Tag Archives: veggies

Pizza Week

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I love a good theme week! Highlights included…

Other things — Amazing/sweet/perfect summer berries are back! I had great yogurt bowls this week. This one was vanilla bean skyr, blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate chip cookie dough granola from Safe + Fair.

I am definitely smitten with these new Layers Perfect Bars; the bit of crunch is nice and the sweet-salty balance is spot on.

My best lunch of the week was obviously this comically large container of Whole Foods’ hot bar. Garlic green beans, sweet and spicy chicken, vegan meatballs, hard-boiled egg, lemon and peanut celery salad, two types of tortellini salad, mac and cheese, and scalloped potatoes.

We loved this Le Chocolat des Francias bar, definitely one of the creamiest milk chocolates we’ve tried.

I am not a big m&m person but I tried these new caramel cold brew ones at work and they were so good I had to go buy Adam and myself a bag.

I made a nice mule with this Trader Joe’s ginger beer; it is a little sweet and not too spicy and honestly wouldn’t be a bad ginger ale substitute.

Pizza things — Nostalgic – Pizza Hut. With mushrooms, olives, and beef. This was only fine.

P.S. Pizza Hut will sell you a 2 Tbsp container of cream cheese frosting for 84 cents. I stirred it into a yogurt bowl because I’m a genius.

Roman-style/local – Nadya’s and Taglio. Chicken parmesan, grandma, pesto, and roasted potato. These were wonderful.

Pizza salad! Romaine with ranch / Sugar Bomb grape tomatoes / Applegate Farms turkey pepperoni that I crisped up in the oven / four cheese cheese crisps.

Pizza bites with olives and pepperoni / homemade baked garlic turkey meatballs / a mountain of roasted green beans / a trio of dipping sauces (homemade honey mustard, ranch, and marinara).

Sandwich Inspired

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I worked this weekend and things were pretty hectic but thankfully I finally made it to the grocery from vacation and we were able to enjoy some great dinners. Highlights from the past three days include…

I tried and loved the new layers Perfect Bars. The oat crisps on top were perfect.

Chewy doughnuts from Paris Baguette – mochi, lemon cronut, and cream cheese filled mochi. We have been very impressed by every item we have tried from PB.

A former intern brought us in goodies including baklava and halvah.

Onda‘s canned tequilla seltzers are solid, this strawberry flavor is quite drinkable.

I 12/10 loved this Social Hour Sunkissed Fizz canned cocktail with vodka, yuzu, peach, key lime, and jasmine. I carted this home from a liquor store in Midtown and it exceeded my expectations. Very smooth, very boozy, not too sweet.

I turned my leftover Pecking House chicken-seasoned fries into something amazing. Leftover fries crisped under the broiler / Kewpie mayo / baby broccoli sauted with tons of garlic / Trader Joe’s teriyaki baked tofu / chili crisp.

Cuban sandwich inspired salads. Romaine / leftover garlic broccoli / homemade yellow mustard vinaigrette (equal parts mustard, mayo, vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice, plus a pinch of salt) / homemade croutons / Jarlsberg cheese and sliced pork for Adam and smoked turkey for me. I forgot the chopped pickles, which is devestating, but this was still a fantastic salad.

Reuben sandwich inspired okonomiyaki. Shredded yellow potato (squeezed as dry as possible and microwaved for three minutes) / shredded cabbage and chopped green onion (baked for 20 minutes) / in a batter with minced ginger, white pepper, salt, gochugaru, eggs, flour, and ginger seltzer / stuffed with sliced roast beef and Jarlsberg / then cooked in a wide pan in canola oil / topped with homemade Russian dressing.

Pecking Order

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Adam and I were both on vacation last week and we went home to St. Thomas for Carnival! It was a perfect week – we had time with family, went on my favorite runs, ate my favorite foods (highlights included soursop shaved ice and a dark rum and coke), and went to the beach every day. It’s hard to beat a morning walk in the sand with an iced coffee!

We went right back to work when we got home (seriously, I was at my desk less than 10 hours after we left the airport!) and I didn’t get to go grocery shopping until yesterday but thankfully I had left myself a well-stocked freezer and pantry. Highlights from the week included…

This week’s coffee combo.

