Tag Archives: veggies

Pecan Pumpkin

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This week was very long. Also the 2nd to last week in the 2nd to last month of 2025??! Some things…

Yogurt bowls. Plain skyr with cinnamon granola and blueberries. We buy Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbos every week now and I am hooked.

French onion dip. Speaking of things we buy every week, we have both been having a dip obsession lately!

Juicy chewy candies. The Nerds are a 100/10, even better than the original gummy clusters.

Also in chewy things – these grape, green tea, and cheese ice cream bars.

Cheesecake Factory’s pecan pie pumpkin cheesecake is obviously going to be my Pie Month peak.

Take out dinner from Shanghai You Garden in 99 Ranch. Red bean sesame ball (and a pork floss mochi for Adam) / rice cakes with shredded chicken / fantastic scallion pancake / edamame with pickled cabbage and tofu // beef and rice from the Vietnamese spot next door

Fast-food style chicken sandwich. Brioche buns / house sauce – mayo, skyr, honey, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, dill pickle mustard, roasted poblano bbq sauce, and lemon juice / baked chicken marinated in skyr, hot sauce, and dill pickle mustard / tons of pickles. Plus roasted yellow cauliflower and broccoli.

Double egg sandwich. More brioche and house sauce with a fried egg and a cheesy soft-scrambled egg.

Tuna salad with an Eastern European vibe. Canned tuna and smoked trout / mayo, skyr, Dijon, and tons of horseradish / green onion / pickled beets / hard-boiled eggs. Plus sauteed asparagus and Trader Joe’s cornbread crackers.

Bob Burger

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It was a wonderful weekend! I say that often, but any weekend I get time with Adam is wonderful! We tried some new-to-us restaurants, had several fun coffees, admired flowers at Little Island, bought some buttons at M&J Trimmings (it is closing soon!)… Some highlights…

Creme bru-latte from Foreigner. This was as good as it looks!

Humble Cafe. Pandan iced latte and a black sesame mochi cookie.

Bubble tea from a stall at Pier 57. A yuzu lemonade Arnold Palmer with lychee popping boba, rainbow jelly, and edible glitter.

These peanut butter bites have an amazing texture.

Nuar. Iced Kopi with a pandan cold foam.

Kaya toast with Thai tea jam, pandan ice cream, red bean, and toasted marshmallows.

Guava and mascarpone pie at Peete’s. (Pie Month!)

Brunch at Lord’s. The hype is deserved! We loved almost everything we shared. Pineapple amaro sour – aged rum, pineapple amaro, lime, and egg white / Orchard Spritz – Neversink apple apertif, ginger beer, and candied ginger.

Turkish eggs with garlic yogurt, chili butter, and sourdough toast (11/10) // curried lamb scotch egg – I’m not a huge curry fan but Adam loved this.

Welsh rarebit cheeseburger on a pretzel bun with fantastic chips. This doesn’t make my top five list (we didn’t like the inclusion of raw onion slices) but it was a very solid burger.

Banoffee French toast. This was fine, not super exciting and the “French toast” was definitely just a slice of toasted bread.

Dinner at Foster. We loved this Sea Cliff spot and want to come back soon! The lighting was not photo-friendly however. I had a very solid dry-aged burger with aioli, arugula, caramelized onions, and gruyere.

Our leftovers were still delicious too. Wood-fired Margherita pizza with house-made mozzarella, tomato sauce, and seasonal pesto / okonomiyaki-style brussels sprouts. We also had a charred broccolini Caesar that was 11/10 delicious and pumpkin bread pudding with excellent pecan pie ice cream.

Dinner at Lula Mae was even better and the lighting was even more hostile. We shared and loved crispy tofu with a soy Chianking vinegar dressing, pickled veggies, scallions, and roasted walnuts / braised duck with pickled pearl onions, fried shallots, broccoli puree, and duck fat potatoes // fried chicken two ways – soy tamarind glazed wings and dry-rubbed boneless with lime pepper dressing and house-made pickles.

Wouldn’t It Be Rice

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Things from the week…

Horchata-ish iced latte. I blended leftover brown rice, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla bean powder in the blender. Unstrained, with ice, half and half, and espresso.

Berry smoothie. Frozen strawberries and blueberries, with chocolate protein powder, milk, and water. And a strawberry gummy.

These Kissabel apples have rose colored flesh.

I enjoyed these Quin maple almond butter filled pretzels much more than I was expecting to.

Chip City’s caramel apple cider donut cookie is hands-down the best thing they make. The cookie has the perfect amount of apple tang and the cider donut cinnamon sugar spice rub is divine.

10/10 dessert skyr bowl. Plain skyr, salty peanuts, leftover pecan pie toffee candy, and TWO KINDS of blueberries (Sweetest Batch and Super Jumbo!).

