Tag Archives: tofu

Screamsicle

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Tasty/spooky things from the week…

Siggi’s pumpkin & spice skyr with Super Jumbo and Sweetest Batch blueberries (plus a mellowcreme pumpkin and candy eyes!).

Hummingbird High’s pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are our favorite thing we bake all year.

Seasonal brews – Southern Tier’s Screamsicle vanilla and orange DIPA and Great South Bay’s Baked pumpkin pie ale.

We enjoyed this themed candy (plus more Bon Bon Bon!) while we admired Halloween decorations in our neighboorhood.

These Utz cheddar protein pretzels are delightful; super malty and roasty.

Little Beet is our favorite fast-casual restaurant. This bowl had harissa cauliflower, charred broccoli, roasted sweet potato, and baked tofu with crispy chickpeas, chili crisp, and chimichurri.

Pumpkin pasta! Goodles pasta with a creamy vegan pumpkin sauce (blended canned pumpkin, silken tofu, gochujang, white miso, and tons of roasted elephant garlic). We topped our bowls with roasted zucchini, turkey (sauteed with green onions, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and chili crisp), and crispy onions and garlic.

I mixed my leftover pumpkin pasta with Frank’s buffalo sauce, steamed broccoli, baked chicken nuggets, and cheddar.

Jack-o’-lantern patties! Turkey burgers (ground turkey with grated sweet onion, panko, egg, dark soy sauce, pepper, and smoked paprika; sauteed) with carved sharp cheddar. Plus leftover broccoli sauteed with with a spicy sesame sauce (tahini, gochujang, sesame oil, honey, and water), sesame seeds, toasted walnuts, and Milu everything spice.

Bon Bon Butterfinger

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Things from last week…

I bought an obscene amount of chocolate from Bon Bon Bon and we’ve loved every bite! We ordered from them once before during the Pandemic and probably will again; they have gorgeous packaging and inventive flavors. My favorites so far have been the Salty Sap (crystalized maple caramel, butter cracker ganache, dark chocolate) and the Bumpy (fudgy chocolate cake cream, buttercream frosting).

We also tried the candy corn homemade Butterfinger recipe! As a registered dietitian I should probably be able to explain the food chemistry of why this works so well — I cannot, but I can tell you it was delicious.

Best yogurt bowl of the fall – plain Greek with blueberries and persimmon.

The week’s dinner theme was meat salads. (<– not an unhinged sentence) Listed from good to great: Tofu grinder salad. Boiled super-firm tofu strips, pickled pepperoncini, Edam cheese, Bomb Squad baby tomatoes, shredded romaine, pickled red onions, and olives tossed with plain Greek yogurt, Duke’s, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, gochugaru, and dried basil.

Red curry tuna salad. Canned tuna and smoked trout with plain Greek yogurt, Kewpie, red curry paste, and lime / served on a microwave pack of coconut brown rice / with sauteed bok choy, red bell pepper, green onion, and garlic / and crispy onion and garlic.

Hot honey chicken salad. Shredded baked chicken breast, crispy baked navy beans, green onion, and chopped Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapeños with plain Greek yogurt, Duke’s, Dijon mustard, honey, chili oil, and gochugaru. Plus roasted baby broccoli.

Jalapeño popper egg salad. Eggs (hard boiled eggs that I marinated in a mix of pickle brine, jalapeño brine, and rice vinegar), plain Greek yogurt, Duke’s Dijon mustard, chopped sweet and spicy jalapeños, and cubes of Kerrygold sweet cheddar. Plus sauteed asparagus. For added crunch across the plate – panko toasted in a skillet with butter, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and crispy onions and garlic.

Fancy Treats

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Our fabulous weekend included time in Long Island City, an in-season trip to Sleepy Hollow, some great walks, and tons of (delicious!) fancy treats. Highlights…

Safwa roasted peanut iced latte. I adored this.

Small Batch‘s caramelized pumpkin was also quite good. We tried their brown butter sage latte too but I did not like it.

Za’atar flagel with egg, cheddar, and turkey from Horseman Bagels.

Inspired by a fantastic treat from Kora, we made cheesy sweet buns. Potato roll baked with butter and Trader Joe’s vanilla sugar and topped with shredded Edam.

Spicy crab inari. I don’t get tofu skin often enough and I was excited for this (grocery!) roll.

Treats from Arellano Pandelsal. Ube ensaymada and a cinnamon roll with calamansi glaze!

Spot Dessert Bar‘s Cookie Camp – marshmallow cookie, pretzels, cookie crumbs, chocolate sauce, and condensed milk ice cream. Swoon. We also quite enjoyed a green tea with lychee jelly.

Stew Leonard‘s plain Greek frozen yogurt (great!) with tons of seasonal sprinkles.

I loved the topping options at Ilios – I got the plain Greek (even better!) with sprinkles, Kinder sauce, and cinnamon roll!

A black bean rice bowl from Tony’s with seasonal roasted squash (plus I added roasted baby zucchini from home!).

