Food Blog Beginnings.

Kristin and I both thought it would be a good idea to dabble into the world of a food blog. We make SO much food, most of it from scratch, and spend a lot of time crafting and looking for some awesome recipes. This is the kick-off blog to a chain of posts that I’ve been meaning to make over the past month or so. Kristin is out of town for the week, so I likely won’t have any new ones while she is away…but until she returns and we continue cooking, check out some of the recipes we’ve tried in August. :)

 

 

If you are looking for a meal that will be done in 15 minutes, this is not the place to look.  But if you are looking for something super easy and not time consuming, read on!

It may sound like a contradiction, but welcome to the world of slow roasting and crockpots!  My favorite cooking appliance, hands down, is the crockpot.  I love the idea of throwing everything in the pot and coming back 8 hours later to a perfectly cooked meal.  It is great on those busy days, when you know you aren’t going to have enough time to make anything decent, and even better when having guests, as it removes any stress or time commitment.  This entire meal was so low maintenance.  The majority of the time I spent just leaving things alone to heat up.  It turns out roasting is a similar except that you should probably actually be in the building when the oven is on.

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with some tomatoes, especially with basil – and some good mozzarella (said just like Giada de Laurentis).

I was inspired for the whole thing by watching Ina Garten roast tomatoes to make a caprese salad on the Food Network.  Considering we had grape tomatoes (Food Lion sale a few weeks back, 2.28 a pint, these are the same tomatoes I’d used on the pesto pizza) that were about to go bad, I’d been looking for a creative way to use them and this seemed like the perfect solution.  I used the advice of this webpage to modify Ina’s recipe for grape tomatoes.

Basically I just threw on some McCormick Italian seasoning, salt and pepper onto sliced tomatoes before roasting them in the oven for a few hours at a low temperature. Then I cut up the mozzarella and put it on a plate with the tomatoes in a fancy arrangement (relatively easy, just make sure the cheese and tomatoes are the same size).  I also sprinkled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top, with a few basil leaves sprinkled throughout. Super easy.

The roasting turned out beautifully.  I’m not a huge raw tomato fan, but this must be the most delicious single bite possible from a vegetable (or is it a fruit?!).  The flavors are concentrated from the roasting and they are juicy, without the typical wateriness of raw tomatoes.  Because the garlic was not minced, it is pleasantly flavorful but not overwhelming.   The only improvement for next time is I will make sure to get higher quality mozzarella.  Generic store brand is NOT where it’s at.  And my basil plant would be healthier and bigger so I can add more basil leaves.

Crockpot Pesto Alfredo Chicken

The chicken itself wasn’t really that pretty – even though it was delicious. So we went with a crock pot photo instead.

Trying to figure out what to do for the entree was a little trickier.  I couldn’t really find a recipe I liked so I basically made my own with just these ingredients:

I thought about adding broccoli to the crockpot (that’s why it is in the picture), but decided last minute I wasn’t really in the mood for broccoli.  Nonetheless, it would be a pretty delicious customization, just need to add it to the crockpot frozen about 30 minutes before serving. Broccoli and alfredo are like peas and carrots!

Crockpot Pesto Alfredo Chicken Recipe

2 Tbs olive oil
6 chicken breast halves
16 oz jar Ragu alfredo with garlic sauce
¾ cup pesto (I used homemade and it had a little too much garlic, so I didn’t add any extra garlic)
½ red onion, chopped
Fresh basil, optional
1 peeled garlic clove, optional
Italian dried herbs, optional
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in pan and let chicken cook on each side for about 5 minutes until the edges are no longer pink.
  2. Throw all ingredients into crockpot for 6-8 hours on low.
  3. 30 minutes before serving add any dried herbs you wish.
  4. Enjoy! Serves 6

There are three main tips for crockpot cooking flavor.

  1. Searing meat ahead of time will make it much more flavorful and juicy.
  2. Only add fresh and whole herbs at the beginning of cooking (bay leaves, minced garlic or garlic cloves, fresh basil, pepper corns).  It doesn’t matter what the recipe says.  The flavor will cook off if you add dried herbs too early.  Add the dried seasonings about 30 minutes before turning off the heat and replace lid.
  3. Do NOT keep opening the lid to check on it.  I know its super tempting, especially when the lid starts to steam up, so if you must, add another 20-30 minutes to cooking time for each time you open it.

