I also made cinnamon brownies with chestnut cream cheese icing! What a great combination.
We had a few peppermint losers. This is my reminder for next year that this Smirnoff peppermint vodka is not pleasant in plain seltzer. (yes, I also dyed it pink)
And I remember liking this Perfect Bar before but the peanut butter mint combination was too much for me.
Meanwhile, these Jelly Belly candy cane jelly beans were toothpaste-y in exactly the perfect way and I loved them.
Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt (always a winner!) with blueberries and Bob’s Red Mill maple sea salt granola.
This honey dragon fruit had much more flavor than the other types.
Sheet pan hash. Roasted brussel sprouts, scallions, and baby bell peppers with blue cheese and smoked turkey.
Buffalo chicken baked pasta. We loved this. Whole wheat macaroni, spinach, and baked chicken breast / sauce, heated up in a skillet – cream cheese, cottage cheese, Frank’s, and sharp cheddar / topped with more cheddar, blue cheese, and scallions. Plus roasted cauliflower.
We (over-)ordered from a local steakhouse and sushi place and were pleasantly surprised. I got a California roll topped with kani salad, spicy mayo, avocado, and crunchies / spicy tuna roll topped with spicy tuna, spicy mayo, eel sauce, and crunchies / crab and shrimp beignets.
No post last weekend because we were busy moving into OUR condo. We all (Webster included!) love it here and I feel very thankful.
Things from the past week…
Thanksgiving-themed foods abound!
I was in a celebratory mood and bought eggnog from my coffee one week early.
11/10 yogurt bowl – plain skyr with frosted bran flakes, blackberries, and persimmon.
I am a big fan of these chia Smash Bites. Blueberry and cashew butter.
Baskin Robbins seasonal ice creams – eggnog and pumpkin cheesecake. <– way better than I was anticipating, the pumpkin was loaded with cheesecake pieces and marshmallow swirl.
It’s soup season. This one was great. Chicken broth / canned diced tomatoes / roasted zucchini / sauteed onion and celery / baked chicken meatballs with garlic, panko, half and half, and hot sauce. Plus Trader Joe’s ciabatta.
Thanksgiving dinner-inspired fried rice. Leftover white rice and roasted cauliflower rice refried with eggs, smoked paprika, celery seed, butter, spicy candied pecans, dried cranberries, Trader Joe’s oven-roasted turkey breast, and sauteed onion, celery, and cremini mushroom. I topped my bowl with cranberry sauce and chipotle Cholula.
Thanksgiving dinner-inspired crunchwrap from Roast. Turkey, white cheddar, stuffing, cranberry jam, crispy onions, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Plus leftover zucchini and some blackberries.
Thanksgiving dinner nachos! Stuffing chips with Trader Joe’s unexpected cheddar, smoked turkey ham, spicy candied pecans, dried cranberries, poblanos and scallions sauteed in butter with celery seed, and topped with cranberry sauce. Plus leftover Thai green beans sauteed with gojuchang and cranberry.
Still not tired of yogurt bowls. This one was plain Greek with granola, cereal, blueberries and pomegranate.
Nuts Factory released new versions of their viral Dubai chocolate bar and I obviously bought them. S’mores was a 10/10; almost as good as the pistachio flavor.
Mediterranean-ish rice bowls. Brown rice and black rice slow cooked congee-style with chicken broth / ground turkey sauteed with garlic, smoked paprika, harissa, and tomato paste / roasted zucchini / topped with local Za’atar chili crisp.
Pepper beef inspired tofu. Super-firm tofu and onions sauteed in this sauce and served on garlic sauteed cabbage.
Butter chicken inspired slow cooker meal. In the crock pot – chicken breast, sweet onion, serrano pepper, black pepper, celery seed, smoked paprika, curry powder, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and butter. I stirred in some half and half after the heat was off. Served with riced cauliflower and roasted zuccini.
You already know I had a cache of on-theme snacks.
Dunkin Donuts’ potion macchiato is marshmallow and ube flavored; obviously a great idea but unfortunately it was fairly underwhelming.
