Tag Archives: rice

Wouldn’t It Be Rice

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Things from the week…

Horchata-ish iced latte. I blended leftover brown rice, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder in the blender. Unstrained, with ice, half and half, and espresso.

Berry smoothie. Frozen strawberries and blueberries, with chocolate protein powder, milk, and water. And a strawberry gummy.

These Kissabel apples have rose colored flesh.

I enjoyed these Quin maple almond butter filled pretzels much more than I was expecting to.

Chip City’s caramel apple cider donut cookie is hands-down the best thing they make. The cookie has the perfect amount of apple tang and the cider donut cinnamon sugar spice rub is divine.

10/10 dessert skyr bowl. Plain skyr, salty peanuts, leftover pecan pie toffee candy, and TWO KINDS of blueberries (Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbo!).

Braised tofu bowls. Brown rice with roasted cauliflower rice / sauteed bok choy with green onion / firm tofu cooked in butter and braised in chicken broth, rice vinegar, gochujang, gochugaru, Sichuan pepper, sugar, and sesame seeds / cashews.

Greek-ish salad. Romaine, Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, and roasted chickpeas (baked until crispy with evoo, salt, pepper, sumac, onion powder, and garlic powder). Plus Trader Joe’s dolmas.

Crispy rice omelet. Eggs steamed on top of crisped-up leftover brown rice, kimchi, and extra-sharp cheddar. Plus roasted broccoli and baked chicken on the side.

I can’t skip a seasonal special; even if it’s from Arby’s. Their Gobbler sandwich was great though – deep-fried turkey, crispy onion, Swiss, stuffing, cranberry spread, and mayo on a toasted sub.

For The Graham

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It was a nice fall weekend! Some highlights…

Homemade s’mores iced latte. Marshmallow creme / Trader Joe’s chocolate shell / Trader Joe’s maple pecan cold brew concentrate / milk infused with graham cracker, cinnamon, vanilla bean powder, and salt.

I had the graham crackers in the house for the fantastic pecan pie cookies I made. Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies but with chopped up homemade chocolate pecan graham cracker toffee candy in place of chips.

The best dessert of the weekend was hands-down Librae‘s halvah chocolate croissant.

I am not a big juice person but I very much enjoyed this Alldae passionfruit and guava cascara drink.

The perfect walking snack from an Asian grocery in Manhattan – spicy tuna onigiri and crab meat inari.

Mimi Cheng‘s makes my current favorite dumplings in the city and their seasonal/collaborative options are always awesome. Three cup chicken scallion pancake melt with mozzarella and fresno peppers.

Thanksgiving dinner dumplings with local turkey, cranberry herb stuffing, housemade gravy, thyme, and a side of housemade cranberry sauce.

Dinner at The Cuban. I couldn’t take pictures because the lighting was insane but we had an excellent meal. That drink was a coquito mojito!!

Kitchen sink salads. Romaine with Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, jalapeno hummus, cucumber, raisins, walnuts, crispy broad beans, extra-sharp cheddar, and baked sprouted tofu.

It’s Pie Month

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We had a lovely weekend including a long Brooklyn walk and a trip to the Brooklyn Museum for the Monet exhibit. Food highlights included…

Bean Monger‘s maple tahini mocha iced latte. It was so cute here!

Kyo‘s tiramisu iced latte with oat milk.

Blank Street‘s (dirty) iced matcha with blueberry and ube.

It’s Pie Month! Four & Twenty Blackbird‘s brown sugar pie with peanuts and toasted coconut was divine.

Elleno’s pecan pie yogurt with Biscoff cookie crumble. Pie Month!

Chip City fall special – maple cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.

Brunch at Agi’s Counter. I had a dirty Ovaltine with oat milk.

We shared several dishes. Everything ended up going together perfectly. Tuna melt – served on a griddled potato pullman with alpine cheddar and a side of cabbage slaw and mustard // hash brown with trout roe.

Palacsinta, Hungarian crepes with with port-stewed figs, butter, and maple.

Little Grenjai does brunch now and it’s even better than their dinner service! We shared several things and are dying to go back soon to try more dishes. Pandan iced matcha latte (not as good as I was expecting but still an ok matcha).

Thai iced coffee (delicious!) // Hat Yai fried chicken and with sticky rice waffles, fantastic chili sauce, and maple syrup.

Pad Thai with confit duck.

The lox platter was my favorite dish of the meal – cured salmon crudo with everything roti and rangoon cream cheese // fried duck egg.

Baba’s Pierogies. We shared pan-fried with feta, black garlic, and potato and boiled potato, cheddar, and jalapeno with a horseradish sauce.

