One Pot Thai Green Curry Noodles with Shrimp

The less dishes my boyfriend has to clean up, the better! Thus, I absolutely love one pot meals. This was my first time cooking with thai green curry, so I was a little apprehensive about how this recipe would develop. As it turns out, the thai green curry I chose to use was slightly misleading. I'm almost sure it was the brand I chose, but the flavor impact wasn't completely there. If you do end up choosing a pre-made green curry paste, you should probably add way more than 2 tablespoons. Tasting is key! If I do end up re-making this meal, I'll be sure to update you all on the green curry I choose! Either way, this was still a comforting meal!

What I used:

• Dried rice noodles
• Olive oil
• 1/2 pound of shrimp
• Chopped scallions (green onions), to taste
• Chopped garlic, to taste
• Minced ginger, to taste
• 2+ tablespoons, to taste
• 1 1/4 cup of shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup of veggie stock
• 1 can of light coconut milk
• 6 packed cups of kale
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of lime juice

1. Prep the rice noodles according to the package instructions. 
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped scallions, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 1 minute. Stir in curry paste. 
3. Add carrots, veggie stock, and coconut milk. Stir and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. 
4. Add kale and sprinkle salt and pepper. The kale will need to cook down for 5-10 minutes, or until tender.
5. Add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes or so. Remove from heat and top with more carrot and lime juice. 

Vintage Virginia Food & Wine Festival

There's a first time for everything, right? Well let me start off by stating that on a normal day, I probably would immediately turn down attending any sort of festival pertaining to alcohol, just because I would prefer to avoid tipsy/drunk/random/icky masses of people... ALSO I don't particularly like wine (is this sounding pessimistic?) However, however, however, there was food involved in the mix! I think it's always a good idea to include food when alcohol is involved. Luckily, there was a lineup of food trucks ready for me to enjoy! 

When you first walk in, you receive a complimentary wine glass for your tastings. There are multiple wine tasting booths set up, from various wineries along the East Coast. I could only go around to taste 3 wineries because it was blazing hot! I was able to grab some munchies from my favorite food truck, the Tapas Truck! I grabbed my favorite corn fritters, garlic fries, and shrimp pil-pil all of which are super yummy finger foods to eat. I highly recommend tasting them at the upcoming Truckeroo festival on June 12 or in Tyson's! 

We ended up purchasing a bottle from one of our favorite tastings from Trump Winery. We decided to get sparkling chardonnay, which is quite tasty and light, especially considering I'm not very fond of wine. Overall, I'm glad I attended, but I probably wouldn't go again only because I'd rather try other culinary-type festivals.

Caprese Polenta Stack

It's summer time! I don't know about you, but when it becomes really hot out, I struggle to find refreshing snacks or meals that won't make me feel weighed down. I have been wanting to try polenta for a while now, and polenta rolls are a great alternative to heavy pasta meals. I decided to utilize the polenta in the form of a stack to create a refreshing meal alternative.

By the way, caprese is usually a salad consisting of mozzarella, tomato, and basil. It can be seasoned with olive oil, balsamic, and black pepper.

What I used:

• Polenta tube/roll
• 1 package of mozzarella 
• Fresh basil leaves
• 2 tomatoes 
• Olive oil
• Black pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste

1. Begin by slicing the polenta into any size you prefer. Lay the slices out on a baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. The oven should be set to broil on high. The polenta will be ready once it becomes lightly golden brown and slightly crispy.
2. Prep the remainder of the ingredients by slicing the tomatoes and mozzarella. 
3. Construct the caprese stacks in the order of polenta, tomato, mozzarella, and then basil leaf. 
4. Lightly drizzle either balsamic vinegar, olive oil, or both. And then black pepper and salt to taste!

Vive la France! - Snack Time

I have decided to start various "themes" for my blog posts. Ergo, snack time! I feel like these posts are meant to be a fun way to break up the seriousness of a recipe post, restaurant review, or a product review.

Now that it's spring time, (or any season, really) I like to break out the good ole cheese, bread, and wine for after work when I'm slightly hungry before dinner, but when I also need that well deserved break. Fresh Market or Whole Foods are a great choice to just run in and grab quick snack items. Fresh bread and cheese isn't always the easiest to store for freshness, so I'd rather buy 'em when I feel the craving.

My cheese of choice is Brie! It's creamy, yet light enough to not fill you up after a few small bites. PS. try to avoid the triple cream Brie before dinner. I just cut the baguette into small slices and place the cheese on top. If I want added richness, I will add a piece of dried fruit or honey. Lastly, a sip of wine isn't always a bad idea after work either... :)

What are some of your go-to snacks after a busy day at work?

THE RETURN OF TASHA'S TASTES

WOW. It has been quite the long break! I finally finished up my semester yesterday and I have been excited literally all day, just to post this welcome back post. I feel so happy and relieved that I can start my fun (at least for me) blog back up. It was quite unfortunate that I had to take a long break, but it was for a good reason. Regardless, I am back in business and I have many new ideas up my sleeve!

Until my next post on Saturday, here is an interesting link to busy your time - I'll be entertaining myself all evening sipping wine and learning some new things with Food & Wine's #ChefSteps. It shows cooking tips, demos, and videos.

I am still in the brainstorming phase for how I want to approach my blog, but I do plan on presenting a new range of posts, besides the usual recipes, product reviews, food links, and restaurant reviews. I am glad to be back and in the meantime, let me know if there is anything specific you'd eventually like to see on my blog!

Break

Hi everyone! I probably should have posted earlier, but I just wanted to let you all know that I most likely won't be posting anything until after March. I am terribly busy with school, as well as having a part-time job! This blog is mainly for my leisure so I hope you can all understand.

I can't wait to start up again after March! Thanks for understanding :)

Homemade Power Granola

I have been wanting to do this post for a while now, and I finally got around to it thanks to my boyfriend who asked me advice on how to change his breakfast routine. It has been a well known fact that store bought granola is not as good for you, as you would assume... It is packed with a ton of unnecessary sugar and calories. I have adapted a typical granola recipe so feel free to change it up as you'd like!

What I used:

• 2 cups of regular oats
• 1/3 cup of chia seeds
• 1 tsp of cinnamon 
• 1/3 cup of orange juice
• 1/3 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp of canola oil
• 1 cap full or tsp or vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup of dried blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Combine the oats, chia seeds, and cinnamon in a bowl. 
3. In a saucepan over low to medium heat, combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves. Take off heat and add vanilla extract and oil.
4. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated.
5. Spread mixture as a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, stir, and continue to bake for another 14 minutes or until golden brown. 
6. Pour into bowl and mix in dried blueberries. Cool and store in an airtight container or jar.