There is a new coffee spot near us with Jamaican Blue Mountain.
The homemade Snickers are definitely one of the best things I’ve ever made. And so quick and easy too.
I mostly drink IPAs but I do really love this key lime pie sour.
Multiple theme snacks! We ate these orange slices with orange slices.
And drank a variety of Mountain Dew and then rewatched the Slurm episode of Futurama.
Egg salad dinner plate. Six minute eggs with Greek yogurt, mayo, mustard, pickle juice, dill, pickles, and red bell pepper. Plus pickled red onion, crackers, and roasted purple cauliflower.
Cheeseburger-inspired salads. Romaine / special sauce dressing – 1 Tbsp each mayo, yellow mustard, olive oil, and vinegar, plus 1/2 Tbsp ketchup and a pinch of salt and white pepper / pickles / tomato / quick pickled chopped white onion / mini turkey patties topped with sharp cheddar / dill / sesame seeds.
I love a good set of theme dinners! Some highlights from this week include…
I am definitely a fan of the BelliWelli bars, cinnamon swirl was soft and not too spiced.
Summer fruits are bringing me a lot of joy. It was a great week of yogurt bowls. Plain 2% Greek with cinnamon, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough granola.
Plain Greek with maple syrup, mandarin, blackberries, granola, and chia seeds.
Adam and I really enjoyed this Mabi tea with mauby and strawberry.
Instant topokki.
Two non-traditional jerkies, both a 10/10 – Louisville Vegan Jerky Co maple bacon and Trader Joe’s salmon – both had wonderful textures and great balance of flavors.
McConnell’s double peanut butter chip ice cream is a new favorite. This was the year I discovered that chocolate flakes are a top tier ice cream mix-in.
This packaged Alfajor was surprisingly moist; we would buy it again.
Two of my current favorite canned tequilla cocktails – Superbird paloma and Onda passionfruit seltzer.
Taco salad. Arugula with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing / black beans / cheese flavored corn nuts / homemade tortilla chips – baked with lime and togarashi / poached chicken / roasted veggies – bell peppers, poblano pepper, and sweet onion / roasted zucchini / salsa – Frontera chipotle.
Chilaquiles. Shredded chicken – breasts and thighs cooked in the crockpot / all the leftover veggies / homemade tortilla chips / salsa / sharp cheddar and mozarella / topped with a fried egg / and plain Greek yogurt and hot sauce.
Crispy quesadillas. Shredded chicken reheated with green onions and taco seasoning / seasoned and mashed black beans / mozarella and sharp cheddar. Plus a trio of dipping sauces (guacamole, salsa mixed with yogurt, serrano mayo) and roasted broccoli.
Homemade burrito. Shredded chicken, black beans, salsa, avocado, and sharp cheddar. The surgeon did an excellent job rolling.
New Wave burrito. Sirloin Steak, chimichurri, rice, french fries, lime crema, chihuahua cheese, ranchero beans, and pico de gallo.
This was a yummy week; lots of new favorites in snacks and dinners! Highlights included…
PB&J inspired yogurt bowl – skyr with blueberries, salty peanuts, and blueberry jam.
I finally got my hands on this old seasonal release seltzer and it was as good as I’d anticipated; very cinnamon-y.
Boozy, citrusy fun – citron soju and a yuzu jelly sake.
Guava and dulce de leche bites my parents sent me from home.
These Tropifrutti gummies are my favorite Haribo item, the texture is perfect.
This peanut butter fudge honeycomb ice cream easily makes my top-three-favorites list. I prefer ice creams that are loaded with mix-ins but the texture of the ice cream of here was just so decadent.
Homemade baked eggrolls! We stuffed them with a mix of crab, shredded cabbage, green onion, and red pepper jelly. Plus roasted broccoli and dipping sauce on the side.
10/10 salads – arugula / homemade dressing with lime juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar / sweet baby bell peppers / homemade wonton crisps (egg roll wrappers baked with Sichuan pepper salt) / peanuts / shredded chicken reheated in a skillet with green onions and chicken broth.
The TikTok hack of shaking your mac and cheese and nuggets together with buffalo sauce and ranch is legit. I used Whole Foods baked macaroni, Applegate Farms nuggets, and added some roasted cauliflower.
P.S. As of this morning the husband and I are on vacation! We have a whole week of time together!! And fun plans, including reservations at Oiji Mi for tonight.