Braised tofu bowls. Brown rice with roasted cauliflower rice / sauteed bok choy with green onion / firm tofu cooked in butter and braised in chicken broth, rice vinegar, gochujang, gochugaru, Sichuan pepper, sugar, and sesame seeds / cashews.

Greek-ish salad. Romaine, Trader Joe’s cilantro dressing, baby tomatoes, roasted zucchini, and roasted chickpeas (baked until crispy with evoo, salt, pepper, sumac, onion powder, and garlic powder). Plus Trader Joe’s dolmas.

Crispy rice omelet. Eggs steamed on top of crisped-up leftover brown rice, kimchi, and extra-sharp cheddar. Plus roasted broccoli and baked chicken on the side.

I can’t skip a seasonal special; even if it’s from Arby’s. Their Gobbler sandwich was great though – deep-fried turkey, crispy onion, Swiss, stuffing, cranberry spread, and mayo on a toasted sub.

It’s Pie Month

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We had a lovely weekend including a long Brooklyn walk and a trip to the Brooklyn Museum for the Monet exhibit. Food highlights included…

Bean Monger‘s maple tahini mocha iced latte. It was so cute here!

Kyo‘s tiramisu iced latte with oat milk.

Blank Street‘s (dirty) iced matcha with blueberry and ube.

It’s Pie Month! Four & Twenty Blackbird‘s brown sugar pie with peanuts and toasted coconut was divine.

Elleno’s pecan pie yogurt with Biscoff cookie crumble. Pie Month!

Chip City fall special – maple cookies with maple cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans.

Brunch at Agi’s Counter. I had a dirty Ovaltine with oat milk.

We shared several dishes. Everything ended up going together perfectly. Tuna melt – served on a griddled potato pullman with alpine cheddar and a side of cabbage slaw and mustard // hash brown with trout roe.

Palacsinta, Hungarian crepes with with port-stewed figs, butter, and maple.

Little Grenjai does brunch now and it’s even better than their dinner service! We shared several things and are dying to go back soon to try more dishes. Pandan iced matcha latte (not as good as I was expecting but still an ok matcha).

Thai iced coffee (delicious!) // Hat Yai fried chicken and with sticky rice waffles, fantastic chili sauce, and maple syrup.

Pad Thai with confit duck.

The lox platter was my favorite dish of the meal – cured salmon crudo with everything roti and rangoon cream cheese // fried duck egg.

Baba’s Pierogies. We shared pan-fried with feta, black garlic, and potato and boiled potato, cheddar, and jalapeno with a horseradish sauce.

Homemade taco dinners that were both wonderful. Baked chicken chopped together with canned pumpkin puree, roasted poblano pepper, and extra-sharp cheddar. Heated in a frying pan. Plus green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with onion chili crisp, honey, and rice vinegar. Plus the best ever homemade ranch (Duke’s mayo, ranch seasoning, and some liquid from Trader Joe’s sweet and spicy pickled jalapenos).

Local lamb sausage, roasted onion and bell peppers, extra sharp cheddar, and labne baked in the oven. Plus sauteed asparagus.

Spooky Snacks

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Things from the week before Halloween…

On-theme candy, obviously.

And pumpkin beers! Southern Tier’s Maple Warlock imperial pumpkin stout and Caramel Pumpkin imperial pumpkin ale were both excellent.

Pumpkin smoothie. Canned pumpkin puree, frozen banana, brown sugar, vanilla protein powder, and water.

Boo-berry smoothie. Frozen blueberries, cherries, and strawberries with vanilla protein powder and water (with a marshmallow ghost!).

Halloween candy week seemed like a fitting time to open this Bonne Maman chocolate peanut spread. I enjoyed it in a few iced coffees and am eagerly anticipating a yogurt bowl.

Another new to me pear – Gem. It was delicious, but I prefer the Happis.

This Wella Crispy Treat did not taste like ube to me but it was yummy; good salty-sweet balance. Adam hated it, however, so your milage may vary.

Oyakadon-inspired dinner. Eggs soft-scrambled in leftover Rose Marie whipped garlic parsley butter / roasted broccoli / Bell and Evans breaded chicken patties / horseradish Sriracha aioli / leftover Rose Marie sourdough.

Pumpkin chili. Ground turkey, Whole Food’s canned bean trio, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, canned pumpkin puree, fish sauce, yellow onion, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, urfa chili, and salt and pepper. Plus leftover Rose Marie cheese curds and Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.

Two types of leftover pizza reheated in a skillet with leftover butter and an egg cooked on top.

