Oahu Part I, Fun Things We Ate

Adam and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary(!!!) with a trip to Hawaii and had an absolutely fantastic time.  We chose to spend our entire trip in Oahu – versus island hopping – and ended up being very happy with that decision.  We walked a ton, stuck our toes in the ocean, ate a million delicious things, and saw a billion beautiful things.  I did not even take as many photographs as I usually do but I still need to split my recap into multiple posts!

IMG-20191230-WA0026

IMG-20191230-WA0024

I’ll share more about the amazing restaurants we visited in a later post, for now, here were some of the best Hawaiian bites…

IMG-20200101-WA0006

** Chicken katsu musubi – seasoned rice with seaweed and fried chicken.

IMG-20191229-WA0014

** Shrimp okonomiyaki – a savory Japanese pancake.

IMG-20191229-WA0022

** Garlic butter shrimp plates from the food trucks out on the North Shore.

IMG-20191230-WA0031

IMG-20191230-WA0033

** The cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company are all 10/10 buttery and delicious.

IMG-20191231-WA0032

** Butter mochi – cake made with glutenous rice flour.

IMG-20191230-WA0008

** Dole Whip – blended frozen pineapple.

IMG_20191230_084809_401

** We ate shave ice practically every single day of the trip!  The standouts are in a later post but these were still pretty darn good!  Both of these were Japanese kakagori style versus the more traditional Hawaiian style.  From Ice Monster – coffee ice with brown sugar jelly, panna cotta, and cookies and cream gelato.

IMG-20200101-WA0000

From Snow Factory – cookie butter ice and butterscotch ice with mochi, coffee jelly, and condensed milk.

IMG-20191229-WA0019

Aloha, 17 Years

I hope that all my readers who celebrate had a merry Christmas!

IMG_1047

Three fun things from this week –

I bought chestnut paste – which basically tastes like Christmas! – and used it in amazing yogurt bowls.

IMG_1024

With cocoa granola and fresh strawberries.

IMG_1034

These bougie almond butter cups were surprisingly delicious.

IMG_1039

We made easy but great pasta bowls: boxed macaroni and cheese / canned smoked trout and anchovies / roasted broccoli and baby zucchini / topped with Kewpie and Sriracha.  Plus a side of sauteed baby cauliflower.

IMG_1048

Current excitement?  It is our 12 year wedding anniversary today!  And since we got married on our 5 year dating anniversary, that means we’ve been together for 17 years (aka half our lives!)!!  To celebrate, we are heading to Hawaii tomorrow!!!

Warm To Cold

St. Thomas was amazing, vacation was amazing.  My friends and I all had a really good time and want to go back immediately!

20191216_105013

I guess if I have to be back in the cold I’m glad it’s when New York is at its most glittery and beautiful!

20191219_202457

It was a short week with travel on Monday, but we have eaten some yummy stuff.

IMG_0905

IMG_0904

IMG_0912

Five highlights are –

{1} Mint Vietnamese coffee.  The pour over system was super easy and mint in coffee is delicious.

IMG_0917

IMG_0920

{2} Lunch at Gramercy Tavern.  I met up with a girlfriend who suggested this spot and now I need to go back with Adam ASAP.  I had a Tower Bridge cocktail with gin, earl grey, almond grappa, and egg white.  And duck andouille sausage with grits and roasted pears.

IMG_20191218_131942_639

20191218_125416

{3} After lunch I introduced her to Caffe Panna!  The affogato special sundae was peppermint mocha ice cream with junior mints, oreo crumble, nocciolata drizzle, mocha dusted whipped cream, and espresso.

IMG_20191218_144221_264

{4} Sushi!  I don’t crave/eat sushi all that often but we had it when we were in St. Thomas and ever since I’ve been obsessed.  It helps that Kaiyo is walking distance from our apartment and amazing.  I’ve gone there more than once this week!  This is spicy salmon // tuna and avocado topped with salmon, seaweed salad, and tobiko // spicy crab salad and avocado topped with tempura flakes, tuna, avocado, and special sauce.

IMG-20191217-WA0004

{5} Dinner at Atoboy, a shareable plates Korean restaurant in NoMad.  The style of the menu meant we got to try a ton.  Top highlights were charred cabbage with yuba (tofu skin) and smoked trout roe // chrysanthemum salad with leeks, plum, and cheddar // *sunchokes with oyster mushrooms, black truffle, and orange // sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch) granita with burrata soft serve and walnut.

