Tag Archives: vegan

Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach

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Highlights from the week…

This “sweet bean snack,” a blend of sugared red kidney, adzuki, navy beans, and green peas.

I wouldn’t have necessarily known peach without the label but these blueberries were extra fruity and floral.

This Barebells peanut caramel bar tastes like an even better take on a Snickers.

Trader Joe’s knocked it out of the park with their Strawberry Fields gummies. The mini mochis were quite nice as well.

Creamy peanut noodles. White rice ramen noodles / sauce – food-processed peanut butter, Sriracha, dark soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, lime juice, and silken tofu / roasted zucchini / tempeh stir-fried until crispy with green onions, garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup, Sriracha, and gochugaru / chili crisp.

BBQ chicken. Shredded chicken reheated in a frying pan with with gochujang, tomato paste, rice vinegar, brown sugar, fish sauce, and soy sauce // steamed green beans sauteed with Dijon, honey, sesame oil, and chili crisp.

Larb inspired chicken salad. Shredded chicken with Duke’s, Kewpie, skyr, Sriracha, lime juice, garlic powder, toasted rice powder, brown sugar, shallot, mint, pickled red onion, and crispy fried onion and garlic // salad – tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, and mint with chili crisp, gochugaru, gochujang, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and honey // plus our last frozen Apollo bagel.

P.S. We had a great, unphotographed dinner at The James, a new Long Island steakhouse. We enjoyed everything we ordered, especially the duck fat confit potato with fermented black bean, scallion, ginger, shallot, and lemon.

Chickens Salad

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No post last week because we were on vacation! Adam and I went to New Mexico (my first time there) – Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and a night in the desert in Taos. We had a wonderful time! It was beautiful, the food was outstanding, and we visited our final Meow Wolf.

Things from the week back in real life…

A sugar plum yogurt bowl! The plums were the leftover solids from a plum syrup I made (red and black plums simmered with sugar and water — ok in iced coffee, better in seltzer) plus plain skyr and granola.

Veggie snacks. Fun to try but not for me (the sweet potato was too chewy and the okra was too crunchy); I brought them to work and at least one person liked each thing.

The best vegan jerky.

Tofu veggie bowls. This was the best meal of the week. Hedgehog-cut baked super firm tofu and roasted brussels sprouts topped with chopped white mushrooms sauteed with evoo, butter, lemon juice, maple syrup, dark soy sauce, miso paste, Dijon, garlic, gochugaru, and sesame seeds.

Chickens salad. Shredded baked chicken, six-minute eggs, Wilde chicken chips, and sauteed hen of the woods mushrooms tossed with plain skyr, Duke’s mayo, pickle brine, chopped pickles, salt, Sichuan pepper, white pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Plus succotash we did not suffer for – frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans, and baby lima beans) sauteed with butter and lemon.

Inspired by our chicken salad we also made a chickens migas! Eggs scrambled with shredded chicken, Wilde chicken chips, kettle chips, honey goat cheese, and sauteed tomato, poblano pepper, corn, and green onions. I topped my bowl with tons of Green Cholula (the sweet goat cheese was possibly not the best cheese for this dish!).

Cozy, Rosy

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Things from this week — NYC was cold again (after being HOT last week) and we leaned into cozy foods. I had a weekday off – just for fun – and took myself on a walk in/to Chelsea. Highlights…

Rose iced latte from Terremoto. They make the best floral coffee I’ve tried.

Tall Poppy‘s sugar cookie croissant is stupendous. It is stuffed with marzipan!

Not cozy – a smoothie. Frozen peaches and blueberries with water, vanilla bean powder, and vanilla protein powder.

Very Fresh Noodle‘s very spicy vegan Dan Dan Mian. I love everything about this dish but especially the spice level and cold pops of cucumber salad.

Turkey chili. We have several beans on our meal plan for next week so I skipped them here and added some riced cauliflower for extra fiber instead. Plus onion, bell pepper, poblano pepper, diced tomatoes, and tons of spices. I made cheddar jalapeño bread on the side (my go-to dumb bread recipe plus sharp cheddar and Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy jalopenos).

Homemade pasta sauce. In the blender – roasted baby tomatoes, canned peeled tomatoes, tomato paste, silken tofu, parmesan cheese, fish sauce, and dark soy sauce. Served on whole-wheat bowtie pasta with roasted zucchini and more parmesan (plus I added some Milu Everything Spice). The tofu adds protein and creaminess.

Goodbye, 2025

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Here were some highlights from THE END OF 2025?!…

Peppermint divinity candy, 9/10.

O’Jelly plum and kiwi gummies, 100/10. These are my new favorite peelable candies.

World Taco Factory. Esquites, chicken al pastor taco, jerk chicken taco, and a Korean beef bbq taco.

Spicy salmon roll bowls. Brown rice / canned salmon with skyr, mayo, minced ginger, Sriracha, and soy sauce / quick pickled cucumbers with sugar, salt, and rice vinegar / seaweed salad / seaweed sheets.

Packaged wide noodles in spicy sauce plus sauteed seitan and roasted zucchini.

Peppermint To Be

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I hope all my readers who celebrate had a Merry Christmas!

No post from me last week because we were on vacation back home in the VI! We had a fantastic week. Food highlights were my mom’s coffee cake, iced lattes consumed at the beach, and Gladys’ Cafe‘s soursop juice.

Things from the past week included lots of on-theme eats!…

Candy canes and other mint goodies. I was not a fan of the Hint, it wasn’t flavorless but the flavor (which I disliked) was not mint.

I also didn’t love these Hail Merry eggnog bites – too waxy/coconutty.

Last loser – I hated this Southern Tier eggnog so much that I threw it out and bought Ronnnybrook instead. <– warning to December 2026 Emily

It is Sumo season! Adam and I both think oranges are Christmas-y; thank you, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

We went on a fun seasonal date the Sunday we got home and shared a gingerbread scone from Hometown Bakeshop and an iced peppermint mocha from Sweetie Pies on Main.

Prost latkes (my favorite in the city) for the last night of Hannukah.

Kung Pow chicken salad. Baked chicken (marinated in skyr, rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil, Sriracha, and sugar) / sauce – skyr, mayo, minced ginger, sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and dark soy sauce / roasted red bell pepper and green onion / peanuts. Plus roasted broccoli.

Turkey burger cheese fries. Trader Joe’s ketchup chips / Seriously Sharp cheddar / baked turkey meatballs (ground turkey with panko, mayo, white pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder) / chopped pickles and Sugar Bomb tomatoes / sesame seeds. Steamed green beans sauteed with dill pickle mustard, onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar.

Red and green salads for Christmas! Baby spinach and arugula / Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing / tomatoes / red bell pepper / sauteed baby broccoli / baked tofu (marinated in warm water with baking soda and cornstarch / tossed in peanut butter, gochugang, sugar, and rice vinegar) / savory granola.

The (fantastic!) granola was this tteokbokki-inspired one I found at 99 Ranch.

Seaweed And Seitan

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Three things from the weekend…

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.

A Rose By Any Other Name

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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.

Wet Fruit, Dry Fruit

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Highlights from a yummy week…

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.

Dinner out at Varli Indian Street Kitchen. Mango lassi.

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.