I expected the sauce to stay as thick as the alfredo sauce in the jar.  The chicken released some of its juices and watered down the sauce quite a bit.  Next time I will add some freshly grated parmesan to thicken it up, I think.  However, Justin said it was perfectly thick and would have been good sauce for noodles after I shared my doubts.  I’l  definitely do that next time.

Also, finally learned how to cut an onion without crying.  Check out this video.  It worked for me!

 Strawberry and Feta Romaine Salad

I had been needing to use up the strawberries in the fridge before they went bad.  We stocked up during an amazing weekend sale at Food Lion for 3 pounds of strawberries for $5.  Gotta love summer! So I made a strawberry and feta romaine salad with this strawberry vinaigrette.  I used the strawberry jam we made fresh from a few weeks ago.  It tasted great and was super easy.  Just mix and shake! The whole salad may have taken me 10 minutes, tops. I fact, we might have to make more strawberry jam with the rest of the leftover strawberries in order to make more vinaigrette!

This entire meal was such a hit!  It looked like it was tons of work, but mostly I just left it and forgot about it.  And it was so delicious, we both loved all of it. :)

 

first day of graduate school.

Preparing for it was…low-key.

My Sunday was fantastic. I did little to nothing, and now I’m relaxing in bed with my dog, organizing my portfolio to hit the ground running once classes start in about nine hours. :)

This morning, I woke up around noon – so I guess I should say this afternoon. After moseying around the house for an hour, I literally went right back to sleep. I know, the lazy life.  I woke up to CFE and Shannon coming over to get some things they had stored in my attic, and as a result got swindled into hitting up Chipotle for lunch.

From there, I headed to Shandyland – which is a portmanteau of two of my best friends, Mandy Shandy + land, meaning where they collectively live, seeing as they’ve been roomates for four years running now haha – and checked out their new place. I then went to the library to pick up a book I had on reserve – Community, by Peter Block – and then went to the bookstore for some more ink. Since I was in the area, I went to Squires to drop in on production of the CT. This week we are running 5 issues instead of the customary 4. Everything was going swimmingly – not like I would have been able to help at all if it wasn’t. :)

I then walked back to Sharkey’s, where I had parked my car just before lunch. This was definitely the highlight of my day. I spontaneously decided to stop into Rita’s, which is a beautiful and delicious frozen ice store here in Blacksburg, and ran into someone I had met before. Her name is Ash, and she is a freshman. She actually was at open house this past year when I was able to give a speech on why Virginia Tech was the right choice for me.

I love being able to meet up with someone that I expected without even knowing I had affected them. Ash reminded me that I had met her and her family just outside of Burruss Hall right after my speech that day. To be completely honest, I met a ton of people at day, so I didn’t really remember her, but she especially made an impact on me because she said that my speech was the reason that she decided to come to Virginia Tech, as well as the reason that she is going to be at Gobberfest this year to get more information on how to become a Hokie Ambassador. This definitely made my day. :)

Just as I was leaving Rita’s I was greeted by a gentleman I met last night, I assume, downtown. He looks at me, in passing, and goes “How was your night last night?” haha…that was awkward. I was perfectly coherent haha

From there, I grabbed some gas and the Sunday paper (coupons), and came home. I relaxed with a good friend, Julianne, for a few hours before finally sitting down and finishing up a few items that I’ve had on my to do list for days.

Gonna go ahead and continue getting organized for the rest of the day. :)

Trying a little social experiment.

We are even going downtown later… At dinner now. This will be interesting.

Update, 8/26/12 Sunday night 11:45 p.m. : Everything was…quite interesting. Kristin and I went to the Blackstone Grill in Christiansburg, to celebrate my birthday. She is being an awesome daughter and heading home for the weekend to help her parents out. :) Although at the expense of my birthday and it’s celebrations, which will commence next Saturday, I’m excited for them and what they’ve got going on, even though I don’t want to be! :)

After we left the Blackstone, we headed to Downtown Blacksburg, to hit the bars and see what people would think of encountering not one, but two people in a wheelchair.  At dinner, the restuarant’s manager was EXTREMELY cordial, and very welcoming. It kind of makes me wonder what things would be like outside of a college town – even tohugh Christiansburg isn’t Blacksburg – because I’ve always thought that people are more friendly in college towns than in other locals. Just my personal observation though.

