Easy Mushroom Spaghetti

Spaghetti. The ultimate comfort food. When you have a 3 1/2 month old... comfort food is the only thing on the menu these days. As such, I try to make our meals as healthy (and as quick) as possible while still allowing it to fill the deep, deep void that sleep cannot. It's not a great replacement, I know, but seeing as I've been sleeping on my hour lunch break exercise is not an option here.

To every mother with a newborn who is getting in a daily run in while still working full time and coming home and making dinner/cleaning/breastfeeding; you are SUPERHUMAN. A case study. Sigh, that's not me. Well, everything but the run. Hopefully when (and if) Oliver decides to sleep a little longer during the night and my sleep bank isn't in the red, I'l begin to run on the regular again and maybe feel a little more like myself and less of a puffy zombie! One can dream, right?

This is a quick, delicious, and hearty spaghetti

chock full of meaty mushrooms. The best part is this meal is ready before the pasta is even done cooking; a perfect weekday dish that’s healthy and vegan!

Easy Mushroom Spaghetti

Recipe by Kathleen @ Produce On Parade

This is a quick, delicious, and hearty spaghetti chock full of meaty mushrooms. The best part is this meal is ready before the pasta is even done cooking; a perfect weekday dish that’s healthy and vegan!

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry spaghetti
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ large yellow onion, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb fresh cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegan brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• dash of chili flakes, to taste
• ⅓ cup chiffonade fresh basil (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta, cook according to package until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic; saute for about 3 minutes until the onions are translucent and tender. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook for about 8 minutes, until the mushrooms darken and lose their water. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, and paprika; saute an additional 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the fresh basil. Bring to a boil over medium-heat then reduce to a simmer; cook for about 5 minutes uncovered.
4. Stir in the fresh basil and remove from heat. Serve hot over cooked pasta or stir in the pasta all at once into the sauce.

This is an absolute staple in our house. I created this recipe over the years of throwing things together for a marinara sauce, tweaking it each time, and decided a while back to finally write it down. I can't believe I haven't shared it yet!

Our little family went on a foraging trek behind our house for fiddlehead ferns again. Still nothing! Last year they were up this very day. We'll just keep checking. Oliver loves being outside.

Of course, I couldn't leave you without a smile from the little man. His shirt reads, I love veggies. #veganbambino 

Creamy Shiitake & Chard Spaghetti

There isn’t a dish much more comforting than a big bowl of hot mushroom spaghetti in a rich and creamy garlic sauce. This is the absolute perfect meal for cold winter nights! It’s remarkable enough for a special occasion but easy enough for a weeknight and is sure to please everyone.

It's a great day for a heart-warming recipe, and this one is going into the weekday lineup! It's been so frigid here (-30°F) and poor Todd has been tackling the heaps and heaps of snow we've been getting. Our little home is surrounded by a beautiful winter wonderland and after a long day of work, it invites me to curl up by the fire with a big mug of cocoa and vegan marshmallows several times a week. 

I haven't been able to do much around the house lately and have been trying to lay pretty low. The combination of being super pregnant (just a few more weeks to go!) and acquiring gestational hypertension has me slow-going. My obstetrician is threatening bed-rest and has now taken away my 'leisurely walking' privileges which really stinks because it's so lovely outside and there is so much snow to play in! Consequently, I've been reading a lot of books if not keep my body active, at least my mind. Follow along with what I'm reading on social media or Goodreads.

Todd and I have been hastily scraping together a nursery and Bailey has been following me around the house everywhere. He's my little shadow, even climbing into the shower with me last night... I think he finally knows about the baby. When Anouk snuggles me, he nuzzles his little head against my bump and closes his eyes sleepily. They're both so sweet! I have some obligatory photos of them below, patiently waiting for their new family member to arrive.

Creamy Shiitake & Chard Spaghetti

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 01/23/2017

There isn’t a dish much more comforting than a big bowl of hot mushroom spaghetti in a rich and creamy garlic sauce. This is the absolute perfect meal for cold winter nights! It’s remarkable enough for a special occasion but easy enough for a weeknight and is sure to please everyone.

