Buttermilk Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves 2. This quick recipe has a thin but very umami sauce. Delicious! – Connor

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 large onion, diced
1 lb mushrooms
1 Tbsp concentrated broth
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp crystal hot sauce
a pinch of ground allspice
OR 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce (instead of the above sauces and allspice)
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp flour
Salt and pepper

Steps:
1. Fry onion in butter until well browned.
2. Add mushrooms. Cook until tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients and cook until the sauce is thickened.

Serve over pasta (roughly 1/2 lb) with a side of plain yogurt or sour cream and chopped fresh parsley.

Pestle and mortar pesto

Putting pesto in the blender is nice and quick. But if you need a little edge for a special occasion, you can use a pestle and mortar. The theory here is that crushing does a better job of breaking the basil cells and structure, which releases more of that delicious flavor. I tried it and I believe it. — Connor

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21zsjzFKOrI

2 medium garlic cloves
3 T pine nuts (Or if you must, walnuts)
1.5 cup basil leaves added with a pinch of salt
1/3 cup grated parmesan and/or Romano
1/2 cup olive oil
2 T butter

Grind each ingredient in the pestle and grind thoroughly. Be warned – the basil may take quite a while! You will definitely get tired, but don’t give up. You can get this to a blender like consistency and it’s worth it.

Serving with pasta

This is enough for 3 people if served on 1/2 LB pasta. Don’t cook it at all. Just toss it with the pasta and 1/2 cup pasta water. Serve with a side of tomato and mozzarella or cottage cheese.

Manicotti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

My own recipe — Deb

1 package manicotti – the big ones!

– Cook according to directions, spray with olive oil so they won’t stick together and set aside.
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

THE SAUCE
2 pints ripe cherry tomatoes or 2 to 4 vine ripened summer tomatoes or mixture of both
1/2 an onion, minced
2-4 cloves of garlic
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t good quality balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

– Put all this in a blender and puree until smooth.

FILLING
1 28 oz container of ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 c fresh minced basil and or parsley
1 c fresh Parmesan, grated – reserve 1/2 c for topping
2 c grated mozzarella – reserve 1 c for topping

– Break eggs into a large bowl and beat together with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

– Spread a thin layer of the sauce to cover the bottom of a large baking dish.
– Carefully stuff the filling into the individual cooked manicotti tubes and nestle them into the baking dish.

– When the dish is full pour the remaining sauce over the manicotti then top with the reserved Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.

– Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is browned and the sauce bubbles.

Thai Bean Thread Stir Fry

I thought I had a bean thread noodle recipe but cannot find it, alas. This one is good – adapted from a recipe by Darlene Schmidt of The Spruce Eats: https://www.thespruceeats.com/thai-glass-noodles-3217107

For Noodles:
1 cake extra firm tofu
8 ounces bean thread noodles
3 cloves garlic (minced or pressed)
1 shallot or 1/4 cup red onion (minced)
1 1/2 cups mushrooms (chopped)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
Fresh cilantro for garnishing
sesame oil
a lime or lime juice

For Stir-Fry Sauce:
1/3 cup vegetable or fish stock
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin or okonomi sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Red pepper flakes (to taste)

Gather and prep the vegetables and sauce ingredients. This dish cooks quickly once you heat your wok or skillet.

Slice the tofu into bite-size pieces and put it in a bowl. Combine the stir-fry sauce ingredients in a cup or small bowl and drizzle two tablespoons over the tofu. Toss  to evenly distribute the sauce and set the bowl in the refrigerator to marinate until you start to cook.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the noodles, stirring to separate them. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes or until they turn transparent and soft enough to eat. Drain the noodles and drizzle a little sesame oil over the noodles and toss well to keep from sticking.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and swirl it around, then add the garlic and shallots. Stir-fry for a minute or two, then add tofu. Stir-fry until the  tofu starts to turn light brown. If the pan dries out, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of stir-fry sauce.

Add the mushrooms and peppers and 2 to 3 tablespoons of stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry for a few more minutes.

Add the noodles and 3/4 of the remaining stir-fry sauce. Use tongs to lift and toss the noodles with the other ingredients. Tip: To make this easier, use a pair of clean kitchen scissors to cut the glass noodles in a couple of places, as the long strings can be hard to handle.

Taste-test, adding more or all of the remaining stir-fry sauce as needed. Add more fish sauce or soy sauce to increase the saltiness, or add a squeeze of lemon or lime to cut the saltiness. Serve immediately with fresh cilantro sprinkled on top and limes for squeezing to taste at the table.

photo credit: https://www.thespruceeats.com/

Cashew Sesame Noodle Bowl

Greg found this poke bowl in Parade Magazine 2019. Our amended version is below – original recipe here: https://parade.com/734814/parade/sesame-cashew-noodle-bowl/

1 bundle Soba noodles per person
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, divided
3 cups broccoli florets, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 cups ¼-inch sliced red cabbage
3 cups matchstick-cut carrots
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1½ cups steamed shelled edamame
½ cup chopped cashews
½ cup sliced green onion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Creamy sesame dressing (Maine made Stonewall Kitchen brand recommended)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta; cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until al dente. Drain. Transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1 Tbsp sesame oil.

Bring another pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccoli and cook 3 minutes or just until just crisp tender. Drain.

Add cabbage, carrots, sesame seeds and remaining 1 Tbsp oil to pasta; toss to coat.