Skyr bowl with Cara Cara orange and double chocolate granola.
Pumpkin smoothie. Pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean powder, and water and ice.
I saved my best pumpkin beers for last. Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin (10/10) / Fat Orange Cat Pumpkin Patch Kittens (9.5/10) / Abomination Forbidden Pumpkin (10/10).
Served with a brown sugar cinnamon rim!
Veggie rice bowls. Jasberry rice and riced cauliflower / Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews / avocado / chopped kimchi crisped up with a bit of butter and sugar.
Pumpkin pasta. Whole-wheat rotini topped with ground turkey sauteed with pumpkin puree, chili crisp, and cream cheese. Plus roasted orange cauliflower.
Black and orange big salads! Local lettuce / cucumber / homemade dressing – pumpkin butter, brown sugar, evoo, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and fish sauce / roasted kabocha squash / crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with chili crisp and black sesame paste and baked. We loved this.
Butterscotch instant coffee! I liked this better than their maple flavor but still wanted it to have more roasty oomph.
It was perfect in my fluffernutter coffee shake. With ice, skim milk, additional cold brew powder, vanilla protein powder, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and frozen banana.
I know I’m repetitive but this combination is perfect – plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate cookie granola.
Pumpkin pie Perfect Bar. I prefer the chocolate flavors but these are always good.
This minty chocolate Barebells bar was a 10/10. I love the layer of gooey mint; this is fully like eating a candy bar (with zero grams of added sugar).
Spinach and artichoke casserole. Sauteed frozen artichokes and chopped spinach with garlic and gochugaru, eggs, plain Greek yogurt, shredded chicken breast, lemon juice, cheese, and Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi.
Chicken congee. Brown rice slow-cooked with vegetable broth, white pepper, ginger, fish sauce, and shredded chicken. Topped with chopped boy choy and Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch veggies sauteed with garlic, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Plus tons of chili crisp. The veggie broth (which gave this its orange hue) worked great in here and I would use it again.
We went to the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and LOVED IT. It is a self-guided tour through a field with thousands of hand-carved lit-up pumpkins.
We made a pumpkin bread inspired frozen coffee – with coffee, ice, half and half, cinnamon, maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and vanilla granola butter.
We had a lackluster dinner at a fancy sushi spot and got a garlic sauteed Chinese broccoli side that was just delightful.
We made and loved another recipe from Recipe Tin Eats – Spicy Korean Noodle Soup. I used ramen instead of egg noodles. Plus Trader Joe’s frozen tofu kimbap.
We embraced the season/theme and bought Ben & Jerry’s pumpkin cheesecake ice cream (9.5/10).
This week marked Webster’s thirteenth Buyday! We celebrated with a walk at Edgewood Oak Brush Plains Preserve.
Plus smashburgers from Paper Plate. The dog and I shared a double 🙂
The human family members also enjoyed some fries.
Also we checked out Kismet Coffee and had a honey vanilla latte. They were out of skim milk and the pistachio milk was surprisingly pleasant.
Snacks this week were most bougie/international candies. The last of my Bon Bon stash.
Blueberry and sour passionfruit gummies (both 9.5/10’s!).
Colombian guava caramel candies.
My parents sent me this hibiscus sugar for my birthday so I tried it in some fun drinks.
Like a smoothie with frozen blueberries, vanilla protein powder, and water.
And in cold foam on an iced matcha.
One of my favorite dinner combinations is cole slaw with baked chicken. This bowl was Bang Bang inspired! Cabbage slaw with plain skyr, sweet chili sauce, honey, rice vinegar, Sriracha, mayo, and dijon mustard and baked chicken that was marinated in skyr, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and sweet chili sauce.
Turkey Laab. Paired with roasted zucchini and a mix of brown rice and roasted riced cauliflower.
Leftover cauliflower/rice with marinated kale (basically this recipe) and cheesy scrambled eggs.
