I am staunchly anti-carb-on-carb (i.e. I don’t want garlic bread next to mashed potatoes and I don’t like rice in burritos – fries are allowed though!) but this macaroni and cheese slice from Pizzaria G is the best pizza I have ever eaten.
Black eyed pea salad. BEP with baked super-firm tofu, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, sharp cheddar, crispy broad beans, and Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing.
Plus seaweed potato chips for crunch.
Buffalo bowls. Cabbage (roasted with salt and pepper and then tossed with mayo, skyr, evoo, rice vinegar, ranch seasoning, celery seed, smoked paprika, and sugar) topped with Blackbird buffalo wing style seitan.
New new-to-me pear. This wasn’t as good as the last two but still not bad.
A dips/dippers situation. Little Sesame Herby Jalapeno hummus and Red Clay pimento cheese (hands down the best pimento spread we’ve ever tasted!) with bell peppers, baby carrots, and Crunch Master pimento cheese rice crackers.
Warm salads. Sauteed Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch topped with dressing (maple syrup, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and sesame oil), lamb sausage, and roasted honeynut and delicata squash.
Tofu salads. Romaine / Trader Joe’s mano vinaigrette / cucumber / extra-sharp cheddar / crispy broad beans / and tofu (marinated, dredged in a flour, cornstarch, salt, white pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, and toasted rice powder mix, then stir-fried).
A very, very loose take on the Very Fresh Noodles Dan Dan noodles. Buckwheat soba / dinosaur kale, baby bok choy, and scallions sauteed with fish sauce and rice vinegar / ground turkey sauteed with hoisin, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and five spice powder / crunched up crispy broad beans / sauce – peanut butter, garlic, onion chili crisp, chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, five spice powder, Sichuan peppercorn, and chicken broth.
P.S. I put pecan pie chocolate chip cookies into the oven as I wrote this post!
Blank Street‘s (dirty) iced matcha with blueberry and ube.
It’s Pie Month! Four & Twenty Blackbird‘s brown sugar pie with peanuts and toasted coconut was divine.
Elleno’s pecan pie yogurt with Biscoff cookie crumble. Pie Month!
Chip City fall special – maple cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.
Brunch at Agi’s Counter. I had a dirty Ovaltine with oat milk.
We shared several dishes. Everything ended up going together perfectly. Tuna melt – served on a griddled potato pullman with alpine cheddar and a side of cabbage slaw and mustard // hash brown with trout roe.
Palacsinta, Hungarian crepes with with port-stewed figs, butter, and maple.
Little Grenjai does brunch now and it’s even better than their dinner service! We shared several things and are dying to go back soon to try more dishes. Pandan iced matcha latte (not as good as I was expecting but still an ok matcha).
Thai iced coffee (delicious!) // Hat Yai fried chicken and with sticky rice waffles, fantastic chili sauce, and maple syrup.
Pad Thai with confit duck.
The lox platter was my favorite dish of the meal – cured salmon crudo with everything roti and rangoon cream cheese // fried duck egg.
Baba’s Pierogies. We shared pan-fried with feta, black garlic, and potato and boiled potato, cheddar, and jalapeno with a horseradish sauce.
Homemade taco dinners that were both wonderful. Baked chicken chopped together with canned pumpkin puree, roasted poblano pepper, and extra-sharp cheddar. Heated in a frying pan. Plus green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar. Plus the best ever homemade ranch (Duke’s mayo, ranch seasoning, and some liquid from Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos).
Local lamb sausage, roasted onion and bell peppers, extra sharp cheddar, and labne baked in the oven. Plus sauteed asparagus.
And pumpkin beers! Southern Tier’s Maple Warlock imperial pumpkin stout and Caramel Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale were both excellent.
Pumpkin smoothie. Canned pumpkin puree, frozen banana, brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and water.
Boo-berry smoothie. Frozen blueberries, cherries, and strawberries with vanilla protein powder and water (with a marshmallow ghost!).
Halloween candy week seemed like a fitting time to open this Bonne Maman chocolate peanut spread. I enjoyed it in a few iced coffees and am eagerly anticipating a yogurt bowl.
Another new to me pear – Gem. It was delicious, but I prefer the Happis.
This Wella Crispy Treat did not taste like ube to me but it was yummy; good salty-sweet balance. Adam hated it, however, so your milage may vary.
Oyakadon-inspired dinner. Eggs soft-scrambled in leftover Rose Marie whipped garlic parsley butter / roasted broccoli / Bell and Evans breaded chicken patties / horseradish Sriracha aioli / leftover Rose Marie sourdough.
Pumpkin chili. Ground turkey, Whole Food’s canned bean trio, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, canned pumpkin puree, fish sauce, yellow onion, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, urfa chili, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover Rose Marie cheese curds and Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.
Two types of leftover pizza reheated in a skillet with leftover butter and an egg cooked on top.
These crispy roasted beans were the best dinner of the week. Labne / roasted shredded brussels sprouts / Great Northern beans tossed with evoo, cornstarch, panko, gochugaru, and furikake and roasted / Roland’s spicy chili onion crisp / crispy numbing broad beans I found at 99 Ranch but can’t read the label for.
