Snap Crispy Pop

Some highlights from the weekend…

Fruity boozy things. This Southern Tier orange twist ale had zero orange flavor but it did taste like a nice vanilla milkshake.

I have been considering a coconut water cocktail for months and it always sounds a bit gaggy but I think this combo worked – coconut water and limoncello plus vodka and yuzu seltzer.

My favorite popcorn combo – butter, salt, gochugaru, furikake, and a bit of sugar.

These Trader Joe’s jalapeño and cream cheese wontons were even better than expected. Decently spicy and cheesy and crispy.

Brooklyn Dip and Burger makes my favorite chicken in Long Island. These popcorn chicken tenders with Memphis dry rub are addictive.

“Oh chicken salad” <– Name that Scrubs scene! Shredded chicken breast and thighs with Greek yogurt, mayo, dijon mustard, paprika, celery seed, dried cherries, toasted pecans, celery, and green onion. Plus snap peas sauteed with lemon, butter, and togarashi and topped with edible flowers.

Mediterranean bowls. Roasted brussel sprouts / turkey meatballs with harissa and black olives / tabbouli / feta cheese / homemade pomegranate molasses.

Americana Idiot

My other song title option was “Like It Was 1980,” and if you don’t get that reference you are sorely missing out! This week’s dinner theme was Americana/nostalgia. We made Salisbury steak, tuna pasta salad, macaroni and cheese, and chili and grilled cheese sandwiches!

Highlights from the past four days include…

After-school snacks. Apple + peanut butter (I didn’t have mini marshmallows to make smiles!). This was a Sugar Bee apple and it was wonderfully crisp and sweet.

Important note – the Whole Foods unsweetened crunchy peanut butter is wonderful. It is some of the best I’ve ever had and certainly outranks the other options at this price point. Just peanuts and salt.

This week’s yogurt bowl combo was plain skry, blackberries, peanut butter, and Nature’s Path honey almond granola.

Love Corn bbq corn nuts. These have a very satisfying consistency.

Junior Mints minis are fantastic. They are like the popping boba of chocolate candies.

Fun in sparkling waters – Target caffeinated cherry cola and Ruby tart hibiscus. Both were an 8/10.

I had never actually tried Salisbury steak before but I loved it. We loosely followed this recipe but I used ground turkey and way more mushrooms. Plus roasted purple and Japanese sweet potato and zucchini.

I did not use Italian dressing in my tuna pasta though that is how I grew up eating it. Whole-wheat macaroni, canned tuna, roasted zucchini, edamame, extra-sharp cheddar, and balsamic vinegar. Maybe Italian is the way to go though? Adam and I both went back and topped our bowls with hot sauce.

Macaroni and cheese muffins. I used extra-sharp cheddar instead of parmesan and added mustard powder. Plus roasted broccoli.

Plus we had bbq Wilde chicken chips.

Chili = ground turkey, celery, white onion, fire-roasted tomatoes, fire-roasted green chiles, kidney beans, chicken broth, evoo, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I topped my bowl with plain yogurt and hot sauce. Plus I made amazing grilled cheese sandwiches; the filling was a mixture of extra-sharp cheddar, marinated artichoke hearts, mayo, white pepper, mustard powder, and a pinch of sugar.

What’s With Today, Today

So many things to celebrate this week, the eclipse and Rex Manning Day were both on Monday. We are on vacation starting tomorrow and I am READY – it took a lot of little treats (TM) to get through this week.

Some highlights…

This week’s yogurt combo – plain skyr, giant blackberries, and cookie dough granola.

I brought this birthday cake drink syrup back from my trip to Kingston. Not bad but too fruit-forward for my tastes. I tried it in iced coffee, iced matcha, lemon seltzer, and diet coke.

Chocolate-covered frozen cheesecake bites (9/10).

Dark chocolate peanut butter bites (10/10). <– I can’t remember where I found these but I would rebuy if I found more.

Our King’s does a fantastic chocolate cake with ganache, marshmallow, and cookie dough (11/10).

A Moon Pie to celebrate the eclipse. All I could find last-minute was a protein bar Power Pie which was actually delicious.

