Nuts for Baru Nuts

How are we in the 2nd to last week of August??! Some highlights from this week included…

A blackberry and soursop smoothie (with banana, plain Greek yogurt, and brown sugar).

A banana and coffee smoothie (with cinnamon roll oat milk creamer, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cold brew powder).

Whole Foods snacks. The baru nuts are fantastic! They taste like a cross between peanuts and almonds. I brought some to work and got all of my coworkers hooked as well.

Quinn pretzels with Bitchin’ sauce. A coworker recommended this dip and she did not steer me wrong. We are also both obsessed with these delicious pretzels.

Kombuchas and or matchas.

A loose interpretation of this chicken and corn stir-fry recipe. Instead of rice we paired ours with sautéed shishito peppers and mushroom.

So much Thai take-out! We had pad see ew, cashew chicken, and amazing spicy ginger eggplant.

Very fancy salads – local lettuce, black garlic vinaigrette, pistachios, dried apricots, and goat cheese.

Spicy peanut chicken pizza (a Trader Joe’s crust with spicy peanut sauce, shredded chicken breast, quick-pickled carrots, and cheese) with smashed cucumber salad.

Pickle, Taro, Thai

Highlights from a tasty weekend…

Homemade boozy iced coffee shake! Iced coffee blended with amaretto, coffee liquor, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla ice cream, and cold brew powder.

This iced coffee with taro cream on top was even better.

Double-fried, pickle-brined fries with freshly made dill pickles!

Soothr is our new favorite Thai spot. This cocktail had spicy mezcal and fresh tamarind.

Chicken pad ki-mao.

Salted Caramel And Black Sesame

Some highlights from the last week include…

I was 100% influenced by social media, but I did not hate the coffee + protein shake combo.

Adam and I are both smitten with the salted caramel Perfect Bars.

We had a weekday morning off together so we went on a doughnut date! Salty caramel pretzel and birthday cake.

Mushroom snacks. The jerky was good, the crispy ones were great.

Trader Joe’s snack plate dinner. Crispy okra, baby carrots, and buffalo chicken bites.

Thai take-out dinner. Drunken noodles plus spicy chicken salad with cucumber and tomato.

Paired with a black (sesame) and white milk shake – vanilla ice cream, chocolate milk, and black sesame paste.

Speaking of dessert, unsurprisingly since they came from Milk Bar, these are the best ice creams I’ve ever eaten.

Toasted And Dipped

Highlights from an amazing weekend…

Our first trip to Little Island. It was way too crowded but the layout is quite neat and the landscaping is fantastic.

Ice cream galore! Chocolate soft-serve dipped in peanut butter from Mister Dips.

Vanilla soft-serve mixed with Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles and topped with toasted marshmallow from Spoons.

An outstanding dinner from Fandi Mata, including heirloom tomatoes with lemon tahini crema, dill mojo, toasted pine nuts, smoked salt, and feta cheese.

An outstanding dinner from Rule of Thirds including amazing cocktails like the Douglas Fir-Banks – sesame shochu, gin, Vetiver, peach, douglas fir, and lime in a cup painted with umeboshi.

Mango-Lllama

Three (out of the house!) highlights from the past week —

Fancy caffeine at New York Beanery. We had a lavender matcha and a peanut butter cup iced latte.

Mixed fruit mangonada! Somehow this was Adam’s first time trying chamoy but now he’s hooked.

Dinner at Llama Inn. A former coworker got us a gift certificate as a thank you (I helped train her when she moved from acute care to critical care) because it’s her favorite restaurant.

Everything was amazing. Atlas Shrubbed = Pisco, Shochu, aloe vera liquor, kiwi, lemon, and lime.

Asparagus with salsa, pickled green almonds, and huacatay // bok choy with huacatay, sunflower seeds, and grapes.

Scallop tiradito with kiwi leche de tigre and tapioca. <– best dish of the night!

Beef with scallion pancake, avocado, pickled chilis, and fries.

