Boots On The Moon

Five things from the past week —

{1} I really enjoyed these two cans from Nitro Coffee Company.  The nitro gives them a super velvet-y mouthfeel.

IMG_3464

{2} A very hydrating cocktail.  Vodka with lime, watermelon juice, and watermelon seltzer.

IMG_3452

{3} We made twice-baked potatoes that were delicious.  Stuffed with butter, sharp cheddar, turkey bacon, green onion, Kewpie, and fish sauce.

IMG_3469

{4} A very loose take on homemade okonomiyaki.  Made with shredded brussel sprouts!

IMG_3456

{5} Did I mention yet that we adored Space Force?  We also loved the new SF-themed ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s.

IMG_3475

Summer Fruits And Veggies

It was a very good week in fruits and vegetables here!  We went to Whole Foods on Saturday to stock up.  With our new, pandemic-induced, bimonthly grocery schedule our first week of dinners/snacks always feels a lot fresher than the second week.

Highlights include…

Could Perfect Bars be any more perfect?  They are the optimal balance of sweet and savory.  I loved this trail mix flavor.

IMG_3374

My parents sent us a box of tamarinds and I found these strawberry cherries at Whole Foods.

IMG_3344

I also snagged a bag of genips (<– Caribbean fruit that I grew up picking from a tree near my house but have had an impossible time finding in New York) on the street corner near my hospital!

IMG_20200630_153811_864

Watermelon-themed things since it’s almost July 4th.  The winner of the bunch was definitely the Hal’s Seltzer.

IMG_3352

This dinner was brought to you by the color orange!  Salmon/trout salad bagel melts / local heirloom tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper / roasted gold zucchini.

IMG_3367

We have been loving this black-eyed pea salad combo for almost a decade.  This batch was actually made with fancy heirloom yellow eyed beans since BEP were sold out at the store.  Beans, green pepper, smoked almonds, sharp cheddar, and green Tabasco.  It is such a simple combination but super satisfying.

IMG_3359

Roasted green zucchini topped with Moroccan tofu cubes and a simple yogurt sauce (plain skyr, mayo, olive oil, sumac, paprika, salt, and a little water).

IMG_3380

Our best meal of the week was this trio – baked tofu (cooked with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, Sriracha, and honey) / Chinese smashed cucumber salad / fancy mushroom medley sauteed with salt, pepper, and butter.

IMG_3391

Bridge + Brigadeiro

Highlights from this week include…

Adam and I were both off on Tuesday and we had a great city/social-distancing date!  Walks across the Manhattan Bridge.

IMG_3266

IMG_3269

And take-out lunch in Seaport.  Brigadeiro iced latte from Cafe Patoro.  <– one of the best lattes I’ve had in awhile, even aside from the fact that the cup was slathered in Brazilian fudge sauce!

IMG_3274

And a kimchi scallion pancake sandwich from Vanessa’s Dumplings.

IMG_3278

My homemade dinners don’t look that exciting but were totally delicious.  A cheesy, crunchy, veggie-filled casserole with cauliflower rice / ground turkey sauteed with smoked paprika, sweet onion, and orange and yellow bell pepper / black beans / Trader Joe’s pineapple salsa / and a topping of buttery crushed tortilla chips and sharp cheddar.

IMG_3263

Ground turkey with gojuchang, Korean chili flakes, and green onion on a bed of roasted cabbage.  I went back and topped the whole thing generously with Kewpie and Sriracha and loved every bite.

IMG_3288

We made fantastic daiquiris this week!  Cruzan rum and soursop nectar with lime juice and sweetened condensed milk.

IMG_3257

Is it even summer in New York yet if you don’t eat an Italian ice?  I got toasted marshmallow with key lime and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be my combo for the rest of the summer.

20200624_165737

Bubble, Bubble

There was no weekend post because I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and life felt a little hectic.  Things are definitely starting to ramp up at work (and that’s with some of my units closed due to Covid still!).  I have my eye on some fancy cocktails for this weekend.

Highlights from the past week…

My new favorite coffee combo – the Cafe Bustelo is perfectly extra-dark and roasty to pair with the sweetness of the condensed milk.

IMG_3172

My best snacks this week were bubble tea themed things and fruity beers.  Also ranch-flavored roasted chickpeas mixed with Trader Joe’s olive and herbed mixed nuts.  I eat five full handfuls straight from the bag, why do I bother to put it in that little bowl?!

IMG_3212

These brown sugar boba ice cream bars are truly the best frozen treat I’ve ever had!  If you spot them – buy them!

