Taking a look back at 2022

Posted on January 1, 2023 by mlenoach

As the clock turns 12, I wanted to celebrate and look back at 2022.

I started the new year with a challenge, the January Pantry Challenge. The idea was to cook things I already had at home to save money. I ate a lot of soup and finally ate stuff in my freezer. Some of my favs were the shrimp stir fry, red beans, sausage and rice, and dumplings.

In February, I did some fun activities with my parents. We took part in a virtual chocolate tasting and a chocolate-making class.

In March, I did a bit of a staycation and enjoyed the TWA hotel at JFK. It was a lot of fun. It had a fantastic 60s vibe with great food and ambiance. One of the best features is that they remade one of the planes into a cocktail bar/lounge.

For Easter this year, I decorated eggs and did a few egg hunts with Maxine and my family. It was fun to make the eggs with mom, and even better to see Maxine’s face while she was looking for eggs.

I don’t see my friends as often as I would like these days, but it’s always a blast when we do get to see each other. In May, we had brunch at Lucky Chengs and enjoyed a fun drag show.

In June, I was a panelist for a new membership event at the New York Junior League. I have been volunteering for the league for about eight years now and I was honored to be asked to speak.

Dad turned 80 in July! I wanted to throw him a huge party, but that is not my dad’s style. We had an amazing dinner at a Greek restaurant in Astoria instead.

We rented out a beautiful house in the Poconos in August and had a kickass family trip. The place was amazing; it had an indoor pool, a game room, and a movie theater. We also did some hiking and saw some beautiful waterfalls, and did some canoeing as well.

September was all about soaking up the last bit of beautiful weather and enjoying the parks and water sprinklers.

I turned 41 this year and spent my birthday with my family in Atlantic City. We stayed at Caesar’s Palace. I haven’t been to AC in years! I gambled with my parents, and Andrew won big at the roulette table. I ate excellent food and enjoyed the beach, as the weather was nice. Andrew and I even got to have a little date night on my birthday and explored AC at night.

I kicked off the holiday season by attending the New York Junior League’s Golden Tree event. It’s a holiday market where a percentage of the proceeds go to the league. The event also had a great auction where you could bid on various items, including holiday wreaths. I participated in the auction for the first time and won these two beauties.

Maxine turned two in December! Last year, we kept it simple and celebrated at a buffet so this year, I wanted to go all out. I rented a small venue and we had a bouncy house, face painter and balloon artist. Of course it had to be CoComelon themed.

2022, thanks for the memories!

Celebrating Black Business Month – Adá Supper Club

Posted on August 27, 2022 by mlenoach

At the end of last year, I participated in Adá Supper Club’s A NIGHT IN with chef Toya Henry. Adá Supper Club showcases black and female chefs, and A NIGHT IN is an at-home dining experience that occurs quarterly.

I had a fabulous three-course meal delivered to me that included drinks and a personal message from the chef about the meal. Chef Toya’s menu focused on the similarities between her Jamaican & Bajan heritage and Indian, Vietnamese & Cambodian culinary styles.

Ground “Scallops” – slow-cooked cassava “scallops”, mushroom stew, okra, heirloom, Himalayan and basmati rice

Herbed Bird’s Eye Chicken- okra, heirloom, Himalayan and basmati rice

Caribe Truffle- cacao, toasted sesame, Vietnamese and Ethiopian coffee

It was a great date night for my husband and me. The food came with easy heating instructions, was rich in flavor, and everything tasted amazing. I recommend the experience to everyone. Check out Adá Supper Club’s website and join the mailing list to receive information about the next dining experience.

St. Jude’s Baking Challenge 2022

Posted on August 6, 2022 by mlenoach

This past June, I participated in the St. Jude’s Baking Challenge. I thought it could be something I could do with my parents and my husband, but it just turned out to be a solo mission. I didn’t mind, I got to eat everything, and I shared with as many people as I could. Each week I had a different baking challenge. In week 1, I had to make cookies, and in week 2, it was pie. In week 3, the challenge was bread, and in week 4, I had to make a cake.

Week 1: Lemon cookies

I don’t know what I did wrong, but it was a little hard to get into little balls.

Week 2: Apple pie

This was my first time making an apple pie. It wasn’t as complicated as I thought if would be.

Week 3: Banana Bread

I didn’t have any eggs, so I substituted them with olive oil, and it came out fine.

Week 4: Cake, but I switched it up and did strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

It was so good my husband and I ate the whole batch and did not share.

Overall, the challenges were fun but most importantly, I raised $120 for St. Jude’s!

Sushi on Me – Anniversary Dinner

Posted on July 13, 2022 by mlenoach

Last month, Andrew and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary at Sushi on Me. It’s a small place in Jackson Heights, Queens, with a cool speakeasy vibe. We enjoyed a 15-course omakase dinner with unlimited sake 😁.

When you arrive, they have you sit down at a table while they finish setting up, and then they move you over to the sushi bar. The bar only fits nine people, and they have four dine-in time slots (5 pm, 6:30 pm, 8 pm, and 9:30 pm).

