Thankful

I hope all of my American readers had a safe but satisfying Thanksgiving. Adam and I both worked the holiday but were able to continue our tradition of Thanksgiving night nachos! And thankfully our days ended early enough that we had time to chat with my parents while taking the dog on a cocktail walk and Zoom conference with all of my in-laws in the evening.

We spent a little time talking about things we are thankful for which was an easy assignment for me because I feel like thankful is actually my primary state of being – at least five times a day I thank my lucky stars that I just get to know Adam and Webster, let alone have them both love me back.

By the way, even my non-holiday eats were still pretty much on-theme because the short list of superficial things I’m thankful for definitely includes coffee, boba, sprinkles, ice cream, and pizza! Highlights from the past week include…

Stumptown holiday spice iced latte.

Thompson Square Bagels (my favorite in the city) poppy seed with birthday cake cream cheese.

Yogurt bowl win. Plain Greek with peanut butter, cranberry dressing, and granola. Trader Joe’s cranberry dressing (the stuff in the refrigerated section, not the canned one) is the best in the game.

This s’mores kefir was good but not as exciting as I wanted it to be.

Whole Foods has a whole line of specialty holiday ice cream flavors so I am obviously going to be eating ice cream every day for the next month.

Brown sugar creme brulee bubble tea!

Thanksgiving nachos. This year we did Trader Joe’s horseradish and chives potato chips / shredded cheese / duck fennel sausage / shishito peppers / cranberry dressing. Plus roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

And we stayed on theme with maple margaritas.

No pie for dessert, but we did have these festive truffles.

Roasted broccoli and cabbage with spicy cashew sauce and rolled tofu.

We lucked out that Taglio is so close to our apartment because they are currently my favorite pizza in the city. This roasted potato and vodka slice were both 10/10. Plus they have given a ton of food to the workers at Adam’s hospital throughout the pandemic so I am thrilled to support them (multiple times a week!).

Homemade chili topped with sour cream, jalopenos, and pimento cheese. I used duck sausage, black beans, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, sweet onion, diced tomato, spices, and beer.

Plus a beer for the cook.

Frozen

Cold weather definitely hit NYC this week. Thankfully it looks like this weekend will be a little more long walk outdoors friendly. But you wouldn’t guess how cold our apartment is by my recent snack choices – popsicles galore! Highlights include…

Triple shot vanilla bean canned coffee. 6/10. The flavor wasn’t super exciting but I was happy with the amount of caffeine for a canned coffee.

After years of longing, we finally found the cola flavored La Croix! They, and the Cubana flavor, were both 10/10.

Amazing nougat and candied orange candies my parents sent us. 10/10.

Cake cream ice popsicles. 9/10.

Black sugar boba popsicles. 12/10.

Stir-fried leek, bok choy, and red bell pepper with egg tofu.

Topped with vegetarian pork floss!

From Comfortland‘s Thanksgiving sandwich special line-up, The Black Friday – fried chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple slaw, and gravy.

Fall-flavored sheet pan roast. Butternut squash (with cinnamon and smoked paprika) / shredded brussel sprouts / local chicken garlic sausages / dried cherries / TJ’s sweet and spicy pecans.

Tiger Sugar, Lobster Ramen

I had a both personal day and a weekend comp day off this week which meant that I had a nice short and easy work-week. The weather was mostly beautiful too, so I got to maximize my time off with fun days in Brooklyn! And while I was at work I gave a presentation on critical care nutrition to all of the medical residents that went well.

Highlights include…

This remains my favorite coffee combo. So much fun that I can make *real* Vietnamese iced coffee at home!

This coffee – with brown sugar syrup, boba, tiger jelly, and cream mousse – from Tiger Sugar was pretty good too!

We almost never buy pre-cut fruit (Adam brought this home from work) but it is so luxurious to have in the fridge.

A girlfriend and I went to Williamsburg for spicy ramen… with lobster!

P.S. We took a walk afterwards – for milkshakes — in tank tops — in November —- and were a bit too hot which was both completely horrifying and also quite lovely.

It rained my other day off but Adam and I got take-out from Mission Chinese and had a fantastic time picnicing in the back of the car. Rice cakes with inari and bitter melon + Kung Pao with home fries, chili, peanuts, and pastrami.

Beer wins – a local double IPA and a key lime pie hopped sour.

A take on migas with tortilla chips, chicken, cheddar, green onion, and shishito peppers.

Lazy Sunday

We actually had a very busy Sunday but the title references something later in the post! Really, we had the best weekend ever. I know I say that every time Adam and I have a weekend together, but this one was my new favorite! We walked around the Lower East Side eating all of the things, took a long walk through Williamsburg/across the bridge, and made fancy sandwiches which we ate in bed while laughing hysterically at the latest SNL.

Highlights include…

Pumpkin things! Pumpkin pie Perfect bar with a Vietnamese iced latte.

Local pumpkin ales, which were good but not our favorites.

Caramel pumpkin yogurt with cashew butter and granola.

Love these seaweed chips!

