Spaghetti Carbonara

Bacon.

This is why I can never become a vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 T garlic, minced
3 large eggs
1 c Parmesan, grated, plus extra
Pepper

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, and stir in cheese. Set aside. Cook pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, crisp bacon over medium heat, rendering the fat (3/4 minutes) in a large skillet. Remove bacon and set aside. Add garlic to the bacon drippings and sauté briefly.

When pasta is done, use tongs to move it to the skillet, coating in the bacon drippings and garlic. Pour egg mixture over the hot pasta, stirring to coat evenly. Add bacon and stir. Thin as needed with pasta water. Season liberally with pepper. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan, alongside green peas.

Garlic Scape Pesto

These, my friends, are some of my new favorite things--garlic scapes.

This summer I'm working as the Garden Intern for the Hoosier Hills Food Bank here in Bloomington, IN. When we were checking our garlic a few days ago, we learned to our surprise that we have a hard neck variety of garlic, which shoots out these curly, whimsical scapes as the garlic develops. We snipped the scapes off so that the plant would focus its energy on the bulb below. 

Turns out, scapes make excellent pesto. Spicy, but subtle. 

Ingredients

2 c scapes (bulbs trimmed off)

1/2 c Parmesan 

1/2 c toasted walnuts (pine nuts/pecans)

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, chop scapes, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and walnuts until finely minced. Drizzle in oil while machine is on. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. This keeps well refrigerated for 1-2 weeks. I froze half in cubes. Serve over pasta, quinoa, roasted veggies, or a crusty piece of bread.  You really can't go wrong here. 

Mushroom Bolognese

My brother Mike is a picky eater. To this day, he's never eaten a green vegetable. Growing up with a single-mom who worked and a picky sibling meant that our family had a limited range of meal options that worked for everyone. One thing Mike liked was spaghetti. Spaghetti with ground beef and jarred tomato sauce, to be exact. 

"Spaghetti? Again?" sums up home-cooked meals in the Wooten household through the 90s and 00s. What my brother chooses to eat amazes all of us. At a recent Thanksgiving, my sister nudged me and nodded towards Mike. Mike, totally oblivious, had his usual massive helpings of turkey and rolls, but on the side he had a tiny spoonful of something else: Stove top stuffing. The rest of the table slowly realized the magnitude of this event, eventually bursting into laughter. Of course, Mike only said "What?...What's so funny?" This was the first time anyone had seen Mike eat stuffing. It was a Thanksgiving miracle.

I've got my fingers crossed for mashed potatoes this year.

Mike's spaghetti habit meant that we consumed countless gallons of meat sauce over the years. Brown 1 pound of ground beef. Add a jar of sauce. Boring, basic meat sauce. I am so over it.

But, I am so not over pasta. I needed to get creative with my tomato sauce. And here's the answer: mushrooms. Mushrooms are a great meat-substitute for an unconvinced carnivore. This Mushroom Bolognese is my vegetarian answer to the traditional Bolognese, typically made with ground pork and/or beef. You could use any fresh mushroom you like, but I used cremini. Take your time and let the flavors develop. Feel free to make less pasta and freeze leftover sauce for later. Vegan? No problem, just skip the butter and Parmesan, and replace honey with agave or sugar.

Mushroom Bolognese
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. butter (optional)
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 lb. mushrooms, diced
• 1 t. garlic, minced
• 2 16 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. red wine
• 1 t. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pinch pepper flakes
• 1 T. honey
• water
• Parmesan, grated (optional)
• 1 lb whole wheat pasta

In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and mushrooms, and cook for 15 minutes until caramelized and fragrant, seasoning with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and pepper flakes, stirring frequently. Add garlic, and cook briefly. Add tomatoes, wine, and honey. Stir and simmer on low until reduced by half (about 20 minutes). Add water to cover about 1 inch, and simmer on low until reduced by half (about 20 minutes). At this time, bring large pot of water to boil to cook pasta.

