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! 

Easy Breakfast Cookies

These are my go-to breakfast cookies! They are healthy enough to munch on a couple for breakfast, but  tasty enough for dessert too. Nobody wants to eat cardboard cookies, no matter how healthy! These are made mostly with nuts, oats, and flaxseed, and are sweetened with agave nectar, banana, and a touch of brown sugar. Each cookie is studded with dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and pumpkin seeds for a nutritious and scrumptious bite!

Hi everyone! I know it's been a super long time since we've chatted and I truely am sorry for that. Please forgive me as I've been a little preoccupied of late. The last several months haven't found me cooking a whole lot; mostly just eating fruit which is pretty boring and I confess would make an absolutely terrible blog post, but I've missed you all! If you happen to be at all curious as to what is seriously going on with me that I could have abandoned you for so long, there might be a little confession on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds, so be sure to check it out. Eeek! 

However, things will be picking up here again I hope and I'll be getting back into the cooking/blogging world a little more. One of the things I have been making are these breakfast cookies. Each time I whip up a batch they are different and lend beautifully to substitutions. I use different flours, seeds, nuts, and fruit depending on what I have on hand. I love them so much I figured it was about time I put them up here to share with you all as well! These cookies are so super scrumptious and embarrassingly easy to make. I hope you enjoy them as much as this cookie monster! 

Easy Breakfast Cookies

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 01/04/2017

These are my go-to breakfast cookies! They are healthy enough to munch on a couple for breakfast, but tasty enough for dessert too. Nobody wants to eat cardboard cookies, no matter how healthy! These are made mostly with nuts, oats, and flaxseed, and are sweetened with agave nectar, banana, and a touch of brown sugar. Each cookie is studded with dried cranberries, chocolate chips, and pumpkin seeds for a nutritious and scrumptious bite! NOTES: *If your peanut butter is a bit runny, you may need to add more flour as necessary.

Ingredients

• ½ cup raw walnuts
• ½ cup raw pecans
• 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not the quick-cooking kind)
• ⅓ cup whole wheat flour (or flour of choice)
• ½ cup ground flax seed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ cup peanut or almond butter*
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, room temperature
• 1 medium ripe banana
• ¼ cup agave nectar or maple syrup
• ¼ cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp maple extract (optional)
• ½ cup dried cranberries (or blueberries, cherries, etc.)
• ½ cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds (or seeds of choice)

Instructions

1. In a food processor, process the walnuts and pecans until very fine; transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the oats through the salt with a wooden spoon.
2. Add the peanut butter through the maple extract to the food processor and pulse until smooth; transfer to the mixing bowl along with the cranberries, chocolate chips, and pumpkin seeds. Stir until the dough is just combined; the dough should be somewhat sticky.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two cookie sheets with non-stick silicone mats or parchment paper. Drop 12 cookies on each sheet (they shouldn’t spread much) and bake for about 12-14 minutes on the two middle oven racks, switching the sheets places halfway through. The cookies should be golden brown around the edges, but care not to overbake.
4. Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes on the sheets before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container. I like to put mine in the fridge.

Yield: 24 Cookies

Review of Tom's Of Maine Luminous White Toothpaste

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine . All opinions are 100% mine.

When Todd and I first went vegan over three years ago, we immediately began to replace our conventional toiletries, housewares, apparel, and accessories with vegan-friendly alternatives. It took some time; we didn't throw out our old products on the spot, but replaced them when they were used up.

For replacing toiletries like face wash, soap, shampoo, deodorant, lotions, etc. this meant finding natural products that did not contain animal products nor were tested on animals. For the most part, we had been buying items such as these long before becoming vegan. However, I still had a few products that didn't fit the bill and on occasion, it was harder than I thought to find cruelty-free, natural, and effective products! Toothpaste happened to be one of the items that I still had yet to find a decent substitution for. 

This is why I was so excited to test and review Tom’s of Maine new Luminous White ™ Toothpaste which is exclusively handpicked by Target for their Made To Matter collection. I don't know why it never occurred to me to check Target for the vegan products I had been seeking! The line's mission is to challenge brands to create products that meet at least one of five criteria: reduced sugar, dietary restrictions, clean label, and/or less packaging & closed loop; all of those are things that I myself look for in products, so I am super excited to support this new collection. It actually includes a ton of vegan brands!

Luminous White ™ Toothpaste is Tom's of Maine's most advanced natural whitening toothpaste. As I'm someone who has been scolded by my dentist to, "Try not to brush so hard..." I'm relieved to know that this toothpaste is completely safe for enamel and everyday use. Luminous White ™ Toothpaste is comprised of biodegradable and mineral-derived ingredients, water, and contains no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.It's also gluten and paraben free, and it's vegan; containing zero animal products. Tom's of Maine never tests on animals either, which is great.

While I haven't been using Luminous White ™ Toothpaste long enough to comment on its whitening ability, I can say that I really appreciate that it doesn't have a strong minty flavor. There was a little 'whitening' aftertaste to it, but what else would you expect from a whitening toothpaste? Subtle in flavor, this toothpaste is a more of a paste consistency as opposed to a gel consistency (I'm anti-gel toothpaste). I can't wait to see the whitening results as time goes by! 

So, if you're like me and searching for an effective, natural, and cruelty-free toothpaste that you can feel good about... look no further. Don't forget Luminous White ™ Toothpaste exclusively at Target. Have you discovered this new toothpaste or any of the items from the Made To Matter collection? With Tom’s of Maine®, there’s something for everyone in your family – Wicked Cool!TM Deodorants, Luminous White ™ Toothpaste, and Men’s Naturally Dry North Woods™ Antiperspirant. Free of artificial dyes, fragrances, flavors and preservatives, Tom’s of Maine products are good for the planet and are Made to Matter® - handpicked by Target. What did you think? I'll be excited to try more. It's great that stores are listening to their consumers and offering an easy way to discover products that matter to them and align with their values and morals: products that are good for the planet and good for us too.