Mushroom pasta

I know we’re all eating canned goods from here on out, so maybe bookmark this one as a spring-y, post-virus meal for when the world feels real again? Or, if you impulse bought mushrooms during your panic shop, use them now!

I don’t want to hear more about this freaking virus: Take me to the recipe!

I haven’t posted much in recent weeks because, and I know I’m not alone here, I’ve been in a deep, dark pit of worry about Coronavirus. While healthy kids are at much lower risk for developing symptoms, I’m 38 weeks pregnant and about to bring a newborn into this mess. Like, any day now. Newborns are not kids. This also means, I have to go to a HOSPITAL in a few days, just about the last place I want to be.

Oh, and we’re self-quarantining for as long as possible because we need a grandparent to come watch M when I go into labor and all of them have between two and seven of the risk factors that make this a much more serious illness. Can you imagine if we infected one of them because we were carriers and didn’t know?

And, in the event that one of us gets sick, I don’t know what that means for delivery. If M or Ethan are sick and a grandparent can’t come, do I have to give birth alone? Do I have to stay in the hospital and away from M for longer? Will I be separated from my newborn if it’s me that develops symptoms?

Everything feels so scary and overwhelming and unknown. I don’t generally think of myself as someone with strong “mama bear” instincts, but this crisis has awakened a desperate need to protect my family.

So, anyway, you probably just want to hear about food, yes? This pasta is really good. It’s also fast and easy and full of flavor. The preschooler didn’t love it, though he did have a few bites. I think he’ll learn to like it. He has no choice because it’s so good, I’m not going to stop making it!

A couple of notes:
- Feel free to swap in dried thyme for fresh if you don’t have any.
-The vinegar gives the pasta a little tang and acid, but if you don’t like it or LOVE IT and want more of it, feel free to skip or add more. I also like a little sprinkle of vinegar splashed on at the end.
-I add the cheese at the end as a garnish, but fee free to add up to a cup of cheese while the pasta is still hot and mixing it in with the melting butter to make a thicker sauce.
-Julia would be APPALLED by how much I crowd the mushrooms when I make this dish. I can’t help it. I have no sense of volume when it comes to mushrooms and the appropriate pan in which to cook them. I find that it doesn’t really matter. They cook down significantly, so as long as you’re okay with rescuing a few escaped shrooms at the start of cooking while you give things a mix, eventually, they’ll all fit in the pan just fine.

Mushroom pasta

Yield: 5-6 adult servings
Time: 25 minutes, mostly active

14 oz-1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked until al dente
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme (3-4 stems), or ½ tsp dried
½ Tbsp red wine vinegar (or more to taste)
Salt/ pepper to taste
Nutty cheese, such as Parmesan, Gruyere, Romano, or Gouda

Cook pasta in well-salted water.

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and leeks and let cook for 5 minutes until translucent and soft., stirring frequently to avoid browning.

Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to cook down and release some of their juices. If they haven’t cooked enough at the 5-minute mark, keep going until there’s a fair amount of liquid in the pan.

Add the garlic and let cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.

Add the vinegar and let cook until evaporated, about 1 more minute.

Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta, but don’t go crazy- a little water will help keep the pasta loose. Add the noodles to the mushroom mixture along with the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. Stir well and turn off the heat. Taste again for seasoning and serve immediately.

Homemade granola base

Granola may seem like something that’s easier to buy in a store, but let me set the record straight: Homemade granola is simple, fast, and so much better than most of the commercially made stuff. Also, it makes your house smell amazing.

Take me to the recipe!

Let’s talk about granola and kids. I love granola because it’s a fun topper for lots of different things: yogurt, apple sauce, purees, pancakes, fruit, ice cream, etc. I like to pretend that it’s nature’s sprinkles. But there may be a chunk of kids who think granola is too crunchy or who don’t like the mix of textures. For them, I would add some mini chocolate chips or chocolate covered sunflower seeds and call it “trail mix.”

But granola is a great way to add some whole grains and make a more balanced snack.

I include millet in my granola and also my granola cups because it’s super crunchy and adds fiber, calcium, and iron, which we always need more of in our diet.

This recipe is a base and you can feel free to customize with whatever fruits and nuts you like best.

Also, if making this for a nut-free school snack, skip the nuts and double the fruit, sub in seeds like sunflower or pepitas, OR toast the nuts separately and toss them into an individual portion at home.

A couple of notes:

• If you have trouble finding millet, check the bulk sections of Whole Foods or any health food store.

• When spreading the raw granola mix onto your sheet pan, make sure to leave some holes in the middle of the pan. If you spread it as one large mass, the middle will be undercooked while the edges start to burn. With some holes and thinner spots in the middle, you’ll get a more even bake and better chunks in your final product!