A lunch plate a Blue Hill at Stone Farms. The property was stunningly gorgeous! We appreciated how fresh and technically perfect the food was but weren’t necessarily over the moon about it. (We would still try the fancy dinner(s) though!)

We were over the moon for the honey roobios canned tea we had with lunch. It tasted like the holidays.

Pig Beach BBQ. This burger was solid, definitely would be number 6 on my New York favorite’s list! It was so smoky! We also liked the potato salad, vinegary slaw, and roasted turkey.

We had a great dinner at Soothr. My fun take on a Long Island came with a delicious mint jelly.

My favorite dish was the Khao Soi tofu aka the best egg tofu I’ve ever eaten.

And we shared Pad Si Iw with beef.

And we also had rice rolls that I wasn’t a fan of (but Adam enjoyed!).

Smashed, Toasted, and Themed…

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Themed things from this week…

A Pumpkin Month yogurt bowl. Pumpkin Noosa with maple almond butter granola and a side of blueberries.

A Pumpkin Month pumpkin spice latte ice cream sundae. Adirondack pumpkin pie ice cream and Ben & Jerry’s Honey Graham Latte ice cream with Trader Joe’s chocolate shell and granola butter.

A Pumpkin Month snack mix! Trader Joe’s maple kettle corn with candy corn and peanuts. Sooo good.

You know what time it was for dinners — Sandwich Week! Meatloaf. Duck Island whole-wheat sourdough with sauce (white miso, Dijon mustard, and Kewpie), leftover turkey meatloaf, sharp cheddar, and fried onion and garlic. Plus roasted green beans.

Chicken salad toasts. Sourdough baked with sharp cheddar and chicken salad (shredded chicken breast, plain Greek yogurt, Duke’s yellow mustard, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapeños, shredded edam, and fried onion and garlic). Plus roasted baby broccoli.

Smashed tuna melts. Potato buns with sharp cheddar and tuna salad (canned tuna and smoked trout, plain Greek yogurt, Kewpie, Dijon mustard, jalapeño brine, and chopped pickles and capers) smashed in a skillet with butter and evoo. Plus roasted broccoli and delicata and honeynut squash with a honey mustard sauce (horseradish, Sichuan pepper, honey, yellow mustard, plain Greek yogurt, and Duke’s).

My favorite of the week – tofu sandwiches. A potato bun with Kewpie and yellow and Dijon mustards, pickled red onion, sharp cheddar, fried onion and garlic, and tofu (super-firm thin sliced, marinated in gochujang, pickle brine, jalapeño brine, oyster sauce, onion powder, and garlic powder, and baked). Plus coleslaw (shredded cabbage, rice vinegar, lemon juice, plain Greek yogurt, Duke’s, Dijon mustard, sugar, and dried dill and mustard).

Goodbye Apple, Hello Pumpkin

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I was a bit under the weather this week and I don’t have much to share but I can’t miss the opening of a new theme month! Here is my Pumpkin Month stash –

Other highlights from the week…

A strong finish to Apple Month. This sour apple Poppi was good but not unmissalbe.

My first pumpkin treat was a flop. I hated this Trader Joe’s flan (but to be fair, Adam loved it). I also had a pumpkin beer while I wrote this post!

My homemade dinners (mostly I ate bad take-out!) had a brinner theme. Homemade savory granola! Silken tofu / roasted zucchini / granola (oats baked with evoo, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, maple syrup, brown sugar, pepper, salt, za’atar, and gochugaru) // later I added chili crisp.

Chinese tomato egg stir-fry. Plus sauteed asparagus (with almonds, lemon, butter, salt, and pepper).

Sandwich Week, With A Twist

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Highlights from the week…

It was an especially successful 2nd week of Apple Month.

These apple rings tie with the Trader Joe’s gummies for best treat of Apple Month. Three different flavors!

Nightingale caramel apple ice cream sandwich is a 10/10.

I also quite enjoyed this crisp apple Olipop.

In other fruits, I tried a chocolate naval orange. It just tasted like a regular orange, but it was the best I’ve ever eaten.

The modern world is a horror-show so you’ve got to make little bits of joy where you can; hence, dinner theme weeks! This one was sandwiches, reimagined. We started out strong with Lido Kosher Deli‘s knishwich with pastrami.

I also had a latke with great applesauce.

Tuna melt nachos. Dill pickle krinkle cut kettle chips / baked with Trader Joe’s Ooey Gooey cheese blend / topped with a mix of canned tuna, Kewpie, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalapeños (plus brine), and bread and butter pickles.

Turkey burger fried rice. Leftover brown rice sauteed with fish sauce and soy sauce / sauteed ground turkey with ketchup, yellow mustard, and pickle brine / eggs / green onions / baby tomatoes / pickles (bread and butter and sweet and sour) / sharp cheddar / sesame seeds / and crispy onion and garlic.

