FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Balsamic Strawberries With Basil Whipped Cream

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Balsamic Strawberries with Basil Cream

When I first opened this month’s HEB Primo Picks package, my first instinct was to roast something.  I roasted cauliflower and later broccoli, but neither felt worthy of a blog post.  And then my mind shifted to desserts… Balsamic desserts.

Central Market Oil & Vinegar

While roasting all of those veggies, the thickness of the Central Market balsamic vinegar was noticeably different than what you can typically find in the grocery store.  It was slightly reduced, a closer resemblance to the balsamic I brought back from Italy last month.  This was my motivation for reducing it further.

Sliced Strawberries

How visions of roasted veggies turned into a balsamic reduction mixed with sliced strawberries and olive oil, topped with basil whipped cream, I’ll never know.  But what I can tell you is how much I loved this combo.

As part of the HEB Primo Picks team, I received compensation to sample various Primo Picks products. The opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.

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Summer Soup

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Summer Soup with Chicken

After a weekend filled with the cloudiest, coldest weather Austin has seen in months, I couldn’t stop thinking about soup.  And not just any soup, but a soup I consider making often {but haven’t} since its conception in July of 2012.  How can time be passing so quickly??

Soup Veggies

Since creating this recipe, a couple things of changed.  For one, I’m eating a heck of a lot more meat {so I added chicken}!  I’d blame that on living in Texas if I hadn’t spent most of my Dallas year as a vegetarian.  And second, the FoodFash kitch has become way gluten-free.  I must say that I prefer this soup with udon noodles, but if you’re cooking without gluten, then this rice spaghetti is a more-than-fine substitute.

Original FoodFash recipe.

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Vegan Mashed Potatoes With Garlic Chives

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Vegan Mashed Potatoes

My entire life, I’ve been fooled into thinking that mashed potatoes take so long to make and are so special that they are a side reserved only for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And even after years of being one of the kitchen leads during the holidays {knowing that mashed potatoes are not tough} they still feel like a special occasion thing.

Boiled Potatoes

With that said, nothing particularly special happened today to warrant mashed potatoes.  I’m about to finish my first restaurant project {the construction portion}. And I’m about to head to Italy for the trip of a lifetime.  But nothing out of the ordinary happened that called for mashed potatoes today.

Mashed Potatoes

But as I wandered around Whole Foods after yoga {an atypical 40-ish minutes of wandering}, I kept thinking about potatoes.  And not quite the holiday potatoes I’m accustomed to, but vegan potatoes with garlic chives that I would later confuse by pairing with a steak.  Vegan potatoes with garlic chives that my steak-eating roommate said was the best part of his meal.

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White Wine & Mango Shrimp Skewers

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White Wine Mango Shrimp

Even though summer grilling recipes are every which way you look, I’m still not over grilling.  In fact, I’m so much in the middle of it that I dreamed up a summery marinade that I plan on using straight through the winter when I’m longing for sunshine.

Shrimp Kabobs

This recipe is a sweet and savory combination of pinot grigio {or any white wine}, mango, onion, and garlic that completely compliments the skewer components. Leftover skewers also keep well in the fridge and can be served hot or cold the next day.

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Although I received compensation to review wine provided by The Wine Bar, the recipe and opinions in this post are completely my own and based on my experience.