IMG_20191219_181350_514

 

Hot Sauce And Cinnamon Gum

Flavor themes from this week include – hot sauce, coffee, chocolate.

Highlights…

Fun in coffee.  Iced with fancy egg nog.

IMG_0813

I had forgotten how much fun it is to have a milk frother!

IMG_0851

This bottled New Orleans coffee was delicious and contained 10 grams of protein.

IMG_0873

Seasonal fun at Doughnut Plant – a marzipan star and a mint tree filled with chocolate pudding.

IMG_0897

Still obsessed with these cookie dough Perfect Bars.

IMG_0855

Plain2% Greek yogurt bowl with chocolate sunflower seed butter and fresh blueberries.

IMG_0880

Just before I left VA one of my officemates got me hooked on cinnamon gum and lately I have been loving this version from Mentos.

IMG_0807

It was Adam’s birthday this week!  He got multiple cakes at work and brought me home a delicious slice of s’mores cheesecake.

IMG_0884

Amy’s tortilla casserole with black beans frozen meal.  Topped with copious amounts of Cholula.

IMG_0825

Shredded potatoes with smoked mackerel salad and soft scrambled eggs.  Topped with furikake.

IMG_0861

Breakfast cheese fries.  Sweet potato waffle fries with cheddar, eggs, maple chicken sausage, broccoli, and shishito peppers.  Topped later with Kewpie and Sriracha.

IMG_0893

My current favorite sheet-pan hash is Japanese sweet potato + bok choy + green onions.  Plus salmon candy and cashews on top.  Topped with furikake, Kewpie, and Sriracha.

IMG_0844

I made a yummy version of this baked Spanish rice recipe.  I added fish sauce and green olives and subbed in vegan soyrizo for chorizo.  Topped later with Cholula.

IMG_0870

FYI – there will be no post this weekend for the best reason ever: I am going home for a few days with a couple of NY friends!  Ocean, rum, and warm weather, here we come!

Nacho Zip Code

My stuff, my husband, my dog, and I all finally live in the same place (New York) again!  What a surreal week!  I worked Monday-Tuesday, moved Wednesday, and unpacked Thursday-Friday.  I am thrilled to be with my amazing family and excited to be back in New York but am deeply mourning leaving Charlottesville, and my fantastic Virginia family and friends, and my unbelievably great job.  <– it’s an extremely good problem to have 🙂

My last Cville weekend was low-key because I was a bit under the weather.  I mostly watched tv in bed, drank Gatorade, and spent $8 on precut fruit.

IMG_0734

Before I knew it it was Tuesday and I was drinking my very last hospital coffee!  Sidenote – the coffee stands in the hospital served my favorite iced lattes in Virginia and I am going to miss them greatly.

IMG_20191203_072916_841

Also that afternoon coworkers took me out for coffee and then after work we went to Hardywood for a final round of marshmallow gingerbread stouts and by the time I packed my car I was a drunk, overly caffeinated mess.

My last night my family took me out for nachos – multiple plates! – and margaritas and I got to tell them how unbelievably grateful I am for their hospitality.  I lived with my cousin and her fiance for the last 4 months and they could not have made my life easier or more fun.  A lot of people thought I was insane for choosing to live apart from Adam and Webster for so long but one of the biggest silver linings of situation was the time I got with my Virginia family.

20191203_201243

And they would be thrilled to know that the very first thing I ate in New York was nachos!

IMG_0737

Once we got the car unpacked Adam and I headed to I am Nacho Mama for bbq chicken nachos and fancy honey coffee.

IMG_0743

IMG_0740

I also had tacos – griddled cheese and salmon.

IMG_0745

Last night we had a fancy dinner at our local mall, Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Small Batch.

IMG_0747

Little gem lettuce with pecorino cheese, radishes, fried soft-boiled egg, and ceasar dressing.

IMG_0749

Local duck breast with honeynut squash, figs, and black garlic.

IMG_0751

Chocolate souffle cake with milk chocolate sauce, cookie crumbs, and bourbon-brown sugar ice cream.

IMG_0755

Pumpkin Oolong

Cold weather fully hit Charlottesville this weekend so I kept things pretty low-key.  I did talk a walk around the neighborhood to stretch my legs on Saturday but then I spent the rest of the night huddled under the covers!

Amazingly, my food highlights from the weekend were not soup and hot chocolate…

Still loving plain Greek yogurt bowls with cupcake almond butter, MadeGood granola, and loads of fresh berries.

IMG_0581

I also enjoyed a bowl with this new Chobani flavor, caramel mocha.