Beautiful smoothies. Frozen spinach, banana, and blueberries with honey, water, and key lime juice.

Frozen soursop, banana, and strawberries with vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and plain Greek yogurt.

Trader Joe’s crispy apple chips.

These s’mores Ben and Jerry’s bites are hands-down my favorite thing.

Leftover chicken soup I made and froze a few weeks before vacation; this reheated really well.

“Freshly made” soup with this trio. Trader Joe’s ginger miso broth and garlicky cabbage plus ginger chicken dumplings.

Farro / furikake, kelp granules, black garlic, gochugaru / canned salmon and smoked trout with mayo, rice vinegar, and Sriracha / zoodles and celery / fried egg. I actually decided I didn’t like this and abandoned it halfway through for ramen but Adam liked it and I still think it was a good idea.

I work this weekend so I was off on Thursday and I went into the city for a haircut and a fun Brooklyn date. I have wanted to go to Pecking House for more than a year and it more than exceeded my high expectations! We shared fries with chicken seasoning.

Cornbread. Charred turnips with miso and almonds.

Fried chicken with salted egg sauce.

And the fantastic spicy chicken sandwich with Fuqi chili sauce, Oaxaca cheese, and pickled jalapenos on a brioche bun.

Plus gelato for dessert. A butter and salt scoop and a scoop of a cannolo flavor with candied fruits that blew my mind.

Rolled, Dipped, Shaken

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This was a yummy week; lots of new favorites in snacks and dinners! Highlights included…

PB&J inspired yogurt bowl – skyr with blueberries, salty peanuts, and blueberry jam.

I finally got my hands on this old seasonal release seltzer and it was as good as I’d anticipated; very cinnamon-y.

Boozy, citrusy fun – citron soju and a yuzu jelly sake.

Guava and dulce de leche bites my parents sent me from home.

These Tropifrutti gummies are my favorite Haribo item, the texture is perfect.

This peanut butter fudge honeycomb ice cream easily makes my top-three-favorites list. I prefer ice creams that are loaded with mix-ins but the texture of the ice cream of here was just so decadent.

Homemade baked eggrolls! We stuffed them with a mix of crab, shredded cabbage, green onion, and red pepper jelly. Plus roasted broccoli and dipping sauce on the side.

10/10 salads – arugula / homemade dressing with lime juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar / sweet baby bell peppers / homemade wonton crisps (egg roll wrappers baked with Sichuan pepper salt) / peanuts / shredded chicken reheated in a skillet with green onions and chicken broth.

The TikTok hack of shaking your mac and cheese and nuggets together with buffalo sauce and ranch is legit. I used Whole Foods baked macaroni, Applegate Farms nuggets, and added some roasted cauliflower.

P.S. As of this morning the husband and I are on vacation! We have a whole week of time together!! And fun plans, including reservations at Oiji Mi for tonight.

Duck, Duck, Soup

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Highlights from a tasty weekend…

Giant green smoothie. This had frozen spinach, strawberry, soursop, honey, and vanilla almond milk.

Siggi’s vanilla honey skyr. I only liked – not loved – this and found it to be a little sour (and am mostly posting to remind myself).

Kimchi butter ramen. This was spicier than I was expecting.

Gelato from a new spot in LI. I got Kinder and s’mores in a vanilla cone. We weren’t head over heels for this spot but my s’mores scoop did have a giant toasted marshmallow in it and that was delightful.

Beers from Destination Unknown. This was our 2nd trip there and we have loved almost everything we’ve tried. Great IPAs.

Brunch at Maya Congee Cafe. We loved it here. We shared passionfruit tea with mango stars.

Chicken breakfast congee with smoked cheese and a soft egg.

And a braised chicken bahn mi.

Dinner at Long Island Pekin. This is officially our favorite Long Island spot. This dinner was an 11/10 and the leftovers were sooo exciting. We shared the Peking duck scallion pancakes with cheddar and sweet plum sauce.

Flat rice noodles with veggies and duck.

And the half Hong Kong roast duck.

Leftover soup. I topped my bowl with chili crisp. Served with homemade garlic bread.

No photo but worth a mention – we tried the honey butter chicken sandwich from PDQ and were both impressed!

