Something for Everyone

I’ve had a hankering for mushrooms lately, and stumbled on a recipe that would give me my mushroom fix, yet let them be easily picked out since neither The Husband nor Nicholas will go near them. When I saw a recipe for Fresh Mushroom Pasta Sauce on Foodie Bride’s site, I immediately printed it out. I had masses of fresh mushrooms to use up, and knew this would be perfect for a quick weeknight meal. I halved the olive oil, but other than that, I kept the recipe as is. Quick to make and tasty to boot, it was on the table in 15 minutes and everyone inhaled it, with The Husband and Nicholas eschewing the mushrooms, of course. No matter, more for me!

Nicholas has been asking for salad for the past few days, so with the pasta, I made another new recipe, this one from Dave Lieberman, his Pizza Parlor Salad. Another dish that was super simple to make and gobbled up quickly. Combining some of Nicholas’ favorite flavors of Kalamata olives and feta cheese, I knew it would go over well. Between the pasta dish and the salad, dinner was done in a grand total of 20 minutes, and I had everything on hand except for the iceberg lettuce – even better! Both recipes are definite repeat-worthy and perfect for weeknight meals.

Don’t forget … tomorrow is ARF/5-A-Day.

Until then…

A year ago today… lots of food and lots of dogs.

Fresh Mushroom Pasta Sauce
Courtesy of Foodie Bride’s blog
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used 1/4 cup instead)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Saute mushrooms, parsley and salt in 1 tablespoon olive oil, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and set aside. Pour remaining olive oil and black pepper over drained pasta and toss. Add mushrooms, toss and serve.

(Recipe didn’t specify how many it served, but 4 seems about right for a lb of spaghetti)

Feta, Black Olive, and Oregano Salad (aka Pizza Parlor Salad)
Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman
1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and roughly chopped
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/3 cup good quality feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup pitted black oil-cured Moroccan olives (I used Kalamata)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

In a large serving bowl, combine iceberg lettuce, red onion, feta and olives.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper, to taste. Whisk until well combined. Toss the salad gently with dressing and serve immediately.