Maple Mint Iced Tea & Other Refreshing Things

Tomato season, black shirts, and cardamom buns

Jul 22, 2024

Hi friends,

The heat broke a little bit in New York (finally) and it’s been so lovely to walk around without sweating profusely. The farmers markets are stunning and I’m heading down the shore on Thursday night, which is so exciting. Ready for all the beach time and some great food.

I cleaned out my closet a bit yesterday for Julianne’s clothing swap, which felt so good (

Grace Atwood

shared that cleaning is part of her anti anxiety practices and I get it). What I notice whenever I clean out clothing to swap or donate is that most of what goes is the pieces that never felt 100% me. Maybe I wanted to try something new, like a color or silhouette or pattern but I wore it only a few times (this happens a lot at swaps or when shopping secondhand, I’m more willing to take a risk). What I never get rid of are my black tops, which are too many to count. I know I wear them constantly and during all seasons so I need turtlenecks, tank tops, jumpsuits, crop tops, and t-shirts and would always acquire more (at the swap I got a black top, a cream top, and a grey dress #onbrand). When I lived in Guatemala for a year my local friends would make fun of me for wearing black t-shirts and jeans almost every day (with tan sandals and a local tote bag that was intricately made and also mostly black). You can take the girl out of New York…

Now, let’s dive in.

Something to cook:

Calling all air fryer fans—Julia got one and I need your tips on the best way to make tofu in it. We tried this recipe and it didn’t get quite as crispy as we wanted it to (probably user error, I think we should have done it in two batches maybe?) Either way, it was great with rice and cucumbers and all the fixings (plus a backdrop of men fighting on the Bachelorette). Also would love to hear any other vegetarian air fryer recs!

I tried out SOMOS’ simmer sauces (client) for an easy dinner on Wednesday. I crisped up some mushrooms and then added black beans and the taco simmer sauce while I made rice. It was super flavorful and I just added some avocado and cheese to finish it off.

My current breakfast fixation has been frozen waffles (I tried the Kodiak brand and they are a little dry but have good flavor) with cottage cheese, maple syrups, and berries. So good and as long as I remember to put the waffles in the oven while I shower, it’s fast.

I got a huge bunch of kale and heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market so am planning on making kale sauce, salads, and tomato toasts with the bounty.

Something to order:

Great news: Le Fanfare’s $15 weeknight pasta specials are back (Monday-Wednesday). Dale and I first tried Le Fanfare in 2019 because of these specials and it’s now one of our favorites. The options vary but there are usually 2-3 choices. Go have a weeknight date night or solo dinner and try some out.

Amy and I had a happy hour huddle at Taralucci in Union Square (we wanted cold drinks and ice cream so we got drinks, a flatbread and gelato, apt for the weather).

Amber and I caught up at La Cabra in the East Village. It was my first time there and the cardamom bun lived up to the hype, plus the coffee was really good.

We went to Bamonte’s for Julia’s birthday. My must orders are the eggplant rollatini and spedini romano and you can get the vodka sauce without meat (it’s excellent).

Dale and I took the train to New Haven for Dan and Jaimie’s wedding on Friday which was so much fun. They rented out Trinity Bar and served pizza from all three New Haven pizza spots (Sally’s, Frank Pepe’s, and Modern). I’ve been to Frank Pepe’s so I tried the other two and Modern was my favorite. It was such a fun way to do wedding food.

I hit up the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturday, which was in peak form. One of the longest lines was for iced mint tea with maple syrup, one of the most refreshing things I’ve had all year, for only $3. Highly recommend if you’re passing by and it would be very easy to DIY—it was a combo of mint and black tea with maple syrup over ice.

Julia had her birthday at apparently birthday hot spot Last Call (there were three birthday parties, which added to the celebration vibes). They have good food options (enjoyed the gyoza and cucumber salad) and a backyard you can reserve for free. For cake, we had to do cheesecake from Fortunato’s.

After the clothing swap, Hillary, Amy and I tried Moonburger, an upstate burger chain. that recently opened in Williamsburg. Everything is vegetarian and can be made dairy or gluten free. We all got the cheeseburgers (with real cheese) and split fries and a vegan brownie milkshake, which was really good. I’m not usually an impossible meat fan but I thought it worked in the smashburger style—you don’t taste it much with the toppings and special sauce. The fries are nice and thin and it’s a good addition to the area!