Bunnies And Chicks

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This weekend I: worked both days // celebrated Rex Manning Day by watching Empire Records and eating pizza and brownies // celebrated Easter by infusing vodka with Peeps marshmallows and eating my weight in sugar.

Highlights included…

Tapatio pickles. These were nice and firm and spicier than I was expecting.

Peeps vodka with pink Ting. <— a perfect combination!

Triple chocolate brownies. The Bakers chocolate recipe (halved) with the addition of espresso powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.

Nougat candies that my parents made at home!

Noosa lemon bar frozen yogurt is a 10/10 for Spring.

Turkey laab (we love this recipe) with sauteed bok choy and fennel with ginger and green onions.

Big salads. Romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, crispy baked lentils, honey roasted baked chickpeas, sliced turkey, and turkey bacon.

Bean, Banana, Bap

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Highlights from the week…

Dessert-y yogurt bowl. Vanilla skyr with condensed milk, strawberries, banana, cornflakes, and sprinkles.

These jelly beans really do taste like Froot Loops!

We got chips and quesadillas from Chipotle with their new chicken al pastor and it was actually pretty great.

We went to Long Island Pekin this week for duck (sans camera) and it blew our minds! I ate leftovers with other leftovers and it was a great meal.

Bibimbap-inspired veggie bowls. Riced broccoli sauteed with white pepper and sesame seeds / crispy tofu shreds – extra-firm tofu that I shredded, tossed with evoo and gojuchang, then baked / bean sprouts / gojuchang / cucumber / sauteed baby shitake mushrooms and green onion / fried egg.

Roasted cauliflower with crispy white beans – tossed in evoo, cornstarch, furikake, gochugaru, and ranch seasoning then baked.

Potatoes, Eggs, And Coffees

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It was a wonderful weekend! Adam and I had a ton of time together, the weather was gorgeous, and we took some great walks around the Lower East Side and Williamsburg and admired the spring flowers. Also we went on a million and one dates; our fridge is stuffed to the brim with leftovers – a very good problem to have!

Some highlights include…

Iced coffee with ube cold foam.

Dalgona iced latte with strawberry milk and and a dreamy packet of peaflower and edible glitter!

Iced matcha with ginger sparkling water and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Pazazz apple – a good spring choice, sweet and crispy.

Butterdose. Cream puffs – yuzu, ube coconut, and an Easter special with Cadbury eggs, Oreo, whipped cream frosting, and cream cheese filling.

Levain. This dark chocolate chocolate chip cookie tastes exactly like brownie batter and was the #1 best thing I ate all weekend.

Lindens. This meal was pretty unforgettable; the space was gorgeous and it was hands-down the best service I have ever experienced at a restaurant. We will be going back!

Lavender Daisy – pisco, gin, lavender, concord grape jam, lemon, club soda, and egg white.

Rosemary spiced margarita with mezcal, habanero, grapefruit, and agave.

Parker house rolls with grilled ramp butter. Tempura artichoke, maitake, and broccolini with chili oil and a cilantro yogurt sauce.

Herbed shoestring fries with a truffle aioli. 3rd best thing I ate this weekend and easily the best fries I’ve eaten the past 5 years.

Cheeseburger with grilled onion and cherry pepper relish.

Ocean Code. We had a highball with kyoho grape syrup.

Oden – beef, black fungus, daikon, tofu, and an inari-wrapped mochi ball in a super flavorful broth.

I had the spicy tuna rice bowl.

Okka. Very good cortado and Turkish coffee, plus baklava.

OTB. My favorite bar food in Brooklyn. The fantastic cup on the left was a frozen mojito.

Nuggets and chili cheese fries.

Rule of Thirds. Chiba Surf Club – yuzu sake, lillet, strawberry, sparkling wine, and fresh chives.

Douglas Fir-Banks – sesame shochu, gin, peach, vetiver, lime, umeboshi, and douglas fir. Plus a hojicha iced latte that was the 2nd best thing I ate this weekend.

Souffle pancake.

Japanese omelette sandwich on milk bread with miso mayo and yuzu cucumbers.

Smashed potatoes with mushrooms, hatcho miso, and a poached egg.