lime cilantro sauce, with sesame oil).

And Karaage (deep fried chicken with garlic mayo).

And I got the veggie ramen – truffle veggie broth, maitake, shitake, wood ear tempura, fermented bamboo shoots, and scallion – plus an egg and chili paste.

Brinner wraps. I sauteed Trader Joe’s soyrizo with red onion then scrambled in eggs and extra-sharp cheddar. Wrapped in a TJ’s lavash bread. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.

Sandwich roll-ups on TJ’s whole-wheat lavash – baked honey harissa chicken, roasted garlic hummus, chopped cucumber and yellow bell pepper. Plus a raw bok choy salad with homemade miso vinaigrette (1 Tbsp miso paste whisked with 1 Tbsp warm water until smooth, 1 Tbsp each sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds, 1/2 Tbsp Sriracha, and 3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar).

Best meal of the week was these loaded baked potatoes. I rubbed the potatoes in evoo and salt and baked at 400 for 60 minutes without wrapping in foil and they were perfect. Topped with leftover soyrizo, roasted broccoli and red onion, and extra-sharp cheddar.

Pie Versus Cake

Things from this week — It was 70 degrees yesterday and the dog and I took an afternoon walk sans coats! Adam and I started watching Farzar on Netflix – it is basically just Paradise PD in space but both shows are so funny I can’t even fault them. Thursday was Pi(e) Day and Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day – so many theme food opportunities.

Food things —

Cherry pie smoothie – frozen dark cherries, salted caramel granola, water, vanilla protein powder, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Yogurt bowl win – plain Greek, yuzu marmalade, blueberries and blackberries, and granola.

Iced matcha with yuzu marmalade and yuzu mandarin seltzer. <– I am hooked on this combination

Adam got a Zero Gravity Irish cream porter for St. Patrick’s Day so I tried their Power Jones IPA – 9/10.

I was so excited to find these puddings at 99 Ranch but we ended up throwing them out; they tasted like slightly milky gelatin.

Haribo lemon ginger chews. Better than gummy bears but not as good as the grapefruit slices.

Cake! We brought this home from Butterfield over the weekend. This sprinkled/cookies and cream frosting filled slice is one of my favorite desserts in NYC.

I searched for this limited edition Tillamook ice cream since last summer and it fully lived up to my expectations.

This Sriracha shrimp bowl from Trader Joe’s has consistently been my favorite frozen meal option for years now. I always top it with Kewpie and more Sriracha and it is so satisfying.

Roast’s St. Patrick’s Day sandwich special – corned beef reuben with swiss, sauerkraut, onion rings, and thousand island dressing on marble rye. Plus fries and rainbow cauliflower (Trader Joe’s frozen bag that I sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, and celery seed – delicious).

Our best meal of the week took less than 20 minutes to make. Buckwheat soba / sauteed celery / Korean steamed eggs (made with water, miso, and fish sauce) / sesame oil, sesame seeds, and chili crisp.

A take on okonomiyaki – roasted cabbage and green onion, shredded egg tofu, white pepper, gochugaru, minced ginger, flour, baking soda, lime seltzer, and eggs. Topped with Kewpie and Sriracha.

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza

Some things from this week that weren’t pizza (but are mostly fruit and/or yogurt and/or dessert) –

Cherry cheesecake Chobani yogurt and a sumo orange. 5.5/10 – I need to accept that I mostly prefer the flavor of plain yogurts. That said, I added granola and the texture was fantastic.

Loaded yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with peanut butter, a Reese’s caramel peanut butter big cup (!!), granola, and blueberries.

Berry smoothie. This was good, I don’t know why the dog looks so dubious. Frozen cherries and berries blended with water, vanilla protein powder, and matcha tea powder.

Trader Joe’s had several pizza-flavored crunchy snacks and obviously that spawned a whole theme week for dinner –

Pizza Party kettle chips. 7.5/10 – they were excellently seasoned but ultimately I didn’t love how tomato-y these were.

Pizza flavored baked crisps. 6.5/10 – these were a bit too airy for me but Adam was a fan.

Homemade pizza bagels. Everything egg bagels with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and turkey pepperoni. Plus some heirloom tomato.

Homemade pizza bites. This recipe – I skipped the basil but added turkey pepperoni, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning. Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower and a homemade blue cheese dip (Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, ranch seasoning, and blue cheese crumbles).

Supreme pizza inspired nachos. Pizza party chips with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Trader Joe’s plant-based pepperoni, chicken parmesan sausage, red onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms. This was a spot-on flavor match! Plus marinara/chili oil for dipping.

Actual pizza. We got takeout from Dario’s and loved it. Eggplant and ricotta / birria / spicy chicken and peppers. This was the best eggplant pizza I’ve ever had.

Tops

Fun things from this week – we finished watching the series Detroiters and loved every minute, Tim Robbinson is a gem / I got up early on Friday to run before work and it left me in such a good mood all day / we had really good topping options in the house (see below) and therefore had really good snacks!

Oathaus cookie dough granola butter + Purely Elizabeth chocolate chip cookie dough granola.

Yuzu marmalade.

Highlights from the week…

I saw a lot of love for this vanilla Shamrock Farms protein shake online so I tried it in a coffee – delicious!

Iced matcha with yuzu marmalade and yuzu lemon seltzer.

Smoothie with frozen cherries, vanilla protein powder, butterfly pea tea, and chocolate milk.

Cookie x cookie yogurt bowls, plain skyr with granola, oat butter, and blackberries.

P.S. Family yogurt bowl hour!

No Meating seitan vegan jerky. This had great flavor but the texture verged on too chewy.

Apple whiskey with yuzu marmalade and seltzer.

This new Ben & Jerry’s flavor is a 10/10; all ice cream needs a pretzel swirl!

Rice cakes with Chinese broccoli, egg, seitan vegan chicken, and a pad see ew style sauce.

I liked this bowl so much I ate it for dinner two nights in a row. Baked chicken (we’ve been doing variations of this recipe and it always turns out perfect) reheated in a skillet with butter and buffalo sauce on top of homemade cole slaw.