wild mushroom pasta

Two years ago, Marcus and I went on our first trip to forage mushrooms. We headed out on a sunny weekend to a place we chose at random and found enough chanterelles to fill two bags. It was epic, unforgettable. Last year, with little Elena in tow, we headed out again. But the weather had been fickle. Too sunny and warm followed by too much rain. We struck out then, and on another trip. This year was a similar situation. The ideal weather just didn’t coincide with the weekends and we found ourselves without a haul of mushrooms.

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If you’ve never foraged for mushrooms, this might sound like a lot of work for a product you can buy at most stores. And it can be. But it is also a lot of fun, especially when combined with a hike, a sunny day, and a bit of luck. It's like a treasure hunt, stumbling upon mushrooms one at a time and then heading home with food for a week or more. 

Wild mushrooms are well worth the effort and make a fantastic addition to many autumn dishes. If you plan to go foraging for mushrooms, I recommend the Field Guide to Mushrooms or Roger's Mushrooms app to help with identification. This simple recipe uses a variety of wild mushrooms that can be found in the forest, farmers market, or many grocery stores.

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Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
3-4 Tbsp butter
a variety of wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, maitake, oyster mushrooms, cut into slices
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

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Put 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over medium high heat, once melted add onions and cook until they caramelize, about 10 minutes. When they start to turn brown, add the mushrooms, thyme, and another Tbsp butter. Turn heat to medium. The mushrooms will release moisture, becoming soft. Add garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to instructions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Add the pasta to the mushroom and onions, along with the remaining butter. Mix over high heat until it begins to get creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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cranberry preserves

The morning arrives before I'm ready for it. At 5:30am, Elena wakes and starts singing to the darkness. La la la. We've deciphered that it is her interpretation of Row Row Row Your Boat and I don't think I've heard a voice quite as beautiful. It makes the early hour easier to bear and we roll out of bed to whip up breakfast for our hungry little girl. Scrambled eggs and toast. Steel cut oats with maple syrup. Crêpes with jam. Hearty and filling.

But yogurt is my ideal second breakfast. Or late morning snack, if you will. I like to think of it as a blank canvas on which I can create a delicious meal according to my whims and the contents of my fridge. In the spring and early summer, it's usually fresh berries and honey. As late summer approaches, stone fruit takes over and then in the winter it's all about cranberries. 

Most recipes call for a lot of sugar to counter the tartness of the berries, but I've found that a dose of agave syrup does just the trick. You can always add a bit of honey later to increase the sweetness if desired.

Ingredients:
16 ounces fresh cranberries
1 cup apple cider
1/3 cup agave syrup
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Bring the apple cider and agave syrup to a simmer in a medium pot. Add the cranberries, stirring occasionally until they begin to pop. Simmer until the cranberries has softened. Remove from heat, stir in the nutmeg and let cool, blend if desired. Serve over plain Greek yogurt with your choice of toppings, such as granola, pepitas, and psyllium. Enjoy!

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comfort food granola

I don't know where I'd be without granola. A staple during my years at graduate school and my go-to snack whenever I feel hungry, but don't have extra time to cook something. When Marcus first met me, he laughed at how much granola I ate, but I think it's the perfect comfort food, especially for an Oregonian. Filling, yet healthy and delicious when served with cold milk or over yoghurt with fresh fruit.

There are so many granola recipes out there that it feels almost silly to add another one to the world. But I've eaten enough to know a good bowl of granola when I meet one and had to share this one. It's a mashup between my mother's classic recipe and the Sprouted Kitchen's seedy granola recipe from her fantastic cookbook Bowl + Spoon. Sweet and filling meets healthy and lean. Including brown sugar and maple syrup might seem excessive, but I find it adds the perfect amount of sweetness to complement the hearty seeds. The Sprouted Kitchen recipe calls for pepitas, but you can pretty much toss in whatever seeds you have on hand.

Granola
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup butter
7 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup crisp rice cereal
3/4 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
3/4 cup roughly slivered almonds
1 cup unsweetened coconut
2 cups dried apricots, dried cranberries, raisins or other fruit
 
Heat over to 325 degrees F. In a large pot, melt butter over a low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until mixed. Add the olive oil and maple syrup and stir for another minute. Slowly add the oats, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and almonds, mixing until well combined. Spread over two baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove when golden brown. Allow to cool completely, then add dried fruit and coconut. Enjoy!