Whole Foods’ Spring latte special is brown butter cookie – good but not excellent.
Meanwhile, Partners‘ Spring latte special is mojito and it is a 10/10.
I added butterfly peaflower tea to this smoothie (with frozen peaches, banana, soursop, and vanilla almond milk) to make it pretty and ended up with greige.
I was much more successful with frozen blueberries, banana, almond milk, and butterfly peaflower tea.
BelliWelli birthday cake flavored probiotic bar.
I feel like I should give another shout-out to this rapidly dwindling bag of Zapp’s Voodoo seasoned pretzels.
Passion fruit sips; hard seltzer and kombucha.
I had a day off this week and I walked 7 miles roundtrip from Penn Station to the Seaport for this burger and fries. The signature smashburger with gojuchang aioli, American, miso-caramelized onions, and garlic parmesan butter and waffle fries with red miso cheese sauce.
Monday I hadn’t gone to the grocery store for the week yet but we cobbled together a pretty good dinner. Chips and guacamole from our local burrito place.
Bitchin dip with mini sweet peppers (and cucumber slices).
And these Fillo’s walking tamales – Adam liked them, I thought they were underseasoned.
Tuesday I went to the fish counter and whipped up this Southern feast. Fried catfish (breaded in a mix of flour and cornmeal with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika); collard greens sauteed with green onion, lemon, and garlic; and hushpuppies. Then I doused my plate in honey, lemon, and Crystal hot sauce.
And Wednesday I made a giant batch of soup. With evoo, salt and pepper, garlic, yellow onion, celery, zucchini, carrot, potato, diced tomato, harissa, chicken broth, and chicken breast.
Things from this week… My dinners were all topnotch.
Reminder for myself – I did not care for the churro version of these vegan crisps at all.
I did quite enjoy this Mango Chili Truly; it was a bit salty in a very satisfying way.
Fully paired these two IPAs because they both had laser in their name. We preferred the Goose Island.
Insane loaded veggie nachos. Homemade baked toritlla chips with lime and togarashi / nacho cheese sauce / Trader Joe’s vegan soy chorizo / roasted sweet onion, bell pepper, and poblano pepper / roasted zucchini / fresh tomato and tomatillo.
Take-out birria quesadilla with leftover veggies plus green beans.
Broccoli and cheese potatoes. Baked potatoes with soyrizo, cheese sauce, turkey bacon, and roasted broccoli.
Burritos! I stuffed mine with double roasted tomato salsa (two thumbs up!), pickled jalopenos, cheddar, soyrizo, sweet potato tots, and scrambled eggs and topped it with crispy extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Pro tip – I actually used the cheese blanket to seal my wrapped edge and it worked great. Plus roasted cauliflower with taco seasoning.
Adam and I had a really lovely weekend. There were storms Friday night into Saturday morning but afterwards the weather cleared up nicely so we could enjoy some walking dates. We covered a lot of ground, including walks across the Williamsburg Bridge and Queensboro Bridge. Also a trip to the Guggenheim for the Nick Cave exhibit.
Doughnut Project‘s maple cruller is our favorite doughnut in the city.
Lucky Kings Bakery‘s fried mochi stuffed with red bean paste and rolled in sesame seeds. This was amazing.
Banana pudding at Baonanas. Cookies and cream and ube.
Drinks at Dante. Our favorite was this Amalfi Limonata – malfy lemon gin. limoncello, lemon curd, lemon juice, and limonata soda.
I 100% planned last week’s meals so we would have leftover ingredients for homemade painkillers. Pineapple juice, fresh orange juice, and light coconut milk with sweetened condensed milk with dark rum.
Brunch at Loulou. I had a Remy – tequilla, Lillet Rose, and homemade grenadine with lime and sparkling grapefruit.
Also a gruyere omelette.
Lunch at Tacombi. Horchata / hibiscus agua fresca with mezcal and chile.
Corn esquites.
Breakfast taco with eggs, pico, and Oaxaca cheese. <– best dish of the meal
Birria tacos.
Dinner at Super Burrito. We ordered all of this week’s specials with ground beef – burrito, crunchwrap, and nachos. We loved it here!
Epic homemade burrito bowls. Roasted cauliflower rice with roasted onion/bell peppers/poblano pepper, sharp cheddar, double roasted salsa, chicken and chile verde sausage, crispy tortilla strips, and pickled jalopenos.
