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! 

Chickpea & Chard Stew

A quick and easy flavorful stew that’s as healthy as it is tasty. Full of protein and fiber, this hearty stew will fill you up and keep you satisfied. It’s a staple in our house!

Whew! I've been gone for a short while, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Part of my absence was due to our destruction/recreation of the study. More specifically putting in a wall to wall desk! Thus, my computer found itself unplugged and stuffed into the corner on vacation for at last a week while we worked. Check out my social media (links in the right sidebar), where I plan to post a photo of the awesome new desk. I posted some photos of our kitchen last week!

Also, the site had been down for a few days and I had to sort out what had made it crash. Turned out it was some snippet of code in my sidebar. That's why you might not have been able to access the site last week. Being the no-nonsense lady that I am I just straight up and whacked the entire sidebar rather than pick through the code. Oh well, at least it's back up!

Still, I'd be exaggerating to say that my neglect of this little space was all to do with the update of the study and the site being down. Most of it was that I was just into some really great books and that I spent most of my free time reading. My free time is pretty limited these days. Anytime spent not working on things for the house (organizing stuff from moving, updating the study, installing a water filter [thanks, Dad!], creating a guest room, spreading topsoil for the lawn, digging large rocks out of the driveway... the list is never-ending) is coveted. It doesn't leave a lot of room for cooking and honestly I've been kind of too pooped to cook. Fresh fruit has overtaken my life as my main source of nutrition these days. It could be worse I suppose. We'll also be having about one month straight of guests, so you may hear less from me than even now!

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

— Confucius

When I have cooked, it's mostly been sweets (brownies and cinnamon rolls, predominantly) and soups. Who knows. Stress does weird things to people. I finally dug out the camera that was buried in the mess of the study to snap some photos of this wonderful stew though. Yay! Gold star for me for actually doing something productive here! I have made this stew countless times and I really enjoy the flavor. It's always those staple recipes that I neglect to share! They are arguably the most important too. I'll be better about sharing my staples, promise. In the meantime I'm just taking smarts from good ol' Confucius here...

Chickpea & Chard Stew

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 07/13/2016

A quick and easy flavorful stew that’s as healthy as it is tasty. Full of protein and fiber, this hearty stew will fill you up and keep you satisfied. It’s a staple in our house! NOTES: More water can be added to any leftovers, if desired, as the pasta will absorb some of the liquid while sitting.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, liquid included
• 2 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½-1 cup water
• 1 cup pasta of choice
• 1 bunch of chard, de-stemmed and chopped (or spinach)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute for about 3 minutes until the onion is tender. Add the cumin, ginger, and salt; saute for an additional minute or two until the garlic is fragrant.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat then stir in the pasta. Reduce to a gentle boil and cook for about 9 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the chard, to wilt. Before serving, stir in the lemon juice and cilantro. Serve hot.

Yield: 6

Warm Balsamic Barley Salad

Tender and chewy barley mingles with ripe tomato, vegan Italian sausage, bright swiss chard, and protein-rich chickpeas. Lightly bathed in a basil-balsamic dressing, this is a beautiful and hearty salad that’s great warm or cold. It tastes even better the following day, which makes it the perfect “make ahead” salad!

Hey there! How's the midweek going for you? Mine has been really good; kind of busy but in the best way possible. My brother-in-law is visiting us here in Alaska from his college in Vermont to work on a short documentary regarding climate change. Part of that involved the Iditarod. Did you know for two years in a row snow has been carted by train over 350 miles from Fairbanks to Anchorage for the ceremonial start? This year it was shortened from 11 miles to just 3 miles. Pretty scary stuff. We spent the weekend photographing the dogs and Ross used his drone to capture some pretty awesome images. You can see more of his work at his Instagram, under username jrhenry10. Below is a drone shot he took of a musher leaving Willow after the real start (restart) with Denali in the background. 

He has also decided to be completely vegan for a month in response to realizing the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. The single best thing we can do to stop climate change is to stop consuming animal products. Maybe we can get him to be vegan for good? ;) Muahhahaha. If you'd like to learn more about the environment and how drastically it's affected by animal agriculture, check out the infographic at the very bottom of this post; it's one of the best I've seen yet.

“As far as eating is concerned, humans are the most stupid animals on the planet. We kill billions of wild animals to protect the animals that we eat. We are destroying our environment to feed the animals we eat. We spend more time, money and resources fattening up the animals that we eat, than we do feeding humans who are dying of hunger. The greatest irony is that after all the expenses of raising these animals, we eat them; and they kill us slowly. And rather than recognize this madness, we torture and murder millions of other animals trying to find cures to diseases caused by eating animals in the first place.”

— Mike Anderson

With the excitement and yearning for Todd and I to hang out with Ross instead of cooking, I've been turning to quick and easy dishes. Basically, my veg from the CSA box and any grain that tickles my fancy that day (or whatever I have left in the pantry). Along with fresh herbs (thanks to my Aerogarden), vegan sausage from the freezer, and some canned chickpeas this salad was among my favorite meals of the week! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Warm Balsamic Barley Salad

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 03/08/2016

Tender and chewy barley mingles with ripe tomato, vegan Italian sausage, bright swiss chard, and protein-rich chickpeas. Lightly bathed in a basil-balsamic dressing, this is a beautiful and hearty salad that’s great warm or cold. It tastes even better the following day, which makes it the perfect “make ahead” salad!

Ingredients

• 1 cup pearled barley, dry
• 3 cups water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Italian Field Roast sausages, diced
• 2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
• 1 small bunch of swiss or red chard, de-stemmed and chopped
• 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• Pinch of salt, to taste
• Dash of black pepper, to taste
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chiffonade (optional)
• Garnish of broccoli sprouts or microgreens (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, bring the barley, water, and a pinch of salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cover; cook for about 30-45 minutes until the barley is tender and chewy. Drain and set aside.
2. While the barley cooks, heat the olive oil over medium-low in a large rimmed frying pan. Add the sausage, tomato, and chard; saute for about 5 minutes until the chard has wilted. Stir in the remaining ingredients excluding the fresh basil and sprouts; cook for an additional 5 minutes to warm the chickpeas.
3. Once the barley is done cooking, stir it into the chickpea mixture to combine. Serve the salad warm or cold and topped with fresh basil and sprouts. This salad is even better the following day!

Yield: 4

Anouk (ann-uhk) says hello! Isn't he the cutest? It's really strange having a small dog as I've always grew up with large dogs and let's be honest... Bob is pretty much the size of small pony with giraffe legs. I love the pink little butterfly on his nose too! It's very saddening that just about every week I discover a new scar on him somewhere. He has a little Alfalfaesc hair tuft on the very top of his head that I am always trying to smooth down; yesterday I realized there's a big scar underneath and that's why the surrounding hair doesn't lay flat *sad face*. He's only eight months! How could anyone hurt a little puppy? However, it warms my heart to know he's in a safe and loving home now *happy face*!

If you've been vegan for a while you've probably found yourself wondering how on earth your veggie laden entree is the same price as it's meaty counterpart. This article from Serious Eats helps you understand why. Still doesn't answer why we can't catch a break on holding off on the cheese and meats on pizza though... 

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