Food

McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil

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Recommended to me by a friend who is the connoiusseur of everything and anything, McEvoy Ranch Olive Oil, is THE olive oil to use. She says it is the best of the best, and because I trust her with my life, I just placed a huge order of olive oil for my kitchen (and we go through a ton of olive oil, so I can’t wait for this order!) This olive oil is “Rooted in Italian craftsmanship with a bold Californian approach,” — and Italians and Californians, they know their EVOO!

 

A mixture of all the different olive oils.

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Green Goddess Dressing

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In a need to have more veggies and green in my life (winter makes me only want carbs), I decided to search the best recipe for Green Goddess Dressing. After a lot of research, I chose the Green Goddess Dressing from the NYTimes and I am so happy with the end result. It is delicious, fresh, and easy to eat with crudites or salads — a great way to add more green to my day.

 

Ingredients:

 

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Jennifer Fisher Flavored Salt

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I have been hearing a lot about Jennifer Fisher’s Flavored Salt for quite some time, but finally picked some up at a local market, and I am hooked! They only had the Universal Salt variety so that is what I purchased, but I can’t wait to try out the others soon (curry and spicy)!

 

Jennifer Fisher is a jewelry designer but also branched out into cooking and salts! Good for her to diversify and expand her business!

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Chinatown Foot Rub & Dumplings

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Last Friday night, in dire need of a foot massage, Ken and I decided to venture to Chinatown for a couple of hours. It was a huge success and I cannot wait to go back. Not only did we get great (and cheap!) foot massages, but we also brought home super tasty dumplings.

 

After a lot of research on the world wide web, I decided that we would get our foot massages at Renew Spa. It had great recommendations online (and also had a website in English). I made appointments for us and although I thought it would be empty, it was actually very busy. But it was very safe and clean — and I had my own private room, which I loved.

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Currently Loving January 2022

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I know that the month has just begun (Omicron — go away already! Winter — go away, too!), but here is what I am currently loving!

 

1. The Sex Lives of College Girls

 

Hands down the most LOL show I have seen in a long time. It is so right on about liberal art colleges and I love the characters so much. A must watch! I am just sad I have no more episodes to watch — it is binge worthy (25 minutes each episode) and so fun, funny, and smart.

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Buffalo Cauliflower

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One of my favorite Hanukkah / Christmas / Holiday presents was the new cookbook “Vegan, at Times” by Jessica Seinfeld. All of the recipes look delicious and the first one I made,  Buffalo Cauliflower, is so delicious that I imagine all the other recipes are just as tasty and good. So flavorful, semi healthy, a great way to eat cauliflower, and something different! Here is the recipe for buffalo cauliflower!

 

A new cookbook that I love! Can’t wait to try all the different recipes!

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Pea Hummus

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My favorite restaurant in NYC is ABCV. It is an all vegetarian restaurant with so much flavor and deliciousness. Everything they make is incredible and one of my favorite items is the pea hummus. So I decided to try to make my own! It definitely isn’t as good as ABCV, but I was very happy with the result!

 

Ingredients:

 

 

* bag of frozen peas

* can of drained garbanzo beans

* 1-4 tablespoons of Olive oil

* a spoonful of tahini

* lots of salt

* a huge handful of mint

* juice from one lemon

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Currently Loving December 2021

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Last month of 2021! I can’t believe it — this year has come and gone…..here is what I am currently loving this month!

 

1. We Can Do Hard Things: Glennon Doyle podcast, episode “Runners and Cheerers: Marathon Life with Shalane Flanagan

 

I love Glennon Doyle — she is honest and acknowledges when she makes mistakes. I really liked this episode as it talked about marathons and what happens during them — her wife ran it and spoke about it. I also love Shalane Flannagan, but found the first half of the episode better than the portion when Shalane was featured.

 

2. Crying in H Mart

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Banh Mi Zon

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Over Thanksgiving break, I decided it was time to start my food hunts again in NYC to find “the best ofs.” Last Winter, I found the best dumplings, the best pizza, and the best Italian Food. So, this time, I thought it would be fun to find the “best Vietnamese” in Manhattan. It was a throw back to when I was pregnant with my 12 year old, and only wanted gazpacho and Vietnamese Summer Rolls…..So after reading several articles and reviews, we headed down to 6th Street in the Lower East Side to Banh Mi Zon to pick up a selection of items.