• Be mindful that when the outsides start to brown, the thicker parts may still be a bit undercooked, but that the whole thing will continue to cook and crisp while it cools. Once you see significant browning on the edges, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. If there are any undercooked spots, feel free to re-toast them in the oven or a toaster oven for a few minutes before eating. But DON’T toast any fruit that you may add. Toasted dried fruit = hard as a rock!

Homemade granola base

Yield: about 3-4 cups of granola, depending on how many nuts and berries you add
Time: 25-28 minutes (5 minutes active time, 20-23 minutes baking time)

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup millet
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large pinches of kosher salt
½ cup nuts (your choice!)
2 egg whites, slightly whipped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup dried fruit of choice

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, millet, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the untoasted nuts, if using.

In a large measuring cup, mix together the egg whites, olive oil, and vanilla. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly.

Spread out on the mixture on a large sheet pan, leaving gaps and holes in the middle.

Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until the edges of the pan and any edges next to gaps in the middle start browning.

Let cool completely.

Add the dried blueberries (or other dried fruit) and crunch up the baked granola so that you have some chunks and some smaller bits.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.

Creamy chickpea and halloumi skillet dinner

Cheat the clock with this vegetarian dish inspired by the flavors of tikka masala that uses shortcuts for both time and flavor!

Take me to the recipe!

It’s January! That means we can’t binge eat cookie dough for dinner anymore.

I KID! Heartburn is my constant companion lately, so poor eating is much less appealing. That said, I’m feeling pretty great this pregnancy. I am, however, exhausted by 5 pm, so easy dinners that don’t require a lot of prep or cleanup and that cook super fast are at the top of our meal rotation. And I’m looking for shortcuts EVERYWHERE.

There’s absolutely nothing “authentic” about this tikka masala-inspired dish, but it’s so easy and so good, that hopefully you can overlook it this once. The flavors recall your favorite takeout and the halloumi adds a tangy, salty bite.

I normally shy away from recipes that “cheat” with jarred sauces, but I’m making an exception in the interest of time. Rao’s is by far our favorite jarred sauce, but the first time I made this, I was trying to use up another jarred sauce that we didn’t like. It’s great either way.

A couple of tips:

• Be sure to cook the spices with the onions and garlic before you add the tomato sauce or cream. Since this dish cooks fast, you need to deepen the flavors by giving the spices a quick sear.

• Speaking of cream, don’t forget to let it warm up while you make the rest of the recipe. Adding cold dairy to hot tomato sauce can make the cream curdle. It’ll still taste fine, but the dairy will look like little beads in your tomato sauce instead of mixing together completely.

• You might notice that there’s not a lot of salt in this recipe. Since we’re using jarred sauce and really salty cheese, I recommend waiting until the end to add salt if it’s necessary.

• Garam masala may not already in your spice rack, but it should be! It’s available all over the place and is really just a mixture of familiar spices that you might not have on hand. Try some!

• Wait until the last minute to add the chickpeas because putting them in the sauce too early will soften them too much.

• Finally, if you can’t find haloumi or if it’s too expensive, feel free to sub in farmer’s cheese, feta, cojita, queso blanco, or any other salty cheese. If using another type of cheese, no need to cook it beforehand, just add it to the tomato, cream, and chick pea mixture right before serving.

Chickpea and haloumi tikka masala

Yield: 4 grown-up servings
Time: about 35 minutes, all active

1 large can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp butter, ghee, or oil of choice
½ large onion minced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2½ tsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp turmeric
2 cups jarred tomato sauce (about 24 oz)
½ cup cream or half and half
Haloumi, sliced
Naan or flatbread for serving

Preheat the oven to 400.

Pour the half and half or cream and set aside to warm up.

Wash and drain the chickpeas and dry them off lightly with a paper towel. Toss with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast until crispy, about 20 minutes.

While the chickpeas cook, heat the butter, ghee or oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the spices and cook, stirring to mix well, for 2-3 more minutes until fragrant.

Add the tomato sauce, mix well, and turn the flame up to high. Let the sauce come to a boil and turn the heat off.

Heat a small skillet over a high flame until a few drops of water bubble immediately when they hit the skillet. Add the cheese and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Turn the skillet off and set aside.

Check the chickpeas for crispness.

Mix the chickpeas and cream into the tomato sauce. Test for salt, keeping in mind that the haloumi is quite salty. Top with the seared haloumi.

Coconut and cardamom alfajores

You may think you don’t need another holiday cookie recipe, but these are subtly spiced, barely sweet, and super easy. Win, win, win!

Take me to the cookies!

First of all, who’s had Alfajores before? If not, get thee to an Argentinian bakery because they. are. delicious. This South American staple uses dulce de leche in between two soft, cakey, vanilla cookies and is then rolled in shredded coconut.

In the US version, we often swap the softer cookie for a crispier vanilla shortbread, which I prefer. Also, I decided to skip the shredded coconut on the outside and opt for a coconut-flavored shortbread because, while I love the taste of coconut, I don’t always love its texture.

