Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas

Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas
This time of year, I always feel like I am just gasping for air, struggling to stay caught up, and trying to remember where I’m supposed to be and when.  And if you have kids, whew…I don’t, but I remember being one and this time of year was even crazier back then with all of the end of the school year stuff.

Somewhere in there, between the string of weddings and graduations and band concerts, you’ve got to find time to eat.  Just because we’re all busy doesn’t mean we want to compromise on flavor or trade a satisfying meal for garbage picked up in a drive-through.  Pasta dishes like this one are perfect endings to crazy days.  The orecchiette is dressed with a touch of Mascarpone so it feels a bit indulgent and completely comforting.  Nearly every piece of orecchiette cups a pea and there are plenty of sautéed mushrooms to keep that feeling of indulgence from transforming to guilt.  Best part?  It’s ready in the amount of time it takes to boil the pasta.  Nice.

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Spring Vegetable Soup with Poached Eggs

Spring Vegetable SoupAfter single-handedly consuming almost a whole batch of potato, leek & artichoke soup last week, I thought I had soup out of my system for a while.  That was, until yesterday at breakfast.  As I flipped through the latest issue of bon appétit, I kept landing on the same few pages–a gorgeous spread of recipes featuring fresh spring produce and daydream-inducing photos of lush green farmland.

Of all the recipes in the article, it was the simple bowl of spring egg drop soup that really caught my eye. It looked so lovely, charmingly green and everything spring has to offer spooned into one bowl.  Seems I hadn’t quite had my fill of soup after all.

Breakfasting [Read more…]

Lamb Bolognese Sauce with Peas & Mint

Lamb Bolognese with Peas & Mint

I’ve been trying so hard to think spring and be optimistic, but spring in Minnesota is really just an extension of winter.  I’m enjoying the fact that it’s staying light past 7 pm.  That is awesome.  I’ve been able to find baby artichokes and good asparagus at the grocery store.  Excellent, I can taste spring, even if I can’t see it.  I bought a new sundress in anticipation of better weather.  I finally spotted my first robin of the season.  Who cares if it was perched on a nasty, gray pile of snow?  Positive thoughts, think positive thoughts.

Enter, Lamb Bolognese Sauce with Peas & Mint.  It’s the perfect way to celebrate spring flavors in a realistic, still-cooped-up-in-the-house-and-freezing-my-behind-off kind of way.

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