Tofu – baked shredded super firm tofu that I tossed in a skillet with Trader Joe’s yuzu green tea jelly, gochujang, rice vinegar, and sesame oil / sauteed baby bok choy with ginger and sesame seeds / radish cakes from the 99 Ranch freezer section.
This was easily one of our best weekends! I say that every weekend I get to spend with Adam, but still! We got to eat a thousand tasty things and admire a thousand beautiful things in Long Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. And our fridge is full of the most exciting leftovers! Highlights…
Amano Cafe Rocket Fuel, cold brew with maple and oat milk.
Strawberry smoothie. Frozen strawberries and cherries with water and vanilla protein powder. You can’t tell that those gummies were strawberry cake-shaped but I had a whole theme going.
Something & Nothing seltzer’s new flavor – pineapple and pink grapefruit – was a hit
This Hubba Bubba/Skittles min gum is an 11/10 and I recommend purchasing it. And it’s sugar-free!
Postcard Bakery 100% lived up to the hype. We had raspberry mochi donuts (best donut of my life), a lemon roll, and a sesame chocolate chip cookie.
Sea Cliff shave ice. We got cola and butter pecan with vanilla ice cream (they have the best, chewy ice cream) and mochi.
Thick ice cream. They were out of the chocolate cola flavor (so they will be seeing me again) but we did get to try buttered cherry pie.
We visited the Deep Roots farmers’ market (which is lovely and right on the water in Garvey’s Point) and had several treats. Jerk chicken empanadas.
S’mores cookie.
Homemade garlic bread chicken sandwiches. These were insane. Ciabatta baked with a mixture of butter, garlic, sugar, smoked paprika, gochugaru, and mozzarella cheese / baked chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon, and tons of garlic. Plus roasted broccoli.
And split a bowl with jerk chicken, sweet plantains, macaroni salad, grilled zucchini, spicy corn, coleslaw, cilantro aioli, and white rice.
Noreetuh. The lighting at this cute/cozy Hawaiian spot was abysmal but I am going to share my unattractive photos because the food was so great. They were doing a pre-fix menu for Restaurant Week so I got to try a ton of stuff. Bigeye tuna poke with macadamia nuts. Plus an amaretto Colada with dark rum, pineapple, and coconut. I also had an unphotographed Mai Tai – best I’ve ever tasted – with dark rum, pineapple, apricot brandy, and orgeat syrup.
Garlic butter shrimp bowl with pineapple, chili, macaroni salad, and steamed rice.
Sundae with chocolate haupia, graham crackers, almonds, Hawaiian black salt, and coconut ice cream.
Super Bueno. These were some of the very best cocktails we’ve ever tasted (and we tried most of the menu!). Salted Plum and Tamarind Milk Punch – charanda, ayuuk, salted plum & tamarind, lojana tea, and milk + Roasted Corn Sour – corn whiskey, reposado tequila, roasted corn, guajillo, lemon, and egg white.
Vodka Y Soda – vodka, guava, pasilla, and soda. This is hands-down my favorite drink I’ve ever tasted.
We got nachos as an afterthought and they ended up being the best nachos I’ve ever bought. With mushroom carnitas, poblano, pickled jalapeño, red onion, crema, Mexican cheese blend, cilantro, and mole negro. Now we need to go back again for a full meal!
Win Son. This was my favorite meal of the year (Adam chooses Noreetuh). Plant Daddy cocktail – cilantro-mint tequila, matcha, lemon, simple syrup, and egg white. I also had an unphotographed Breakfast of Champions with almond milk, roasted black sesame, El Dorado 5 year rum, rum cream, and toasted coconut.
Pea shoots with yun hai bean paste, sesame, and fried garlic.
Fried eggplant with black vinegar, labne, and spiced cashews.
Beef roll with garlic-ginger cucumbers and tons of herbs.
Sesame noodles with roasted oyster mushrooms, snow pea leaves, and peanuts.
Wavy noodles with lamb and fermented bean sauce.
Sundae with fried sweet dough, golden sesame ice cream, and red rice condensed milk plus we added butter fried peanuts and cilantro and made it a 15/10.
Eating Chalk 