Tag Archives: tofu

(C)how Fun

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Fun eats from the past week…

A coffee date at Quhwah House. I got an iced Yemeni latte (great in theory but I ultimately am just not a ginger in coffee fan) and we shared a yummy creamy pistachio dessert.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this Cafe Bustelo coffee. Not as good as brewing their coffee myself but the best pre-made coffee I’ve tried.

Snack plate – olive oil and za’atar labne, baby carrots, and corn fritters (we got bar food one night!).

I went to J-Mart for fresh noodles and scored in their amazing snack isle – these Sichuan pepper chips were fantastic.

Drinks and desserts at Whisk and Whiskey. We really enjoyed this spot and want to go back ASAP.

We made Hummingbird High’s best ever banana bread recipe.

I, of course, ate some cubed in a yogurt bowl with blueberries.

And, of course, I toasted thick slices to be the B in BEC (banana bread, soft-scrambled eggs, extra-sharp cheddar). Served with blueberries and roasted green beans.

Another fun dinner I made was Leah Cohen’s recipe for Chow Fun! With baked chicken subbed in for beef and roasted zucchini subbed in for bean sprouts. It was delicious.

Big salads. Romaine / cucumber / balsamic vinaigrette / roasted pumfu (pumpkin seed tofu) / crispy rice (leftover black rice roasted with soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili crisp).

Best meal of the week = Bricolage. We’ve loved this Vietnamese spot for years. Their take on coquito blew me away – Ten to One dark rum, house-made creamy coconut spice blend, and Chinese cardamom. I also had a great Vietnamese Espresso Martini – Grainger’s vodka, chicory infused coffee, condensed milk, and five spice coffee garnish.

Mushroom ginger congee with lemongrass tofu.

Five spice roasted honey nut squash with maple gastrique and a kale cauliflower cous cous salad.

Hawker broad noodles – fresh flat rice noodles, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, cherry tomato, peanuts, crispy shallots, and spiced soy three-bean peanut sauce.

Caramelized shrimp pot – Gulf shrimp, baby bok choy, onion, cherry tomato, and scallions in a caramel-chili sauce. This is my favorite dish on the menu!

Oh Chicken Salad

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Thoughts for the weekend… It is going to be unpleasantly cold all next week so I am hoping to take a long walk around the neighborhood today while it’s still enjoyable to be outside // I recently rediscovered/got ear-wormed by “No Games” by Serani and I play it twice daily at minimum // We bought Webster a blueberry muffin toy and it is delightfully cute.

Best bites from the week…

Peanut butter and jelly yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with blueberries, jam grapes, and the best peanut butter.

A spaghetti and meatballs-ish take on the lasagna soup trend. Sauteed garlic, tomato sauce, and Trader Joe’s tomato and roasted red pepper soup / roasted zucchini / whole-wheat elbow pasta / turkey meatballs (stuffed with panade, garlic, and parmesan) / topped with parmesan.

Chicken salad. Chopped chicken breast with grapes, slivered almonds, scallions, skyr, mayo, dijon, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover PopUp bagels toasted with butter and roasted purple cauliflower.

Broccoli salad. Roasted broccoli and leftover cauliflower / roasted poblano pepper / baked super-firm tofu / scallions / sesame seeds / dried cranberries / extra-sharp cheddar / sauce – dijon, evoo, lemon juice, honey, and vinegar.

With Crab On Top

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We had a wonderful weekend. NYC weather warmed up enough for some city walks and we were able to enjoy (many!) iced coffees. Highlights…

Blue Bottle‘s current Nola special is cinnamon, honey, and vanilla.

Meanwhile Elk Coffee‘s special had condensed milk, butterscotch, and cinnamon!

Enly Coffee‘s viral tiramisu latte.

Iced lattes from Humble Cafe. Pandan and guava with brown sugar. We love this spot.

This blueberry coconut water tasted exactly the way I hoped it would.

I 100% get the hype around the new Hani’s Bakery. We tried a cinnamon roll and a rice krispie treat with pistachio and halvah and both were perfectly executed.

Finally tried PopUp Bagels now that we have a location out in Roslyn Long Island. We got poppy, everything, and sesame with scallion cream cheese and white fish salad. These were quite good – and we loved the toppings – but I wouldn’t call them the best bagels in NYC (I am La Bagel Delight loyal).

Finally tried Fini Pizza. Again, very good – nice chew and the white slice was rich and decadent – but not the best pizza in NYC (L’Industrie).

Italian Food at Ci Siamo. We started and peaked with the focaccia – the center was chewy yet fluffy and the crust was shatteringly crisp. We also thought the tomato conserve was just lovely.

The caramelized onion torta was also great.

Mandilli with guinea hen sausage, pecorino, and dandelion greens and cavatelli with crab, chili, and vermouth.

Lemon torta with olive oil and fantastic meringue was a perfect ending. Adam loved the chocolate budino.

Chinese Food at Antidote. I loved the Fei-Hong Fries with peanuts and lots of Sichuan chili pepper; they were so crispy! Suntory Story in the background – jasmine green tea infused Roku Gin, Haku Vodka, kumquat lemon, honey, and garnished with salted plum.

Garlic boy choy.

Tea-smoked duck fried rice.

Soft tofu with salted egg yolk and crab. This was our favorite dish; it was divine on the fried rice.

Oodles

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Two down! Some highlights from a tasty week…

This week’s coffee was Madrinas’ cheesecake instant cold brew. The flavor was nice (not artificial tasting) and it mixed easily but this was a bit sweet for me; I liked it best mixed with half water and half black coffee.

Peanut butter cup protein cookie yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with chocolate protein powder, chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips.

One of my best yogurt bowls in recent memory – plain Greek with granola, blueberries, and a perfect persimmon.

