Tag Archives: potato

Beaches

by

This weekend included a run on the Long Beach Boardwalk (one of my favorite weekend activities!), a long Manhattan walk, and some exploring in Brooklyn. It was a very tasty few days, here were the highlights…

Homemade iced coffees with banana cheesecake cold foam (in the blender – frozen banana, cream cheese, butter extract, vanilla bean powder, brown sugar, skim milk).

A wonderful smoothie – frozen banana and peaches, soursop juice, vanilla protein powder, and malted milk powder.

Delicious pandan coconut sparkler from Lucky Ox.

Other Half. We split a flight of mostly double IPAs but also their Mister Softee collab strawberry yuzu sour.

Saint Street Cakes. The hype about the chocolate chip cookie is real. We also really loved the miso peanut butter cookie and blackberry cornbread cake slice.

This mochi doughnut from Win Son‘s Manhattan location was probably the best thing we’ve eaten so far in 2025.

Post-run breakfast on the boardwalk! We split a turkey, egg, and cheese taco and a fresh juice with green apple, spinach, ginger, and lime. We probably wouldn’t get food from this spot again but I would definitely get another green juice.

An easy but exciting, mostly home-cooked dinner. Leftover brown rice reheated in the microwave with rice vinegar, furikake, and white sugar / mayak eggs (I also put some mini mozzarella balls down in the marinade! / broccoli roasted with evoo, five spice, and gochugaru / fried chicken tender from Dave’s Hot Chicken. P.S. I ate all of an order of fries on the drive home; they are fantastic.

Dinner at Kabawa. We had a great meal here – some of the best goat I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t lit for photographs but I happened to get a shot of my two favorite dishes. The bread course with house-made roti and cassava dumplings and an assortment of sauces.

Birthday cake flan. This was the best flan I’ve ever eaten.

Dinner at The Long Island Bar. We loved it here!

Cheese curds.

Roasted beets with hazelnut dukkah, brandied cherries, ricotta salata, and creamy herbed vinaigrette and shocking good deviled crab toast with, roasted corn and herbs and black garlic mayonnaise on toasted sourdough.

A single patty L.I. burger – dry-aged beef patty, pickles, cheese, and fancy sauce. Plus a yummy side salad.

P.S. It’s Apple Month today!!

Drinks!

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).

Rockaway Beach Day

by

Things from a great weekend…

Space Cowboy is a new coffee spot in Long Beach this year and I’m a fan. They have some inventive drinks — like this root beer cold foam cold brew. Every weekend we can we go for a run on the Long Beach Boardwalk followed by an iced coffee and it’s a great date.

Salted peanut butter David Bar = 10/10. The texture (chewy with crunchies) and flavor of these is just right for me.

We had a perfect (delicious!) afternoon at Rockaway Beach. Rockaway Beach Bakery – yuzu and mixed berry bun with cream cheese frosting.

More yuzu in a margarita at Rippers.

They also served us the best cheeseburger we’ve had in NYC this year! Makes my top three list, easily. Plus crispy yet creamy, well-seasoned fries.

And you can’t go to Rockaway without getting a perfect frozen pina colada at Connolly’s.

Olmsted is sadly closing and their final dinner service is tonight. We had a nice meal there Saturday sharing a bunch of dishes. Fava bean falafel with Calabrian honey, pea shoots, and pickled shallots.

King salmon crudo with rhubarb agrodolce and cilantro. <– our favorite bite of the night

Kale and crab rangoon.

Cauliflower okonomiyaki with hazelnuts, kosho mayo, and tonkatsu sauce.

Heirloom tomato schnitzel with whipped ricotta, yuzu piperade, and basil sunflower butter.

Pasilla rubbed scallops with roasted corn and a blueberry gastrique.

Finally – chocolate mousse.

Take-out dinner. Guac Shop is a fast-casual Mexican spot near us and while they don’t have roasted zucchini they do have fantastic tofu (and some great veggie topping options). This bowl was brown rice, hot sauce, tofu, cabbage, sweet potato, corn, and cheese.

P.S. We were so taken with Varli‘s Indian food that we are heading back there for dinner tonight!

Taco Tour

by

This lovely weekend’s food themes were pastries and tacos. Some highlights…

Culture Espresso. Coffee granita with oat milk and agave topped with espresso whipped cream. Best frozen coffee we’ve had this summer.

Foreigner. Baklava iced latte.

Papa D’Amour. Chocolate brioche with marshmallow and a mochi doughnut with taro and guava strawberry jam.

Fan Fan Doughnuts. Passionfruit and guava cheese.

Dinner at Gertrude’s. I had a crisp diet coke but Adam had the best martini I’ve ever tasted. Latkes with celery creme fraiche and trout roe.

Whitefish toast – smoked whitefish salad (the best I’ve ever tasted; it was so vinegary!), pickled shallot, watercress, and herbs on rye.

I ordered the eponymous burger. It doesn’t make my top five but was objectively solid (comes with Swiss cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce, and special sauce, on a toasted milk bun). And it came with a mountain of perfectly crispy fries and dipping mustard.

Our favorite dish was dessert – seven layer cake.

We did a Manhattan walking taco tour – four stops and we shared a bunch of different things. All were great! Our first stop was actually a burrito joint – Son del North. Breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, rajas, and pico de gallo. This was my favorite tortilla of the day.

