FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Sriracha Kale Chips

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Watching the incredibly cute video below reminded me that kale chips were on my baking to-do list.

Cute, right?  I love when he says “it seems to me that we can either pay the farmer or we can pay the hospital”.  So true!

Knowing that I’d want a spicier chip, I added a hefty amount of Sriracha.

Foodfash Sriracha Kale Chips

8 ounces of kale, de-spined and broken into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of Sriracha

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the olive oil and Sriracha in a small bowl.  Dry the kale completely and then drizzle the olive oil and Sriracha mix over the kale.  Use your hands to massage the kale, making sure that every piece has been coated.  Place the kale on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the kale is crispy.

The kale chips were exactly what I was expecting taste-wise: crispy, spicy goodness.  However, I did not anticipate how addictive they’d be.  I placed the bowl of chips next to me as I was editing photos and by the time I was finished with the photos, the kale chips were finished as well.  Oops!

Do you find kale chips addictive?  Have you tried any surprisingly good flavor combos?

Concept Thieving

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One of my favorite lunch spots in Tampa is Pane Rustica.  If you haven’t been, think Anthropologie meets Panera.  It has casual counter service (during the day), an eclectic dining atmosphere, and stellar food.  Pane Rustica is a must-do-often lunch spot here in TPA.

One of their more unique menu offerings is an acorn squash stuffed with their chicken salad of the day.  Served with a small yeast roll and topped with fresh fruit, it’s quite simply lunch perfection.

Now that I’ve given credit where credit is due, I totally jacked their idea for this meal.  I split a sweet dumpling squash in two, coated it with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, and baked in a 450 degree oven for 35 minutes.  I let it cool in the fridge for 20ish minutes while I made tuna salad with vegenaise, dijon mustard, celery, and shallots.

I stuffed the cooled squash full of tuna salad and admired its prettiness.  Squash bowls are about to be all the rage in my kitchen!

And… We’re Back!

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Wow.  The past 48 hours have been nuts!  After the whole server/wordpress/blog hack, and subsequent wipe out, I was one big ball o’ stress.  And to add just a dollop of additional (and unnecessary) stress, I thought now would be the perfect time to give FoodFash a makeover.

The first makeover was a total doozie.  Each time I refreshed the screen, I couldn’t believe how much more I had destroyed what I had already considered a disaster.  Luckily, StudioPress has a return policy, so I was able to return the old theme and swap it out for a more vibrant, more girly, more me theme!

With that all said and done, it was time to peel away from my computer screen and get back into the kitchen.  I bought some pho-like ingredients at the market earlier in the week that needed to be used ASAP.

FoodFash Faux Pho

6 cups of water

2 Not Chick’n Bouillon Cubes

1/4 cup Allegro Hot & Spicy Marinade

2-3 heads of baby bok choy, chopped

3.5 ounces of shitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

2 handfulls of bean sprouts

4 ounces of ramen noodles

Bring water, bouillon, and marinade to a boil.  Add the ramen noodles, mushrooms, and bean sprouts and boil for 4 minutes or until ramen is fully cooked.  Remove the pot from heat and add the baby bok choy.  Stir until the leaves are wilted and serve.

I had been searching for pho recipes for quite some time and never found the yummy, simple recipe I had in mind.  The hot and spicy marinade gives the soup a bold flavor and a decent kick, while the bean sprouts add crunch and texture to ordinarily soft noodles.  And I recognize that this recipe isn’t technically pho in any shape or form, but shhhh…. My belly doesn’t know the difference.

Sad, Sad Kid, In Pictures

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Breakfast:  Fried Egg on Sprouted Wheat Toast & Raspberries

Lunch 1:  Tuna, Avocado & Wasabi Sushi with Liquid Aminos

Lunch 2:  Avocado Salad Roll with Ponzu

Dinner:  TBD…

At the risk of sounding like a super complainer…  It’s late and I haven’t even thought about dinner yet.  I’ve spent the last 4 hours trying to recover bits and pieces of FoodFash media from archives, back-up files, Instagram, friends, anything.  You see, hackers are terrible and they did all sorts of terrible to FoodFash recently.  I’m a solid mix of bummed, frustrated, and tired.

Has your site ever been hacked?  Any tips to keep it from happening again??