Vacation is over and I’m heading back to work today. By the time you read this I’ll be drinking eggnog with an extra-strong coffee!
It was a low-key weekend and I cooked dinner x2. My snacks definitely outshown my main meals though. Highlights include…
Trader Joe’s eggnog Greek yogurt with Satsuma mandarins and vanilla granola.
Surprisingly good sushi from Whole Foods. A California roll topped with fried shallots.
Should I be embarassed that the best thing I ate all weekend was a plate of microwave nachos? Really good microwave nachos? Spud Love potato chips with gouda, gojuchang, and maple.
A delicious but non-traditional first night of Hanukkah. Trader Joe’s frozen latkes (potato and cauliflower) with sauted dinosaur kale and a fried egg. I pair my latkes with sour cream instead of applesauce.
Adam and I just returned from six fantastically glorious days in Oahu! Best vacation we have taken yet.
Everything was beautiful (of course!), we got incredibly lucky with the weather, we loved our hotel (Hotel La Croix – amazing staff, beautiful views, and perfectly walkable to the beach and downtown), and we swooned over every activity and meal! And we saw a seal!! I did not pack a camera but couldn’t stop myself from Instagramming incessantly.
Some of our favorite activities – – –
Hiking. We went on four hikes this visit. Makapu’u Light House Trail / Kuliouou Ridge Trail / Diamond Head / Ka’ena Point State Park.
We went to Green World Coffee Farm and walked through the coffee plants. We also got a fantastic tour (with tastes) of the Old Sugar Mill Brand Waialua Coffee where they grow coffee and cacao.
Some of our favorite bites – – –
Flavor themes of the week – ahi, malasada, mochi, musubi, passionfruit, poke, taro, and yuzu. I lost my photo but we had a wonderful traditional meal at Helena’s – my first time trying poi!
We walked over to Kona Coffee Purveyors several times. Also to the Starbucks Reserve for this delicious americano con crema with demura sugar and cinnamon.
Guava malasada from Leonards. Also my favorite thing I ate all trip was a taro mochi malasada from a convenience store.
There was a great Japanese store near our hotel and between that and the well-stocked 7-11 I tried some very exciting things.
Passionfruit mochi bar.
Salted cod roe and cheese musubi.
Halo halo.
Local fruits from a roadside stand. Starfruit, passionfruit, and coconut.
Shave Ice! We went to Waiola Shave Ice and Matsumoto Shave Ice. The boring looking one was actually white cake and yuzu (!!!) with vanilla ice cream and sweetened condensed milk.
Poke! So much fresh tuna. We went to Maguro Brothers and Ono Seafood.
Dinner at O’Kims. Fried chicken and purple rice with the best kimchi I’ve ever eaten.
Lunch at Piggy Smalls was our favorite meal of the trip! And dinner at Pig and the Lady was a close second. Twice fried brussel sprouts, tea leaf salad, brisket with pancakes and eggs, great cocktails (Adam had a POG slushie!), and an egg coffee.
It was a fun week! My aunt and uncle were in town for a show and we had a great time meeting up with them. I didn’t take any photos but we had GREAT meals at Canary Club and El Quiote.
Highlights include…
I managed to eat a truly impressive amount of peppermint and/or Christmas themed food!
Blank Street‘s candy cane cold brew was possibly my favorite coffee of this year!
The coquito cold brew (with two shots of espresso) from 787 obviously isn’t bad either.
Peppermint ice cream (12/10) with peppermint chocolate quinoa bites.
Adam’s favorite bakery in New York is probably Blacksmith’s Breads. He sweetly surprised me with a pretzel bread.
Greek yogurt bowl with tiger syrup, granola, and persimmon.
Good-not-great but incredibly convenient microwave rice rolls.
Very Spicy Vegan Dan Dan Noodles from Very Fresh Noodles. It wasn’t actually that spicy (more numbing than hot) but the noodles were unbelievably fresh, bouncy and perfect.
This was the best meal I’ve made this year. Roasted broccoli / roasted red onion / roasted white beans / dried cherries / best ever sauce; in the food processor – parsley, roasted jalopeno, Korean chili flake, smoked almonds, smoked sardines, parmesan, honey, garlic, salt, evoo, and a bit of water / and I topped my bowl with candied jalopenos.
