Tag Archives: peppers

Goodbye, Apple

by

Highlights from the past week…

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.

And a cinnamon sugar morning bun from Duck Island Bread Company.

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.

Pastabilities

by

Things from this week…

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).

Caramel Apple Taco

by

Five things from the weekend…

A perfect Honeycrisp apple.

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.

Catalina Crunch Wine Mixer

by

Things from the week…

I tried a new canned coffee and was fairly impressed. It was not too weak or watery.

I did not like the key lime Barebells bar as much as I was expecting to though.

Triple berry yogurt. Plain Greek with chocolate coffee granola and blueberries, blackberries, and a few raspberries (which I hate but added to be festive).

Soursop juice!

I used it in a matcha spritz with lime seltzer.

We are fans of this bougie Chex Mix.

Seattle Chocolate Moon Rocks bar with pop rocks! We bought a bunch of mini bars from this company while were are at the Seattle airport on our last vacation and they made the flight home exponentially more pleasant.

Red curry tofu. I loosely followed this recipe for the sauce but used light coconut milk and more broth. We used firm tofu, scallions, red bell pepper, green beans, and basil.

Chicken and rice soup. Sauteed shitake mushrooms and dinosaur kale with scallions, garlic, ginger, and white pepper / leftover brown rice / baked chicken breast / chicken broth, light coconut milk, white miso, fish sauce, and Sriracha. I topped my bowl with chili oil.

Sea Cliff

by

It wasn’t an exciting weekend; Adam worked and I spent a bunch of time working on a project for work. We did go out for a Sea Cliff date Friday night after work though! Some highlights…

My coffee needed more coffee, but the flavor of the milk in Dunkin’s new cereal milk iced latte is a 10/10!

This root beer float latte was ok, but less successful. Dr. Brown’s root beer (good, but possibly not sweet enough for this), espresso, and sweetened condensed milk.

Yogurt bowl du jour, skyr with blueberries and Rainer cherries, with Trader Joe’s chocolate coffee granola.

Sea Cliff Shave Ice! We shared cola and coffee with ice cream, mochi, and condensed milk.

Dinner at Sarin (our favorite Thai spot in Long Island). Tod Mun Pla fish cakes that came with an amazing plum sauce.

Pad Kee Mao with beef.

Leftover fish cake / sauteed green beans that were oddly terrible (I didn’t eat them!) / Trader Joe’s frozen scallion pancakes (one of my faves, super duper filling) with Kewpie and Sriracha.

Lavish Lavash

by

Tasty things from the week…

Yogurt bowl! Plain Greek with blueberries, Rainer cherries, and cute Swedish gummies.

Iced matcha. With lime seltzer and strawberry and rose syrups.

Peach yogurt jelly gummies.

This baked chicken flatbread was the best thing we ate all week! Trader Joe’s whole-wheat lavash baked with evoo until crispy / topped with TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar / baked chicken breast / roasted red onions / and marinated artichoke hearts. Paired with great veggies – baby bok choy, brown beech mushrooms, and shallots sauteed with butter.

This taco turkey flatbread was also pretty good. Lavash / TJ’s shredded three cheese blend / ground turkey sauteed with taco seasoning / roasted veggies – yellow and orange bell pepper, white onion, zucchini, evoo, salt and pepper, Jamaican curry powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Served with smashed avocado (mashed with salt, gochugaru, and TJ’s mango vinaigrette).

Paired with chips and dip.

Nacho night! Mike’s Hot Honey kettle chips / all of the cheeses / three grain tempeh sauteed with salt and gochugaru until toasty / snap peas sauteed with pecans, piquante peppers, gochugaru, cheddar, and honey.

This plate of leftovers was as yummy as it was orange. Leftover roasted veggies / leftover cauliflower okonomiyaki from Olmsted / leftover Indian take-out from Varli – butter chicken momo, house-spiced fries with cheese and minced chicken, and Baingan Bharta (spicy eggplant).