Santo Taco. Chicken thigh with pineapple marinade, avocado salsa, and pickled red onions / shiitake and cremini mushrooms with squash blossom.

Tacos 1986. The combo came with red rice and pinto beans. Carne asada / mushroom. The mushrooms were my favorite filling of the day.

Taqueria by El Prieto. Chicken taco / nopal mulitas.

We also got carne asada fries with my favorite meat of the day.

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.

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

by

My first week in my new decade was a good one! Here were some food highlights…

Yogurt bowl of the week – plain skry, Trader Joe’s chocolate coffee granola, and tons of blueberries.

My snack theme was bananas. Everything but the bread! If you’re feeling inspired, Hummingbird High makes our go to recipe. Banana bread trail mix = banana chips, cinnamon Life cereal, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream with fresh banana, leftover birthday dirt, peanut butter, and chocolate shell.

Adam liked the “Dirty Banana” cocktail on our cruise ship so much he ordered it twice in a row! Our version was better. Frozen bananas blended with chocolate ice cream, sweetened condensed milk, Kahlua, and dark rum.

Turkey larb inspired baked meatballs. The balls were ground turkey, panade, egg, toasted rice powder, white pepper, fish sauce, garlic, crunchy chilis, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Served with sauteed cabbage with red onion, lime, and seasoned cashews.

A perfect mix of leftovers. Cabbage / Chuko Ramen‘s vegetarian Mapo Tofu (fried tofu and mixed vegetables tossed in a Szechuan chili sauce with mustards greens, scallions and rice) / Rolo’s crispy potatoes.

A loose take on these tomato beans. We used cannellini beans, skipped the basil and nutritional yeast, added Juanita Piquante peppers, and measured nothing. Served with roasted broccoli/cauliflower and sourdough bread from Radio Bakery.

Cold peanut noodles. Buckwheat and brown rice soba / quick-pickled cucumbers / roasted zucchini / sauce – peanut butter, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, ginger, and white sugar / sesame seeds. I topped my bowl with tons of Sriracha and it was delicious.

Younger Than Dirt

by

It was my birthday this week so I made some of my favorite things for dinners – nachos and weird salads!

Birthday nachos. Chili crisp Kettle chips <– these were fantastic, perfectly seasoned / shredded sharp cheddar and gouda cheese / crispy tofu (shredded super-firm tofu baked with gochugaru). I planned to add chili crisp on top but these tasted so good I didn’t want to mess with them! Plus lovely green beans (steamed and then sauteed with evoo, yellow mustard, honey, rice vinegar, and togarashi).

We had fancy dirt cups for dessert! Chocolate pudding / dirt = crushed Oreos baked with butter, sugar, sprinkles, and edible glitter / Haribo rainbow gummy worms.

And we champagne-toasted a la Tom Hanks. I used rosé champagne and added rose syrup to mine. These were actually really good!

Bacon egg and cheese on a bagel salad. Hard-boiled eggs with turkey bacon, sharp cheddar, green onion, and homemade bagel croutons (poppy seed bagel baked with evoo, sesame seeds, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika) dressed in skyr, Kewpie, Dijon, pickled jalapeno juice, salt, and white pepper. Plus roasted zucchini.

Caesar chicken salad. Baked chicken with Whisps parmesan crisps and homemade Caesar dressing (food processed Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon, evoo, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic, capers, parmesan, and black pepper). Plus roasted purple and yellow cauliflower.

Loaded tuna salad. Canned tuna with green onion, poblano pepper, pickles, chili crisp chips, mayo, skyr, Dijon, and pickled jalapeno juice.

The only other things worth mentioning from the week were two really good smoothies. Blueberry cheesecake – frozen blueberries, vanilla protein powder, malted milk powder, butter extract, cinnamon, cottage cheese, and water.

Berry chocolate – frozen cherries and strawberries, chocolate protein powder, Dutch processed cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and water.

May Versus Mah

by

Highlights from the weekend…

Homemade matcha lemonade. Iced matcha in ginger yuzu seltzer with some homemade Meyer lemon curd.

Mentos makes (new?) liquid-center sugar-free fruity gum and it is delicious.

I 100% dipped this cheesy crab dip pretzel into smoked salmon dip.

Trader Joe’s frozen okonomiyaki was surprisingly good. It was so creamy. It comes with bonito flakes and sauce and I added Kewpie and Sriracha.

Leftover noodles with Sriracha and chili oil. This was delicious but I did have to swig some milk.

Mac and three cheese muffins made with gouda instead of cheddar / buffalo chicken meatballs – ground chicken with panade, Frank’s buffalo sauce, ranch seasoning, white pepper, eggs, and shredded gouda / and roasted broccoli.

Roast sent me a coupon for my birthday month and I made good use of it. Fries with house sauce, a roast beef sandwich (with mozzarella, horseradish sauce, garlic butter, crispy onions, and an everything ciabatta), and a crispy chicken a la vodka sandwich (with sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, basil and a garlic semolina hero), and carrots from home.

The sandwich we made ourselves the next night was even better! Fancy BLT – whole-wheat toast / sauce (Duke’s mayo with smoked paprika, gochugaru, garlic powder, and honey) / sweet and spicy turkey bacon (baked with maple syrup, brown sugar, smoked paprika, and Sriracha) / heirloom tomatoes / we hate lettuce on sandwiches. Plus delicious snap peas sauteed with smoked almonds, gouda, gochugaru, and salt and pepper.