Mushroom Pasta

This is a fast but tasty meal for a weeknight, great with a salad.

Ingredients:

olive oil

2-3 garlic cloves

mushrooms (5-7 large mushrooms or about 10 small ones)

tarragon, parsley, and/or other herbs

pasta (about 50 g per person)

water

2 eggs

truffle oil

black pepper

Instructions:

1. Warm the oil in a frying pan and chop the garlic and add it to the pan.

2. Brush the mushrooms clean, slice them, and add them to the pan. Sprinkle with the herbs.

3. While the mushrooms are cooking, boil the pasta in the water.

4. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, then beat the eggs in with the pasta, stirring the whole time.

5. Stir in the mushrooms, season with truffle oil and black pepper, and serve.

The Joy of Salads

Salads are such an easy, healthy dinner, and they can be varied endlessly. A recent salad consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, radish sprouts (for some zing), hard-boiled egg, and flaxseeds, and I made a simple dressing from olive oil, ume plum seasoning, and tamari. It was delicious and filling.

To vary, use different nuts or seeds or sprouts. Add peppers, olives, shredded beetroot or carrots, or other vegetables. Even some fruits, such as apples, work well. For dressings, use lemon juice, yogurt, herbs, vinegar, and various oils. And so on. Be imaginative!

Vermicelli Dessert

This is like rice pudding, but with noodles instead of rice, and not baked.

Ingredients:

½ cup – 1 cup milk (I used rice milk)

1-2 tbsp sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

50 g raisins

50 g almonds

75 g vermicelli noodles

Instructions:

1. Warm the milk with the sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan for about 5-10 minutes, until the milk reduces somewhat.

2. Add the raisins and almonds and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Pour into bowls and serve.

Cashew “Cheese”

This is similar to the almond cheese I posted not that long ago, but it has a more distinct cashew flavour, somewhat like cashew butter. This means that it’s not the best raw cheese to use in pasta, for example, unless you like cashews. It is good on toast or as an appetizer. You can season it however you like (I give a suggestion below)

200 g cashews

water

2 probiotic capsules (from a health food store), or about 2 tsp probiotic powder

1-2 tbsp yeast flakes (such as Engevita)

1 tbsp coconut palm sugar or honey or regular sugar

1 pinch salt

1 tsp black pepper, optional

Instructions:

1. Soak the cashews in water overnight.

2. Drain the cashews and grind them in a food processor or blender until fairly small (they can look like the ground almonds you buy in the store or a bit bigger). Add a little water if you need to.

3. Open the probiotic capsules and pour the powder in.

4. Mix well. Put in a bowl, cover the cashews with plastic wrap so the plastic is touching the cashews, and then leave the cashews to ferment for 24-48 hours. Taste after 24 hours to see if it’s sour/cheesy enough for your taste.

5. Season the “cheese” by mixing in yeast flakes, sugar, salt, and black pepper, or any other combination of flavours.

6. Serve on crackers or toast or in a bowl as a dip.

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

1¾ cups flour (200 g)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp sugar

1¼ cups milk (about 300 ml) (I used rice milk)

1 egg

200 g blueberries (I used frozen)

oil

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients except the oil together.

2. Warm oil in a frying pan and make 2-4 pancakes at a time.

3. Serve warm with agave or honey.

Queer Quotes

These names: gay, queer, homosexual are limiting. I would love to finish with them. We're going to have to decide which terms to use and where we use them. For me to use the word "queer" is a liberation; it was a word that frightened me, but no longer.

--Derek Jarman

I'd add that we're not yet at a place where we can get rid of labels, but I'm hopeful that we will some day... 

Pasta with Raw Cheese

One evening, I was feeling weak and told M I was just going to make a simple, dull pasta dish. It turned into anything but dull. It was delicious and I couldn’t wait to eat the leftovers the next day for lunch. The raw cheese added a great flavour.

Ingredients:

broccoli

pasta (about 50 g per person)

olive oil

1 tin artichoke hearts

1 tin tomatoes

olives

raw cheese (see recipe a few posts back; you can also use regular cheese if you prefer)

truffle oil

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the broccoli and boil it and the pasta together for 10-15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Drain and add the artichokes and warm for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice and simmer.

3. Slice the olives and add them.

4. Serve the pasta and broccoli topped with the tomato sauce. Add spoonfuls of raw cheese and drizzle with truffle oil.