Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

1 lb wild mushrooms, trimmed and chopped coarsely

1 Tbs butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp thyme, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. 

2) Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. 

3) Add the cream, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. 

4) Add the Parmesan, and adjust the seasonings to taste.

5) Serve over cooked pasta. Let rest for two minutes and serve.

Review: We've been doing a lot of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. They have a lot of great frozen meals that are both healthy and economically priced. This has been the death of my blog. On the other hand, they also tend to sell all sorts of random, awesome things. These types of things are typically sold for a limited period of time, so I grab them when I see them. However, I then end up with a motley collection of items in the cupboard. It's become my goal to eat my way through this mess and tonight I used three finds from Trader Joe's:

Of course, none of these were purchased at the same time, nor were they ever intended to be put together. However, I had the idea that a wild mushroom cream sauce would be great over gnocchi. I hit google to find recipes and then combined some ideas and made this recipe (an original?!). It turned out wonderfully tasty, though I initially had too much sauce for so little gnocchi. After two minutes, it congealed nicely and no longer looked like soup. I think it might also be tasty if it was made with gruyere instead of Parmesan.

Now, what to do with the jar of salted caramel sauce?

Cheese Tortellini With Spinach, Peas & Brown Butter

1 lb fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup frozen peas
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 small bunch spinach, thick stems removed
1 beefsteak tomato, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper

1) Cook the tortellini according to the package directions, adding the peas during the last minute of cooking.
2) Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach and tomato and cook, tossing occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and the tomato begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes more.
3) Add the tortellini, peas, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper to the skillet. Toss to combine.

Review: This looked like such an easy recipe, I just couldn't pass it up. This was pretty tasty, except that I didn't taste the browned butter. I think the next time I make it, I'll use at least 2 Tbs more. I may also need to let it brown more than I did.

Adapted from:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cheese-tortellin-brown-butter

Esquites - Mexican Corn Salad

3 Tbs butter
4 cups frozen corn, defrosted
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
4 Tbs mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs lime juice
1/4 cup cotija, or feta cheese, crumbled
chili powder to taste
1 avocado, diced

1) Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat.
2) Add the corn, toss and let it sit. Cook until charred, mix it up and let it char again, about 6-10 minutes.
3) Add the jalapeno and saute for one minute. Remove from heat.
4) Add to a large bowl and mix with all other ingredients. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Review: Unfortunately, cotija was not to be found at either Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, where we typically shop. And, I stopped in at A&P today, but totally forgot to look for cotija. So I made it with feta, which is super tasty. This had an amazing tang, between the mayo, feta and lime juice. However, it wasn't over-powering and was an amazing little dish. Little, because it makes two servings if it's your main dish. I think I made a side dish recipe again . . .

a good view of the charring (could be more, but I'm impatient):

the salad:

Adapted from:
http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/08/esquites-mexican-corn-salad.html

Kale & Peanuts Stir-Fry

1 cup basmati rice
1 bunch curly or broad-leafed kale, stems removed and leaves torn into pieces
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 Tbs thinly sliced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp tamari sauce
2 Tbs dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts, finely chopped

1) Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside.
2) Heat wok over high heat; add oil and swirl to coat wok. Add kale and carrot, and stir-fry 3 minutes.  Add ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add tamari sauce and stir-fry for 15 seconds more.
3) Mix in rice and peanuts. Serve immediately.

Review: I've held onto this recipe for over a month, just waiting to have enough kale in my garden. Tonight I was able to harvest quite a bit!! I always complain about how many bugs are in kale when I get it from the grocery store. There were about 20 times as many in the kale from my garden, and lots of holes in the leaves. Ah, organic gardening!! It was worth it though, as the kale tasted so much more intense and fresh!!! This, coupled with the ginger and tamari made for a particularly savory dish. I was glad to have enough to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Yum.

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/flash-fried-kale-with-peanuts/

Surprise!!

This has got to be the worst gardening season ever. Between the long, cold spring and the summer's near 100 degree temps and frequent storms, it's been so difficult. The weeds are doing great, but the vegetables have struggled all season. My cabbage and carrots never sprouted, and my Swiss chard was eaten by bunnies. I do have some cherry tomatoes that are almost ripe. The real winner this season was my kale. Yes, they are holey from various caterpillars and grasshoppers, but there was plenty to harvest!

Discovered!

I have been making a favorite dish, Black Bean & Mozzarella Bowl, for quite some time. However, the recipe called for Drew's Smoked Tomato dressing. I couldn't find it anywhere!!! So, I made up my own vinaigrettes, but it never felt like the right flavor. Yet, this weekend, I found it at the Mount Kisco NY's Mrs. Greens!!! I made it tonight, as it was supposed to be made, and found it to be better than I could ever have believed! It was such a nice tangy/smoky flavor, that really couldn't be duplicated. Yum, I will definitely be making this again, and have plenty left in the bottle!!

Sugar Ann Snap Peas

This is the second handful I've harvested from my garden.

I don't personally like snap peas, but my husband loves them. So, I made sure to get an heirloom variety to grow in my garden. The first harvest was passed around at his birthday party this past weekend. Everyone raved about them. Mike got all of them this time and was a happy camper. I asked him to describe the difference between these and the ones he gets at the grocery store. He told me the flavor is much more intense. Ah, of course, most grocery store veggies tend to taste weaker than garden veggies!