And I, of course, celebrated Rex Manning Day with pizza, brownies, and an Empire Records rewatch.

Roast’s special of the week – brisket, mac and cheese, crispy onions, and bbq sauce on a roll.

Homemade veggie and meatball bowls. Roasted cabbage, baby cauliflower, Japanese sweet potato, and red bell pepper / turkey meatballs with panko, fish sauce, half and half, ginger, urfa chili, gochugaru, and egg / peanut sauce with chunky peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil, sugar, and warm water / green onions and sesame seeds.

Poppy Plum Puff

Highlights from an exceptionally yummy week —

This week’s coffee situation was some combination of one-all of these salted caramel things with iced Bones Coffee Jamaican Me Crazy. Also one day I added coconut milk!

Berry smoothie with frozen dark cherries, fresh blueberries, and vanilla protein powder.

Many good yogurt bowls this week. This one was plain skyr with watermelon plum, blueberries, Heritage Flakes, and salted caramel granola.

Plain skyr with plum, poppy seed filling, and orange mandarin passionfruit jam.

Trader Joe’s maple pancake corn puffs are perfectly savory and sweet.

Related – we adore how savory the dough is in these poppy seed cookies.

Turkey-cheese roll up – Lavash bread with smoked turkey, extra-sharp cheddar, garlic hummus, and leftover roasted green beans.

Baked tofu and roasted broccoli with homemade ranch dip (mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and ranch seasoning). The tofu was Trader Joe’s super-firm that I marinated in pickle juice and coated in pulverized potato chips, roasted seaweed, sesame seeds, and panko.

A very loose but tasty take on callaloo made with frozen spinach and broccoli (plus yellow onion, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger, urfa chili, coconut milk, crab, and turkey bacon).

Topped with pickled ginger and this soursop hot sauce from home.

And paired with rum and Coke slushies, my greatest boozy creation.

I made a great rillete (aka fish dip) in the food processor with canned sockeye salmon, smoked trout, mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, chili crisp, smoked paprika, and celery seed. Scooped with orange bell pepper, cucumbers, 12 Tides everything kelp chips, and Trader Joe’s spicy tempura seaweed snacks.

Jalapeño popper turkey burgers (I mixed the cheese in and these were fantastic!), roasted cauliflower, and a big pile of crispy baked fries. Plus an array of dipping sauces (ketchup, a quick honey mustard, and leftover ranch).

Halva Good Time

Some things from this week…

I celebrated the 1st day of Spring with a Starbucks iced espresso with white chocolate sauce and lavender cold foam.

See also – Trader Joe’s Meyer lemon yogurt. I bulked it up with some plain Greek with halva pecans, blueberries, and blackberries on top.

These Seed + Mill halva-coated pecans are delightful.

Yuzu matcha spritzer because I am a woman obsessed.

Bars on bars. The Barebells one was so creamy!

We pulled the last of our Christmas coffee cake down from the freezer.

Brinner. This cornmeal pancake recipe was a winner. Plus turkey bacon, sumo mandarin, and berries (and, of course, maple syrup!).

Chicken sandwiches – Whole Foods’ Early Bird multi-seed bread, dijon mustard, mayo, brie, and chicken (thin sliced breasts marinated in Greek yogurt, lemon, honey, and harissa, then sauteed). Plus maple tahini broccoli salad (I swapped in dried cherries and roasted pumpkin seeds) and pickles.

Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza

Some things from this week that weren’t pizza (but are mostly fruit and/or yogurt and/or dessert) –

Cherry cheesecake Chobani yogurt and a sumo orange. 5.5/10 – I need to accept that I mostly prefer the flavor of plain yogurts. That said, I added granola and the texture was fantastic.

Loaded yogurt bowl. Plain Greek with peanut butter, a Reese’s caramel peanut butter big cup (!!), granola, and blueberries.

Berry smoothie. This was good, I don’t know why the dog looks so dubious. Frozen cherries and berries blended with water, vanilla protein powder, and matcha tea powder.

Trader Joe’s had several pizza-flavored crunchy snacks and obviously that spawned a whole theme week for dinner –

Pizza Party kettle chips. 7.5/10 – they were excellently seasoned but ultimately I didn’t love how tomato-y these were.

