I am staunchly anti-carb-on-carb (i.e. I don’t want garlic bread next to mashed potatoes and I don’t like rice in burritos – fries are allowed though!) but this macaroni and cheese slice from Pizzaria G is the best pizza I have ever eaten.
Black eyed pea salad. BEP with baked super-firm tofu, orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, sharp cheddar, crispy broad beans, and Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing.
Plus seaweed potato chips for crunch.
Buffalo bowls. Cabbage (roasted with salt and pepper and then tossed with mayo, skyr, evoo, rice vinegar, ranch seasoning, celery seed, smoked paprika, and sugar) topped with Blackbird buffalo wing style seitan.
It was a great weekend! We got in a final run on the Long Beach Boardwalk and spent some time in Brooklyn. Some of what we ate…
Witches Brew from Rose Wolf. Cold brew with oat milk, cinnamon, maple, and caramel. We actually didn’t love this – too milky and too sweet.
Cookies and Scream iced latte from The Barn. We didn’t like this coffee either(!!) but we loved the Shmackary’s cookie on top.
Spooky yogurt bowl. Plain skyr with golden kiwi, blueberries, and candy eyes.
Beers at Grimm. Love a spot with small pours! My stand-out favorite was the Maximum Boogie triple IPA.
More importantly, we had food from Lala’s Apizza on their upper level. A 10/10 kale salad with cheese and sweet and spicy nuts.
And a Funghi Pie – mozzarella, fontina, tarragon oyster mushrooms, and lemon zest.
We had an exceptional dinner at Rose Marie. The space was cute, the service was great, and my cocktail was perfect. Goin’ to Alcapulco – lime, guava, white rum, dark rum, and lime bitters. Adam also had stunning pickled green tomato martini.
Sourdough bread and focaccia with radishes and whipped garlic parsley butter. <– this was the best butter I’ve ever tasted
Cranberry beans with paprika vinaigrette, croutons, and baby cauliflower.
Fried cheddar cheese curds with a burnt olive ranch.
And a patty melt on a homemade Pullman with grilled onion, white cheddar, and pickled green tomatoes.
This yogurt bowl was good in theory but unfortunately it was so wet. Plain skyr with blueberries, golden kiwi, and passionfruit. Scooping kiwis out of their skin (rather than trying to peel and cut them) has been a game changer for me; I eat them all the time now.
Hummus and crackers. Both good but not my favorites.
These Patagonia sourdough crackers are amazing though.
Trader Joe’s freeze-dried watermelon candies. Our bag seemed a little stale but the flavor is great.
Lindt Dubai style chocolate bar. 9/10 but nothing is as good as the original Nuts for Nuts Dubai bar.
The best candy is these sour slices from Whole Foods. The calamansi lime ones are ridiculous.
I got chili paneer which came with tons of onions and peppers and Adam had excellent butter chicken.
Greek baked turkey meatballs. Ground turkey with tabbouleh, feta, salt and pepper, urfa chili, onion powder, garlic powder, and egg. Served with fresh tomatoes and fantastic snap peas (sauteed with feta, piquante peppers, walnuts, honey, rice vinegar, and gochugaru.
In the style of orange chicken, Tangerine Apricot Yuzu Tofu. Firm tofu (I froze/thawed mine which gives it the best texture) tossed with gochugaru, white pepper, and cornstarch / baked with broccoli, red bell pepper, and green onions / tossed with sauce – cornstarch slurry, fresh tangerine juice, apricot jelly, yuzu ponzu, dark soy sauce, chili oil, rice vinegar, honey, and garlic whisked over medium heat / topped with sesame seeds. We added cashews afterwards too! Served on brown rice.
Crispy rice spicy California roll bowls. We love this meal. This iteration was imitation crab, cucumber, avocado, and green onion / tossed with yuzu ponzu and Kewpie / on top of crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and chili oil and baked until crispy / topped with furikake.
My first week in my new decade was a good one! Here were some food highlights…
Yogurt bowl of the week – plain skry, Trader Joe’s chocolate coffee granola, and tons of blueberries.