Wet Fruit, Dry Fruit

by

Highlights from a yummy week…

This yogurt bowl was good in theory but unfortunately it was so wet. Plain skyr with blueberries, golden kiwi, and passionfruit. Scooping kiwis out of their skin (rather than trying to peel and cut them) has been a game changer for me; I eat them all the time now.

Hummus and crackers. Both good but not my favorites.

These Patagonia sourdough crackers are amazing though.

Trader Joe’s freeze-dried watermelon candies. Our bag seemed a little stale but the flavor is great.

Lindt Dubai style chocolate bar. 9/10 but nothing is as good as the original Nuts for Nuts Dubai bar.

The best candy is these sour slices from Whole Foods. The calamansi lime ones are ridiculous.

Dinner out at Varli Indian Street Kitchen. Mango lassi.

I got chili paneer which came with tons of onions and peppers and Adam had excellent butter chicken.

Greek baked turkey meatballs. Ground turkey with tabbouleh, feta, salt and pepper, urfa chili, onion powder, garlic powder, and egg. Served with fresh tomatoes and fantastic snap peas (sauteed with feta, piquante peppers, walnuts, honey, rice vinegar, and gochugaru.

In the style of orange chicken, Tangerine Apricot Yuzu Tofu. Firm tofu (I froze/thawed mine which gives it the best texture) tossed with gochugaru, white pepper, and cornstarch / baked with broccoli, red bell pepper, and green onions / tossed with sauce – cornstarch slurry, fresh tangerine juice, apricot jelly, yuzu ponzu, dark soy sauce, chili oil, rice vinegar, honey, and garlic whisked over medium heat / topped with sesame seeds. We added cashews afterwards too! Served on brown rice.

Crispy rice spicy California roll bowls. We love this meal. This iteration was imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, and green onion / tossed with yuzu ponzu and Kewpie / on top of crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil and baked until crispy / topped with furikake.

ApPEELing

by

Food themes from this week were – fun fruits / limited edition snacks / and tortilla dinners (we used Mission Carb Balance flour tortillas and were big fans). Highlights…

Skyr bowl with blueberries and mamey.

In addition to my ongoing blueberry obsession I was also into golden kiwis this week. I’ve been scooping them out of their skins with a grapefruit spoon!

The Marshmallow Peanut Road Barebells flavor was good but not mind-blowing like I was expecting. P.S. I also tried a David bar this week and now I’m in love with those.

This El Guapo strawberry syrup was not very good in iced coffee but quite nice in an iced Diet Coke.

Liquid Death Cereal Criminal sparkling water really does taste like Fruity Pebbles. P.S. I also found the A&W zero sugar ice cream sundae root beer!!

Adam knocked it out of the park with my birthday gift this year by hunting down the newly released Ben & Jerry’s – Fudgy Flan.

The newest peelable candy flavors – kiwi and lemon – were a 20/10. The lemon ones easily make my top three all time favorite candies; they are so creamy.

Big salads – romaine, house sauce dressing (mayo, honey, yellow mustard, Dijon, lemon juice, and bbq sauce), baked chicken (marinated with yogurt, pickle brine, and pickled jalapeno brine), cucumber, Bahama Bomb tomatoes, pickles, smoked almonds.

Breakfast burritos – eggs soft-scrambled with extra-sharp cheddar, chopped green chilis, roasted green onions, and potato tots. Plus yummy eggplant – roasted and then sauteed with gochujang, peanut butter, white miso, sesame oil, honey, and rice vinegar.

Buffalo chicken quesadillas – extra-sharp cheddar, baked chicken nuggets, and a mix of roasted cauliflower rice with Duke’s mayo and Frank’s hot sauce. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Nachos – baked tortilla chips, extra-sharp cheddar, ground turkey (sauteed with taco seasoning, green chilis, and cauliflower rice), and roasted poblano pepper, orange and yellow bell pepper, and green onion.