Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we have pastries with our (instant) coffee and celebrate the Year of the Ox. Check out past posts here, and please follow my Instagram @fivethingsiate.
Chocolate and halva pan pastry at Black Star Bakery & Cafe
Several locations, and delivery, including 595 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
In my dream world, every night I sleep for nine, interruption-free, blissful hours under a thick, fluffy comforter, on freshly washed sheets and when I wake up in the morning (to the natural trickle of sunlight into the bedroom and not the incessant meowing of cats) I make myself a cup of perfect cafe au lait which I drink with a freshly baked smol pastry, all of this soundtracked to the dulcet tones of zero email notifications in my inbox, like a well-played production of John Cageās 4'33. Unfortunately, the constraints of reality being what they are, I cannot guarantee any of those things for myself, but what I can do is pick up a chocolate and halva pan pastry from Black Star Bakery & Cafe to fulfil the role of smol pastry. This supremely flaky, rich little treat is halfway between an oblong, oversized rugelach and a chocolate croissant oozing with chocolatey, sesame-y halva filling. The crust is the flakiest of flakey, and a bit of the tahini pools and seeps into the pastry, soaking it like baklava. It is the most marvelous of morning pastries, and almost makes up for all the lack of all other elements.
Lavazza: "Prontissimo! Intenso" Instant Coffee, Intense Taste at home
I got it from Amazon, hereās the proper link.
You might ask why someone who is strongly suggested by the government and public health officials to stay put in her tiny shoebox of a home might be so obsessed with instant coffee. The answer is not that I havenāt perfected my coffee setup (Melitta filter, 16 grams of coffee to 250 grams of water, currently Lavazza Gran Torino or Zabarās Colombian roast, see cafe au lait link above) but because like all slightly insane nerdy people I am obsessed with both replicability under all conditions and prepping for the apocalypse, which, I have to say, might come in handy in Our Year of the Plague 2021. This is precisely how I ended up spending $16 on a little tin of instant coffee. I was lured in by the promise of better coffee dehydration technology, the combination of freeze-dried pellets plus actual microground beans, and the brand familiarity of Lavazza. Anyways. This is instant coffee that is extremely dark roast -- which I guess the āintensoā on the label was code for. It looks like chocolate milk, when you mix it with milk. Itās a coffee that I would have loved in college, or to drink in an airport, for times when you need a bit of char to stay awake. But is it worth the $16 now? Definitely, no. Nescafe will do just fine.
Whole milk greek yogurt with honey, cardamom and flaky sea salt at home
For a midnight snack.
I am of the opinion when it comes to dairy that anything less than full-fat is really not worth eating. You may take this opinion with a grain of salt, since I am lactose intolerant, which is also, coincidentally, how I take my yogurt. I like to buy whole milk honey-flavored greek yogurt from Siggiās, which is so thick that itās like sour cream. I love it. My favorite way to eat it is for a midnight snack or mini-meal, scooping a large dollop into a cute tiny bowl, topping it with a thick drizzle of amber honey and then flaky Maldon sea salt and a dash of ground cardamom. It is divine. If you want to go even further, top with a square of dark chocolate.
Milka & Lu biscuits at Kalustyanās
123 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016 you can also probably get these online.
Name a better crossover than Milka chocolate bars and Petit Ecolier cookies -- Iāll wait. Oh, did I mention this means that you now have a chocolate bar composed of a TINY cookie grid? I donāt usually notice the savory side of Petit Ecolier cookies, but somehow when itās made snack-size, thereās a noticeable, pleasant sweet-and-salty crunch. Like chocolate covered pretzels, but more subtle, and even more addictive. There isnāt much more for me to say about this chocolate bar, except that it would be a nice Valentineās Day treat for yourself ā or for another.
Herbal chicken noodle soup at the Tang
920 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025, available for take-out and delivery
Happy Year of the Ox! This year being a plague year, perhaps you didnāt have the time to obtain all the usual good-luck pun foods or, even better, make them yourself. Thatās OK. For good luck, just get yourself some longevity noods: You can even order them on Seamless, like this herbal chicken noodle soup. The Tang had me at ācooked with assorted Chinese medicinesā in the menu description of this soul-healing noodle bowl. Itās one of those rare times ordering in tastes just like home. The clean, rich broth has slices of plump shiitake mushroom and a smattering of goji berries floating in it, and is served with a whole, tender poached chicken thigh (with skin, of course!) and fresh, chewy wheat noodles. You know the soup is good and full of nutrients because the leftovers gelled up in the fridge. I dipped the chicken in grated ginger and black vinegar because Iām extra like that.Ā
Happy New Year!
Soph
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