Tag Archives: tofu

Chia, Crumb, Curd

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Yummy things from the week…

These Smash Bites are hard to find but they are a great snack. This flavor – peanut butter and concord grape jam) is my favorite.

Plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and homemade meyer lemon curd.

Homemade amaretto sours! I used meyer lemons, rose syrup, and added vodka.

Homemade cinnamon brownies with crumb cake topping. I left the eggs out of the batter like an idiot but they were still quite good.

We got For Five vodka pasta over the weekend and it was both surprisingly good and surprisingly good reheated.

Congee (brown rice cooked slowly with chicken broth, ginger, and white pepper) topped with a take on Thai basil turkey (ground turkey sauteed with dark soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, onion, and basil) with a fried egg and some crunchy chili flakes. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Sesame herb salads. Raw cabbage, boy choy, green onions, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, Fresno chili, and cilantro / dressed with sesame oil, lime juice, yuzu ponzu, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and Sriracha / with baked chicken, Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews, and sesame seeds.

Peanut butter red curry noodles. Brown rice Pad Thai noodles / baked extra-firm tofu / sauteed cabbage, bok choy, spinach, green onion, and cilantro with white pepper and rice vinegar / sauce – peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and water.

Summer Salad

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Things from the week…

It is my birthday month so I, of course, opened my stash of birthday cake coffee concentrates.

Trader Joe’s sparkling matcha lemonade. Not too sweet but the flavor was weak.

Fruity candies. The freeze-dried orange slices were okay (good texture but the flavor was off) but we loved the strawberry gummy assortment from Trader Joe’s.

We are head over heels for protein peanut butter cups this week. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter mixed with 1 Tbsp malted milk powder, 1 Tbsp vanilla protein powder (for texture), 1 Tbsp total maple and/or honey, and a pinch of salt; topped with chocolate shell.

Summer salad! Heirloom tomatoes with plum, peach, nectarine, pan-fried paneer, and crispy roasted chickpeas, topped with salt, chili oil, honey, and balsamic vinegar.

We paired our mostly fruit salad with a side of roasted romanesco, which was delicious.

This meal was a watery fail and I am blogging it to remind myself not to put cold silken tofu on top of dumplings again. Silken tofu / pan-fried Trader Joe’s Thai shrimp gyoza / celery and green onion sauteed with garlic, Sichuan pepper, and white pepper / homemade dumpling sauce – rice vinegar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, chili oil, sugar, sesame seeds, green onion, and chopped smoked almonds.

BBQ plates. Mashed potato salad (we overcooked our potatoes so we leaned into the mashed vibe and made them extra creamy) with celery and cornichon pickles, dressed with plain Skyr, Duke’s mayo, Dijon mustard, pickle brine, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Turkey meatballs with panade, egg, ranch seasoning, bbq sauce, and shredded sharp cheddar. And roasted green beans.

I don’t know what to call this bowl but the combination worked! Roasted zucchini and orange sweet potato topped with pan-fried paneer and tempeh sauced with Dijon, rice vinegar, and apricot jam.

Summer Sips

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No post from me last week because we were on vacation! On a cruise!! In Alaska!!! It was a great trip and we had a fabulous time. We saw two glaciers and tons of animals (including but not limited to whales, dolphins, sealions, and orcas!).

Here were the highlights this week back at home, mostly things that scream *SUMMER!*…

Watermelon cotton candy. The texture of this Charms brand was perfection.

S’mores-y things. I also opened my very last bag of Ben & Jerry’s s’mores cookie dough bites!

Summer-flavored energy drinks and seltzers.

We tried the Shake Shake Dubai chocolate shake. Our location’s chocolate shell was not successful/crackable. I thought it was good but needed way more chocolate.

Before we got groceries we got giant take-out salads from Guac Shop. Mine had romaine (with honey mustard dressing added at home), fajita veggies, corn, cabbage, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, pico de gallo, mango salsa, roasted tofu, shredded cheese, and crispy tortilla strips.