Pizza flavored baked crisps. 6.5/10 – these were a bit too airy for me but Adam was a fan.

Homemade pizza bagels. Everything egg bagels with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and turkey pepperoni. Plus some heirloom tomato.

Homemade pizza bites. This recipe – I skipped the basil but added turkey pepperoni, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning. Plus roasted broccoli and cauliflower and a homemade blue cheese dip (Greek yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, ranch seasoning, and blue cheese crumbles).

Supreme pizza inspired nachos. Pizza party chips with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, Trader Joe’s plant-based pepperoni, chicken parmesan sausage, red onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms. This was a spot-on flavor match! Plus marinara/chili oil for dipping.

Actual pizza. We got takeout from Dario’s and loved it. Eggplant and ricotta / birria / spicy chicken and peppers. This was the best eggplant pizza I’ve ever had.

Raspberry Rabbit

Notes from the week – a) I made a big batch of baked meatballs – ground turkey with panko, half and half, fish sauce, gochugaru, egg, and sauteed green onion. b) We went to 99 Ranch and got a bunch of great snacks.

Highlights…

This week’s cinnamon coffee combo.

Iced matcha with fresh-squeezed orange juice and yuzu seltzer.

Two kinds of yogurt bowls. Plain Greek with 88 Acres dark chocolate sunflower seed butter, granola, strawberries, and jumbo blueberries.

And plain skyr with honey, black sesame paste, berries, and Heritage Flakes.

Two vegan protein options. Textured soy protein jerky and crunchy yellow peas.

Two kinds of bougie candy bars. Peanut butter crunch and chocolate mint cups.

Two kinds of chips. Seaweed Turtle Chips.

And white cheddar popcorn chips.

The new spiced raspberry diet coke is quite good (though it can’t compare to cherry).

White Rabbit candy ice cream cup.

Glazed meatballs with sauteed bok choy. I made a great sauce with oyster sauce, Sriracha, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, white pepper, and cornstarch. Plus sesame seeds and green onions.

Meatball sub. Toasted rolls with meatballs, Trader Joe’s pizza sauce, gochugaru, and tons of mozzarella. Plus roasted purple cauliflower.

Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and pizza sauce. We always bake this gnocchi (20 minutes at 400 degrees) and the texture comes out great.

Speaking of texture – I was very proud of these chewy rice cakes. Frozen rice cakes (simmered in chicken broth, gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar) with sauteed celery and green onions, roasted zucchini, and shredded chicken breast. Plus chili crisp and sesame seeds.

Dollars To Crullers

It was a fantastic weekend (including a 6+ mile Manhattan walk)! Highlights include…

Banana protein coffee (blender – coffee, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, frozen banana); Adam and I both decided we adore this.

Interlude‘s Cadenza is one of the most exciting coffees we’ve had in a while. Shaken espresso served with Mexican Coke topped with cold foam and vanilla whipped cream.

Sadly, Doughnut Project is closing this month so we had to go get a final fantastic maple cruller.

Related – Daily Provisions‘ monthly cruller special is lemon poppy seed so obviously we got that too! This was even better than DP.

Rigor Hill Market‘s hot chocolate is a 10/10; thick and creamy, a good balance of bitter and sweet, and it comes with toasted marshmallows.

Joe’s Steam Rice Roll, we got beef with egg and scallions. The sauce trio makes this.

Dinner at Thai Diner. We arrived early and managed to snag a table. I got Phat See Ew with beef shortrib. Any dish with broad rice noodles and Chinese broccoli is a hit with me.

Plus pea shoots with garlic, chili, and salted soybeans.

Guava sour with vodka and mint.

Dinner at Backyard BBQ in Freeport. I didn’t have my camera but I did Instagram our giant spread because we loved it here. Brisket, chicken with an amazing bbq rub, candied yams, and pickles.

Plus smoked baked mac and cheese that we both thought was perfect. We also had an unphotographed cheese burger!

An easy homemade dinner – Trader Joe’s chicken taquitos baked topped with ground turkey, zucchini, smoky salsa, and cheddar.