Mushroom Goat Cheese Pasta

Belonging to my rowing club involves (you guessed it) rowing, but also a social aspect. There are a few hundred members divided into a handful of social crews: each crew has a monthly dinner, plus an annual fundraiser that they're responsible for. My crew puts on a wine tasting every summer, and I am on the food planning committee for it. While planning the menu, the vintner we're using recommended a goat cheese and mushroom pasta to pair with one of the wines. One of the many fun and wonderful things about our monthly potluck dinners is that they're a great opportunity to test recipes for the wine tasting and get feedback.

This week I was responsible for trying my hand at the recommended pasta. I looked at many (maaaaany) goat cheese pasta recipes, and in the end, I took some techniques from different recipes and used my judgement to adapt this recipe into something very delicious.

Frankly, I was not expecting to like it. I was wrong: I loved it. It was also a hit at dinner, and we'll be serving it at our event in August. If this recipe appeals to you, I've posted it below so that you can make it too. If you don't want to make it but still want to eat it, you should come to the wine tasting, which is open to the public! More info to come on how to purchase a ticket.

Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pasta

16 ounces uncooked rigatoni or bowtie pasta or whatever pasta floats your boat

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

20-24 ounces (depending on how your grocery store has them packaged) fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini and white. Next time I'll throw some more boldly flavored ones in - shiitake, oyster, chanterelle.)

¼ cup minced shallots

2 large garlic cloves, minced (about a tablespoon)

⅓ cup white wine (All I had was rosé, and it worked just fine.)

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

4 cups baby spinach, washed & roughly (not finely!) chopped

6 ounces goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Be sure not to overcook it or it will get mushy and not hold up as well in the sauce. Drain and set aside. (If you’re worried it’s too soft, quickly rinse in cold water to stop it cooking.)

Meanwhile, work on the sauce:

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper them, and sauté until golden brown and soft, 5-10 minutes. You might want to do this in batches to get them nice and brown and build flavor. Add the garlic, shallots, and wine, and give it a few good stirs. Add the chicken stock. Let it cook 2-3 minutes. Add whipping cream. It will look pretty thin: Let it simmer about five minutes, or enough to thicken a bit. You may need to lower the heat so it doesn't scorch. Whisk in goat cheese. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add spinach, mix it all up.

In a large pot or bowl, toss the pasta with the mushroom sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Devour.

Liking Lately: Trader Joe's Staples Edition

Despite having shopped there for, oh, a decade (what year is it?), I'm repeatedly surprised by Trader Joe's convenient and reasonably priced vegetables. I am particularly fond of their chopped and prepared veggies: anything that makes it easier for me to eat more plants with a smaller amount of effort is a-okay in my book.

Specifically, I've been buying a lot of the following lately:

Sliced cremini mushrooms. Sauté and throw on a pizza, add to a soup or sauce. Put them raw in a salad, if you're so inclined.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Shredded carrots. Chop roughly, or don't, and add to salads, soups, stir-fries, and anything else you can think of. I'm always meaning to quick pickle them and eat them with some Korean beef and rice.

Photo from exploringtraderjoes.blogspot.com.

Cruciferous Crunch. More or less the same base as my beloved Costco kale salad, but cheaper, and I don't have to brave the Costco parking lot for it. I typically eat this mixed with either salad greens or quinoa as a base for my lunches.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Broccoli florets. We eat a lot of steamed broccoli with meals, so hooray for saved prep time.

Photo from healthydivalife.com.

Broccoli slaw. Saute, throw in stir fry, chop and add to salad or quinoa dishes. I love this stuff, because broccoli stems.

Shredded cabbage mix. Again: Salads! Quinoa dishes! Chop it up and cook it with other greens. Saute with butter and throw it in with noodles, because I hear that's good.

I love shaved Brussels sprouts: I hate shaving Brussels sprouts. Sauté these bad boys with onion and bacon, or make one of my favorite salads (I use one whole bag for the recipe).

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Riced Cauliflower. Again, I enjoy riced cauliflower: I do not enjoy ricing cauliflower. Find it in the refrigerated section, but when you get home feel free to throw it in the freezer until you need it.

