Breakfast from Simple Loaf Bakehouse – a giant, cheesy turkey cheddar jalapeño croissant.
Scrambled eggs with Dubliner cheddar and chili crisp. Plus cucumber on the side.
Mentioning these dried baby pineapples again because we are still loving them.
The vegan tuna salad I was obsessed with at the Charlottesville Whole Foods has finally made its way to Long Island.
Giant ice cream sundae. I topped Phish Food with melted peanut butter, sprinkles, granola, and cocktail cherries.
This Trader Joe’s Sriracha shrimp bowl remains my favorite frozen meal. It is so satisfying. I do always add more hot sauce and a bit of Kewpie though.
We got bowls and Cava and loved them. I got rice and honey harissa chicken with so many toppings I can’t remember them all. Plus the amazing pita crisps. Best of all – we hit the soda fountain and had diet cola mixed with blueberry soda!
Blogging a day early… My New Years Eve celebration of choice has always been going to bed at a reasonable hour and starting the new year refreshed. We are finishing our year with junk food and a nice bottle of champagne 🙂
The cinnamon bun Chamberlain Coffee didn’t have enough flavor for us but the grapefruit elderflower Aura Bora is my favorite.
We met up with friends for coffee, a Bayside walk, and crepes. Mine had red bean, matcha ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. Plus I got a jasmine tea with an ice-bear.
Mexican street corn popcorn. I don’t love pre-popped popcorn but this variety was well-seasoned and a bit spicy.
Caramel on caramel. Great caramels that my parents made and even better Reese’s caramel big cups (sorry guys, yours would have won against a lesser candy!).
We’ve decided these Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites were the very best buy/new find of the year.
We were impressed with this Trader Joe’s orange chicken rice bowl.
Trader Joe’s frozen fish sticks (these I would not buy again) with roasted broccoli and delicata squash.
Posting a day early because it’s our wedding anniversary (!!) and we are going out to a camera-free dinner!
Yummy things from this week…
I made cinnamon chestnut scones.
Gnubees lemon coconut fruit shake. Not super exciting but a pleasant flavor and a good pre-gym snack for us.
I really liked the new bananas foster Chobani Greek yogurt. It was a tiny bit too sweet for toppings but a really nice flavor. With persimmon, tangerine, and sugar cookie granola.
No one is surprised that I’ve expanded fancy holiday nachos to include red and green nachos for Christmas! These were loaded – and giant – and delicious. Potato chips / sharp cheddar / sauteed dinosaur kale / chopped broccoli rabe sauteed with tons of garlic / red baby bell peppers sauteed with Trader Joe’s sweet and hot pickled jalapeños / fennel duck sausage.
Sushi roll (ish) bowls. Brown rice mixed with roasted cauliflower rice and rice vinegar — we loved this and want to do it again / furikake / canned tuna and salmon with Kewpie and Sriracha / chopped baby cucumbers with sauteed orange bell pepper, rice vinegar, sugar, and Sriracha / avocado / sesame seeds / pickled ginger.
We turned our leftovers (cauliflower/rice, kale, garlic broccoli rabe, and duck sausage plus eggs, soy sauce, and Sriracha) into the best fried rice!
Pokito is making seasonal jello shots! And they were beautiful and delicious! We also got an El Tigre – frozen light and dark rum, orange liquor, coconut, Thai tea, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Their Candy Striper is always my favorite drink of the season – frozen Cachaça, coconut, maple, peppermint, vanilla, lemon, and cardamom.
We also shared the arepa with chipotle-lime shrimp and pineapple salsa.
And fried green plantains with ropa vieja.
Snow Days at Sunday in Brooklyn. Polar Bear Club – frozen coffee-distilled rum, Aquavit, banana, coconut, pineapple, and cucumber / Comet’s Cosmo – tequila, ginger shochu, yuzu brandy, tart cranberry, elderflower, and shiso soda.
The drinks/decorations were fun but the food was the standout. We adored everything we got to share. Roasted honey nut squash with brown butter, sesame, and coffee tahini.
Wood roasted brussel sprouts with pistachio, golden raisins, and lemon gremolata.
Wood roasted half chicken with Herb De Provence and roasted garlic jus and seasoned fries. I couldn’t get a good photo but this was outstanding – juicy, savory, and one of the best things we’ve eaten all year.
Plus we got a sundae with housemade hot chocolate and eggnog soft-serves for dessert.
Food things from the 1st week of December – good dinners / baked goods my parents brought us from home during their visit / EGGNOG! Highlights included…
Jelly doughnut iced coffee! Iced coffee with blueberry jam and a cold foam with cinnamon, brown sugar, and cocoa powder.