Tofu bahn mi panzanella. Boiled super-firm tofu / toasted day old sub roll cubes / quick-pickled cucumber (thin sliced baby cucs left for 24 hours in a mix of sugar, salt, Milu everything seasoning, rice vinegar, and sesame oil) / pickled jalapeños / Trader Joe’s pickled red onions / cilantro / sauced with a mix of Sriracha, Duke’s, lime juice, rice vinegar, and sugar.

Apple Month 2026

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Highlights from this week…

You know it’s a good week when you have two kinds of blueberries! Super Jumbo and wild.

On the Emily calendar, September is Apple Month! (October – Pumpkin, November – Pumpkin again and Cranberry, December – Eggnog, Gingerbread, and Mint). I have, of course, amassed a fun stash of apple-themed snacks.

Here was (some of!) the on-theme stuff I ate this week. The apple Altoids are weak but otherwise all winners. Also – the ruby apple Alani is a 10/10 (not a flavor I’d reach for every day but I had no notes).

Later in the week I also scored a Hal’s apple seltzer.

And some Trader Joe’s juicy apple gummies. <– hands down the best apple treat!

I made an apple syrup by boiling down apple cider with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Apple brown betty matcha – vanilla yuzu seltzer, apple syrup, butter extract, and matcha.

Apple smile iced latte – skim milk, espresso, apple syrup, marshmallow fluff, and One Trick Pony cinnamon sugar peanut butter. This was amazing, in no small part thanks to the peanut butter which is wondrously good.

See also – New York Beanery caramel apple iced latte.

An apple-themed dinner – apple pie chicken salad. Shredded chicken breast with Duke’s, plain skyr, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, cinnamon, smoked paprika, gochugaru, sharp cheddar, green onions, and toasted walnuts. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with honey, yellow mustard, rice vinegar, and chili crisp), apple chips, and toasted sourdough with butter.

Spaghetti with sauce and balls. Whole-wheat spaghetti / gussied up pasta sauce – Trader Joe’s pizza sauce sauteed with roasted garlic, tomato paste, gochugaru, urfa pepper, and dried basil / baked turkey meatballs – ground turkey with panade, egg, hoisin, and urfa pepper / mozzarella pearls.

We also made spaghetti casserole – all of the ingredients above baked in a casserole with sharp cheddar on top. Plus sauteed greens – fennel and broccoli rabe with roasted garlic, smoked paprika, and gochugaru.

I don’t have a name for what this dinner bowl was but its adjective was “yummy!” Waffle fries baked with sharp cheddar, Milu everything seasoning, and za’atar / roasted baby zucchinis / soft-scrambled eggs / homemade artichoke tapenade – marinated artichokes food processed with Castelvetrano olives, capers, evoo, and lemon juice. I went back and topped my whole bowl with smoky chili crisp.

Middle Eastern-inspired rice bowls. Brown rice / roasted cauliflower rice / crispy-baked navy beans / shredded super-firm tofu baked with evoo, za’atar, and urfa pepper / roasted garlic, toasted almond silvers, chopped dried apricots, and chopped olives. This was delicious but when I make it again I would add sauteed onion.

P.S. I’m going to go make a caramel apple cocktail when I hit publish!

Bananas, Bowls

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Highlights from the week…

Banana malted ice latte. Blended frozen banana, ice, malt powder, and chocolate milk topped with espresso. <– this was fantastic

Banana bread snack mix. Whole-wheat Chex, cinnamon sugar pretzel sticks, walnuts, and banana chips baked with butter, cinnamon, vanilla sugar, and brown sugar.

Nola malted. Vanilla ice cream blended with milk, Blue Bottle’s instant Nola coffee, and malt powder.

Garlic tofu dinner bowls. Roasted shredded brussels sprouts tossed with lemon zest and parmesan cheese / homemade pretzel bread croutons / super-firm tofu boiled and then sauteed with garlic, butter, lemon juice, miso, gochujang, and smoked paprika // I went back and topped my bowl with pickled red onion.

Veggie whipped cottage cheese dinner bowls. Food-processed cottage cheese / roasted baby zucchini / tomatoes sauteed with honey, chili oil, and gochugaru / Milu everything seasoning. Yes, there was a more significant protein component planned. No, my idea did not work out. Yes, I chased dinner with chopped cheese fries take-out.

BBQ chicken dinner bowls. Roasted riced cauliflower sauteed with blended cottage cheese and shredded sharp cheddar / baked chicken thighs tossed in a skillet with homemade bbq sauce (tomato paste, brown sugar, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapeño brine, smoked pimento, onion powder, garlic powder, and water) / sauteed poblano pepper and green onion / crispy onion and garlic.

Buffalo tofu dinner bowls. Celery sauteed with green onion and then tossed with plain skyr, Duke’s, jalapeño brine, and Trader Joe’s ranch seasoning / shredded super-firm tofu baked until crispy and then tossed with Frank’s buffalo sauce / crispy onion and garlic.