IMG_3155

IMG_3163

We also had some boba-inspired gummies.

IMG_3196

Guava gose brewed with coriander and Himalayan salt // pineapple shake IPA brewed with vanilla and lactose.

IMG_3188

Hazy IPA with hibiscus and dragon fruit.

IMG_3220

We made chilaquiles for dinner.  Topped with fried eggs, plain yogurt, cheddar, and Crystal hot sauce.

IMG_3184

Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi with roasted baby tomatoes and garlic and gruyere smoked chicken sausages.

IMG_3202

Cola In My Beer And Oats In My Coffee

We officially went back at the hospital full-time this week and I’m not going to lie, the transition was rough.  Sitting in the ICUs means I have to wear an N-95 mask all day long which comfortwise is a big change from charting in my kitchen next to an iced coffee.  Thankfully I had a few days off mid-week so I was able to ease into it.

Highlights…

This week’s coffee combo was Starbucks cold brew with the super marshmallowy Chobani chocolate oat milk.

IMG_3104

On my days off I brewed my Cafe Nguyen Phin coffee.  <– still loving this

IMG_3135

Lemon & lavender yogurt with blueberries and white chocolate macadamia granola.

IMG_3141

I went grocery shopping mid-week which meant our Trader Joe’s snack stash is fully stocked.  I recommend this new nut mix.

IMG_3145

IMG_3111

The homemade coffee cookies and cream ice cream went away quickly.

IMG_3125

Cherry cola beer from Evil Twin.

IMG_3105

Channa masala with cauliflower rice.

IMG_3119

Whole-wheat spaghetti with pasta sauce, kale, and TJ’s soyrizo.

IMG_3148

Thai take-out; cashew chicken with basil fried rice.

IMG_3094

Coffee Cookies And Cream

Food highlights from the weekend included —

We celebrated National Doughnut Day one day late with a s’mores doughnut from Dough Hut.

IMG_3068

Plain skyr yogurt topped with fruit salad (mango, kiwi, plum, blueberries, lemon juice, and honey).

IMG_3087

This nut mix was great, it had just enough savory to offset the sweet.

IMG_3046

These brown sugar boba popsicles knocked our socks off.  How did the keep the frozen tapioca so chewy and wonderful??!

IMG_3081

Also I made ice cream.  Two-ingredient no-churn ice cream infused with coffee and espresso and layered with crushed Oreo.  It was amazing.

IMG_3092

Kettlecorn with Korean chili flake.

IMG_3066

Veggie tacos.  Baked tortillas with cheese / corn and kale / chorizo-style seitan / homemade salsa.

IMG_3060

Kimchi In My Ramen And My Burger

Real Stuff — This was a hard weekend in the United States.  I don’t think my voice adds anything to the discussion but I do want to use my (small) platform share some posts with my white readers:  A Guide to White Privilege // How to be Actively Anti-Racist // 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship.

Fluff — Some highlights from the past few days…

IMG_2982

We took a social distancing walk across the Williamsburg Bridge to get take-out to eat in Thompkin’s Square Park and I must have said four-thousand times how much I love NYC.

IMG_2970

IMG_2976

IMG_2985

IMG_2972

Nowon was ridiculously fantastic.  I had charred broccoli with sesame caesar, perilla, anchovy, parmesan, and seaweed and a double cheeseburger with american cheese and kimchi mayo.

IMG_2980

Still loving making Phin coffee.

IMG_2997

This new Chobani chocolate oat milk is insane.  It tastes like chocolate marshmallows!

IMG_3005

This yogurt bowl tasted like summer.  Plain Greek, honey, cinnamon, and fresh mango.

IMG_3010

Chicken and kimchi ramen with brown sugar milk tea with boba.

IMG_3018

The best thing I ate all weekend = this taco.  Stuffed with Kewpie, Crystal hot sauce, and soft-scrambled eggs with gouda.

IMG_2994

Cinnamon And Malted Milk

Highlights from this week include…

Dalgona coffee with cinnamon and malted milk.  Swoon.

IMG_2887

Honey vanilla Greek yogurt with blueberries and a raspberry banana nut mix.

IMG_2869

Our current candy situation.

IMG_2862

I am all in on this Trader Joe’s popcorn mix.

IMG_2867

When we get Chinese take-out I ordered all of the things so I have leftovers for days.  This was Kung Pow tofu, veggie rice noodles, and cabbage.

IMG_2878

Chinese cabbage with TJ’s mini chicken wontons and chili flakes.

IMG_2891

Jalopeno popper turkey chicken burgers with roasted green beans.

IMG_2900