Peppered Shrimp Alfredo

For all the pasta lovers out there, here is a super easy absolutely mouthwatering dish that would make you crave for more with each mouthful. 

Peppered Shrimp Alfredo

Delectable shrimp tossed in with mushrooms, pepper and herbs

Ingredients

Uncooked Penney Pasta 350g 

Mushrooms 225g

Shrimp (peeled & deveined) 450g

Alfredo sauce 340g

Butter 60g

Grated Parmesan Cheese 60 g

Cream 115g

 Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tablespoons

Diced Onion 1

Minced Garlic 2 cloves

Minced Bell Pepper 3

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley to garnish

Method

·         Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 8-10 minutes.

·         

    On a parallel stove (why waste time? :)), melt butter and olive oil on medium heat.

·         

    Stir in the onions and cook for about 2 minutes followed by garlic, red pepper and mushroom and let them cook for another 2-4 minutes.

·        

    Toss in the shrimps into the mix and cook until they turn firm and pink. Pour in the Alfredo sauce (which you could easily make at home or (if you’re as lazy as me) buy from any decent supermarket) followed by the Parmesan and the cream. Stir until it thickens and simmers.

·         

    The pasta! Take it off the heat and drain the excess water. 

·         

    Add  salt and pepper as per your taste.

·        

     Toss in the pasta in the mix and garnish with parsley.

·        

     Serve it hot!!

  

Food Quickie for Busy Ladies-Crunchy Bread Pizza

Crunchy Bread Pizza

Have you ever wondered what you could do with left over bread? It is sometimes not enough to take to office and too much to gulp in one go.
Here is a quick and an easy way to take the maximum out of nagging-leftover- bread!


Things needed

Few slices of bread cut into two
Tomatoes
Onion and garlic
Oregano
Sausages or any meat (only if you like)
Green chillies
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese (preferably mozzarella)



Easy-peacy method

Melt some butter in a pan and add finely chopped garlic and onion. When the two cook add salt, pepper and oregano to taste. The flame on which the ingredients are cooked should be low. Add the green chilli and cook for a few minutes.

 In another pan cook sliced sausages firstly by adding some water and then once the water has evaporated, add some butter and fry them. This way the taste of the sausages is enhanced. Once the sausages are ready, mix them with the other ingredients. Add tomatoes at the end, or they will wither on the heat.

Next, take the bread slices and apply butter on the top. Add a layer of the mixture on top and spread the cheese as preferred. Grating the cheese on top of the mixture  is the best way. When the bread is heated the cheese slowly melts leaving a gooey taste.

Lastly heat a pan and melt some butter. Then lay the prepared slices of bread on the pan and cook until the crust is crunchy. This will only take around 3 minutes.

There you go!
You have the crunchy bread pizza!

Jay

The Art of Doing

Quit Whining And Start Doing: Your Perfect Is Now

Think about the sheer number of times you called up your friend just to complain about how bad your life was or how unfair someone treated you. Have you ever wondered what you sounded like to a third person? Not that you are the only person who is unhappy about the current circumstances of his or her life but when you're not the person who is complaining about it, it sounds pretty depressing.

Don't take me wrong. I don't intend to say that sharing your troubles with another is something you should not do. In fact it is healthier to share your burdens with a friend than bottle it all inside which would ultimately cause not just psychological distress but also make you physically ill.However know that there is a considerably "thick" line between sharing your distress and complaining about something. The latter is not only unproductive but on the long run can even turn into an addiction.

Which one are you? 

"Nothing in life seems to go right and nothing seems to make me happy. I'm obviously cut out for better things than these but here I am, stuck in this room when I should be out there, changing the world!" Sounds familiar? Note how vague the words are. There is nothing specific being said and the whole argument has been set in emotion rather than logic or facts, making it not a valid argument but a mere complain made by someone unsatisfied with the current situation. Want to know what is worse? The speaker has not even identified the root cause for the discontentment, which means that there is no chance of any rectifying action taking place anytime soon.

It is sad to see,  how even after going through so many levels of evolution, people still fail to understand that happiness or contentment cannot be store bought or received by waiting. You might convince yourself by deception ; 'he might not love me but he still provides for me', 'I might hate this job that makes me slave away for a petty salary but what would I do without it?' 'I hate engineering but my parents want an engineer in the family!' Does this sound like happiness to you? 

Like all good things, happiness needs to be earned and that requires making some tough decisions. Be it work, education or a relationship, if you are not happy with what you get, you need to get up from your seat , make a move (run if you have to!) and make some changes. If you're in a position that does not allow you to make a drastic move immediately, at least try to improve on your current circumstances. 

Changes can range from making a phone call, voicing a burden, learning something new, talking to your superior,cleaning your desk,getting a tattoo or removing one, joining a gym, ending a relationship or starting one, going on an adventure, facing a fear, applying for a job, to quitting what you're doing and walking out.It might seem a bit selfish at first, but remember if you're stressed out and constantly unhappy it will most certainly affect the ones around you. 

Making a decision, especially the life changing kind (is there any other kind?)

can be quite scary. Decisions have consequences ; good and bad. You might make some people happy, and some angry. Putting those decisions into action could be worse, they will carry literal real life results, and you just as might fail. People will blame you, they will call you names, undermine your ability and wait for you to fail, miserably.On the bright side, people who love you will always be there for you (given your whining hasn't already chased them away).They might not necessarily encourage you at first, but they will give you sound advice and see you through.No matter how scary or rebellious it may seem, if a decision you make has the power to improve your current status for better, I think it's worth a try. 