Fun things from this weekend – we early voted and it only took a couple of minutes! The weather was gorgeous and we took a bunch of long, beautiful walks.
Food highlights included…
In a fit of out-of-season joy I bought and loved a peppermint mocha ice latte.
Brunch at Emilia’s Bakehouse in Melville. We had great lattes.
And a preztel croissant.
Loved this Aura Bora flavor. They have two new seasonal flavors I am dying to get my hands on.
I also tried and loved two new boozy seltzer cans. The June Shine passion fruit vodka soda has all my favorite things!
Great new flavor from Chip – a brown sugar cookie made with apple butter, stuffed with a caramel apple filling, and topped with cinnamon sugar.
Desserts in Astoria. Baklava and Knafeh.
Thai food in Astoria. I got extra-spicy drunken noodles with extra veggies and mock duck.
Plus we shared great crab rangoon.
Trader Joe’s pumpkin-shaped pasta with homemade meat sauce (pizza sauce with ground turkey and ground chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, urfa pepper, smoked paprika, and three cheese blend). Plus rainbow cauliflower.
Siggi’s pumpkin spice skyr with blackberries and granola.
Trader Joe’s vanilla bean Greek yogurt with pumpkin puree, maple syrup, chia seeds, blackberries, and grnola.
Pumpkin pie smoothie. Pumpkin puree with milk, plain Greek yogurt, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, and mace.
Trader Joe’s scallion pancake / canned salmon with mayo and Sriracha / roasted zucchini / all topped with Kewpie, Sriracha, and furikake.
Roasted cauliflower and chicken salad – shredded chicken breasts, mayo, yellow mustard, honey mustard dressing, and roasted almonds slivers with Sichuan salt.
Breakfast burger sandwiches. Whole Foods’ plant-based burgers, gouda, and a fried egg on a whole-wheat bun with blueberry jam. Plus leftover cauliflower.
Is it supposed to be a balanced breakfast or a gourd-based breakfast? La Colombe pumpkin spice canned coffee plus Perfect Bar’s pumpkin pie seasonal flavor.
Lifeway pumpkin spice kefir. I am on a years’ long hunt for the eggnog version.
Trader Joe’s pumpkin Greek yogurt with plucot, chia seeds, and granola.
We liked but didn’t love Elysian’s Night Owl pumpkin ale.
Trader Joe’s Howling Gourds pumpkin ale makes it into Adam’s top five favorite beers.
And Southern Tier’s canned craft cocktail of their Pumpking whiskey and cola is officially in both of our top five for all-time-favorite beverages. I bought this months ago and squirreled it away and devestatingly I have been unable to find it again.
The nights we didn’t get take-out (we’ve had kind of crazy work weeks) we hit it out of the park with what we cooked for dinners. Super salad night – local lettuce with miso caesar dressing, bacon-flavored crunchy mung beans, Gardein vegan crab cakes, red bell pepper, and avocado.
Broiled salmon with a miso glaze plus baked green beans. Adam had his with rice but I went with bbq potato chips.
Emily Mariko style salmon bowls! Plus a side of smashed cucumber salad.
FYI – It’s Pumpkin Month! Here is this year’s stash…
Even more exciting – we went glamping on the waterfront in Greenpoint and got to enjoy the perfect view.
And the boy came with us!! The three of us had a wonderful time.
Highlights from the weekend…
I ended Apple Month with a homemade cinnamon apple pie cocktail.
And I started Pumpkin Month with a Pump Rock from Sweetleaf. Their Rocket Fuel (cold brew concentrate with chicory, maple syrup, and milk) with the addition of pumpkin spice syrup.
This Sriracha shrimp bowl from Trader Joe’s has held the title of my favorite frozen meal for more than a year.
Fries with beer cheese and short ribs from Greenpoint Brewery; all three of us were smitten.
Best meal of the month – takeout from Elder Greene. We shared crispy brussel sprouts with goat cheese and maple walnut aioli / The Burger – LaFrieda short rib blend, cheddar, American, pickles, onion, and special sauce / and a Waygu burger with white cheddar, arugula, lemon herb aioli, and a brioche bun.
Eating Chalk 