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!).
Peppermint pour-over coffee with egg nog cold foam.
Dalgona iced coffee with eggnog.
Red and green yogurt bowl. Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, and vanilla granola.
Holiday special scoops from Odd Fellows Ice Cream. Buddi’s Spaghetti Sundae – maple ice cream, chocoalte cookie crumbs, mini marshmallows, m&m’s, sno caps, and corn nuts / Moose Nog – egg nog ice cream with fudge swirls and peanut butter cups.
Seasonal brews from Ardent Brewing. The gingerbread was perfect, not too spicy at all, and the Fog Nog is truly my all-time favorite beer/alcoholic beverage/beverage in general. 15/10.
A very close 2nd all-time-favorite is Leyenda’s Candy Striper – a frozen delight with cachaca, coconut, vanilla, lemon, peppermint, maple, and cardamom.
We went to their Sleyenda holiday pop-up for seasonal drinks and a wonderful dinner (it was too dark for photos but my shrimp arepas were amazing). I also had a Reindeer Games with tequilla, cachaca, banana, honey, maple, lemon, pine, and bitters.
Chinese take-out from Blue Wave. I got fantastic veggie stir-fried udon. Also the best scallion pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
Red and green salads. Red leaf lettuce with homemade ranch, red bell pepper, fresh mint, a soft-boiled egg, and a garlic and herb lobster cake (frozen, from Luke’s via Whole Foods).
Red and green rice bowls. Brown rice / sauted bok choy / sourkraut sauted with gojuchang and sugar / soy marinated eggs.
P.S. I am off of work most of this week, which is just lovely! I sipped a fancy coffee while I wrote this post!
It was a fun week! My aunt and uncle were in town for a show and we had a great time meeting up with them. I didn’t take any photos but we had GREAT meals at Canary Club and El Quiote.
Highlights include…
I managed to eat a truly impressive amount of peppermint and/or Christmas themed food!
Blank Street‘s candy cane cold brew was possibly my favorite coffee of this year!
The coquito cold brew (with two shots of espresso) from 787 obviously isn’t bad either.
Peppermint ice cream (12/10) with peppermint chocolate quinoa bites.
Adam’s favorite bakery in New York is probably Blacksmith’s Breads. He sweetly surprised me with a pretzel bread.
Greek yogurt bowl with tiger syrup, granola, and persimmon.
Good-not-great but incredibly convenient microwave rice rolls.
Very Spicy Vegan Dan Dan Noodles from Very Fresh Noodles. It wasn’t actually that spicy (more numbing than hot) but the noodles were unbelievably fresh, bouncy and perfect.
This was the best meal I’ve made this year. Roasted broccoli / roasted red onion / roasted white beans / dried cherries / best ever sauce; in the food processor – parsley, roasted jalopeno, Korean chili flake, smoked almonds, smoked sardines, parmesan, honey, garlic, salt, evoo, and a bit of water / and I topped my bowl with candied jalopenos.
This year I worked Thanksgiving Day but then had Friday off for a long weekend — so my parents came to visit! They loved getting to experience the cold (not many 45 degree days in St. Thomas!) and spend time with their granddog and we did a bunch of great New York exploring. Our travels included Time Square, Bryant Park, Chelsea Market, Industry City, Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Hudson!
I did not take a single dinner photo – we went to the oldest steakhouse in New York and also had outstanding meals at Kitty’s in Hudson and Glasserie in Brooklyn! – but here are a few highlights from the past week…
I managed to eat many on-theme things on Thanksgiving.
My parents and I stuck with tradition and ate Thanksgiving nachos – Trader Joe’s stuffing chips with smoked turkey, sauteed shishitos, swiss and gruyere, and cranberry sauce. Plus sauteed green beans with butter and lemon.
Plus Loryn Powell said that Fireball and banana cream rum tastes like a Cinnabon so my mom and I tried it with a maple pecan cream liquer and were quite impressed!
We were also pleased with these Tip Top mini canned cocktails.
We tried – and loved – one of the Zaro’s specialty black and white cookies – mint chocolate.
We found the Oishii omakase strawberries on sale! Fun to try but no one really preferred them to standard strawberries.
Everyone thought that Fortunes Ice Cream in Trivoli makes the best ice cream we’ve ever tried. I got persimmon and the sour cherry labne.
Broad rice noodles with tofu from Bangkok Bar in Industry City – I’ve wanted to go there for forever and now I want to go back immediately.
Great iced latte from Wycoff Starr.
Festive yogurt bowl with plain skry, frozen banana bread, brown sugar syrup, cinnamon, and sumatra mandarin.
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.
Eating Chalk 