Garlic Butter Mushroom Pasta w/Kale, Cherry Tomatoes

Yesterday I randomly bought a small batch of mushrooms. I've never cooked with mushrooms before but have been ordering and eating them more at restaurants and wanted to try my hand at it. My parents never served mushrooms to me while I was younger-well, I can't really say that. They probably did but I was too busy eating my blue-box-mac'n'cheese to notice. Thank goodness I grew out of that and will gladly eat/try/enjoy any food set in front of me. Except horseradish. And shrimp. And maybe kiwi, but I haven't had a kiwi in maybe 15 years (if ever).

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushroom Pasta With Kale and Cherry Tomatoes

I should note that this recipe is adapted from the stunning Smitten Kitchen. Check it out!

8 oz mushrooms- I used white mushrooms but button mushrooms would work just as nice, or any variety for that matter. You could also probably increase the amount of mushrooms if you really like mushrooms.
4 cloves of garlic (or more!)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
salt and pepper and any herbs you want.
1 teaspoon lemon juice
a few cherry tomatoes, I used about 7 or 8, halved
a handful of kale, chopped loosely
Parmesan or Romano cheese.


Preheat oven to 450. Mix the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and olive oil together. Mix in a dash of salt and pepper. Place in a baking dish and cube three tablespoons of butter and place it over the mushrooms. Bake, making sure to stir every once in awhile, for 15-20 minutes or whenever the mushrooms are brown and soft. Once finished add the teaspoon of lemon juice and any fresh herbs you'd like. In a frying pan, heat up some butter or oil and lightly fry over low heat the cherry tomatoes and kale. Once kale is fully wilted and cherry tomatoes are slightly bursting from their skin, mix with cooked pasta and the mushroom/onion mixture. make sure the get all the juice from the mushrooms onto the pasta, it creates a light flavored sauce.
Top with some grated cheese.

Woo! Dinner! Fancy!

Latte

I just made my second latte from home ever. Thus proving I never have to leave the apartment. Ever. I can get all the necessities living home alone! Food! Tasty espresso delicacies! Human interaction!

Well. Not that. I haven't seen a human face in two days.


Anyways, all you need are the right tools for your own wonderful caffeinated experience. I got an espresso maker for christmas a few years ago in hopes that it'd cut down the money I spend on going out. Sadly, the milk frother that came with it was a pain in the butt and worked really poorly (not to mention was obscenely loud). I never bothered in buying a separate milk frother since then (I was too concerned that it wouldn't work) and have used my espresso maker in making americanos when I really needed to stay awake.

Then I got this baby for christmas.


So now I can make lattes that taste as fresh and I wouldn't know a difference between the ones I make and the ones I used to buy. It is a little more laborious. But the-small amount of- work that goes into making it makes it taste all the better. I'd recommend anyone who likes going out for coffee to invest in some tools to make it from home.

Soon I will invite people over and make lattes for them and become the most popular kid on the block.
The End.

Black Bean Cakes two ways.

SO! Happy new year!!

One of the things I will be trying this year is to eat out less and eat at home more. There is such a sense of accomplishment when I finish cooking a meal, and I almost always feel better after eating because I know what goes into it (even if I'm digesting cookies with 2 sticks of butter in them, at least I know it's in there).

I've decided to go ahead and start up this blog again. Because I refuse to let it die. And because it may help me in sticking with my goal if I can show off my tasty food to others.

Last night Evan and I were hanging out and made Black Bean patties from his Everyday Food Cookbook. We had them plain, with just a little big of yogurt-dill dipping sauce, but they'd also make great veggie burgers.

Black Bean Cakes (pretty much they are like patties)

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon cumin
4 scallions
6 garlic cloves
1 sweet potato, skinned and shredded
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 jalepeno pepper, diced with no seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and peper

You'll be broiling these in the oven instead of frying so this ends up being a pretty healthy dish. First, in a skillet fry up the garlic and scallions with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then add the Jalepino and the cumin and fry it all together for a few minutes. Put the black beans in a bowl and then add the cooked garlic,scallions,ect. Mash it up with a fork, you want about a quarter of the beans in there to be left whole. Fold in sweet potato. Add the egg and then the bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper.

On a baking tray, brush out the other tablespoon of oil. Form patties and place on the sheet. Broil these for about 8-10 minutes (my oven was NOT working last night so I had to cook mine for...oh...40 minutes. It never got hotter than 300...). Flip the patties and cook for another 2-3 minutes until it's brown and a little crispy. BAM! DONE!

Yogurt-Dill Sauce
Some yogurt, some lemon juice, some dill. BADDA BAM!

Since I had leftovers I made a tasty brunch. Re-heat the patties, fry an egg and put it on time, and garnish with a few scallions and salt and pepper. I think this would be awesome with a little hot sauce or ketchup, but I don't own any.