I’m posting a day early because I am heading to Ohio to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday! My mom will be there too!! It’s all very exciting!
Highlights from this past week include…
It’s Pumpkin Month but the apple selection has still been great – Lady Alice, Snap Dragon, and SweeTango.
I saved my favorite pumpkin beers for last – Schlafly pumpkin ale and Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin.
Kilwin’s chocolate dipped marshmallows are one of my favorite treats, especially with holiday sprinkles.
We 11/10 loved these elevated jalpeno poppers from Whole Foods.
Pumpkin turkey chili. Ground turkey, sweet onion, poblano pepper, yellow and orange bell pepper, pumpkin puree, diced tomatoes, black beans, great northern beans, pumpkin ale, salt and pepper, smoked paprika, cinnamon, mace, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and minced ginger. Topped with sour cream and Trader Joe’s hot and sweet pickled jalopenos.
Served with pumpkin tortilla chips and pimento cheese dip.
Pumpkin pasta. Ground turkey with pumpkin puree, chili crisp, and sour cream on whole-wheat pasta.
Plus roasted broccoli tossed with a mix of Korean chili flake, brown sugar, minced ginger, fish sauce, and rice vinegar.
Chobani pumpkin spice Greek yogurt with strawberries, granola, and chia seeds.
Noosa pumpkin yogurt with blackberries and granola.
See also – I really enjoyed this Elleno’s Greek yogurt with lemon curd.
As much as I love potato chips I also really like things that are pretending to be potato chips. Wilde’s chicken chips (this chicken and waffles variety is my favorite).
Biena’s Hawaiian bbq chickpea and veggie crisps.
Local pumpkin beers. Bronx Brewery’s Tattooed Pumpkin IPA (7.5/10) and Blue Point’s Big Mother Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale (8.5/10).
Also local, also for spooky season – Sixpoint’s Screamsickle orange and vanilla hazy DIPA (8.5/10).
A fun date night – Adam and I went out to For Five Coffee for these tasty churro pancakes with dulce de leche drizzle, chocolate pearls, and horchatta ice cream.
Pumpkin Month pasta. Trader Joe’s butternut squash pasta with roasted zucchini, Seemore’s chicken kale pesto sausage, and Sauces n Love pink pesto sauce. [note to future Emily – we did not like the pink pesto!]
Fantastic noodles and veggie bowls. Whole-wheat vermicelli / nom choc / chicken breast cooked in the crockpot with soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime, ginger, and honey / roasted brussel sprouts / chili crisp.
Turkey reuben inspired sheet-pan hash. We loved this! Roasted potatoes and cabbage with smoked turkey, sourkraut, and homemade 1000 island dressing.
I hope all of my readers and safe and not having horrible weather! If the rain isn’t too terrible in NYC this weekend Adam and I have some fun plans for tomorrow.
Highlights from this week included…
Greek yogurt bowl with chia, maple syrup, granola, plucot, and blueberries.
Apple snack plate. Apple pie rice cakes, dried apples, apple cider caramels, and smoked almonds.
Butterfly pea tea and matcha iced latte.
I impulse-bought some very fun desserts for the week. Refridgerated creme brulee! It came with little packets of crunchy sugar for the topping.
This Trader Joe’s salted maple ice cream was great; wonderful consistency.
Yummy homemade chicken congee. With brown rice, chicken thighs, and vinegary greens (kale and red chard sauteed with soy sauce, gojuchang, and rice vinegar). Topped with crushed peanuts and tons of chili crisp.
Buffalo chicken pasta salad. Whole-wheat pasta / chicken sausage / blue cheese / sauteed carrot, celery, and green onion / sauce made out of mayo, vinegar, and Frank’s buffalo sauce.
Highlights from the past week were… mostly coffees! Adam was out of town all week (he was in Ireland with his brother and they had a FANTASTIC time) and when no one is around to watch me adult I exclusively eat take-out in bed with the dog while watching cartoons. I also had a few really good Long Island outings, some Apple Month treats, and a wonderful Sunday with the husband when he was back in town.