I know this looks like a depression snack but these bbq kettle chips with melted Manchego were actually my favorite thing I ate all weekend.

Chip in Astoria has new seasonal fall lattes! We had dulce de leche and black and white cookie!

Plus a monster chip cookie.

We had the best parfait at Cha An. Tea jelly, fruit, mochi, brown sugar syrup, and green tea ice cream.

Dirt-pudding style bingsu from Lazy Sundaes!

10/10 meal at Thai Diner. Perhaps my new favorite spot? We shared Thai iced tea, milo hot chocolate with pandan marshmallows, and a spicy tamarind mezcal margarita.

Plus chicken phat see eiw (which was perfectly packed with basil and Chinese brocoli).

And spicy chicken and banana blossom salad.

Howling Gourds

Adam and I both worked this weekend, so we didn’t have a lot of fun, but we did have some good snacks. Highlights included…

Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice protein smoothie. Mild flavor, good spice, and pretty filling.

Whole-wheat matzoh with melted cheddar. I haven’t fully sold Adam on matzoh brei yet but he’s onboard with the bread as a vehicle for cheese.

Howling Gourds is officially our new favorite pumpkin ale! It’s fairly hoppy and cinnamon-forward but most importantly it is 7% ABV which is higher than most other pumpkin beers we’ve tried in the past.

Clean-out-the-pantry pasta that was surprisingly good. Whole-wheat rotini with steamed broccoli, sautéed radish, Trader Joe’s vegan chorizo, and marinara sauce, topped with Manchego.

See Food Diet

Highlights from this week include…

The salted caramel Perfect bar is perfect.

Black and white cookie. I’ve decided I have not been eating nearly enough bagels or black and white cookies.

If you haven’t tried the hot honey chicken sandwich from Melt Shop yet get yourself there immediately. It has hot honey and jalopeno pimento cheese!

We went with a seafood theme for dinners this week and each night was better than the last! Seared scallops with crispy garlic smashed potatoes and sauteed bok choy and radish greens.

Roasted cabbage with sliced radishes, avocado crema, and Whole Food’s frozen fish fillets.

Broccoli rice with five spice quick pickled cucumbers, furikake, Sriracha aioli, and smoked salmon.

Best Weekend Ever

Adam and I had time together on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and we had just the best weekend ever! We got super lucky with nice weather which makes all of the difference this time of year.

Friday night we met up with friends for distanced fun in Brooklyn. Dinner and some stand-up comedy. Ample Hills does shows on their rooftop and each $10 ticket comes with a giant cup of ice cream! I got Coffee Toffee and No Sleep ‘Til Pumpkin – coffee ice cream with pumpkin gooey butter cake pieces.

Saturday we took a sixteen mile walk around the Upper West Side and Central Park.

And Sunday we visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Food highlights from the week include…

Rainbow cookie iced latte with edible glitter and pink whipped cream(!!!) from Crave.

Pumpkin things. PSLs from La Colombe and Nitro Beverage Co.

Orwashers sourdough bagel with hand-cut smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese.

Breakfast tacos. With sliced turkey, scrambled eggs, smoked cheddar, and red and green hot sauce.

We tried Laderach chocolate for the first time and now we are smitten.

Snacks from H-Mart. Oreo bubble tea candy and durian chocolates. Plus seaweed and salted egg potato chips.

A two chip chocolate chip cookie from Levain (newest best cookie ever) and a Campfire Cappuccino from Orwashers (with toasted marshmallow and hickory smoke, newest best marshmallow coffee ever).

Dinner at Tradisyon. I had Kare Kare – stewed oxtail and brisket in peanut sauce with eggplant, green beans, and bok choy and shrimp paste.

Plus we got delicious popsicles. Soy milk with mochi and brown sugar and calamansi cheesecake with meringue.

…

Pumpkin Month, Taco Week

Important things first – as of Thursday we have entered Pumpkin Month!

I am very excited about some of those beers. This year’s haul was more restrained than years past because I have accepted that I don’t actually eat cereal so I didn’t buy eight varieties of pumpkin spice cereal to sit and grow stale while they waited for Adam.

Highlights from this week included lots of fall flavors…

Like cinnamon vanilla cold brew.

And freeze-dried apple slices and dark chocolate covered cherries (plus birthday cake bunny grahams).

And all the salted caramel ice creams.

I also had some Perfect snacks.

And this next-level tasty Eleven Lives & Still Wandering double IPA.

I spent two solid hours in the kitchen last Sunday prepping meal components and it was worth it because we had a super easy and delicious taco week! Sautéed onion and red, orange, and yellow bell peppers with roasted zucchini // cauliflower and walnut vegan taco meat // crockpot shredded chicken thighs // homemade salsa (loosely inspired by this recipe). Tacos with veggies, salsa, cauliflower meat, and shredded cheese.

Giant protein bowls with veggies, shredded cheese, cauliflower meat, chicken, salsa, and a fried egg. Plus a cheese quesadilla.

Chicken chilaquiles (made with homeamde tortilla chips!).