No post from me last week because we were in SCOTLAND! We went with Adam’s brother and sister-in-law on a road trip and had a fabulous time. We tried haggis (I loved it!), got to pet a Highland Cow, saw a thousand castles, and stayed at a bread and breakfast with baby seals.
Less exciting but still fun things from this week back in the US included…
This week’s coffee combo – beans from our last vacation (Alaska) and dulce de leche.
Pumpkin spice Chobani with Whole Food’s cinnamon granola and blueberries.
Pumpkin smoothie – canned pumpkin with frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple sugar, and water.
P.S. I put cookies into the best dessert bowl – plain skyr, peanut butter, dulce de leche, crumbled cookies, and blueberries.
We brought home this tablet (basically a sweetened condensed milk fudge) from Scotland. We’re glad we didn’t try it until we left the country or we probably we would have bought another 20 bars!
This treat from America (Canada?) was also good – Trader Joe’s maple pancake flavored puffs.
Thai chicken satay inspired bowls. Brown rice / baked chicken – marinated in yogurt, coconut milk, lime juice, red curry, curry powder, and ginger / roasted broccoli / peanut sauce – peanut butter, red curry, lime juice, sugar, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water / cucumber salad – cucumber, scallion, salt, sugar, rice vinegar, and chili oil.
Callaloo inspired bowls. Chopped spinach cooked down with crab, coconut milk, sauteed onion, ginger, ufra pepper, and habanero pepper. Plus roasted honeynut squash and delicata squash.
An easy soup. Leftover rice / shredded garlic-y baked chicken / sauteed dinosaur kale, green onion, garlic, and canned green chilis / chicken broth, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little sesame oil.
Saturday breakfast in Huntington. I got a maple spiced iced latte at Southdown. Reminder to me for next year — I don’t like this; one of the spices is cardamom which I don’t care for in coffee.
For the last week of Apple Month I got my hands on the – delicious – Trader Joe’s juicy apple gummies.
See also – we made fall dirt cups! Chocolate pudding, toasted Reese’s Oreo crumbs, and mellowcreme leaves.
Other snacks of note were all from 99 Ranch. The best egg yolk rice crackers.
And 10/10 mochi, x2.
I also grabbed some hot food at the food court while I was at 99 Ranch. Beef rice rolls and a purple yam salted egg yolk mochi from Shanghai You Garden.
Black bean tacos. The filling was sauteed mushrooms, scallion, poblano pepper, and taco seasoning food processed with with walnuts and black beans. Baked in tortillas with tons of sharp cheddar. Plus roasted cauliflower and broccoli and homemade guacamole. We loved these.
Chicken kimchi quesadillas. I chopped together baked chicken breast, cabbage kimchi, Sriracha, and honey. Cooked on the stove with butter and evoo (and tons of sharp cheddar!).
Salmon and tofu veggie bowls. Bok choy sauteed with ginger and scallion / roasted white sweet potatoes / baked super-firm tofu / ACME salmon candy crisped up on the stove. This is our new favorite iteration of the sheet-pan hash I used to make often.
Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with Whole Food’s delicious cinnamon granola and blackberries.
Lucky Ox matcha lemonade sparkler (8/10 – we liked it but nowhere near as much as their pandan coconut sparkler).
Quinn peanut butter and honey filled pretzels (9.5/10).
Mellowcreme leaves in flavors such as maple, butterscotch, and caramel apple aka FALL CANDY (10/10).
Roast Sandwich House had two new seasonal specials so obviously we redid our dinner plans. Braised brisket grilled cheese with white cheddar, grilled red onion, hash brown, hot sauce aioli, and griddled sourdough and a chicken salad sandwich with cranberry jam and white cheddar on a croissant. Plus fries and veggies from home (cauliflower rice sauteed with spinach, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion, powder, gochugaru, and salt and pepper).
The rest of our dinners were all pasta salads! I made a box of sourdough fusilli and embraced a new theme. Chicken taco. Pasta / sauce – mashed avocado, mayo, Greek yogurt, lime juice, and taco seasoning / baked chicken / sauteed corn, scallion, and green bell pepper / sharp cheddar.
Bang bang shrimp. Pasta / sauce – mayo, Greek yogurt, sweet chili sauce, honey, and rice vinegar / quick-pickled cucumber / red bell pepper / scallion / shrimp.
Egg salad. Pasta / sauce – hard-boiled egg yolk, pickle juice, mayo, Greek yogurt, Dijon, and smoked paprika / hard-boiled egg white / scallion / poblano pepper / pickle. Plus green tomatoes as our veggie (dressed with TJ’s mango vinaigrette and chopped capers).
New York Beanery‘s fall special line-up includes a tasty caramel apple iced latte.
Trader Joe’s frozen Southwestern style chicken quesadillas are actually pretty good. Served with smashed avocado with lemon, salt, and a Caribbean pepper blend.
These crispy tacos from Guac Shop were better. With tofu, sweet potato, cabbage, and cheese.
Buffalo chicken baked pasta. Whole-wheat macaroni, roasted cauliflower rice, sauteed ground chicken with celery, poblano pepper, scallion, cream cheese, and Franks, topped with shredded cheese.
P.S. Yes, writing this post totally put me in the mood for some kind of apple pie chaco-taco situation.
Eating Chalk 