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.
It’s the first day of Eggnog Month! Also known as December. I am very excited about this year’s cache of themed goods.
Also a time for peppermint.
And other good tidings and joy.
Highlights from the last week of November include…
Several good yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with blueberries, chia seeds, and Seed & Mill lemon and white chocolate halvah.
Plain skyr with blueberries, leftover cranberry sauce, and Target sugar cookie granola.
The newest Reese’s big cup. The caramel layer is THICK and wonderful.
The last of the stuffing-inspired fried cauliflower-rice. Topped with the last of the cranberry sauce and pineapple hot sauce. I am definitely making this dish again next November!
Roasted spaghetti squash with baked turkey meatballs (stuffed with panade, tons of garlic, urfa pepper, and cheese). Plus Trader Joe’s pizza sauce and chili flakes.
Hot/cold tofu. Cold silken tofu topped with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili crisp, gochugaru, sesame seeds, and furikake. Plus roasted baby cauliflower.
Chicken and veggie dumplings from Mandu (the best!) the best with spicy sesame miso green beans (steamed, then sauteed in a mix of lime juice, brown sugar, gojuchang, miso paste, tahini, and water) and leftover tofu sauce.
We are both really enjoying this flavored s’mores coffee from Bones Coffee Company.
Extra-purple smoothie – frozen grapes, frozen berries, Greek yogurt, and butterfly pea tea.
Yogurt bowl with fresh persimmon, caramel apple granola, honey, and nutmeg.
This giant apple was labeled a “Winter Banana” at the farmers’ market so obviously we bought it.
Such good packaged snacks this week. Jalapeño and honey chicken jerky (9/10) / peanut butter dark chocolate Over Easy bar (8/10).
Abomination Brewing’s marshmallow double IPA with a marshmallow fluff rim!!
True or False – I buy anything new Ben & Jerry’s has to offer? At least once! The peanut butter cup cookie dough bites were a new favorite, 2nd only to the s’mores option, but the Oat of this Swirled flavor wasn’t for me.
We also shop Seed & Mill pretty indiscriminately! These halvah coated pecans were a 10/10.
Take-out steak soft tacos from our local Mexican place. With zucchini, chopped tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.
Noodle bowls loosely inspired by Khao Soi. Hand-cut noodles / shredded chicken breast / brothy sauce with coconut milk, red curry paste, and chicken broth / dinosaur kale sauteed with shallots, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / topped with tons of cashews and chili crisp.
Caribbean-inspired rice and beans (brown rice cooked with yellow onion, habanero pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, and dark red kidney beans) / roasted broccoli / curried chicken salad (shredded chicken with mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sauteed onion, dried cranberries, salt and pepper, and Jamaican curry powder). I topped my bowl with pineapple Blind Betty’s hot sauce and the whole thing was divine.
It’s a short work-week for me because tonight I head to Ohio to celebrate my grandmother’s NINETY-FOURTH birthday! She moved into an assisted living facility that she loves since I last saw her and I am so excited to catch-up!
Highlights from an incredibly tasty week…
Pumpkin smoothie – pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, maple syrup, cinnamon, and ice.
We consumed our spookiest pumpkin beers while watching Goosebumps (Roadsmary’s Baby – 9/10 and Howling Gourds – Adam’s favorite). Also mystery-flavor, black-tinted Fanta!
It’s Pumpkin Month but my apple line-up was top-notch. Snap Dragon, Cosmic Crisp, and Lady Alice.
These Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls are probably the most satisfying snack food; 12/10, perfect crunch, texture, and flavor.
How cute are these little strawberry gummies I found at Target??!
Pumpkin chili! Ground turkey, pink beans, yellow onion, bell peppers, chicken broth, pumpkin puree, tomato paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper, urfa chili, gochugaru, smoked paprika, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Topped with cheese, sour cream, and pickled jalopenos.
Plus we snacked on Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips with salsa while we cooked.
Egg tofu with mushroom gravy. I used shitake and brown beech mushrooms and served on top of riced cauliflower. We loved this (especially topped with Sriracha and chili crisp).
Winter veggie sheet-pan hash. I roasted butternut squash, Trader Joe’s cruciferous crunch mix, and chicken and mushroom sausages with sweet and spicy candied pecans and sharp-cheddar. Topped with a miso maple mustard vinaigrette.
Pumpkin Noosa (the best pumpkin yogurt of the month) with caramel apple granola.
Pumpkin spice Chobani with apple pie granola and frozen/warmed berries and cherries. Plus a pour-over coffee with a cinnamon and vanilla bean cold foam!