Highlights include…
Starbucks’ apple crisp macchiato.
Pink Lady apple kombucha (I did not care for those oats).
I did not care for this cold brew made according to their directions but brewed double strength and not watered down it was delicious. Chocolate milk is always a win.
I haven’t blogged them in awhile so I just wanted to reiterate that I am still completely obsessed with these pretzel and potato chip peanut butter cups. Head over heels.
Brunch with Adam at Flora (plus a Park Slope walking date!). We had wonderful coffees, a macchiato for me.
Apple snacks at work. Freeze-dried Fuiji apples and an apple ginger bar. Both were wins.
Apple pie matcha! I will definitely make this combination again.
We finally made it to Zaab Zaab, a very well-loved Isaan Thai spot in Elmhurst. Everything we got was fantastic. The spice level was exactly to my liking and I was glad I ordered the creamy cold brew with condensed milk. Green papaya salad.
Prawn Pad Thai.
Rib eye Pad Krapow.
I made the world’s most decadent bowl of leftovers. Basil beef / shredded duck (leftovers from a fun meal Adam had without me) / sauteed spinach and onion / fried egg / smashed avocado.
We tried the newest Coke flavor – Dreamworld. It was a bit too fruity for me; I preferred the Starlight and would much prefer if they would just bring back Diet Cherry Coke.
I’m late on this post but we had too many wonderful things last week not to share! Mostly lots of very (very, very, very) good restaurant meals. Three different days I got to take a super-long city walk (including a Central Park date with the husband!). Highlights include…
Breakfast at Ursula. We shared a strawberry chamoy pastry.
And a sopaipilla with grassfed beef, green chile, refried pinto beans, and cheddar.
Breakfast at the Blue Light Speaky Cheesy pop-up. The workers could not have been more wonderful here and everything was fantastic! We shared a sandwich with pesto scrambled eggs, goat cheese, blueberry jam, and arugula; a maple lavender latte (<– topped with orange zest, which apparently is my new favorite thing); and an iced Getaway Latte with sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and vanilla.
Malted berry smoothie. Frozen cherries and strawberries with Greek yogurt, chocolate almond milk, and malted milk powder.
Yogurt bowl – vanilla skyr, pecan granola, chia seeds, blueberries, and cherry plums (<– both Adam’s and my new favorite fruit).
Cookie dough granola (<– amazing, the flavor is spot on!) with blueberries and chocolate almond milk.
Lunch at Bahn (<– best meal of the whole week!). Iced Vietnamese egg coffee.
Summer rolls with shrimp and mung bean sauce.
Rolls with crispy shrimp, beef jerky, green mango, Sriracha, and egg yolk cream.
Noodle salad with sizzling butter beef.
Dumplings from Mimi Cheng. Their monthly special is a collab with Pecking House and is stuffed with buttermilk twice-fried chicken and topped with the best chili crisp I’ve ever tasted.
Homemade(!) grain bowls. Farro with pesto, chicken pesto sausage, fennel greens, and sauteed celery and baby orange tomatoes.
Adam forgot his credit card at BKNY Thai so we went back sooner than we were expecting to. A serendipitous mistake because our take-out was 11/10. Fish cakes / dumplings with ground chicken, shallot, peanut, and preserved radish / beef Pad See Ew with extra Chinese broccoli.
Omekase at the Chemisty Room at Sushi Lab. We ate at the counter and the service was impecable. I only took a few photos but everything was delicious and gorgeous.
Dinner at Wen Wen. My daiquiri with rum, Cachaça, and birds eye chili was perfect and balanced.
We had numbing celtuce salad with garlic, red vinegar, and Sichuan pepper.
Hot honey popcorn chicken.
Cold sesame noodles with cucumbers and egg ribbons.
Beef noodle soup with pickled mustard greens and a 16-hour oxtail broth.
We had crazy work-weekends but did manage to have a lot of fun in our evenings – exploring some new-to-us restaurants in Long Island and Queens and getting some great treats. Our favorite dish from each stop was…
Eating Chalk 