Esquites-style pasta. Brown rice udon / roasted super-firm tofu / garlic sauteed spinach / and a loose take on esquites – fresh corn sauteed with poblano pepper, green onion, cotija cheese, Duke’s mayo, lime, gochugaru, and salt and pepper.

BBQ chicken salad. Baked chicken, corn, poblano pepper, green onion, sweet gherkin pickles, smoked almonds, and bbq kettle chips dressed with a mix of plain skyr, Dukes, Dijon, and Whole Food’s Memphis-style bbq sauce. Plus green beans (steamed then sauteed with mustard, honey, and chili crisp).

Served with this zesty popcorn from Trader Joe’s.

Pistachio, Passionfruit, Pickles

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Some things from the weekend…

This pistachio butter was perfect in an iced latte.

Also in an ice cream sundae! Jeni’s darkest chocolate with pistachio butter, Heritage Flakes, and Trader Joe’s chocolate shell.

Yogurt bowl – plain Greek with blueberries and tons of fresh passionfruit.

We did not care for this Trader Joes tarragon chicken salad wrap. The flavor was hollow; we split it and neither of us wanted to finish our half.

But I did quite enjoy their packaged southwest salad.

We got take-out from the Burger Spot for the 1st time so we ordered a bunch of things to try — Country Veggie salad – chopped kale, cabbage, avocado, cucumbers, cranberries, red onion, and a homemade veggie patty with cilantro ranch dressing / fries and onion rings (their sauces were all a 10/10!) / chicken parm sandwich – chicken fillet with marinara and mozzarella on ciabatta / and the special chicken burger with pickled jalapenos, pickles, coleslaw, cheddar, and bourbon sauce. We will be back!

We also had a shockingly good meal at Little Beet – herby rice with charred broccoli, smoky maple carrots (some of the best vegetables I’ve ever eaten!), baked tofu, and chimichurri.

Savory oatmeal bowl. Trader Joe’s rolled oats with ancient grains and seeds / frozen broccoli sauteed with gochujang, ginger, fish sauce, and gouda / fried egg / chili crisp.

Coconut, Banana, And Egg Coffees

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We had a terrific weekend filled with tons of good food, good coffees, and several long walks (including bridge walks – our favorite!)! The five best food stops were…

A&C Super. It took us too long to check out this cute bakery but we hope to head back quickly. We had a banana bread muffin and an amazing pull-apart croissant bread with cardamom sugar. Plus their coconut iced coffee (with toasted coconut infused sweetened condensed milk!) with a shot of espresso.

11:11 Cafe. We loved their banana iced latte. This was milkier than we prefer but the milk was so tasty.

5th Sip. This is a newish Vietnamese coffee spot. We got the Hanoi Egg cold foam.

Brunch at Pig and Khao. Vietnamese iced coffee and a Green Hour – Thai basil gin, pisco, cucumber, lime, mint, aquafaba, and orange bitters.

We shared the Thai basil chicken.

And Khao Soi.

Plus doughnuts with a pandan cream.

Dinner at Bonnie’s. This Cantonese-American spot exceeded my high expectations. We shared and loved a good portion of the menu. Henny Kravitz – Hennessy VS, toasted coconut, Plantation pineapple rum, Copalli white rum, lemon, and sherry.

Sour Cherry Negroni – Ilegal mezcal, sour cherries, and Empirical plum liquor. We also had an unphotographed Ribena Highball – Ilegal mezcal, Ribena blackcurrant, ginger, lemon, and San Pellegrino.

Yauh Ja Gwai Panzanella – heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, stone fruit, pickled mustard greens, and fried cruller.

Dao Gok – Chinese long beans, fermented bean curd garlic butter, and fried cruller.

Naw Mai Fan – buttered crispy sticky rice with snap peas and herbs.

Cheung Fun – seared rolled rice noodles with bean sprouts and chives (we got the vegan option for this but I bet the shrimp based xo sauce is divine). We also had an unphotographed Fuyu Cacio e Pepe Mein -cacio e pepe, fermented bean curd, pecorino, and black and white pepper.