To serve put pasta in serving bowls and top evenly with broccoli, edamame, cashews, onion and cilantro. Drizzle with dressing. This amount of vegetables serves 4.

via Parade Magazine (Mark Boughton Photography/Styling by Teresa Blackburn)

Mushroom Cream Pasta Sauce

This is a recipe Anna and I made up on the spot one day when we had extra mushrooms and a pepper. I liked it so much I decided to write it down. Amounts are entirely approximate and up to you, feel free to add herbs, spices, or whatever else you feel like. -William

Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3ish cloves of garlic, pressed
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 small containers of mushrooms (baby bella, shiitake, white), chopped
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Salt + Pepper
White wine
Heavy cream or milk
As many fresh herbs as you can get your hands on (especially thyme)

Saute the onion and garlic together in olive oil. Add the chopped pepper when softish, then add the mushrooms when those are set. At some point, add whatever dry spices you feel like in addition to the ones listed, some salt and pepper, and anywhere from a splash to some fraction of a cup of white wine. Cook until you can’t smell any more ethanol boiling off from the wine, then add the cream and herbs. Cook until you like the consistency, then add to cooked pasta and serve with your favorite pasta toppings.

Sesame Soba Noodle Salad

I was looking for backpacking recipes in preparation for a trip to Baxter State Park last fall and found this at “Dirty Gourmet”. Here’s the original:  www.dirtygourmet.com/sesame-soba-noodle-salad
1 package soba noodles (3 or 4 bundles)
4 c water
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup sesame seeds (original recipe called for black but white will work too)
1 T roasted sunflower seeds (if you only have raw toast them a bit too)
1 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 t honey
2 t toasted sesame oil
2 t Sriracha
1 block tofu, pressed and cubed
1 bunch asparagus, snapped into 1 inch pieces
1 bundle scallions, sliced thinly (reserve a little for garnish)

---

Start pasta water to boil.

Toast sesame seeds over medium low heat for a few minutes, tossing frequently and paying close attention to them, they burn easily. Grind sesame seeds and sunflower seeds together in the mortar and pestle until the mixture resembles sand. Unless you have a very large mortar you’ll have to do this in small batches.  Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and Sriracha, and blend into paste.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat then saute tofu cubes, until brown and crispy on the edges. Remove, set aside lower the heat a bit, add the sliced scallions to the hot oil and saute for a few minutes. Add asparagus and saute until just crisp tender.

Meanwhile add soba noodles to boiling water, and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Strain, reserving about 1/3 cup of the cooking water. Mix this water into the sesame seed paste, add to the noodles and toss gently to mix well. Plate and top each serving with the vegetables, then tofu and the reserved fresh green onions.

Serve hot or cold, with extra soy sauce and Sriracha available.

photo credit https://www.dirtygourmet.com/about/

Tortellini Vegetable Soup

Adapted this in 1992 from a recipe cooked entirely in the microwave* (why?!). It’s way better this way. 

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
4 cloves garlic sliced thin or pressed
small package button mushrooms, or larger ones quartered
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 cans (14.5oz) stewed or chopped tomatoes
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped
2 T fresh dill, chopped
1 lb cheese tortellini

---

Heat olive oil in soup pot, then add onion and saute on medium/low until it starts to soften. Add garlic and carrots and cook for 5 or 10 minutes more. Then add zucchini and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes (including liquid from cans) raise heat until the soup just starts to boil then turn down and simmer for 15 or 20 minutes.

Add the spinach, dill and  half the parsley and simmer until the spinach is just wilted. Now add the tortellini and cook until done based on the instructions for the type of tortellini you have.

Serve immediately with the remaining parsley and shaved Parmesan or Romano for garnish.

* Just in case you want to try the microwave version, here are the instructions:

Chili

Its pretty surprising we didn’t have a recipe for chili on this site. This, and the fact that chili recipes online seem to be pretty weird and/or annoying to make and find the ingredients for most of the time, made me go out and build my own recipe, which turned out well after try 3. The nice thing about this recipe is you can make it without any fresh ingredients except the pepper, which really you could freeze as well. Resist the urge to add tomato paste, but it would probably do well with an additional hot ingredient like chipotle powder or a hot pepper if you like that. — Connor

2 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
2 cups chicken or beef stock, or two bullion cubes and water
1  15 oz can corn
2  15 oz cans pinto beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatos
salt and pepper

Step 1: Cook the beef on high with salt and pepper. Make sure you put in a lot of salt, probably a 1 tablespoon or a little more is good. Once the beef is cooked through and a little crispy, pour out most of the fat and move to step 2.

Step 2:  Add the onion and pepper and cover, stirring somewhat frequently until the vegetables get soft and some are slightly crisped.

Step 3: Add everything else, draining the corn and beans before adding, but not the tomatoes. Yes, the garlic and spices come after adding the liquid ingredients. When the pot starts boiling again, you can finally turn it down to medium heat. Cook for like 30 minutes or whatever.

Serve with olive oiled pasta and sharp cheddar.

 

Fettuccine with Gorgonzola Sauce

This recipe is based on one I found at Food & Wine Magazine: www.foodandwine.com/recipes/fettuccine-with-gorgonzola-and-broccoli – it’s delish.

3/4 cup broth or homemade stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 pound Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
1 cup cream
3 T olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 t fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound fettuccine
1 1/4 pounds broccoli (about 2 stalks), thick stems removed, tops cut into small florets (about 5 cups)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
fresh arugula coarsely chopped – about a cup, loosely packed

Chop the broccoli and set aside.

Combine the broth and wine in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Cook about 5 minutes then add the Gorgonzola, cream, and olive oil. Return to a simmer; cook, stirring, until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of  salted water to a boil and, cook the pasta – 3 minutes before it is done, quickly add the broccoli florets and bring back to a boil. Cook until the broccoli and pasta are just done and drain.

Toss the fettuccine and broccoli with the Gorgonzola sauce, Parmesan, and arugula. Serve with extra Parmesan on the side.