Lattes, The Tyger, and Bambina Blue, Oh My

by Emily

Highlights from an exceptionally yummy weekend…

We made dalgona iced lattes with chocolate milk. This is my favorite coffee texture.

Iced cinnamon roll from Mel The Bakery, aka the best cinnamon roll we’ve ever eaten. We regretted not buying more things and want to go back immediately.

Tres Leches x3 doughnut ice cream sandwich (tres leches ice cream sandwiched in a tres leches cake doughnut and dipped in tres leches chocolate coating!) from Doughnut Plant.

Hazelnut crunch gelato at Bambina Blue. We thought we weren’t big gelato fans but this spot has changed our tune.

Topo Chico has officially 100% sold me on alcoholic seltzers. These cans are delicious.

We had a wonderfully good lunch at The Tyger.

I had a Tyger Strype Slushee – Espolòn tequila, Shoumei white tea, peach, lemon, and smoke layered with Espolòn tequila, mango, lemon, honey, and cardamon.

Also a non-alcoholic Green Woods Laugh – mint, pandan, cucumber, and lemon – with Tito’s.

We shared hamachi crudo with Vietnamese salsa verde, coconut, microgreens, and cherry tomato.

Chicken satay with the most interesting/layered peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted.

Stir-fried water spinach with chili, garlic, and shrimp paste.

And Pad See Ew with Chinese broccoli and tofu. The tofu was a salt and pepper crusted silken tofu and it was fantastic.

Plus a Thai coffee tart with a bruleed top for dessert.

Dinner salads. Local butter lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette, mint, peas, lamb sausage, and raw milk aged cheddar. I see why the lamb + mint + pea pairing is a classic.

4Apr2022

Oreos And Mung Beans

by Emily

I worked six of the last seven days so we’ve eaten a lot of take-out chicken nuggets but also managed to go on a few nice dates! Highlights from the past week include…

Mint pour-over with chocolate sweetened condensed milk.

This week’s probiotic beverages – tamarind citrus tepache / hibiscus rhubarb kefir.

Sparkling calamansi matchas. I’m not sure why that photo is so swampy, it was lovely in real life.

I am still very into these Kishu mandarins. I used to love Cara Cara oranges but I tried one recently and it paled in comparision.

Newly into these Crunchsters sprouted mung beans which are perfectly savory and crunchy.

And no one is surprised that I am excited about these limited edition confetti cake Oreos.

They are sprinkled!

Also impressed with this new Noosa chocolate gelato.

Drinks and snacks at The Linwood. I had a cocktail with tequila, sage, honey, lime, blood orange, and grapefruit soda.

Plus housemade chips with onion ranch dip.

Caribbean-inspired food at Coastal. My jerk chicken rice bowl was great.

But we were there for the drinks! Like a painkiller made with Soggy Dollar Bar rum (aka rum from the place that invented painkillers).

I also had a lovely drink with vodka, butterfly pea flower, chamomile, guava, pineapple, lemon, and soda.

Homemade chilaquiles with Trader Joe’s guajillo salsa, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, sweet onion, and bell peppers. Topped with sharp cheddar, sour cream, hot sauce, and a fried egg.

We made the best salads. Local lettuce with dijon balsamic dressing / stir-fried/charred snap peas / crunchy mung beans / cheddar / bbq chicken – shredded chicken breast and thighs from the crockpot tossed with homemade bbq sauce and roasted in the oven.

Vegan buffalo chick’n sliders with roasted green beans. The sandwiches were good but the green beans were great.

16Jul2021

Food In Bowls

by Emily

Highlights from the past week include…

S’mores iced coffee! I blended coffee with ice, cold brew powder, chocolate milk, vanilla bean powder, and toasted marshmallows.

Yogurt bowl set up – vanilla skyr with Made Good chocolate granola and Jelly Berry grapes.

I quite liked these crispy onion chips from Trader Joe’s.

Toasted turkey and cheddar sandwich. On sprouted wheat sourdough with mayo and pickled jalapeños.

Mexican-ish vegetarian bowls. Brown rice, cauliflower rice roasted with green onion and poblano pepper, Trader Joe’s soyrizo, cojita cheese, and orange Soss.

Crab fried rice. Leftover brown rice stir-fried (with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce) with blue crab, eggs, green onion, peas, and carrot.

Dinner inspired by a dish we loved recently at Llama Inn – sautéed bok choy with grapes, sunflower seeds, and black garlic vinaigrette. Plus tuna cakes made with soyrizo.

22Feb2021

Everything But

by Emily

Adam and I had a ton of time together this week, which is just the best. We both had time off in the day on Monday and Wednesday and we liked our date so much on Monday – breakfast at Winner, a walk through Prospect Park, and lunch at Ix Restaurant – that we did the exact same things in reverse on Wednesday!