Chow Nai Sundae – malted fried milk, ovaltine hot fudge, vanilla ice cream, and buttered peanuts.

Pickle Honey Mustard

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It was an eclectic but tasty week. P.S. My best meal was at The Tyger catching up with out of town family (two sets of aunts and uncles!) – best bite was specifically the “Morning Glory,” stir-fried water spinach, with chili, garlic, and shrimp paste – but I took a long walk first and didn’t have my camera. Some highlights…

Smash Foods sunflower butter and strawberry jam bites. These are in my top-five favorite “bars.”

I always have to eat at least one yogurt bowl a week – plain Greek with blueberries, blackberries, and Heritage Flakes cereal.

I think every baked good is better mixed with plain Greek yogurt! This was a cookie dough chocolate cake (plus 99 Acres chocolate sunflower seed butter and blackberries).

Boba tea from Gong Cha. I did an iced black milk tea with black and white bobas <– the mix is definitely the way to go.

Turkey cheeseburger meatballs (ground turkey, salt, white pepper, panko bread crumbs, cream, ketchup, sesame seeds, chopped pickles, and sharp cheddar) with baked fries (tossed in smoked paprika and ranch seasoning) and the best snap peas (sauteed until almost charred with crumbly gouda, walnuts, and gochugaru).

Nachos! Whole Food’s honey mustard kettle chips with gruyere, gouda, chopped cornichon and sweet gherkin pickles, sauteed poblano pepper and green onion, and tofu cubes (marinated in pickle juice, baked, then sauteed with the best sauce – Trader Joe’s dill pickle mustard, gochujang, rice vinegar, honey, and a bit of water). Plus roasted broccoli.

Loaded tuna salad – canned tuna, chopped pickles and Trader Joe’s sweet and hot jalapenos, crunched honey mustard chips, pickle mustard, mayo, and Greek yogurt – with baked green beans.

Chewy

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A short post for a short week. My parents are coming to visit today! And I took tomorrow off to do fun New York things.

The two things worth photographing from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…

Tofu pasta. We did one package of super-firm tofu with 2 cups of flour, salt, and an egg and an egg yolk. These were quite doughy and I probably wouldn’t make them again but they were fun to try. We tossed them with sauteed baby broccoli and a pad see ew style sauce.

My new top tier yogurt bowl – plain skyr with blueberries, granola, and marzipan. The crunchy chewy combo was perfect!

Pierogi, Calzone, Hot Pockets

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This week’s dinner theme has to be my most unhinged — foods in an edible package. I am mentally categorizing “edible packages” as packets, by the way (i.e. no turducken!).

Mochi-wrapped ice cream. This milk tea flavor from Bubbies was fantastic and these are possibly the best ice cream mochi I’ve ever eaten.

Gummy mangos in an edible candy peel. The peelable gummies from Walgreens are top tier. It was a yummy week!

Rice noodle rolls with shrimp. From Trader Joe’s.

Soup dumplings. We went to Nan Xiang to try their chicken soup dumplings and thought they were great.

We also had their mustard greens with tofu skin and edamame which were good.

And their stir-fried rice cakes with shredded beef which were only ok.

And ube bao stuffed with red bean paste (more packets!).

Potstickers. Trader Joe’s chicken and vegetables. Paired with roasted broccoli and a dumpling salsa inspired by Leah Cohen (crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, gochugaru, sugar, Fly by Jing Sichuan chili oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, and green onions).

Tortellini. Whole Foods kale and cheese. We tossed them with orange baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, baked chicken, sharp cheddar cubes, and a green sauce (fresh baby spinach food-processed with evoo, chili oil, sesame oil, salt, garlic, and walnuts).

Samosas. Trader Joe’s mini vegetable ones. Paired with curry cauliflower (roasted cauliflower sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Jamaican curry powder) with pickled red onions and fried eggs.

P.S. We’re going to Queens for empanadas tonight. Other than the other thousand varieties of things stuffed into pastas, did I miss any??