 

Vietnamese sandwich — perfect crusty bread with vegetables and meat. Loved every bite.

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Edible Cookie Do

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One of my downfalls is that if I go in to a gourmet grocery store searching for one specific item, I leave with a huge bag. Especially if I am hungry. So the other day when I was on the way to my daughter’s school pick up and I went in to a get a watermelon lime juice (yes very specific), I walked out with every new sweet item I could find. My favorite was edible cookie dough, Do! I had heard about this phenomenon, and actually seen the lines at their downtown location, but I had never tried it. And of course, once I tried it, I fell madly in love, and have since returned to buy various flavors. The most recent purchase was their seasonal flavors of Pumpkin and Apple Pie.

 

Seasonal Flavors

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Savouries Cookies and Granola

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A couple weeks ago on a beautiful Fall day, I got off at the wrong subway stop (to go to Trader Joe’s) and ran into a dear old friend, Christine, whom I had not seen in a decade. (A decade!) It was one of those powerful encounters that both brought us to tears as we were SO happy to see each other and be reconnected. She is magic — and everything around her is positive, joyful, and magical. Long story short, turns out Christine is now a full time bad a$$ actress as well as a baker (a good friend to have). She makes the most incredible cookies and granola (my favorite food group) and you can’t stop eating her creations. And she sells them!!!!! Savouries! Get them!

 

Savouries! Rosemary Cookies and granola.

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Currently Loving October 2021

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I blinked, and here we are in mid October. I know that as you get older, the time starts to fly by, but really, in the past year, it feels like a month ago was yesterday! And it literally feels like school JUST started, but here we are almost Halloween (gulp, my least favorite holiday). Here is what I am loving this month!

 

1. The Night She Disappeared (on audible)

 

Almost 3/4 of the way done with this book (listening to it) and I am now a huge fan of audible books and this story! A must read (or listen to!)

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Di Fara Pizza Manhattan Pop Up

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Last Winter, on our “best pizza” of NYC, we wound up deep in Brooklyn at Di Fara. It truly was the most amazing pizza I have ever had, even with the hour long drive. So as soon as I found out that Di Fara had a pop up for 3 weeks in Manhattan, I jumped at the opportunity for us to go. Definitely worth it as still the best pizza I have ever had.

 

Located in the Lower East Side, this pop up, is basically an office building with a security guard who has someone come take our order. You can also get pizza from Roberta’s (but Di Fara is way better).

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Knead Love Cinny Buns

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I love it when things just work out and you don’t expect it! Yesterday, I was ordering a cake for my son’s birthday from a Gluten-Free Local Bakery (that I posted about in May 2020) and then decided to take the subway down to Trader Joe’s (yes second visit this week), but got off at the wrong train stop. As I emerged from the train, I realized that the Union Square Green Market was taking place and that Knead Love (where I was in the process of ordering Cruz’s 12th birthday cake) had a booth!

 

I mean — gluten free carbs and hot pink? Everything about Knead Love, I love (and yes I need love!)

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Trader Joe’s Haul

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During graduate school the only place I grocery shopped was at Trader Joe’s– it is where I got EVERYTHING. Vegetables, pre packaged food (I lived on their burritos and enchiladas), muffins, granola, everything. And yet since then, I rarely go as there is not one close by and I like things where I pick the quantity myself. That said, I was reintroduced to Trader Joe’s and it inspired me to try it again. I have gone twice in the past two weeks and I love it — not for everyday grocery shopping, but for random snacks and food to hoard in my house (I hoard food).

 

Huge bag of goodies — and SO inexpensive — less than 50 dollars!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!

