Tag Archives: tofu

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.

Blaze, Bread, Ben

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Five things from the weekend…

We went to the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and LOVED IT. It is a self-guided tour through a field with thousands of hand-carved lit-up pumpkins.

We made a pumpkin bread inspired frozen coffee – with coffee, ice, half and half, cinnamon, maple syrup, pumpkin butter, and vanilla granola butter.

We had a lackluster dinner at a fancy sushi spot and got a garlic sauteed Chinese broccoli side that was just delightful.

We made and loved another recipe from Recipe Tin Eats – Spicy Korean Noodle Soup. I used ramen instead of egg noodles. Plus Trader Joe’s frozen tofu kimbap.

We embraced the season/theme and bought Ben & Jerry’s pumpkin cheesecake ice cream (9.5/10).

Cardamom, Maple, Pumpkin

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Things from this week…

This maple chocolate instant coffee did not have nearly enough flavor (maple nor coffee) but it did mix instantly.

This new Trader Joe’s vanilla cardamom cold brew was more successful.

Pumpkin Noosa (best in the game) topped with blueberries, blackberries, and Purely Elizabeth double chocolate cookie granola.

Pumpkin beers! Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin was one of our favorites years past but it was too syrupy for us this year. Meanwhile, Great South Bay’s Baked pumpkin pie ale was a new hit; it was very well balanced between beer, pumpkin, and pie.

This isn’t a flattering picture but it serves as a reminder PSA – if you live near a Nuts Factory you NEED to go get their viral Dubai pistachio chocolate bar.

Peanut butter noodles. Udon stir-fried with eggs, peanut sauce (chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, and water) and sesame seeds. Plus spicy green beans – steamed and then sauteed with honey, rice vinegar, yellow mustard, and chili crisp.

Thai basil chicken. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and added red bell pepper and baby corn. Served on a bed of roasted riced cauliflower.

Korean-ish tofu plates. Shirakiku frozen kimchi pancake / super-firm tofu that I shredded, baked, then tossed in a skillet with Trader Joe’s green tea yuzu jelly, gochujang, sesame oil, and rice vinegar / bok choy, asparagus, and green onions sauteed with ginger and sesame seeds.

Holy Mole

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I did not do a good job of taking photographs this weekend and we ate SO MANY good things! Possibly too many, I am still full.

Here were some highlights…

We love this Nola instant coffee from Blue Bottle. It is super tasty and mixes instantly even in cold water.

Noa A Cafe. Banana pudding iced latte with housemade oat banana milk and cold foam.

Concept Coffee. Coconut ube iced latte and cookie.

During the world’s most exciting trip to 7-11 I scored both the Oreo flavored Coke Zero and the Coke flavored Oreos! Super fun. I thought both were very successful and would definitely buy the soda again.

Casa Enrique. Their brunch is just as good as their Michelin-rated dinner service. Jicama and beet salad with queso fresco, mint, candied pumpkin seeds, and lemon vinaigrette.

Chicken mole enchiladas. Their mole is a work of art.

My mezcal tamarind margarita was the best drink of the weekend.

Katana Kitten. We thought the drinks could have been more alcoholic but loved the food. My amaretto sour was a standout – Wild Turkey rye, amaretto, salted plum, honey, lemon, egg white, and yukari.

We had deviled eggs with white miso, Japanese mustard, and salmon roe.

And an astonishingly good Sukiyaki Sando – soy-braised ribeye, caramelized onion, pickled ginger, jalopeno, and mayo on a baguette with au jus.

Foul Witch. The lighting was unflattering, the food was magical. We shared a great dinner. Their house bread was a 20/10.

Fairytale eggplant with heirloom tomato and fresh cheese.

Maine lobster bucatini.

Lamb shoulder with squash blossom and chimichurri. The very best bite of the night was a dessert that was too dark to photograph but blew our minds – carrot cake with meringue and husk cherry.

An easy but great homemade dinner. Mandu bulgogi chicken frozen dumplings / roasted zucchini / cold silken tofu / spicy peanut sauce (peanut butter with sugar, chili crisp, sesame oil, rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, and water) / furikake.

Salad, Candy Salad

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Things from the week…

New apple treats! My coffees this week were made with Califia Farms caramel apple crumble creamer.

See also – apple seltzer and caramel apple energy drink.

Loved these rosemary and herbs buckwheat crackers.

Trail mix blend – smoked almonds, dried fruit (apples, peaches, and persimmon), and Simple Mills Pop Mmms cheddar crackers.

Leftover blueberry cream pie in plain skyr with fresh blueberries. <– best bite of the week

We hopped on the candy salad trend and ended up with a pretty good mix – apple harvest Sour Patch Kids, grape strawberry Nerds gummy clusters, watermelon rings with Tajin, and Target sour gummy insects.

Big salads. Red leaf lettuce, balsamic dressing, smoked almonds, smoked tofu, sharp cheddar, and Oishii strawberries.

Pasta night. Basil peso plin pasta from Whole Foods with Rao’s marinara, duck fennel sausage, and parmesan cheese. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.