Midnight Express Mushroom Pasta

If you looked in my pantry, you would probably think that I am preparing for a long winter storm. I have at least 2 cabinets and a few drawers filled with tea, at least 6 pounds of pasta, jars of dried beans and grains, an 8pd bag of potatoes, and other items that I consider essential. Pasta is something that I always have on hand. It's filling, cheap (if you buy the right kind), quick, and you can easily dress it up or down. For those of you with intestinal troubles, like me, pasta is also a great bland food for when you're not feeling so great. 

Since I was a kid, noodles with butter and salt has been one of my comfort foods. A few weeks ago, I had a thought: why not try tamari and vegan butter? I tried it over some GF soba noodles and was floored. The combo of umami tamari and rich vegan butter was more than a success, so now I'm hooked. Last night I took the time to fancy it up a little by adding mushrooms and green onions. I'm not sure why I'm calling it Midnight Express Mushroom pasta, but let's just roll with it. It's quick, cheap, and damn delicious! Make it as rich as you want it to be, just don't use too much tamari or it will be too salty.

Midnight Express Mushroom Pasta

• 1 pd GF pasta or soba noodles (I recommend soba)
• 3-4 cups thinly sliced cremini or shiitake mushrooms
• 2 TBS vegan butter, divided (do not substitute this with oil), plus more for serving
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced diagonally (you could use a whole bunch)
• 1.5 TBS GF soy sauce (tamari), plus more for serving

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your noodles according to package directions. Note that soba noodles are cooked differently than pasta. When finished, drain and rinse and return to your pasta pot.
2. Heat a small or medium sized skillet on medium heat. Add 1 TBS vegan butter and swirl it around the pan until melted. Add the mushrooms, a tiny pinch of salt, and stir. Cook mushrooms until buttery and soft, about 10 or more minutes. They should be wonderfully browned and almost caramelized.
3. Add the green onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Add the last 1 TBS of vegan butter and 1.5 TBS of tamari. Stir well and let cook for about 30 seconds, letting a thick sauce form. Immediately pour over the pasta.
4. Stir the mushroom mix into the pasta evenly. Taste for vegan butter and tamari, but do not add salt because that's what the soy sauce is for! I added about an extra tablespoon of vegan butter and two teaspoons of soy sauce. It just depends on how rich you want it to be!

Pantry Fried Rice

There are two things I always have on hand, no matter what: eggs (or any type of protein) and short grain brown rice (or any grain). When you take these two things and add vegetables, soy sauce, and other ingredients, you can create a delicious meal in less than 10 minutes! You can change the ingredients based on what you have or your preferences, just make sure you cook the longest cooking vegetables (like carrots + squash) in the pan before the shortest cooking vegetables (like garlic + green onions). You can also easily make this vegan by subbing crumbled tofu or edamame for the eggs!

Pantry Fried Rice

• 2 eggs (for vegan: 1/2 C finely crumbled tofu or 1 C thawed edamame)
• 2 C cold, cooked brown rice (or quinoa, millet, white rice, or jasmine rice)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced (or leave it out, if not on hand)
• 1-1.5 C vegetables (I used leftover steamed kale but feel free to use whatever you have and chop it small! See note above about cooking times)
• 1 TBS GF soy sauce
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• splash of rice vinegar
• sriracha for serving
• additional add-ins: fresh herbs like Thai basil or cilantro, toasted sesame seeds, thinly sliced carrots, finely chopped steamed broccoli, finely minced ginger

1. Preheat a skillet on medium heat. Add sesame oil and rice (I also added the kale here now to get it crispy and warm; add your long cooking vegetables now). Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, until starting to warm and crisp up. 
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a small bowl until smooth with a fork (for vegan, just crumble your tofu finely or thaw the edamame). 
3. Now add the garlic and green onions (if using; add other short cooking vegetables). Stir to combine and cook 1-2 minutes, until the green onions and garlic starts to brown lightly. Drizzle in the soy sauce and vinegar, and stir to combine. 
4. If using the eggs, make a well in the center of the rice and add them in. Let cook for about 1 minute or more, until starting to set on the bottom. Stir into the rest of the rice (for vegan, simply stir in the tofu and edamame, until browning).
5. Stir and flip the rice occasionally until the rice and eggs become lighly browned, about 3 minutes or more, until the eggs are cooked to your desired consistency. Serve with plenty of sriracha!