I started with this Coconut Shortbread recipe from Food52, but simplified the method, dialed down the sugar, swapped two egg yolks for one whole egg, and added a tiny bit of cardamom for a warmer, spicier flavor that felt right for the holidays.

You know what else feels right for the holidays? Shortcuts. In this version of the recipe, we use only one bowl and mix up cold fats with the rest of the ingredients in a food processor instead of a mixer.

AND, this part might seem like sacrilege to some, but I used jarred dulce de leche. I know, I know. Bad food blogger, bad! I like this one the most and found it at World Market, but you can also find it online. If you feel like making your own, here are some options:

Smitten Kitchen’s stovetop dulce de leche
Displaced Housewife’s olive oil dulce de leche
Live Well Bake Often’s oven-baked dulce de leche
The Spruce Eats boiled condensed milk dulce de leche

Here we go!

Coconut and cardamom alfajores

Yield: 24 cutout cookies; 12 sandwiches
Time: 90 minutes (about 30 active)

½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
6 Tbsp coconut oil (solid)
½ cup cane sugar (can substitute granulated sugar if necessary)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp cardamom
¼ tsp sea salt
1 15-oz jar of dulce de leche

Cube the butter and add it to a food processor. Add the coconut oil (making sure it’s solid). Run the food processor until the butter and coconut oil have combined and are smooth, about 30 seconds. You may have to scrape down the sides.

Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and egg. Run the machine until the ingredients are well combined. Again, you may have to scrape down the sides.

Add the dry ingredients and pulse just until the dough comes together. I often need to scrape the sides once. The end result of the dough should be a crumbly wet dough that’s in large and small sandy chunks that come together easily when pressed.  The dough should be wetter than a pie dough, but slightly more crumbly than your typical sugar cookie dough.

Divide the dough roughly in half and place one dough chunk on a sheet of parchment paper. Using the paper or your hands to form a ball. Place another piece of parchment on top of the dough ball and roll out to a ¼-inch thick disk. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Chill both dough disks in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

When the dough has chilled for about 25 minutes, preheat the oven to 325.

Working one disk at a time, remove the top parchment sheet from each half and use it to line a cookie sheet. Cut out as many shapes as possible and gently transfer them. Re-roll the dough to cut out more shapes. For the cookies that will be the base of each sandwich, score gently with a fork. For the top cookie, cut out any shape you like from the middle.

Bake the cutout cookies for 14-17 minutes, turning once during baking to ensure even cooking. The cookies are done when they just begin to brown. Let cool.  

When the cookies are cool, top each bottom portion with 2-3 Tbsp of dulce de leche and top with a cutout cookie.

Coconut turmeric noodles

Need a gluten-free, dairy-free, one pan, 20-minute dinner that is full of flavor and will keep you full and satisfied? Well, here you go: Coconut turmeric noodles!

Take me to the recipe!

This dish is on our weeknight rotation primarily because it’s really delicious and crazy fast to put together. It’s a filling meatless meal (aside from the fish sauce), but is also a great base for fish, shellfish, chicken, or pork, either leftover or fresh.

I lightly adapted this one from a Bon Appetite recipe that I found when I decided that we should eat more turmeric.

I included a range for the honey and fish sauce so that you can suit this dish to your tastes. I like it with the larger amounts because the combination of sweet and savory is my jam. But some people prefer a sweeter or more savory dish, so edit as you will.

Coconut turmeric noodles

Lightly adapted from Bon Appetite

Time: about 20-25 minutes, all active
Yield: about 3 adult servings, or 2 adult and 2 kid servings

8 oz rice noodles (measure dry)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 large shallots, thinly sliced  
4 large garlic cloves, minced
½ inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated (about 1 tsp)
1 tsp turmeric
¼ tsp black pepper
½ tsp kosher salt
1 can coconut milk
1½ -2 Tbsp honey
1-2½  Tbsp fish sauce (to taste)
1-2 cups shredded kale/bok choi/greens of any kind

Cook your noodles according to the package directions. If your package gives a range of cooking times, choose the lowest time. If it doesn’t give a range, subtract 1-2 minutes from the total. You’ll continue to cook the noodles in the sauce, so you want them al dente. 

While the water is boiling and the noodles are cooking, get your other ingredients together.

Melt the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and the ginger and cook for another 1 minute, until fragrant.

Add the turmeric, pepper, and salt and stir well to coat the onion and garlic mixture. Let cook for 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and stir to melt any solids. Add 1½ Tbsp of honey and 1 Tbsp of fish sauce and stir well. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Taste the sauce for seasonings and add more honey and fish sauce to taste.

Add the noodles and shredded greens to the sauce and stir well. Let cook, bubbling slightly, until the sauce has thickened to your liking, the noodles are fully cooked, and the greens are wilted, about 4-5 minutes.