My snack theme was bananas. Everything but the bread! If you’re feeling inspired, Hummingbird High makes our go to recipe. Banana bread trail mix = banana chips, cinnamon Life cereal, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream with fresh banana, leftover birthday dirt, peanut butter, and chocolate shell.
Adam liked the “Dirty Banana” cocktail on our cruise ship so much he ordered it twice in a row! Our version was better. Frozen bananas blended with chocolate ice cream, sweetened condensed milk, Kahlua, and dark rum.
Turkey larb inspired baked meatballs. The balls were ground turkey, panade, egg, toasted rice powder, white pepper, fish sauce, garlic, crunchy chilis, gochugaru, and brown sugar. Served with sauteed cabbage with red onion, lime, and seasoned cashews.
A perfect mix of leftovers. Cabbage / Chuko Ramen‘s vegetarian Mapo Tofu (fried tofu and mixed vegetables tossed in a Szechuan chili sauce with mustards greens, scallions and rice) / Rolo’s crispy potatoes.
A loose take on these tomato beans. We used cannellini beans, skipped the basil and nutritional yeast, added Juanita Piquante peppers, and measured nothing. Served with roasted broccoli/cauliflower and sourdough bread from Radio Bakery.
Cold peanut noodles. Buckwheat and brown rice soba / quick-pickled cucumbers / roasted zucchini / sauce – peanut butter, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, ginger, and white sugar / sesame seeds. I topped my bowl with tons of Sriracha and it was delicious.
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.
Fantastic Doosra snack mix. Caramelized white chocolate belongs in all savory snack mixes.
Peelerz peelable gummy banana candy. These were repulsive in a delightful way; the centers were the exact consistency of mushy banana!
See also – Banana, Banana, Banana sundae — thick-sliced warmed banana bread, scoop of banana ice cream (the vegan Ben & Jerry’s one!), bruléed banana slices.
Buldak Korean black bean sauce ramen. I added an egg, sesame seeds, and scoop of peanut butter.
Roasted broccoli and super-firm tofu with a spicy peanut butter sauce (chunky peanut butter, gojuchang, gochugaru, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and water).
Saucy chickpeas. Yellow onion sauteed with grape tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, harissa, smoked paprika, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, and butter.
I had a day off for a doctor’s appointment and got myself a decadent brunch at East Rock Coffee. Tres Leches French toast! And a great iced latte.
I have to eat at least one yogurt bowl per week. I have also personally taken down a pint+ of blueberries every week for the past several months. This was vanilla bean skyr with maple pecan granola, peanut butter, blueberries, and pineberries.
We adored the peppermint coffee syrup from El Guapo but sadly I was underwhelmed by their Polynesian Kiss bitters; I tried them in coffee, seltzer, and diet coke and thought the flavor wasn’t strong enough.
Meanwhile these Every Body Eat chive and garlic crackers were delightful; like a crispy scallion pancake!
We homemade baked snack mix! Crispix cereal, crispy cheese, cheddar pretzels, and peanuts. I seasoned mine with butter, onion powder, garlic powder, and gochugaru.
This week’s dinner theme (let’s be real, there is almost always a theme) was American classics — reformatted. Poutine — dip-style. Whole Foods frozen garlic and herb parmesan fries (10/10), Jack and Annie’s jackfruit nuggets, and roasted broccoli dipped in homemade chicken gravy.
Turkey reubens — as coleslaw bowls. Russian dressing coleslaw (shredded cabbage with skyr, mayo, dijon, ketchup-style chili sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, and smoked paprika) topped with sauteed ground turkey and crispy cheese bites.
Deviled eggs — egg salad. <– meal win of the week. Hard-boiled egg whites and chopped cornichons dressed with deviled egg filling (hard-boiled yolks, mayo, skyr, dijon, and paprika). Plus shredded brussel sprouts sauteed with garlic and parmesan.
Chicken nachos — as salad. Shredded iceberg lettuce / roasted sweet onion and bell peppers / Cholula medium salsa / extra-sharp cheddar / garlic baked chicken / Beanitos white bean tortilla chips.
Buffalo chicken wings — turned bean burgers. We always love this recipe and it was perfect for Super Bowl dinner. Plus roasted zucchini, store-bought fried ravioli, and a chipotle honey aioli.
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.
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.
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!
Eating Chalk 