Remove the sauce from heat. Puree sauce with an immersion blender or a food processor. Drop the pasta and cook until al dente. Return sauce to heat, and taste. Season as needed. You may need extra honey if it is too acidic. The flavors will continue to develop the longer the sauce simmers. Add pasta water to thin if necessary. Serve over cooked pasta with Parmesan if you like. Enjoy!

Macaroni & Cheese

If the only mac n' cheese that you know is the kind that comes out of a box, then you don't know mac n' cheese. This comforting dish can be altered to please your own taste-buds by picking a cheese or two (or three!) that you truly adore. If you're going to go through the trouble of making it at home though, go ahead and use some good cheese. I got a block of Sharp Vermont Cheddar for this batch. I also mixed in a handful of kale that I had previously blanched and frozen for some extra nutrition. You could also use spinach or any other green. I served it with a breaded chicken cutlet.


Adapted from Joy.

• 8 oz. pasta, cooked, drained
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 1/4 cups shredded cheddar
  
• half onion, chopped
• pinch paprika
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs, little butter/oil
  

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 1.5 quart pan (I used a loaf pan). In a medium sauce pan, melt butter, add flour, and whisk roux together for a couple minutes. Add milk slowly, whisking out all the clumps. Add onion and paprika, then simmer low for 15 minutes until thickened frequently stirring. Remove from heat, and add 2/3 of the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in pasta (add greens at this point if you want). Transfer half of the mixture to baking dish and top with half of the remaining cheese. Add rest of the pasta mixture, the rest of the cheese, and top with bread crumbs and a drizzle of olive oil or a few dots of butter. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before eating.

Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

I bought a 16 oz. container of cottage cheese and was waiting to buy some fresh fruit to enjoy it with but then I came up with this instead. I warn you that my measurements are not exact, but that is part of the fun of cooking.

• 2 containers of frozen spinach
  
• 1 pint fresh mushrooms
  
• Your favorite tomato sauce (or make your own!)
• 16 oz container cottage cheese (or ricotta)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (any hard Italian cheese works)
• 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella
• 16 oz box lasagna sheets (I used about 3/4 of the box)

First, get your water boiling for your pasta as this takes the longest! Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In the microwave, defrost your spinach and then wring it out in a clean dishcloth to get rid of all the extra water (Be careful it is very hot!). In a medium-high pan, brown your mushrooms in butter or olive oil, seasoning as you please. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix together your cottage cheese, eggs, and half of the Romano and Mozzarella cheeses (a handful of chopped parsley would be nice). Season with pepper.

Spray a large baking dish with oil, and carefully line the bottom with the pasta sheets. Spread 1 cup of the cottage cheese mixture onto the pasta. Top with more pasta, then spread half of your mushroom and spinach onto that. Top with 1 cup of your tomato sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of the cottage cheese mixture, with 2 layers of spinach-mushroom tomato sauce in between. When you get to the top, spread the last of your tomato sauce on top of the pasta, and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella and romano cheeses on top.

Bake in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes until hot and bubbly, and the cheese is golden brown- like this-

Creamy Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" with Shrimp, Peppers, and Onions

My mom and I devoured this! We just happened to have peppers and onions, but almost any veggie would work here. Mushrooms would be nice as well. We also had some leftover shrimp and threw those on top to round out the meal.

For 2 entrees:

• 1 spaghetti squash
  
• 1 cup frozen peppers, onions
• 8 large cleaned shrimp, cooked
  
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp parmesan
• salt and pepper to taste
• butter and flour, tbsp each for roux

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut your squash in half, remove the seeds and brush the inside with oil. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Roast on a sheet pan for 1 hour. Cool slightly before stringing flesh with a fork into "pasta." Meanwhile, in a large skillet saute peppers and onions in a bit of oil or butter until translucent and soft. Move veggies to one side of skillet and melt butter in one side. Sprinkle flour over the butter and stir until light brown. Whisk roux and pour milk in slowly. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Mix everything together with veggies and squash. Add parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. You can also add dried seasonings or fresh herbs if you want! Top with shrimp! We served ours as is with a fresh bagette.