Tag Archives: tofu

Black Sesame

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I’m late — I worked the weekend and it knocked me out — but last week was too yummy not to post! Tons of ube, black sesame, and homemade fried shallots, oh my!

Highlights included…

Vietnamese coffee combo all week.

See also, phin-brewed coffee with sweetened condensed milk and black sesame paste.

Cookie dough Perfect Bar and a fresh peach = my new favorite breakfast combo.

Calpis filled marshmallows.

Everything new and ube from Trader Joe’s! P.S. we made epic sundaes with those items plus sliced banana, frosted flakes, sweetened condensed milk, and black sesame paste.

We have loved everything we’ve tried from Fat Orange Cat, particularly this sour double IPA.

Udon noodles / roasted zucchini, shredded rainbow carrot, green onion / ground turkey / sauce including doubangijang (spicy bean paste), chili crisp, tahini, soy sauce, and rice vinegar / fried shallots.

Roasted eggplant with shallot oil and sumac / roasted super firm tofu / sauce including tahini, black sesame paste, gojuchang, lemon, maple, and rice vinegar / green onion and fried shallots.

Baked chicken thighs / roasted green cabbage with carrots and green onion plus tons of fresh mint and cilantro / Nuoc Cham / fried shallots.

Chili Crisp Galore

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This was an exceptionally tasty week! My snacks were on point, we tried a fantastic new restaurant, and the dinners we cooked were total successes. Highlights include…

Brunch at Xilonen, a new vegetarian Mexican spot in Greenpoint. We were blown away by the scrambled egg tostada with salsa mache, queso, and a crispy blue corn tortilla.

Heirloom corn tamal, stuffed with sweet potato al pastor, and topped with smoked crema and poblano rajas.

Masa pancakes with maple and butter.

Chocolate cherry cold brew.

Dalgona iced coffee with black sesame vanilla bean milk.

An ideal snack array – sumo mandarin, salted peanuts, and lava cake kisses.

My parents sent us a box of St. Patrick’s Day goodies, including homemade clover sugar cookies.

Peanut butter chocolate chip Perfect Bar + boba milk tea mochi.

Boba-studded popsicles are currently my favorite snack category.

10/10 leftovers from The Meat Hook. The french onion dip was the best I’ve ever had.

Farro / glazed, baked tofu / sautéed bok choy and green onion / chili crisp / fried shallots (which we made in the microwave!!).

Soba noodles / peanut sauce (loosely based on this one) / cabbage / zucchini / ground turkey / chili crisp and smashed peanuts.

Oven-baked crispy chicken tenders (loosely inspired by this recipe) with brown sugar chili crisp sauce + roasted broccoli with fried shallots. I went back for thirds of that chicken!

Mediterranean Cruise

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I’m late posting from last week but our meals were too good not to share! We did a theme week – Mediterranean! Here were the highlights…

Coffee with Turkish spiced coffee sugar.

I expected to love the date & walnut ice cream from Adirondack Creamery and was pleasantly surprised by the Trader Joe’s halvah.

Panzanella. Lamb sausage / baked sprouted tofu / roasted eggplant / baby tomatoes / crumbled feta / kalamata olives / garlic flatbread.

Naanchos! Homemade baked flatbread chips / sharp cheddar / feta / lamb sausage / roasted eggplant / pickled red onions.

Plus a sour IPA with milk sugar, peach, hibiscus, and lemon peel.

Tuna pita melts. Tuna salad with pickled red onions and sharp cheddar in the whole-wheat pita that I practically deep-fried in butter. Plus roasted zucchini with sumac.

Tasting plates. Multigrain pita crackers / red, orange, and yellow bell pepper / smoked almonds / salami / roasted garlic hummus / kalamata olives / stuffed grape leaves.

Flock Together

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I worked all weekend – crazy busy but super interesting days; we’ve had a ton of micronutrient deficiencies lately and I’ve really gotten to flex my nutrition-focused physical exam skills – but Adam and I managed to have some excellent date nights.

Highlights include…

Strawberry iced latte from Copper Mug Coffee.

Eggnog things!

Eggnog punch bubble tea from Lazy Sundaes. I have been wondering for years why no one was doing the egg nog and boba combo and it was just as tasty as I had anticipated.

Pumpkin cupcake and eggnog pudding trifle from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Homemade fish taco bowls. Roasted cabbage with lime Sriracha crema and beer-battered cod.

The new best dinner of the year from Canary Club. We ate in the frigid wind on the stoop (it could not have been any more safely socially distanced nor any more cold) so I couldn’t take photos but the the meal was a 10/10. Spicy mezcal cocktail with genepy, lime, pineapple, and pink peppercorn plus a berry rickey with cinnamon cachaça and citrus wild berry cider // black sesame tempura carrots with chili tahini and dill // smoked delicata squash with pecorino, creole butter, and Malaysian peanuts // duck fat broccoli and cauliflower with cilantro and toasted almonds // hanger steak with olive relish, crispy corn cakes, and French onion sauce.

An epic take-out spread from Birds of a Feather. We piled giant plates with numbing-spicy goodness!

We ordered a million things so we could try everything that sounded good and have leftovers for dinners next week: steamed curry chicken dumplings // chive pancakes with egg and dried shrimp // poached wood ear mushrooms with pickled peppers and cucumbers in a vinegar sauce // sautéed Chinese broccoli with soy sauce and scallions // string beans in ginger sauce // spicy and sour tofu pudding // shredded chicken with sesame and chili oil // spicy cumin lamb with bell peppers and miso // cold Sichuan noodles with peanut paste, chili oil, and peppercorns // fried rice with mustard green shoots // fried rice with shredded duck.