Southern Tier is the greatest of all time when it comes to pumpkin flavored alcohol.
Paris Baguette brie and cranberry croissant. This was great. I also tried an everything cream cheese croissant from Whole Foods that was only ok.
Perfect peanut butter and berry layers bar. Delicious. I’ve been very into things with a jammy layer recently (I had a Jenny’s doughnut ice cream over vacation with a mind-blowing jam swirl).
Someone at work gave Adam these spicy cashews and they are hands-down the best nuts I’ve ever eaten.
Good enough to salvage this very lackluster Cup Noodles flavor.
Taco bowls. Roasted cabbage with Sichuan pepper salt, cilantro, and lime / turkey sauteed with yellow onion, poblano pepper, and spices / double roasted tomato salsa / everything and the elote dip / sharp cheddar.
Enchilada-inspired casserole. Trader Joe’s black bean and cheese taquitos baked with a topping of roasted zucchini, leftover turkey, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. <– I will be making this again
It’s Pumpkin Month! Over the years I’ve accepted that I like pumpkin but not pumpkin spice. That said, with the numerous varieties of pumpkin beers that exist now I still had a pretty giant gourd cache this year.
P.S. Sunday night Adam and I went on a seasonal date to buy a big pumpkin and try the Wendy’s pumpkin spice frosty (the initial flavor was an 8/10 but the aftertaste was too much spice. I also tried the new nacho chicken sandwich – also only ok)
Highlights from the weekend included…
Green protein smoothie – frozen chopped spinach and banana blended with a Premier Protein cake batter.
This bar has been one of my top-three favorites for more than five years.
Spicy rice cake snack. These were almost too spicy and very satisfying.
These Trader Joe’s brigadeiros were good but not great.
This dirt cake Ben & Jerry’s was very good but not great.
Meanwhile, this ice cream cozy my mom bought me for my birthday is one of the best things we own!
Salad night. Romaine / baby bell peppers / Trader Joe’s strawberry basil vinaigrette / Beecher’s Flagship cheddar / dried cherries / bacon-seasoned crunchy mung beans / super-firm tofu that I shredded; tossed with canola oil, white pepper, and Sichuan pepper salt; and roasted.
Sandwich and salad night; Adam and I split two things from Roast. The weekly special – bbq brisket, cheddar, crispy onions, peach slaw, and a cherry pepper aioli on a brioche roll.
The bbq chicken salad with ranch, avocado, roasted corn, crispy tortilla strips, and pepperjack.
Chicken tacos from Burrito Blvd – with zucchini, tomato, roasted corn, cheese, and chipotle aioli.
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.
This was the best bowl of fruit I’ve ever eaten together. Aprium, mango, and blueberries.
And this was the best yogurt bowl I’ve ever eaten! Plain Greek yogurt with honeycrisp apple pie granola and a Sonia apple that I microwaved with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Paired with an iced phin brew with brown sugar cinnamon cold foam.
Apple ginger crisp bar; I forget every year how excellent these 88 Acres seed and oat bars are, very balanced and satisfying.
Trader Joe’s dried apple chips (Adam loved these, I prefer the honeycrisp ones) and a BelliWelli chocolate chip cookie bar.
Caramel apple cocktail! Michigan Apple Whiskey, Goldschläger, ginger seltzer, and caramel sauce.
The Trader Joe’s cookie butter ale was okay but not as good as I was expecting; it was overly spiced in a way I found sort of nauseating.
Same review for these Utz hot honey chips.
Brunch at For Five while I powered through some work projects. I got a poached shrimp cobb salad (it came with turkey bacon so it was perfect for me).
Noodles with a gojuchang tahini sauce, topped with soft-boiled eggs, Sriracha, and furikake.
The “hack” where you shake macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets with blue cheese and buffalo sauce is a go-to in this house. I used Whole Foods macaroni, Applegate Farms nuggets, and added roasted cauliflower.
Nacho night. Tortilla chips and extra-sharp cheddar with smoked turkey, roasted zucchini, Blind Betty’s hot sauce, and a salsa with heirloom baby tomato, tomatillo, lemon, pepper, and Sichuan chili salt.
Basil tofu (so good!) on brown rice with sauteed baby bok choy and red bell pepper.
Another winner recipe – spicy salmon sushi bake. For my salmon layer I used a mix of hot smoked salmon, canned smoked salmon, and canned wild Alaskan pink salmon (all from Trader Joe’s). Plus a side of seaweed and a cucumber salad.
Eating Chalk 