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Batchworthy

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OK, so I have written about these sauces before, but I have to write a full post about it because they are just that good. They are SOOOOO good. Back in June, I bought the “Husband Sauce” and the “Caesar Sauce,” and they were delicious, but it wasn’t until this month that I purchased The Full Batch.  The full batch includes: 1 8oz. Husband Sauce, 1 8oz. The Heat, 1 8oz. Soft Caesar, 1 8oz. That Good Grainy Mustard, 1 4oz. Garlic Confit, and 1 4oz. Garlic Rillette. Literally you can make the most scrumptious meal with any of these sauces.

 

Even the jars are colorful and make my fridge bright and happy.

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Currently Loving September 2021

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Here we are in mid September and here is what I am currently loving!

 

1. Harriman State Park

 

Last week, we had a day off from school and a parent organized a hike to Harriman State Park — which is about an hour away from NYC. It was a great day filled with beautiful nature. It made me miss the ease of Oregon nature and hikes, but I am thankful to have been introduced to Harriman State Park and can’t wait to return.

 

2. Dahlias

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Synful Eats

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At the very start of the summer, I was at a friend’s house where she served a plate of the most delicious cookies I had ever eaten. The cookies were all broken in to pieces which made it very easy to eat and sample all the different flavors. Each cookie was better than the last and I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Or eating them. They were BEYOND. Thankfully, these cookies, Synful Eats, can be bought in NYC / Hamptons — and hopefully soon nationally. They are the next Levain Cookies — top quality, incredible combinations, the best ingredients. I can’t wait to see what this company does next — and until then, I will continue to support (and eat!) these unbelievably tasty cookies.

 

Since it is local delivery, the cookies arrive in the most beautiful pink box and bag. Even the box is perfection.

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Spinach Hummus

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One of my favorite parts of spending the summer in Oregon is being surrounded by all the local, organic, small-batch, hippie foods. I have my all time favorites that have been around forever (Toby’s Tofu Pate), but each summer, I fall in love with some new favorites. This summer, I am head over heels with this spinach hummus by King Harvest. BEYOND DELICIOUS, TASTY, UNBELIEVABLY GOOD. It is die for — and you must find it and buy it….and even if it is not sold in your grocery store, try to replicate it and make it home.

 

King Harvest.

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Water Kefir

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I realize that Monday’s post was on a drink (hibiscus tea) but now I have to tell you all about water kefir — my newest obsession! And yes, apparently I am on a drink kick! And makes sense because it has been over 100 degrees the past week in Oregon….yes, I have been melting! In any case, I have always had a love hate relationship with kombucha. I love it, but it has made me (violently) sick and so I had to quit for a decade. I have successfully only had good batches in the past year, but I still am weary about it. That said, I always love looking at the drink aisle in the hippy dippy grocery stores because they always have the best products. And lo and behold, that is how I first found out about water kefir — a probiotic water. It is similar to kombucha, as they are both fermented and probiotic rich. But they taste slightly different and as of now, I am preferring water kefir.

 

This was one of the brands that I love — made in Oregon, great flavor of ginger and lime. Fizzy, delicious, and hydrating.

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Hibiscus Tea

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As many of you know, my mother is from Mexico., and because of this, most of her cooking is influenced by her heritage. The main drink that we always have in our house is Hibiscus Tea. She goes to the local Mexican tienda and buys pounds and pounds of dried hibiscus flowers to make the juice / tea throughout the year. Unfortunately, I am both lazy and unfamiliar with a Mexican tienda in NYC, so I have yet to recreate this drink. However, recently, at the local grocery store, I came across, sachets of hibiscus tea! Yes, more expensive than bulk leaves — but so convenient and easy! I can’t wait to try all the different flavors and make it in NYC!

 

Not only does my mom loves hibiscus tea made from scratch, but she also loves tea. She is a tea snob and knows more about tea than anyone. And apparently, this tea company, Steven Smith Tea Company, is wonderful and she loves it.

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Currently Loving July 2021

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Mid July, here we are. Second half of the year, here, too! Here is what I am currently loving this month:

 

1. Martha Stewart’s Blueberry Crisp Recipe

 

We went blueberry picking this week and picked over 12 pounds of blueberry. So I decided to make a blueberry crisp (and follow a recipe!) I made two of these crisps (used 6 pounds of blueberries) and found this recipe perfect — not too sweet, but light and refreshing.

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