These crispy roasted beans were the best dinner of the week. Labne / roasted shredded brussels sprouts / Great Northern beans tossed with evoo, cornstarch, panko, gochugaru, and furikake and roasted / Roland’s spicy chili onion crisp / crispy numbing broad beans I found at 99 Ranch but can’t read the label for.

Crab Rangoon Casserole

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Things from the week…

I’m not usually a big pear person but these Happi one’s are divine.

My best souvenirs from Scotland were Haribo gummies.

Crusted tofu – super-firm tofu baked coated in egg wash and food-processed kettle chips, seaweed, and gochugaru / broccoli salad – roasted and tossed in a sauce of food-processed roasted garlic and green onion, parsley, evoo, gochugaru, walnuts, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and maple syrup.

Tuna cakes – canned tuna, panade, Kewpie, egg, and crunchy chili flakes; baked. With leftover broccoli salad.

Gooey grilled cheese – stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, blueberry preserves, gochujang, and smoked cheddar / with green beans that were steamed and then sauteed with soy sauce, maple syrup, and gochugaru.


Crab rangoon casserole (how have I never seen someone else make this yet?!) – Sauteed green onion with ginger, sugar, white pepper, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, and a mix of real crab meat and imitation crab; mixed with Goodle’s Loopdy-Loos; topped with panko bread crumbs toasted with crunchy chili flakes, and butter; and baked / roasted brussels sprouts sauteed with peanut butter, gochujang, sugar, and lime juice.

Haggis And Highlands

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No post from me last week because we were in SCOTLAND! We went with Adam’s brother and sister-in-law on a road trip and had a fabulous time. We tried haggis (I loved it!), got to pet a Highland Cow, saw a thousand castles, and stayed at a bread and breakfast with baby seals.

Less exciting but still fun things from this week back in the US included…

This week’s coffee combo – beans from our last vacation (Alaska) and dulce de leche.

Pumpkin spice Chobani with Whole Food’s cinnamon granola and blueberries.

Pumpkin smoothie – canned pumpkin with frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple sugar, and water.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (this perfect rice from Hummingbird High).

P.S. I put cookies into the best dessert bowl – plain skyr, peanut butter, dulce de leche, crumbled cookies, and blueberries.

We brought home this tablet (basically a sweetened condensed milk fudge) from Scotland. We’re glad we didn’t try it until we left the country or we probably we would have bought another 20 bars!

This treat from America (Canada?) was also good – Trader Joe’s maple pancake flavored puffs.

Thai chicken satay inspired bowls. Brown rice / baked chicken – marinated in yogurt, coconut milk, lime juice, red curry, curry powder, and ginger / roasted broccoli / peanut sauce – peanut butter, red curry, lime juice, sugar, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water / cucumber salad – cucumber, scallion, salt, sugar, rice vinegar, and chili oil.

Callaloo inspired bowls. Chopped spinach cooked down with crab, coconut milk, sauteed onion, ginger, ufra pepper, and habanero pepper. Plus roasted honeynut squash and delicata squash.

An easy soup. Leftover rice / shredded garlic-y baked chicken / sauteed dinosaur kale, green onion, garlic, and canned green chilis / chicken broth, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little sesame oil.

Hello, Pumpkin

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I didn’t buy that many Pumpkin Month goodies this year but I am excited about my stash. The Whole Food’s seasonal soaps smell so good!

This week I enjoyed the 7-11 pumpkin spice cheesecake bites and a pumpkin pie Perfect Bar. P.S. I also started my October 1st with a Starbucks iced espresso with pumpkin cold foam. P.P.S. I also tried their banana protein cold foam this week and was a big fan.

Other highlights from this week included… This espresso roast cold brew from Equator is the best bottled coffee I’ve ever tried. It was smooth, not sour, and contained 250 mg of caffeine.

Passionfruit Konjac jelly drink in a strawberry green tea. The texture was everything I was hoping for but this gave me the worst stomachache.

We did Soup Week for dinners this week! I loosely followed the recipe for Recipe Tin Eat’s Korean Noodle Soup. This has the perfect amount of spice for soup. We added egg tofu and extra bok choy.

Butternut squash and sweet potato soup. I blended together roasted butternut squash, orange yam, and sweet onion with miso, salt, white pepper, and chicken broth. We loved this. I topped my with chili crisp and paired it with roasted green beans and some Duck Island Bread Company sourdough.

Meatball soup. Baked turkey meatballs (ground turkey, panko panade, egg, and hoisin sauce), chicken broth, salt, pepper, gochujang, garlic, scallions, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and roasted zucchini. Plus super decadent apricot grilled cheese sandwiches – sourdough with apricot preserves and a filling of Duke’s mayo, Sriracha, smoked paprika, and two types of sharp cheddar.

P.S. We are doing something super fun today!