Homemade taco dinners that were both wonderful. Baked chicken chopped together with canned pumpkin puree, roasted poblano pepper, and extra-sharp cheddar. Heated in a frying pan. Plus green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar. Plus the best ever homemade ranch (Duke’s mayo, ranch seasoning, and some liquid from Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos).

Local lamb sausage, roasted onion and bell peppers, extra sharp cheddar, and labne baked in the oven. Plus sauteed asparagus.

Haggis And Highlands

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No post from me last week because we were in SCOTLAND! We went with Adam’s brother and sister-in-law on a road trip and had a fabulous time. We tried haggis (I loved it!), got to pet a Highland Cow, saw a thousand castles, and stayed at a bread and breakfast with baby seals.

Less exciting but still fun things from this week back in the US included…

This week’s coffee combo – beans from our last vacation (Alaska) and dulce de leche.

Pumpkin spice Chobani with Whole Food’s cinnamon granola and blueberries.

Pumpkin smoothie – canned pumpkin with frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple sugar, and water.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (this perfect rice from Hummingbird High).

P.S. I put cookies into the best dessert bowl – plain skyr, peanut butter, dulce de leche, crumbled cookies, and blueberries.

We brought home this tablet (basically a sweetened condensed milk fudge) from Scotland. We’re glad we didn’t try it until we left the country or we probably we would have bought another 20 bars!

This treat from America (Canada?) was also good – Trader Joe’s maple pancake flavored puffs.

Thai chicken satay inspired bowls. Brown rice / baked chicken – marinated in yogurt, coconut milk, lime juice, red curry, curry powder, and ginger / roasted broccoli / peanut sauce – peanut butter, red curry, lime juice, sugar, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water / cucumber salad – cucumber, scallion, salt, sugar, rice vinegar, and chili oil.

Callaloo inspired bowls. Chopped spinach cooked down with crab, coconut milk, sauteed onion, ginger, ufra pepper, and habanero pepper. Plus roasted honeynut squash and delicata squash.

An easy soup. Leftover rice / shredded garlic-y baked chicken / sauteed dinosaur kale, green onion, garlic, and canned green chilis / chicken broth, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little sesame oil.

Swooning

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We had a perfect weekend! Tons of great food, several good walks (a part of Brooklyn we don’t usually explore, Astoria, Manhattan, and our neighborhood back home), and a run on the boardwalk! Here were five food highlights…

1) Between the Bagel. Bulgolgi egg and cheese bagel heaven. And the owner is the nicest man.

2) Somedays Bakery. I fully get the hype. Pistachio lattice, chocolate chunk cookie, and a crab and cheese pastry.

3) Treats on the Lower East Side. We didn’t think that the Papa D’Amour Hokkaido milk soft serve with a French butter shell was that exciting.

But I thought the croissant bao with butter, red bean, and granulated sugar was fantastic. Plus yuzu lemonade + pear green iced tea.

And Adam adored the scallion and Thai basil pesto scallion blossom.

Noonas is my favorite ice cream in the city. We shared ube Vietnamese coffee latte and pandan ice creams with mochi and black sesame jam.

4) Brunch at Naks. Para Sa Paborito Kong Apo cocktail – dry gin, mezcal, campari, ginger, citrus sherbet, and chile; served in a toasted frozen grapefruit.

The Filipino platter was my favorite. Short rib with garlic rice, fried egg, bone broth, fried tofu, salad, and pickled veggies. Adam loved the (pork) bone broth and I thought the rice and fried tofu were perfect.

The salted egg pancake with citrus butter and salted egg cream was Adam’s favorite thing he’s ever eaten.

Plus flan for dessert.

And Taho – sea buckthorn spirit, silken tofu-soya milk, burnt sugar syrup, and tapioca pearls.

5) Dinner at Swoony’s. The vibe is great and they have cute matchbooks. My Swoon Cycle cocktail was delightful and interesting – rum and amaretto with ginger, lime, and cucumber.

Tuna crudo with avocado, capers, scallions, and citrus vinaigrette with buttery brioche. We loved the diced avocado here.

Brussels sprouts with horseradish sauce, shallots, and toasted breadcrumbs. These were the best non-fried brussels spouts I’ve eaten in a restaurant.

Crab toast with jalapenos and tomato.

Swoony’s burger – double patty with thousand island and American cheese plus fries. Meant in the most complimentary way — this tasted exactly like an upscale McDonald’s burger and fries! It made my top five New York burgers list (Nomwon, Sonder, Rolo, Swoony’s, Rippers).

Chocolate mousse for dessert with vanilla cream and strawberry topping.

Beaches

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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!

Catalina Crunch Wine Mixer

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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.

Rockaway Beach Day

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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!