I had a feeling downtown would be a lot more tricky to navigate than the restaurant and I was absolutely right. We were able to fit both of the wheelchairs into the car by ourselves, without any help – without KH walking, eihter. So that was nice!

At the bars, everyone hit on her, which I didn’t really expect! Haha, very amusing though – I wonder how many times I’ve been hit on and didn’t even notice it, thanks to my Hot Wheelz :-p

Overall, we had a great night though. The only low point was when Kristin took a bathroom break at PK’s, and ended up chatting it up with an older dad. He didn’t think our little experiment was very funny. A friend that we were out with at the time even decided that we should interview others, and make it into a full blown experiment. We didn’t go that far, but it was still quite interesting. :)

If you’re reading and are interested in trying this out with me, I have an extra wheelchair or two laying around my house right now – let me know!

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Kristin experienced the challenge that is navigating life in a wheelchair for an entire night.

Virginia Tech TOMS.

I love TOMS. I have four pairs.  A black pair, a white pair.  A self-painted pair, and a typically styled pair. A winter pair, and a summer pair.  I love the shoes, they are “comfortable” (haha, I can’t feel my feet) and the mission behind the company is a fantastic one. Read more about it here. The shoes were introduced to me during my freshman year of college, by a professor, friend, mentor, and colleague of mine, Kerry, who taught in the Residential Leadership Community during my freshman year at Tech.

So, when one of my best friends sent me a text this evening, I discovered that James Madison University has their own line of shoes, I was intrigued.  It made me wonder…why doesn’t Virginia Tech have their own line of TOMS?

And so, I wrote a little letter to TOMS shoes. Let’s see if this’ll make anything happen…

_______________________

My name is Justin Graves I am a student at Virginia Tech.

Recently, I discovered a custom line of TOMS shoes for different universities. I was wondering if it would ever be possible for Virginia Tech to have their own line of TOMS shoes. A neighboring institution, James Madison University, located in Harrisonburg Virginia, has recently received their own line of TOMS shoes. JMU is an institution that I am very familiar with, they do a lot of great philanthropy and have interested academic programs. We consider ourselves peer Institutions.

With Virginia Tech existing as the largest comprehensive research institution in the state, as well as the largest institution of higher education in the state of Virginia, I believe that an endorsement of Virginia Tech would allow a line of TOMS shoes, adorned with the Hokie Bird and in maroon and orange, to perform very well. I was wondering if there was anyone on your team with whom I can speak in order to get a project like this off the ground.

If you find the time, please feel free to learn more about our university. Our website is www.vt.edu. You will notice our university motto is very strong and present – Ut Prosim, which means “That I may Serve.” Obviously, TOMS shoes is a company that also believes, so very strongly, in serving other people. With a mission and goals that are so similar, I believe we are also deserving of a line of TOMS shoes. Please let me know if I could be of any further assistance. You can find my email address listed above, and you can also feel free to visit my personal website, www.hesonwheels.com.

Thank you for your time, and have a great day. Sincerely,

Justin Graves
UT PROSIM | That I May Serve

Big day at the post office!

Today, I got to the post office just-in-time. I’ve made a habit of getting to the post office kind of late in the day, because I have had a lot of things to mail lately.

I am sending about 20 of my old Virginia Tech T-shirts to my friend Jessica in North Carolina. She is currently attending graduate school at Appalachian State University, and in her spare time she makes blankets out of old Tshirts. Needless to say, I love to buy Virginia Tech T-shirts and I was really taking advantage of this opportunity to get rid of some old ones, and even have a new blanket at the same time!

Also, I’m I’m sending another friend, Kimmie, a pair of Rainbow sandals that she wanted me to get for her here in Blacksburg. They are even Virginia Tech branded rainbows!

Last, I am sending a letter to a young friend of mine. Arianna started kindergarten this week, and I just thought it would be nice to send her a little letter to congratulate her, and let her know that even a big kids like me start school too. Obviously, classes start back up on Monday.

 

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Nothing like a trip to the post office to end the day. :)

I hope the post office never goes away. It’s one of those classic American traditions that is a staple. There really is nothing like getting something in the mail. I Alwaes get so excited for snail mail… Which is must much less than I can say for email!