Honey Bear Hijinks

Highlights from this week included great homemade dinners and tons of best-in-their-game-good desserts!

Freddo cappuccino from The Grand.

Coquito iced latte from 787.

We had a giant, insanely good meal at Sunday in Brooklyn. Honeybear on Holiday – rum, Montenegro, sherry, apricot, pineapple, lime, cumin, and honey.

The Tiger Prince – Indian single malt whiskey, pandan, coconut, curry leaves, and lime.

Warm crab and artichoke dip with crusty bread.

Wood roasted mushrooms with salsa verde, peanuts, coriander, and spring greens.

Herb-crusted roasted chicken with butter lettuce and fries with za’atar, chili flakes, and spicy mayo.

Our dinners at home this week were great thanks to the best flour tortillas and a big batch of homemade salsa (loosely based on this recipe). Quesadillas with Oaxaca cheese and sharp cheddar (and salsa and plain Greek yogurt) plus shishito peppers.

Plus flan from Bushwick Taco Company.

And a homemade soursop frozen margarita!

Turkey tacos with ground meat sautéed with poblano pepper and orange yellow bell pepper plus cheese, yogurt, and salsa.

Chilaquiles – salsa, poblano and bell pepper, homemade baked tortilla chips and pico de gallo chips, plus tons of cheese – topped with fried eggs, shredded chicken thighs, yogurt, and hot sauce.

This mochi chocolate chip cookie from Cha An Bon Bon is one of my favorite things I’ve eaten this year! The crispy, slightly savory cookie was the perfect foil for the mochi.

Crepe cake with salted milk foam, boba, and brown sugar syrup from Prince Tea House.

Oddfellows Ice Cream – saffron passionfruit ice cream with apricot and pistachio plus chocotorta (cream cheese ice cream with dulce de leche and chocolate cookie crumb (<–my new favorite flavor!))

Kitsby dessert bar blew our minds. We came for (and loved!) the salted egg yolk lava cake.

But were head over heels for The King – durian cream brulee with banana ice cream, brown butter shortbread, and herbal jelly. If you’re a durian fan in NYC I recommend getting this immediately!

Have a great week!

What’s With Today, Today?

Highlights from the past week include…

I am a total sucker for anything labeled limited edition and I really enjoyed this double dark chocolate Perfect Bar.

Also very pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s chocolate peanut butter mochi.

I made brownies for Rex Manning Day! This is my favorite, most obscure tradition. These guys had tons of chocolate chips and espresso powder in them and were fantastically fudgy.

Bahn mi chicken salad with bok choy with ginger and carrot plus taro coconut chips.

Thai take-out night – spicy chicken and long beans with veggie dumplings.

Roasted green beans with eggs, vegan pork floss, and chili crisp.

Leftover bok choy with the best pizza we’ve ever made. Just a frozen crust topped with tomato sauce gussied up with tons of garlic, chili crisp, and olive oil plus baby mozzarella and bresaola.

Turkey and cheddar sandwich (with black garlic mayo!) on toasted rye with roased brussel sprouts.

Weekend Provisions

Highlights from a yummy weekend include…

Pistachio milk iced latte at Post Factum.

We popped into Daily Provisions for a cappuccino and finally got our hands on one of their famous coffee crullers. <– worth the hype!

I took my cola + coffee obsession a step further with a boozy coke coffee float.

We had our best meal of the year at Bahn. Including Vietnamese iced coffee and a housemade strawberry lime soda.

Noodle salad bowl with lemongrass butter beef. That meat was so good it literally took our breath away!

We also had it on a bahn mi on perfect bread.

We got Win Son take-out after I had a little too much to drink at Evil Twin and ordered all of the things. Fried chicken sandwich with mayo and herbs / roasted spiced peanuts / marinated cucumber salad / braised beef in a scallion pancake / fried eggplant with black vinegar, labne, and spiced cashews / sesame noodles with black sesame and trumpet purée, oyster mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts.

Have a great week!