Prospect Park was an iced-over death trap but it was my absolute favorite activity of the week because we got to see swans.

Highlights from the week include…

Lots of fun in coffee. I enjoyed these new Cokes with coffee exactly as much as I thought I would.

This Trader Joe’s instant cold brew is weak on it’s own but it can total save a not-great cup of coffee.

Coffee-flavored Nutrament with a canned Stumptown.

Fancy lattes from Brooklyn Perk, mine was made with rose.

Winner’s sourdough croissant was a total win.

Meal 1 at Ix. Corn thickened Champurrado hot chocolate.

I had the kimchi soup with chicken, noodles, and poached eggs.

Meal 2 at Ix. Hot chocolate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chips with bean dip and crazy-good housemade hot sauce.

Corn with cotija cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and chile.

Caldo Tlalpeno Rojo – soup with chicken, tomato, garlic, onion, peas, chickpeas, corn, achiote, chipotle, Oaxaca cheese, and tortilla strips.

Ciao, Gloria blew our minds with their lemoncello pistachio bars. Also we had an unphotographed housemade Oreo that was the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.

Trader Joe’s smoked salmon dip is a household favorite.

Leftover Thai green beans with soft-scrambled eggs, vegetarian pork floss, and chili oil.

Homemade taco bowls. Brown basmati rice / ground turkey / sharp cheddar / sautéed orange and yellow bell pepper and onion.

Sheet-pan shrimp fried rice.

Loxchos(!!) with roasted brussel sprouts. Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning chips with swiss and Gruyere, hot-smoked salmon, and green onion.

Take-out dinner from Winner, plus roasted zucchini. We split a smoked chicken salad sandwich and a grilled cheese with cheddar, provolone, and romesco sauce on sourdough.

Plus a malted flour chocolate chip cookie.

4Jan2021

2021

by Emily

Weekend 1/52 was a success!

Is it because in addition to having black eyed peas on the 1st for prosperity in the new year we had tons of sweets for a sweet new year and rose hard candies for a rosy outlook? I made those last two up but I’m running with it!

Highlights include…

I am on my last carton of eggnog for the season and I am still 11/10 enjoying it in coffee.

We obviously bought this Lucy Glo apple because the Trader Joe’s end cap said it was Instagram-famous and it ended up being delicious – crispy and a good mix of citrus and sweet.

We have both cookie butter and fresh berries in the apartment so clearly I’ve eaten a million yogurt bowls.

100% impressed with the newest Reese’s cup variety – pretzel!

These Levain cookies aren’t quite as good as the fresh-baked ones in stores but they are the very best not-from-scratch cookies you’ll ever make at home.

Also loved this crispy Maman caramel, hazelnut, chocolate chip cookie.

A hot take on the black eyed pea salad we’ve loved for years. BEP, green bell pepper, turkey andouille sausage, smoked almonds, sharp cheddar, and green Tabasco.

Eggs scrambled with peas and crushed potato chips, topped with chili crisp.

Brunch from Edith’s, the Jewish food pop-up in Greenpoint. Braised brisket sandwich with labneh cole slaw, spicy pickles, and pickled mustard seed on a house-made Kaiser roll // house-smoked salmon mac and cheese.

Also they served me a cold brew with amaretto that legitimately blew my mind — we ended up adding a liquor store stop on our way home so I can make my own next weekend.

Hope everyone’s year is off to a smooth and happy start!

23Oct2020

Pumpkin Spice And Everything Nice

by Emily

Highlights from this week include…

Phin-brewed Cafe Du Monde chicory coffee with sweetened condensed milk is obviously my new favorite thing of all time.

Pumpkin Noosa with papaya and cocoa granola. Was pleasantly surprised by how well these three flavors paired together.

Yummy candies my parents sent us from back home – tamarind balls and guava hard candies.

Be sure to grab yourself a bag of these cinnamon pretzels the next time you’re at a 7-11.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale is one of our original pumpkin favorites.

And this limited release Stone double IPA was pretty great too.

Cheese plates for dinner! Bartlett pear / homemade spiced candied walnuts / maple-smoked cheddar / papaya / durian chocolate and milk chocolate / Manchego / garlic naan crackers from Trader Joe’s.

Egg casserole – with broccoli, green onion, shallot, TJ’s turkey summer sausage, and maple-smoked cheddar – plus beer cheese kettle chips. Inspired by this recipe.

Whole-wheat matzoh brei with roasted brussel sprouts.

A great take on sheet-pan fried rice (loosely based on this method) with cauliflower rice (seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and gojuchang), peas, green onions, and sausage.

15May2020

Espresso In My Cookies And My Granola

by Emily

Wow am I glad it’s the weekend! Even if I don’t get to leave the house it will be nice to get a quick break from my busy work-week. Actually though, we have our bi-weekly grocery trip planned for tomorrow – exciting stuff.