Also good: English cucumbers, and cheap bananas. Their cheap basil (and delicious little balls of fresh mozzarella) make my Caprese Pasta a cinch. Recipe to come at some point: it's perfect for summer.

On the other side of the cold aisles, their crumbled feta is my favorite, and I always grab a few containers when in the store.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

TJ's tri-color quinoa is a favorite for both quality and price point (though when Costco has their 4 pound bags for $10, they've got them beat), and I usually grab a bag. I have a big glass container that I keep my quinoa in, and when I get home I throw it in there. I eat a lot of quinoa for lunches, and buying it once in a while and adding it to the mix keeps my stash from hitting threat level orange. Now and then I let the glass jar go fully empty before adding a new container, to make sure it's all still fresh.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

And finally, the Swiss chocolate bars by the checkout. Hoo boy. I try not to buy them too often because they quickly become a dangerous habit, but dang are they good. I am a fan of the milk, and my husband likes the dark. We each get our own bar and are thrilled not to share. Sometimes being an adult is a-okay.

Photo from amazon.com.

Liking Lately: A New Dawn, A New Day, A New...Granola Recipe

Remember that Facebook food group I mentioned in a recent post? My friend Jess used it to share a recipe for granola that she'd recently tried, and as soon as I read it I knew I needed to try it, too. We used to make granola pretty regularly around here, but as is wont to happen, it somehow fell out of the rotation and we haven't made any in ages. *Rafiki voice* It was time.

I tried Jess's recipe with a few modifications, and it's a definite winner. Crispy, crunchy, chewy, not too sweet. I used both maple syrup and cinnamon, but it doesn't taste overmuch of either: it's just got a nice, pleasant Granola Flavor. Zach's been enjoying it in his yogurt, and I've been enjoying sneaking bites and baby fistfuls of it out of the ziploc bag and pretending the calories don't count. And, okay, it's also really good with almond milk, which I learned this morning when the day-after-you-go-back-to-rowing-again hangries set in. Granola: it's what's for Second Breakfast!

Much to my surprise, it stayed pretty crispy in the milk, though I did wolf it down with the speed of a raccoon who just saw a porch light come on while going through the garbage, so your mileage may vary.

The recipe is based on a Cook's Illustrated recipe for Almond Granola with Dried Fruit, to which there is no available link. The recipe below is with my modifications. Enjoy!

I spent a surprising amount of time trying to make this picture render properly. Pretend it worked.

Granola So Good You Will Eat It With The Joy Of A Raccoon Swimming In A Trashcan, Not To Oversell It

⅓ cup maple syrup (the real stuff, you guys!)

⅓ cup packed (2 ⅓ ounces) light brown sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

½ cup Light olive oil or coconut oil or avocado oil or vegetable oil or other oil of your choice

3 Tablespoons of water

***

5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (Not quick cooking oats!)

2 cups (10 ounces) raw nuts (Your choice! See below.)

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped (or the small already shredded ones, but I wanted to use up some bigger ones I had on hand.)

½ cup shelled hemp seeds (Optional. Throw in flax or anything else here, if you'd like.)

2 cups dried fruit, chopped (Your choice! See below.)

For the fruit and nuts I used pecans and cranberries, because that's what I had and what I like, but the possibilities are endless: dried cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries, or a mix. Pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, you name it. One of the nice things about this recipe is how flexible it is. I added a bunch of stuff and it came out great. Be warned, though, that if you add more dry ingredients you might need to up the wet ingredients a bit too. Otherwise it might not clump properly, though it will still taste delicious.

CI says: "Chopping the almonds by hand is the first choice for superior texture and crunch. If you prefer not to hand chop, substitute an equal quantity of slivered or sliced almonds. (A food processor does a lousy job of chopping whole nuts evenly.) "

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, water, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil. Fold in oats and nuts until thoroughly coated.

3. Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8 inch thick). Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact. Bake until lightly browned, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once halfway through baking. Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size. Stir in dried fruit. (Granola can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)