We didn’t capture it all, but here are some pics of the food.

Overall, we had a fantastic experience. The staff and chefs were incredible, and all the sushi was fresh. The main highlight for me was watching them make the sushi right in front of me. Check it out if you can!!!

A Place At The Table- Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month

Posted on May 29, 2022 by mlenoach

As I mentioned in my last post, I was brainstorming ways to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I came across an Instagram post about “A Place at the Table.” Which is a curated box filled with treats from experienced home bakers and professional chefs honoring their Asian heritage. Of course, I had to support it!

As an additional bonus, a portion of the sales is donated to Heart of Dinner, a nonprofit combating food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly Asian American community.

Check out the beautiful packaging.

Check out the desserts.

Of course my favorite was the Filipino focused one, which was a Mango, Coconut and Sago piece (I may or may not be biased 😉).

Here are the home bakers and chefs who participated (from top to bottom and left to right): Ying Ting Hu, Guadalupe Lucero, Andrew Cheng, Kimberly Camara, Ruth Li, Shirley Yu, Christine Yen, Joy Chu, Ayaka Ando, and Kelly Miao.

Glad I was able to participate in and support this initiative. The box was a bit pricey ($75, $82 with tax), but it was well worth it! I would love to see more collaborations like this in the future.

Trying out Hug Esan in Elmhurst Queens

Posted on May 14, 2022 by mlenoach

Two weeks ago, I attended my first ‘Eat Something New in Queens’ meet-up at Hug Esan, a Thai restaurant in Elmhurst.

I had such a great time. It was a date night/food adventure/reunion kind of night. An old friend from high school, small world, planned the event, and Andrew and I got to venture out, try new things, and meet new people.

Everything was amazing! Here is what we ate.

Tom Zabb- spicy and sour soup with spare ribs and various mushrooms *my favorite

Moo Num Tok- sliced pork salad with rice powder

Larb Pla- fried fish with herbs in a sweet and spicy sauce *the most exciting dish

Until the next time!

Eat Something New In Queens Challenge

Posted on May 14, 2022 by mlenoach

In March, I took part in the ‘Eat Something New in Queens’ Challenge. The purpose was to step out of your comfort zone, try new restaurants and food, and support local restaurants around Queens. Although I took a little staycation during the challenge, I still tried to participate. All the food I tried was excellent!

Here are the restaurants I tried.

Nneji is a West African spot in Astoria. It’s more a pickup type of place but has fantastic food. Don’t feel shy and ask the owner for recommendations on what to eat.

Spicy Goat Stew with Okra and Tomato – was definitely spicy!

Coco Malaysian Cuisine in Elmhurst.

I’m half Filipino, so Filipino food is life, but I did find a new dish I had never had before at Kabayan Authentic Filipino Cuisine in Woodside.

Binagoongan Rice (Fried rice with shrimp paste, mango, and scallions)

My family stayed at the TWA Hotel in JFK, in Jamaica, during the challenge (more on the hotel in another post), but we still tried some great food.

Yardie Bistro was in the food court area of the hotel.

Splurged a little at the Paris Cafe by Jean-Georges. It was well worth it!

I had a blast trying all the food. The challenge has an awesome Facebook group page that offers food ideas and recommendations year round. If you love food and live in Queens, or don’t mind traveling to the borough, join the group!

Celebrating Mom Mardi Gras Style

Posted on March 1, 2022 by mlenoach

My Mom is a leap year baby, so she celebrated the big 7 8 twice this year. Last night we had Filipino food, and tonight I went all out ordering some yummy food from Sugar Freak in Astoria. Since it’s also Mardi Gras, I thought, why not indulge in a seafood boil!

Check out the yummy grub!

All about chocolate

Posted on February 13, 2022 by mlenoach

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, but I’ve been celebrating all week.

On Wednesday, I took part in a chocolate-making class with my parents. It was a lot of fun and very hands-on. We learned how to temper chocolate and made jumbo peanut butter cups, pecan turtles, almond bear paws, dipped Oreos, and strawberries. It was messy yet yummy!

Rolled up caramel and peanut butter and chocolate chunks.

A bit messy but it still tasted fantastic.

On Friday, Andrew, my parents, and I did a Valentine’s Day-themed chocolate tasting. The tasting was packed with chocolate facts and insight on how they make the chocolate. We also tasted five different chocolate pieces, milk chocolate peanut butter heart, milk chocolate sea salt caramel, pecan toffee crisp, dark chocolate truffle, and dark chocolate lemon satin crème heart. Mom loved the peanut butter piece, I loved the dark chocolate truffle, Dad loved the truffle and lemon satin crème, and Andrew loved them all.

Enjoy your love day!!

January Pantry Challenge

Posted on January 31, 2022 by mlenoach

This month, I took part in The Sweet Frugal Life’s January Pantry Challenge, where I took an inventory of what I had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer to make dishes. I wasn’t super strict with it and only made a handful of meals, but I still consider it a success!

The main takeaway from my experience; I have a lot of soup in my pantry!

Here are some of my dishes.