Plus Levain for dessert!

Fa x1, La x8

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It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas! Very excited about this year’s ridiculous line-up on on-theme items.

Highlights from this past week include…

Eggnog + Trager Brothers Coffee (<– the stuff from the hospital coffee shop in Virginia that I was obsessed with).

Plus I made an eggnog dalgona coffee!

A very pepperminty breakfast. I was expecting the peanut butter/mint combo to be strange but that Perfect bar was actually amazing.

Greek yogurt bowl with cranberry sauce, cinnamon, and butter rum trail mix.

Still really loving these cocktail hour truffles from Trader Joe’s.

We are even more excited about these buttermints that my parents HANDMADE!?!

Turkey taco night. Corn tortilla with homemade chipotle salsa / sautéed white onion, yellow and orange bell pepper, and poblano pepper / ground turkey / shredded cheese / sour cream / hot sauce. Plus a taco-less pile fillings on the side.

Taco bowl night. Everything from the previous meal plus cranberry sauce and minus the tortilla.

We took a break from tacos with take-out from our favorite Japanese place. Garlic sautéed veggies, tempura veggies and chicken, seaweed salad, edamame, and tofu.

Thankful

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I hope all of my American readers had a safe but satisfying Thanksgiving. Adam and I both worked the holiday but were able to continue our tradition of Thanksgiving night nachos! And thankfully our days ended early enough that we had time to chat with my parents while taking the dog on a cocktail walk and Zoom conference with all of my in-laws in the evening.

We spent a little time talking about things we are thankful for which was an easy assignment for me because I feel like thankful is actually my primary state of being – at least five times a day I thank my lucky stars that I just get to know Adam and Webster, let alone have them both love me back.

By the way, even my non-holiday eats were still pretty much on-theme because the short list of superficial things I’m thankful for definitely includes coffee, boba, sprinkles, ice cream, and pizza! Highlights from the past week include…

Stumptown holiday spice iced latte.

Thompson Square Bagels (my favorite in the city) poppy seed with birthday cake cream cheese.

Yogurt bowl win. Plain Greek with peanut butter, cranberry dressing, and granola. Trader Joe’s cranberry dressing (the stuff in the refrigerated section, not the canned one) is the best in the game.

This s’mores kefir was good but not as exciting as I wanted it to be.

Whole Foods has a whole line of specialty holiday ice cream flavors so I am obviously going to be eating ice cream every day for the next month.

Brown sugar creme brulee bubble tea!

Thanksgiving nachos. This year we did Trader Joe’s horseradish and chives potato chips / shredded cheese / duck fennel sausage / shishito peppers / cranberry dressing. Plus roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

And we stayed on theme with maple margaritas.

No pie for dessert, but we did have these festive truffles.

Roasted broccoli and cabbage with spicy cashew sauce and rolled tofu.

We lucked out that Taglio is so close to our apartment because they are currently my favorite pizza in the city. This roasted potato and vodka slice were both 10/10. Plus they have given a ton of food to the workers at Adam’s hospital throughout the pandemic so I am thrilled to support them (multiple times a week!).

Homemade chili topped with sour cream, jalopenos, and pimento cheese. I used duck sausage, black beans, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, sweet onion, diced tomato, spices, and beer.

Plus a beer for the cook.

Frozen

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Cold weather definitely hit NYC this week. Thankfully it looks like this weekend will be a little more long walk outdoors friendly. But you wouldn’t guess how cold our apartment is by my recent snack choices – popsicles galore! Highlights include…

Triple shot vanilla bean canned coffee. 6/10. The flavor wasn’t super exciting but I was happy with the amount of caffeine for a canned coffee.

After years of longing, we finally found the cola flavored La Croix! They, and the Cubana flavor, were both 10/10.

Amazing nougat and candied orange candies my parents sent us. 10/10.

Cake cream ice popsicles. 9/10.

Black sugar boba popsicles. 12/10.

Stir-fried leek, bok choy, and red bell pepper with egg tofu.

Topped with vegetarian pork floss!

From Comfortland‘s Thanksgiving sandwich special line-up, The Black Friday – fried chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple slaw, and gravy.

Fall-flavored sheet pan roast. Butternut squash (with cinnamon and smoked paprika) / shredded brussel sprouts / local chicken garlic sausages / dried cherries / TJ’s sweet and spicy pecans.

Lemon Meringue Pie

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I worked (long days!) Friday, Saturday, Sunday but we still had a fun weekend with amazing date nights!  Five favorites were – –

Mekelburg’s rose black halva latte – an oat milk iced iced latte with rose halvah syrup, topped with rose petals and sesame seeds.

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Westbrook Brewings‘ lemon meringue pie gose might be even better than their key lime pie gose!

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Friday night we cuddled on the couch with nachos and ice cream and (re)watched “Love and Basketball” and it was kind of the best.  Chipotle nacho hack – order chips and a rice bowl without rice (this one had chicken, fajita veggies, corn salsa, and cheese (and guacamole on the side!)) and bake.

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We got three -epic – sandwiches from Mekelburg’s and had a picnic down by the water near Domino Park. Waygu roast beef for Adam / a bahn mi with Peking duck, duck rillettes, and sambal hoisin mayo for me / a Mekelburger with dry-aged beef, American cheese, grilled onions, fried onions, and tarragon mustard on Hawaiian bun to share.

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Chinese take-out to finish the weekend.  I got chili oil tofu with cabbage, celery and white rice.

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