My dinners were largely (unphotographably) lame this week but I did have some really exciting beverages and yogurt bowls…

This week’s coffee included homemade malted milk creamer!

Plain skyr with maple, blueberries, and kiwi.

Plain skyr with apples cooked with cinnamon and brown sugar plus espresso vanilla granola.

Honey vanilla Greek yogurt with granola and plum.

I made an amazing batch of chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles, espresso powder, and malted milk powder.

We got a super exciting delivery from Evil Twin – a pink pineapple sour IPA and a chocolate egg cream hard seltzer!

Our nonalcoholic options were pretty fantastic too – Watermelon La Croix, LimonCello La Croix, and Starfruit Lemonade Polar Seltzer.

I really enjoyed this frozen enchilada.

Trader Joe’s mini chicken and cilantro wontons on a bed of peas, celery, and green onion, topped with chili oil.

Have a nice/safe weekend!

24Apr2020

{Insert Fifth Harmony Lyric}

by Emily

This was my first week of work-from-home and it’s definitely been an adjustment. When I’m at work-work I tend to skip lunch 1-2 days a week because I’m busy or just not that hungry but home apparently my appetite works just fine! I ate all the snacks. <– all the snacks, like I can’t do a repeat performance next week because I ate all of the ice cream that was supposed to last until our next grocery trip 🙂

Thankfully we had some really good snacks on hand! Here were the highlights…

Phin coffee with sweetened condensed milk (10/10, would recommend).

New Orleans coffee can with scm (9/10, would recommend).

Chicken and waffle chicken chips (10+/10, would recommend).

Sesame ginger chicken jerky (8.5/10, would recommend).

Sweet and spicy gummies (9/10, would recommend).

Chocolate-covered salted caramel vegan marshmallows. (9/10, would recommend).

Also I was thrilled to have some fresh fruit on hand and made a large, exciting yogurt bowl every day. Trader Joe’s guava passion fruit Greek yogurt with fresh mango and blackberries and honey maple granola.

Coffee skyr with granola, blueberries, and coconut chips.

Plan Greek yogurt with cinnamon, maple syrup, granola, coconut chips, blueberries, blackberries, and TJ’s flax and chia seed peanut butter.

And we made some really good dinners. Green curry ~~turkey~~ chicken salad with roasted green beans.

Sheet-pan fried cauliflower rice. Very similar to this recipe but with cauliflower rice and smoked turkey breast. It was wonderful!

3May2019

Snack Assist

by Emily

Serendipitously, on a week when my meal plan was absolutely anemic, I received an awesome box of goodies from deliciousness.com. <– samples were provided to me free of charge but with no additional compensation, all opinions are my own

CrrrunchBites Chili Lime Almonds. It’s an almond, wrapped in a rice cracker, coated in seasoning. They were crunchy and tasty (and not too spicy for Adam). Very satisfying to snack on (though I also could have easily kept eating the whole bag!) They’re vegan and gluten-free and there was nothing on the ingredients list that concerned me.

Mozaics Popped Veggie Chips. They are gluten-free, vegan, and primarily made of peas! BBQ was good but Salsa was great; once again, flavorful without being too spicy or too salty. The chips are popped instead of fried so a 1 oz/23 chip serving only has 100 calories and thanks to the peas each serving contains 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

Hope & Sesame sesame milks. I think these fill a really big hole in the plant-based milk market! The products are all vegan (and therefore dairy-free and lactose-free), soy-free, and gluten-free, and except for the chocolate-hazelnut flavor they are tree-nut-free. A 1 cup serving has 8 grams of protein – just like cow’s milk, which is awesome because the low-protein content is my main concern about most alternative milks. Plus they are creamy and taste like sesame. We liked vanilla straight from the carton but hated it in coffee and loved the chocolate hazelnut all-round – in a cup of strong coffee the chocolate didn’t come through much but it was creamy without separating and left you with coffee’s roastiness but none of the acidity.

Highlights from the week include…

Coffee coffee.

Mango beer line-up. The sour wasn’t worth finishing but we enjoyed the IPA.

We finally saw End Game! We loooooooved it. I laughed, cried, and enjoyed the heck out of Captain America and Captain Marvel’s uniform-clad behinds. Our movie snacks weren’t bad either.

Sandwich night. We made simple sandwiches that were terrifically good – Trader Joe’s white whole wheat bread (untoasted), smoked turkey, havarti cheese, and mayo and yellow mustard. Plus baby carrots and Salsa Mozaic Chips.

Salad night. These were the best salads I’ve made all year. Sweet lettuce with Greek feta dressing / Mexican street corn salad / chili lime almonds / heirloom baby tomatoes / hot-smoked salmon.