Ingredients

• 2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (I use half shiitake and half foraged bolete), rehydrated and chopped (or use 1 lb fresh mushrooms)
• ½ cup vegan stick butter, divided
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp dried herbes de provence
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• dash of fresh nutmeg
• 1 lb dried spaghetti
• 3 cups plain, unsweetened vegan milk (I like to use soymilk)
• 1 bunch of chard, de-stemmed and chopped
• ½ cup - 1 cup reserved mushroom broth or vegetable broth

Instructions

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a medium size bowl and cover completely with hot water. Allow to rest for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, gather and measure all the ingredients and prepare the chard. Mise en place! Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
3. Heat ¼ cup butter in a very large rimmed frying pan over medium-low heat; saute the garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes. While the garlic cooks, remove the mushrooms from the broth using a slotted spoon (save the broth) and dice; add to the garlic and saute 8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
4. When the water for the pasta is boiling, add the pasta and cook 8-10 minutes until al dente. In the frying pan, heat the remaining ¼ cup of butter over medium-low; whisk in the flour, herbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Saute for about 3 minutes, then slowly whisk in the milk; whisk on occasion for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
5. Stir in the mushrooms and the chard, cook for about 3-5 minutes until the chard has wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the drained pasta.
6. Toss well to combine and serve hot. Add the reserved mushroom broth in ¼ cup quantities to thin the dish as you see fit, or as you reheat the pasta for leftovers.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Until next time, stay warm and cozy my friends! 

Italian Summer Tomato Pasta

This is a quick and easy pasta that’s a great way to utilize those garden-fresh tomatoes from the summer harvest! The noodles are tossed in a homemade Italian dressing with briny capers and fresh herbs. Dinner is on the table in the time it takes to boil water and cook the noodles!

Hey there! Did you miss me?? I've had a wildly busy couple weeks which does not bode well for my person...this girl needs a perplexing amount of downtime. But it's all good, really good! I just turned in my cookbook's manuscript (preorder here!) into my publisher on Friday and it feels unbelievable. Seriously, there are no words. On another note, our house building is coming along fantastic. They are insulating today, the plumbing is currently being put in, and the shingles went up last weekend. Crazy stuff!

Todd and I were joking that I'm not going to know what to do with myself once the book is out of my hands (November) and the house is done (by Thanksgiving, fingers and toes crossed)! Oh the books I will read come November. A holiday of reading and relaxing, Darwin willing. 

“A vibrant inner life is far more powerful than a busy outer one.”

— David Romanelli

Even more good news...I have a new recipe for you! And of course, you'll be seeing more of me around these parts. Sorry for being a bit absent. Sometimes I feel like one of those Stretch Armstrong dolls. It's a most unusual feeling for someone whose life goal is to avoid the overwhelming burden of overstimulation. I simply can't wait to be bored again. To walk through the woods with Bob on our morning jaunt and not have eight things playing bumper-cars in my mind. To just day-dream, without the interruption of yet another item crashing through to heavily belly-flop on my "to-do" list. How rude. I know I need to go to the store for large Ziploc bags so I can put our natural gas application in one and nail it to the right side of the garage, but does it really have to interrupt my wishful thoughts on when I'd be able to watch the latest episode of Poldark. Oh, Poldark...I hope he has to cut the grass again...

Does it ever really stop though? One can hope at the very least. 

Now onto this pasta. My sweet sister-in-law stay with Todd and I for ten weeks while she's doing clinicals up here in Alaska to become a physical therapist. She buys tomatoes for her sandwiches and I seem to keep nicking them to make dinner. I hardly ever buy tomatoes because they always go bad before I use them! She's been up here for two weeks and I think I've "liberated" at least eleven of them. Shameful, I don't know what's wrong with me. Thank you, Anna, for generously donating your tomatoes to the cause, hehehe. I promise to pick up some at the farmer's market tomorrow!

Italian Summer Tomato Pasta

Recipe by Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

This is a quick and easy pasta that’s a great way to utilize those garden-fresh tomatoes from the summer harvest! The noodles are tossed in a homemade Italian dressing with briny capers and fresh herbs. Dinner is on the table in the time it takes to boil water and cook the noodles!

Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 16 oz spaghetti, dry
• 6 medium roma tomatoes, diced
• ¼ medium yellow onion, diced small
• 2 tbsp capers
• ¼ cup large-flake nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• (about ½ cup) - Dressing -
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp water
• ½ tbsp vegan granulated sugar
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp onion powder

Cooking Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Cook according to the package for al dente noodles, about 10 minutes; drain and return to pot.
2. While the water is coming to a boil, add all the pasta ingredients (except for the pasta) to a medium mixing bowl.
3. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside.
4. Once the noodles are done, stir the pasta ingredients into the noodles and stir well. Add in the dressing and use tongs to toss the noodles and coat them evenly.
5. Serve hot.

Today's Info

Still eating pork? Even if you don't care about animals, I hope you care about humans. And if you don't care about humans, well, I hope you at least care about eating peoples fingers and their fecal matter. *shudder* Read all about it here. Horrifying stuff.