Tomato Shrimp Linguine

I've always loved cooking and when I have the time I enjoy making extravagant dishes. However, lately my time is limited and I'm always looking for quick and easy ideas. An added difficulty to these meals is my vast amount of food allergies. Most of the items on my list of allergies are easy to get around, but the trickiest (and the things I miss the most) are eggs, dairy and sesame. 
After watching a video of Anna, from Vivianna Does Makeup, making a shrimp pasta dish I was inspired to create my own. I headed to the store and picked up some ingredients to throw together. The outcome was simple and pretty great. 

Ingredients:
2 tbsp - Olive Oil
2 tsp - Chopped Garlic
2 tsp - Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
3 to 4 cups - Tomatoes
1 box - Linguine
12 - Peeled Shrimp (frozen or fresh)
Sprinkle - Nutritional yeast or parmigiano-reggiano

Something to know about my style of cooking is that I tend to estimate when adding ingredients. I only measure when following a recipe, but for the sake of this blog I will do my best to give measurements although they will be approximate and you should feel free to adjust to your liking. 

Warm olive oil in a large pan

Add garlic stirring often to prevent burning

Stir in crushed garlic

Boil water in large pot

Cook linguine

Add sliced tomatoes to the garlic pepper mixture

Add shrimp and cover until shrimp turns pink

Mix into the pasta and enjoy

This would be the point where I would add a ton of parmigiano-reggiano in the old days (before I knew about my allergies). This time I decided to sprinkle a little bit of nutritional yeast on top to add a slight cheesy flavor. This was the perfect dish to enjoy with a sauteed vegetable or garden salad. I packed it up in containers to take as my lunch for the week. 

Exploring PORTLAND FLEA + FOOD

I decided to brave the heat this past Sunday so I could go out exploring. My friend Lisa and I wanted to check out the Portland Flea + Food event going on behind Rejuvenation on Southeast Salmon and Sixth Street. I have been to Portland Flea back when it did not include the Food part of its title and when it was held at Union/Pine, but this was my first time experiencing the expanded space and vendors. The event is held on the last Sunday of the month April through November. 

Our first stop was at the Pip's Original truck to grab some doughnuts to snack on. This was my first time having one of the highly praised Pip's doughnuts and they more than lived up to the hype. They are made fresh to order and are the perfect bite size (although you do have to order at least a half dozen. Fine, twist my arm). We went with three of the cinnamon sugar and three of the Nutella with sea salt. Both were to die for, but we agreed that the simplicity of the cinnamon sugar made them the best. 

After our quick pick me up we started checking out the adorable shops. Right away some treasures caught my eye. Mainly the necklaces from This Fine Day, the adorable cut out cactuses from Scout & Whistle and the wide assortment of products distributed at Made Here PDX.

After awhile our friend Wendy joined us with her adorable samoyed puppy, Yuri. While we grabbed food from Koi Fusion and Bunk Sandwiches we got to experience the crazy amount of people that squealed every time they saw Yuri and the four questions that everyone asked -  What type of dog is it? How old is it? What's his name? Can I pet him?

Yuri was desperate for shade so we went to check out the quaint little florist shop called Anna Mara, located on the loading dock of Rejuvenation. 

When we had thoroughly explored the event and were near heat exhaustion we left to find a place to grab a drink and some shade. 

It was so much fun checking out this Portland scene and I look forward to going a few more times this Summer (and maybe buying one of those funky little cactuses I saw).

First time in NYC

I finally did it. I can check visiting New York off of my bucket list. Well, not really. The four days I spent exploring the city with dear friends was not nearly enough to quench my thirst for such a vibrant and exciting place. Even after cramming in as much as we could in the short trip I have an overwhelming feeling of missing out on so much. Aside from the typical tourist attractions that we couldn't make it to: Statue of Liberty, MOMA, Ellis Island, Radio City Music Hall, etc., I find I am longing for the opportunity to truly immerse myself in the city. I want to wander the streets from neighborhood to neighborhood with no agenda, stumbling upon hidden gems.
But, until this dream can become a reality I am relegated to browsing through my vacation photos reminiscing on the amazingness of my first taste of New York.

We arrived to our hotel at 9 o'clock on a Friday morning and hit the ground running. We decided to wander around the city and see where our feet would take us.

30 Rockefeller Plaza

Bellini at the Boathouse

Visiting Alice in Central Park

Exploring The MET

Champagne on a friend's balcony on the Upper East Side

Oysters at DBGB Kitchen

Private karaoke room at Nemo

Top of the Rock

Finding Neverland on Broadway

Sometimes your shoes are so uncomfortable that you have to impulse buy a new pair 

at JCrew and leave the old ones on a New York City street. 

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

Striking a pose

Deliciousness from Doughnut Plant

Touring the Tenement Museum

9/11 Memorial

Selfie on the Hudson River

Panoramic of the Hudson River

Savored every bite at Boqueria for my last New York meal

I'm looking forward to my next visit and all of the amazing adventures I will have. 

Homemade Blueberry Granola

Homemade Blueberry Granola

I found myself buying granola to take to work each day as a morning snack.  After looking at the ingredients and sugar content of my favorite granola I decided I could do better and make my own.  

First I gathered up the ingredients I already had and then headed to the store to pick up the rest. 

Ingredients:

   Old Fashioned Oats

   Coconut Oil

   Honey

   Maple Syrup

   Dried Blueberries

   Pumpkin Seeds

   Dried Coconut 

   Chia Seeds

   Ground Flax Seed

   Chopped Pecans

I combined 

     2-3 cups of oats

     1-2 cups of dried blueberries

     1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

     1/2 cup chopped pecans

     1 cup dried coconut

     1/3 cup chia seeds

     1/3 cup flax seed

                         into a bowl and mixed thoroughly. I'm not one for measuring when I cook, so these measurements are rough estimates.  The good thing is, you can't really mess up the measurements when making granola.  Just throw some stuff together.  

Next I melted the 

     1/3 cup coconut oil

     1/3 honey

     1/4 cup maple syrup

                          in a small bowl and poured over the dry ingredients.  Toss the mixture until the dry ingredients are coated with the wet.  

Then I spread the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and placed in the oven preheated to 300º.

Bake for about 5 minutes and stir then place back in oven for 5-15 minutes.  Watch closely to make sure your ingredients don't start to burn (unlike mine).  

Finally scoop your finished granola into a container.  I chose the classic mason jar (because, you know, Pinterest). 

Now you can enjoy your granola dry or with your favorite type of milk.  I go for coconut milk since dairy and I don't get along.  

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     - tag me in photos of YOUR homemade granola!