As much as I adore plums and plucots I think I am most excited for mandarin season each year. These are seedless and the peel slips right off so they are so easy to eat.
Trader Joe’s spicy tempura seaweed snack. This is heavy on togarashi, which I love.
Eggnog in my coffees, of course.
Eggnog iced matcha latte.
Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt (my favorite) with nutmeg, fresh persimmon, and Target sugar cookie granola.
Abomination Brewing‘s best beer – Fog Nog, a double IPA with spices and lactose.
Xi’an Famous Foods‘ spicy cumin lamb hand-ripped noodles are consistently an 11/10.
A take on the broccoli salad we are obsessed with. Roasted broccoli / sauteed green onion / crispy baked tofu / dried cranberries / food-processed sauce: evoo, serrano pepper, parsley, peanuts, smoked sardines, soy sauce, rice vinegar, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Plus pumpkin bread (from my aunt) toasted with butter.
Roast‘s weekly special was a short-rib grilled cheese so we obviously had to get it, with cheddar and crispy onions on sourdough. Plus leftover broccoli salad and leftover roasted cabbage with Sriracha and Sriracha-ranch peanuts.
A 1st night of Hannukah feast. Trader Joe’s cheese blintzes topped with blackberries, blueberry jam, and Greek yogurt with lemon and brown sugar. Plus Trader Joe’s latkes, roasted brussel sprouts, and a honey Sriracha dipping sauce.
P.S. Happy Hannukah to all of my readers who celebrate!
Chestnut iced coffee – I blended skim milk, half and half, chestnut paste, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The flavor was good but unfortunately the blender did not work at all to create a cold foam texture.
I am still very much enjoying these Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapples.
These nuts from 7-11 were very ranch-y but not as spicy as I was hoping for.
A red and green yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with pomegranate, pumpkin seed butter, and halvah.
A weirdly wonderful dinner. Roasted cauliflower / roasted baby zucchinis / sauce – Greek yogurt, Kewpie, Sriracha, and lime juice / Trader Joe’s frozen fish sticks.
P.S./Number six – I had the cheesy nacho fries with steak from Taco Bell this weekend (I didn’t take a photo because I ate them out of the bag like a rat) and they were fantastic.
I didn’t dress up this year but still considered it a successful Halloween; Adam and the dog and I packed bags of candy and drove around admiring decorations.
Related – this candy corn hared cider was better in concept than flavor but still fun.
Other highlights from the week…
This Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin was the last of (and one of the best of) the pumpkin beers.
Made Good cinnamon bun oat bar with fresh strawberries.
Trader Joe’s dried baby pineapple. Their selection of (unsweetened and unsulfured) dried fruit is unmatched.
An aggressively Southern snack hour. Stubbs BBQ chips with pimento cheese. Pro-tip – I served the dip warm with honey and spiced pecans on top.
This week’s dinners were all about the sauces! Trader Joe’s scallion pancakes + cucumber salad with Sriracha, sugar, soy sauce, and rice vinegar + canned salmon salad with Sriracha, mayo, and soy sauce + Sriracha, Kewpie, oyster sauce, and furikake.
Fried mini tofu, Sea For Yourself bechamel and sherry lobster cake, roasted purple cauliflower, and a toasted miso sesame dipping sauce (in a saucepan over low heat – canola oil, miso, tahini, urfa pepper; whisked with mayo and a squeeze of lemon).
Bok choy sauteed with miso and ginger and Mandu chicken and vegetable dumplings. Plus a spicy peanut dipping sauce (for 2 big servings – 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 2 Tbsp hot water, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, heaping 1/2 tsp Sriracha, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp rice vinegar).
We visited Fern and Aurora – a newish Filipino bakery – and got an assortment of fun treats. Including a solid halo halo and a calamansi meringue that was one of the best desserts of this year.
Fat Witch mint brownie. This is our favorite of their flavors.
10/10 beer line up. Abomination Brewing Ice Cream Sandwiches in Space milkshake-style double IPA (P.S. I also tried their pumpkin milkshake IPA at a bar this week – we went out to do poorly at trivia – and was a fan) / Blue Point Apple Pie Crumb Sour.
Homemade callaloo with spinach, crab, and turkey bacon. Plus leftover teff biscuits and blue cornbread from Hav & Mar (the bread basket was the highlight of that meal!).
Tuna pasta. Whole-wheat spaghetti with roasted zuccini and romanesco, pine nuts, canned yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil, lemon juice and zest, gochugaru, and urfa chile pepper.
Eating Chalk 