Lobster sandwich sushi from Iavarone Brothers. I was underwhelmed by their pizza but the sushi counter was a nice find.

Trader Joe’s spinach and artichoke dip / a take on baba ganoush (roasted eggplant with Greek yogurt, evoo, black sesame paste, lemon, garlic, salt, and sumac) / Simple Mills garlic and herb seed flour crackers.

Chinese take-out in bulk. Beef and broccoli / General Tso’s chicken / veggie lo mein / crab rangoon / and veggie dumplings.

Zoodle/noodle bowls. Ramen noodles, spiralized zucchini, roasted sprouted tofu, scallions, and garlic sauteed with this sauce.

Kale Caesar salad for the win. Kale massaged with evoo, lemon, and salt / roasted cruciferous crunch veggie mix / parmesan cheese / Trader Joe’s frozen chicken nuggets / homemade pretzel bread croutons / homemade dressing (in the food processor – Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon, evoo, lemon juice, garlic, capers, black pepper, anchovies, and parmesan).

Dips and Sips

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This post is late because my laptop was in the shop. Things from the week/end, many dips and sips, 50% seasonal!…

Kings Coast Coffee Company‘s The Griswald – espresso with cinnamon and housemade oat nog.

Iced matcha latte with candy cane syrup.

Cheesecake-y smoothie – cottage cheese, vanilla protein powder, water, and frozen blueberries, cherries, and pineapple.

A take on our favorite seasonal smoothie – plain Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, vanilla protein powder, chocolate milk, and candy cane syrup.

Hint chocolate peppermint flavored water. Good but not something I would seek out again.

Chobani eggnog Greek yogurt with blueberries and Heritage Flakes (and tiny star sprinkles!).

I also had a really great bowl with fresh persimmons, blueberries, granola, and plain Greek.

I made extra chestnut cream cheese frosting so that I could scoop it with pretzel thins and that was a very good idea.

See also – Trader Joe’s blue cheese roasted pecan dip with garlic parmesan pretzels.

I tried two new-to-me Trader Joe’s prepared items – crunchy slaw salad and peanut udon salad – both 8/10’s; both had some nice spice and fresh vegetables.

This soup was so easy and so satisfying – baby bok choy sauteed with scallions and ginger, chicken broth, and Trader Joe’s mini chicken cilantro wontons.

Hedgehog roasted super-firm tofu – topped with a mix of thinly sliced scallions, gochugaru, sesame seeds, furikake, sesame oil, honey, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water – and roasted baby zucchini.

Use Your Noggin

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Fun things from the weekend so far included a long walk around Manhattan – it was super cold but super beautiful. We admired the Rockefeller tree, the tree at Union Square Park, and decorations at Chelsea Market, Hudson Yards, and Grand Central Station. Food highlights…

787‘s coquito iced latte is a seasonal tradition.

This was our first time trying Bluestone Lane‘s eggnog iced latte but we will definitely be back next year.

See also – Buzz’d Coffee‘s cold brew with espresso and bourbon eggnog cold foam.

Seasonal things from Supermoon Bakehouse – brûléed eggnog danish and a peppermint marshmallow brownie.

Plus a scoop of ube condensed milk ice cream that was fantastic.

Librae Bakery‘s za’atar labneh morning bun is the best baked good we’ve eaten this year. Their halvah chocolate pasty was a very close second but no photo because of the wind/cold/crumbles situation.

I’m not that excited about peanut M&M’s but these holiday toasty peanut ones were delicious.

Candy cane syrup! We’ve enjoyed it in ice coffee (good) and Diet Coke (better).

The best cocktail I’ve ever made – eggnog with Blue Bottle’s instant nola coffee, amaretto, and dark rum.

Lunch at Dante West Village so we could get their tiramisu eggnog – Seven Tales XO Vin Santo, amaretto, mascarpone, espresso, and whole eggs.

Plus I had a wonderful Harvest Bowl – maple miso tofu, picked red cabbage, kale, buckwheat, mutsu apple, crispy chickpeas, avocado, roasted butternut squash, soft-boiled egg, and garlic tahini dressing.

Leftover chilaquiles casserole with all the sauces.

P.S. now we are headed to dinner at Rolo’s!

Butter And Pepper

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Things from the week…

Still not tired of yogurt bowls. This one was plain Greek with granola, cereal, blueberries and pomegranate.

Nuts Factory released new versions of their viral Dubai chocolate bar and I obviously bought them. S’mores was a 10/10; almost as good as the pistachio flavor.

Mediterranean-ish rice bowls. Brown rice and black rice slow cooked congee-style with chicken broth / ground turkey sauteed with garlic, smoked paprika, harissa, and tomato paste / roasted zucchini / topped with local Za’atar chili crisp.

Pepper beef inspired tofu. Super-firm tofu and onions sauteed in this sauce and served on garlic sauteed cabbage.

Butter chicken inspired slow cooker meal. In the crock pot – chicken breast, sweet onion, serrano pepper, black pepper, celery seed, smoked paprika, curry powder, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and butter. I stirred in some half and half after the heat was off. Served with riced cauliflower and roasted zuccini.

Pimento Protein Pumpkin

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I have family in town and we are going to meet up today and do fun city stuff!

Some things from the 1st half of the weekend…

People rave about Clean Simple Eats so I snagged a mint chocolate cookie to try in coffee but unfortunately I thought it’s flavor was too fake sugar forward (as in I am not excited about the eggnog packet I obviously also bought).

Drowned Lands Scythe Pumpkin Ale. I was not a fan but Adam loved it.

Kettle’s spicy pimento cheese chips were just begging to be a huge pile of nachos. With sharp cheddar, Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pecans, and super-firm tofu that we shredded, baked, and tossed in homemade bbq sauce. Plus roasted rainbow cauliflower.