Sour Apple

Highlights from this week included – Trader Joe’s sourdough sliced bread, Apple Month stuff, vegan junk food, end of summer veggies…

Cinnamon apple chia oats. <– I also had a(n unphotographed) bar with chia seeds this week, I need to remember to eat more chia, it’s delicious!

Cinnamon apple Over Easy bar.

Zestar apple with a salted caramel Noosa yogurt.

Salted maple kettle corn and freeze-dried fuji apples. P.S. The Trader Joe’s freeze-dried fruits are superior to all others.

Not apple-themed but still amazing – these Snacklins vegan pork rinds. I scooped crab dip with them and it was my favorite snack of the week!

Bacon egg and cheese sandwich for brinner. Toasted sourdough with mayo, yellow mustard, honey-maple sliced turkey, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, and a fried egg. Plus yellow peach and heirloom tomatoes. Plus on-theme chocolates.

This was supposed to be a roast beef sandwich but our stores were all out?! Sourdough with pastrami-style turkey (probably better than my original plan!), black garlic and horseradish mayo, and sharp cheddar. With roasted orange and purple cauliflower.

Vegan chicken nuggets and roasted zucchini and yellow squash dipped in Bitchin’ Sauce.

A take on callaloo with turkey bacon and crab.

It’s Apple Month

If you follow the Emily calendar of themed foods then September is Apple Month! Here are some of the products I’ve been squirreling away in anticipation –

And some highlights from this week include…

A perfect coffee combo.

Apple kombucha.

Apple cinnamon overnight oatmeal with a coffee dark chocolate bar.

These apple items were both only ok.

But we adored these (off-theme) peanut butter brownie crisps.

Sautéed kale with green onion, serrano pepper, shredded chicken, peanuts, and a zippy garlic-ginger sauce.

Fancy tuna salad with pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, and capers + a Trader Joe’s frozen veggie blend with marinated eggplant, zucchini, and red peppers.

Chicken salad (a blend of shredded breast and thigh meat with mayo, honey dijon mustard, and horseradish) with grapes and spiced pecans + roasted green beans + sourdough toast with apple butter and cinnamon (and tiny star sprinkles!).

Hibiscus Shaved Ice

Some highlights from the past week include…

The hipster version of a classic breakfast – citrus kombucha and peanut butter oatmeal.

Lemon lime sparkling matcha with a (new flavor!) lemon poppy seed perfect bar.

I almost never buy cereal but these reminded me of the raisin frosted mini wheats I loved as a kid and I couldn’t pass them up.

These crunchy yellow peas are smoky in a very pleasing way.

We had great empanadas at Love, Nelly. This one was sweet plantain with guava and cheese!

Plus hibiscus + almond shaved ice with sprinkles and condensed milk.

An amazing (giant) lemongrass chicken bahn mi from Nha Minh.

Dinner pasta 1 – whole-wheat penne with marinara sauce (from the pizza we made last weekend), chicken sausage, and roasted zucchini.

Dinner pasta 2 – a loose take on these spicy braised eggplant noodles, with whole-wheat bow ties.

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.

Pesto Bow Ties

Long time no blog! I’ve actually been home since last Thursday (and back at work since last Friday and through the weekend!). Adam and I had an absolutely wonderful little trip to the Hudson Valley. We want to go back ASAP! Some of our favorite things included exploring the downtown in Hudson, pastries from Breadfolks, Fortunes ice cream at Kitty’s, dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis, and the Round House hotel in Beacon.

Highlights from this past week included… lots of snacks and pesto-smothered dinners.

Chameleon canned cold brew. (7.5/10)

Matcha + roasted seaweed.

These Trader Joe’s plant-based pork rinds are great. Crispy and just a bit spicy.

Fruity sour double IPAs brewed with lactose from Proclamation.

Pesto pasta salad! Homemade (extra-garlic) pesto / whole-wheat bow tie pasta / roasted extra-firm tofu / roasted zucchini / baby tomatoes / smoked mozzarella.

Toasted sandwiches with smoked turkey, sharp cheddar, and pesto on TJ’s sprouted sourdough bread. With roasted romanesco and cheesy waffle fries.

You Can’t Make Friends With Salad

Highlights from this week…

20/10 coffee combo. We brought back several bags of Trager Brothers coffee from our Charlottesville visit.

Snack loves. BBQ Love Corn.

Very fancy chocolates.

The world’s most satisfying snack = apple slices dipped in peanut butter.

It is actually my birthday today(!) so obviously I’ve been excitedly saving these themed items for months.

A week of exciting salads! A new take on our favorite bean salad – black beans with green and yellow bell pepper, Dubliner cheese, peanuts, and green Tabasco.

BBQ inspired – Local greens with pulled chicken with bbq sauce / cheddar / grapes / black beans / corn nuts / esquites-style corn.

Caribbean inspired – spinach/arugula blend with roasted romanesco / shrimp / sunflower seeds / coconut chips / homemade creamy passionfruit vinaigrette.

Greek inspired – bell peppers, baby tomatoes, cucumber, TJ’s Greek feta dressing, and roasted chickpeas.

Plus chili oil pizza from a new restaurant that is dangerously close to our apartment.

P.S. Adam and I are both off for a few days next week and we’re going on a little trip upstate-ish to the Hudson Valley! I am not packing a camera but I’m sure I’ll be posting a ton on instagram.

Food In Bowls

Highlights from the past week include…

S’mores iced coffee! I blended coffee with ice, cold brew powder, chocolate milk, vanilla bean powder, and toasted marshmallows.

Yogurt bowl set up – vanilla skyr with Made Good chocolate granola and Jelly Berry grapes.

I quite liked these crispy onion chips from Trader Joe’s.

Toasted turkey and cheddar sandwich. On sprouted wheat sourdough with mayo and pickled jalapeños.

Mexican-ish vegetarian bowls. Brown rice, cauliflower rice roasted with green onion and poblano pepper, Trader Joe’s soyrizo, cojita cheese, and orange Soss.

Crab fried rice. Leftover brown rice stir-fried (with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce) with blue crab, eggs, green onion, peas, and carrot.

Dinner inspired by a dish we loved recently at Llama Inn – sautéed bok choy with grapes, sunflower seeds, and black garlic vinaigrette. Plus tuna cakes made with soyrizo.

Esquites Sheet Pan Hash

Adam and I had a fantastic time on vacation! I have no photos to share, but not to worry, we ate all of the things! We spent the weekend in the city with my parents (Roosevelt Island, Central Park, Seaport, Williamsburg, Montauk, +) and then drove to Virginia (Charlottesville and Richmond) to visit with friends and family and visit a million craft breweries. And then we came home and had insane work-weeks and no longer feel relaxed at all, the end.

Some highlights from the week include…

Dessert-y cold brews. Salted caramel from Whole Foods.

We loved these cans from Red Hat Coffee.

S’mores snack mix – Trader Joe’s ube shortbread cookies with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

Dipping plate – pimento cheese with pretzels, baby carrots, and mini cucumbers.

Reuben nachos! Whole Food’s pastrami on rye potato chips with shredded gouda and swiss cheese, roast beef, and homemade Russian dressing. Plus sautéed broccoli slaw with pecans.

Our best sheet pan hash to date – yellow potatoes, zucchini, white onion, corn, Cajun-style chicken sauce, and cojita. Topped with diced radish and an esquites inspired sauce with Kewpie, garlic mayo, sour cream, lime juice, paprika, and gojuchang.

Paired with these tamarind chamoy bears from 7-11 that I cannot recommend enough.