IMG_0572

Whole Foods hot bar with a side of journal reading.  Best bites were the popcorn chicken and Spanish-style brussel sprout salad with sherry vinegar and yellow raisins.

IMG_0587

Pumpkin oolong milk tea(!) with boba and Oreo.

IMG_0560

I made the best sheet-pan hash.  Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit / prep a sheet pan with foil and baking spray / bake chopped Japanese sweet potato for 20 minutes / add chopped bok choy and green onion and bake another 25 minutes / top with smoked salmon candy / add kewpie mayo and Sriracha if desired.

IMG_0596

Candy break.

IMG_0603

It’s Pumpkin Month!

It’s Pumpkin Month!  Check out my exciting, gourd-y stash:

IMG_0091

IMG_0100

IMG_0106

Related note – my coworkers know me so well!

IMG_0118

This week’s eats highlights were all about burritos, bowls, and tasty take-out…

I go in a bit later on Wednesdays (so my timing works for after-work yoga, which I actually made it to this week, whee!) so I took myself on a breakfast date to Marie Bette for one of their outstanding pretzel croissants.

20191002_071435(0)

This Trader Joe’s breakfast burrito – with eggs, cheese, chicken sausage, and potato – was pretty great.

IMG_0134

And this adobo chicken burrito from Whole Foods wasn’t half bad either.

IMG_0151

Pumpkin spice latte from La Colombe.

IMG_0161

Pumpkin spice bar with pumpkin jellies!  Those gummies were such an exciting find from H-Mart.

IMG_0178

Lunch from the food trucks/farmers’ market that sets up at the hospital.  I got nachos with spicy chicken.

20191003_125459

Roasted shredded brussel sprouts with hot smoked salmon, pumpkin seeds, spicy peanut vinegarette, and zhoug.

IMG_0144

Roasted broccoli slaw with sesame ginger baked tofu, honey butter almonds, spicy peanut vinegarette, cucumbers, and zhoug.  And when the zhoug ran out I topped it with sriracha.

IMG_0168

IMG_0184

Quality Time

It was the best weekend ever; my boys came to visit me!!!!!

20190922_174018

The three of us had just the absolute best time.  It helped that we ate and drank such yummy things but mostly it was great to hold Adam’s hand while Webster sat in my lap.

20190921_124708

We really made the most of Charlottesville too, we went to our two favorite restaurants and our two favorite drink spots, walked a ton downtown, ran at Riverside Park, and even went to a polo match with a group of my coworkers.

Highlights (including some random things I ate on Friday) include…

An Apple Month breakfast, Trader Joe’s caramel apple yogurt with cinnamon cereal.

20190920_071318

Brunch at Quality Pie.  We split an egg and cheese biscuit and salmon with scrambled eggs and cream cheese on rye.

IMG_20190921_104321_354

Also a chocolate chip cookie.

20190921_103418

Hail Merry cookie dough bites.

20190920_184145

Beers at Hardywood.  Tropic like it’s Hot sour with dragon fruit, blueberry, passionfruit, and pineapple // Tropication IPA // The Great Return IPA // Raspberry Short Kate milkshake IPA brewed with milk sugar and fresh raspberries.

IMG_20190921_124109_803

Cocktails at Vitae.  S’mores = smoked rum, chocolate bitters, marshmallow simple syrup, orange, and a graham cracker rim.

IMG_20190921_143753_124

Hawaiian take out from Mochiko.  Mochiko fried chicken with cucumber kimchi, slaw, and rice.  Plus a passionfruit shortbread bar.

20190922_163144

A simple salad at home.  Romaine with champagne vinaigrette, celery, cashews, and curried chicken salad.

20190920_212135

Dinner at Little Star = the best meal of the weekend and also maybe the best thing I’ve eaten in 2019.  We ordered all of the things but it was serendipitous that we overordered because now Adam has dinner for tonight after his long drive.

20190921_172317

Heirloom tomatoes with strawberries, house-made ricotta, basil, red wine dressing and chili flakes.

20190921_172757

French fries with tarragon aioli.

20190921_173023

Esquites, sweet corn with spring onions, Kewpie mayo, chili corn hot sauce, cilantro, and green onion.

20190921_175603

Braised lamb with pasilla de Oaxaca romesco, butter braised leeks, and sweet onions.

20190921_175545

Chicken with mojo verde, brown butter, and crispy epazote.

20190921_181213

Local coffee.

20190921_183725

Basque cheesecake.

20190921_184151