So quit whining and start doing, because complaining about your problems will not make them go away. 

Pularae

Pair It Right

First Time Around:The Wine Drinker's Guide

It may have been to toast a fellow minion, to compliment that beautifully cooked dinner you've been cooking all day, to enhance the pleasures of a romantic evening under the stars or to simply indulge in some self love on a weekday night, unfortunately we have all craved for that one glass of wine…..and been disappointed. Well, who can you blame? After all, you did grab the nearest bottle off the shelf just so you could escape that labyrinth of labels and colors and textures that made you question your IQ and especially if you’re a girl, the judging eyes of the next aisle aunties who made you feel like you should apologize for your mere existence. 

Let us make the battle a little easier for you and give you some basic tips that would help you choose your wine the next time you brave yourself to hit the liquor store.

Wine is mainly Red and White, add to it Rosé and Sparkling. Knowing that is just the first step and wont help you choose a wine for a specific purpose, say pair with a certain dish or compliment an occasion. Remember that wine can also be categorized as sweet or dry based on the amount of residual sugar that you may find in it.
 So striking the right balance between the flavors of the food and the wine is an art that  tends to require a bit of experience. Since your guests wont wait for your artistic muse to descend, the following should help you get a basic idea of what to serve with what.

    
    Sparkling

    
    Sparkling Wine
    Champagne

Prosecco

Cava

Colour: Almost clear –light yellow

Best served with Salty food,fish, 
shellfish, chicken/poultry

Alcohol percentage 9-14%
Serve cold (7°c-9°c)

    
        Light White Wine

Pino Gris

Sauvignon Blanc

Colour: Green yellow-Platinum yellow

Best served with salads/sautéed or roasted vegetables/pasta/flaky fish

Alcohol percentage 9-14%

Serve cold (6°c-8°c)

   
        Sweet White Wine

Riesling

Moscato

Chenin Blanc

Torrontes

Colour: Platinum Yellow-Pale Gold

Best served with spicy cuisine: Lankan/Indian/Chinese/Thai

Alcohol percentage 9-14%

Serve cold (5°c-7°c)

Rich White Wine

Chardonnay

Roussanne

Viognier

Marsanne

Colour: Pale Yellow-Deep Gold

Best served with creamy dishes/soups/pasta/lasagna/French cuisine/cheese

Alcohol percentage 9-14%

Serve cold (10°c-12°c)

    Rosé

Rose Wine

Colour: Pale Salmon

Best served with Mediterranean cuisine/Moroccan/Spiced/Rich flavored dishes

Alcohol percentage 9-14%

Serve cold (9°c)

     Light Red Wine

Pinot Noir

Counoise

St.Laurent

Gamay Noir

Colour: Pale Ruby

Best served with mushroom based dishes/cream based pasta
seafood/pies and French cuisine

Alcohol percentage 10-15%

Serve cold (8°c-11°c)


Medium Red Wine

Merlot

Zinfandel

Barbera

Red Table Wine

Colour: Deep Violet

Best served with Italian/Spanish Dishes/White meat

Alcohol percentage 12-17%

Serve cold (13°c-14°c)

     
      Bold Red Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

Shiraz

Malbec

Pinotage

Colour:Deep Purple

Best served with Red meat/Roasted|Smoked Venison/Barbecued|Cured meats

Alcohol percentage 12-17%

Serve cool (16°c-17°c)

   
        Dessert Wine

Port

Sherry

Madeira

Late Harvest Wines

Colour: Tawny

Best served with Cakes/Cookies/Icecreams
Chocolates
Fruits

Alcohol percentage 14-20%

Serve in room temperature

This is only a light sniff and there is much tasting left to do. 
From the dryness to the sweetness to the aromatic complexities to geographical and climatic impacts, a wine carries the tales of harvests, lands and the songs of its makers. 

If this has caught your interest, this just might be the beginning of a new journey into discovering the earthly secrets the next glass holds for you .

What It Takes

Career and family have always been in conflict and the battle is not likely to see an end. 

It doesn't really matter if you have just begun your career or celebrated the 10th anniversary of the company you run, when it comes to the home front, the battle is real.

It is not just a "married people's problems" anymore and here is my rant, being the guilty party

• Working or studying full time take up a good portion of your day and by the time you reach home, you are in no mood to make conversations. The most you can afford to do is to wave your parents a good night. This you agree is a terrible habit but it is better than being infuriated and annoyed at the thought of a conversation.

•  Not only you have to work during the day, chances are that you have to continue work because you decided to bring few files home to get them ready for the next day. I am 110% guilty of this, and the ‘correct’ thing to do is to finish office work at office. This does not help with the practical issues and my strategy is to not use family time to do the work. AKA pull an all-nighter!

•  Parents are mostly tolerant of the career focused girls, so do not forget to treat them to a simple sweet surprise whenever you can.

• The stress of office work and the need to keep family obligations, could be stressful and might cause you to lose your cool. The urge is mostly to prioritize work over family but we all know that the ideal option is the other way round, and I can only say that it is easier said than done.

If that is what it takes, let it be so. If it is a hard investment, it is definitely a worthy one.

The Anchor