Key lime skyr with passionfruit, banana, and chia seeds; plus granola halfway through.
These guava crackers were weird in a wonderful way; super thin and crispy and a bit sweet.
Fun drinks – tasty spiced hibiscus bissap tea and soursop nectar.
I enjoyed my soursop in a margarita!
See also – rum and coke slushies. Frozen coke ice cubes blended with Cruzan rum and fresh lime.
We made some really great dinners, all of which received a healthy dousing of hot sauces. I stuck with these three for a Caribbean theme.
Coconut rice and beans – brown rice cooked with coconut milk, dark kidney beans, onion, ginger, habanero, and spices / curried fish cakes – canned tuna and salmon with egg, panko, mayo, and Jamaican curry powder / rainbow chard and celery sauteed with some fish sauce and rice vinegar.
Sauteed zoodles with pineapple pulled chicken (a loose take on this recipe).
Roasted kabucha squash with a very loose take on callaloo – frozen kale with coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, habanero, turkey, bacon, fresh crab, and spices.
Turkey chili with white beans, bell peppers, and poblano peppers. I cooked the ground turkey with toasted rice powder and fish sauce and this came out great. I topped my bowl with plain Greek yogurt, pickled jalopenos, and tons of hot sauce and sharp cheddar.
After we received the blog samples from Prospector Popcorn we immediately bought more bags with our own money. The maple walnut ice cream flavor was as good as I expected.
I wish I had taken interior photos at Clover Club because the space was gorgeous. I had a Bloody Mary.
And a chocolate souffle sundae.
I got too excited to take more photos but this was amazing Kadai paneer from Taste of Chennai – the best Indian food we’ve ever eaten.
Our favorite meal took place at my new favorite restaurant – Ruthie’s. Grilled broccoli salad with pecorino, cashews, and a cherry vinaigrette.
Roasted beets, with dill, ranch, and trout roe.
Dry-aged burger with pickles, cheddar, and horseradish aioli and a side of (swoon) beef fat fries.
And an egg burrito with extra veggies. This was only ok (who puts carrots on a burrito? And it needed way more hot sauce) but Adam’s egg and cheese sandwich was a work of art.
Cookie x cookie coffee wins. I 11/10 loved the Stew Leonard’s cookie dough flavored coffee and also enjoyed the Califa cookie butter almond milk creamer far more than I was expecting to.
Sliced Hunnyz apple (a new favorite) with honey, cinnamon, and chunky peanut butter.
Yogurt bowl with plain skry, vanilla bean paste, honey, persimmon, passionfruit, chia seeds, and vanilla almond granola.
See also, plain skyr with cinnamon, blueberry jam, persimmon, Mineola tangerine, and granola.
We spent an obscene amount of money on Taco Bell delivery for dinner one night so I tried to bring balance back to the Force with a green juice. Lol, unfortunately I grabbed the wrong bottle because this ended up basically being lemonade with aloe and chlorophyll.
We liked these Zapp’s honey mustard pretzels a lot. Not as much as Dot’s but more than their voodoo variety which ended up being too seasoned for us. Also, I use the adjective “jazzy” at least four times a week so clearly I had to buy these.
We loved these Trader Joe’s lentil and chickpea crisps. Great texture.
These Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites are my favorite thing I’ve ever eaten. I love everything about them but the truffles specifically are mind-blowing.
Leftover jalopeno cheddar hushpupies from Sweet Chick with honey and leftover crab dip.
The Burrito Blvd near our apartment has the best toppings; this rice bowl was 40% rice and 60% chopped zuchinni (my ideal burrito bowl ratio). Also chicken, corn, tomato, cheese, and mild salsa.
Homemade laab. I followed this recipe. We quite enjoyed it and were not sad to have sourced toasted rice powder. Plus sauted bok choy with ginger and sesame seeds.
Spicy, tomato-y chickpea bowls. I sauteed graffiti eggplant and sweet onion with fire-roasted diced tomatoes, harissa, and chickpeas. Topped with plain yogurt and fresh mint.
Homemade cashew chicken. I followed this recipe except that I swapped breasts for thighs and added red bell pepper. With brown basmatti rice and roasted broccoli.
P.S. We have exciting dinner reservations tonight for Omakase at Koyo. I’m not bringing my camera but from what I can tell online everything should be gorgeous (and delicious!).
Eating Chalk 