After being at Highlands for a fungi class for almost two weeks, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) Cooking for one is no fun.
2) To many mushrooms can make you sick, not just the breathing of the spores, but the eating-even if they are supposed to be edible.
3) The diet that we have been eating, my entire class, has been different up here than it is at home, even though we prepare our own food.
4) I miss real food.
So I am giving you a recipe that I made recently for Price and I, Pesto Pasta Primavera, which is definitely real food!
Pesto Pasta Primavera (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1/3 box whole wheat spaghetti noodles
6-8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small banana pepper, diced
2-4 small green onions, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp pesto paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 diced sausage link such as polska kielbasa, if desired
(You can substitute one pack of pesto mix according to package directions for the olive oil, pesto paste, and garlic paste)
Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions. In last 3 minutes of cooking time, add the zucchini, onion, and pepper. Drain. Add the olive oil, pesto, and garlic paste. Stir well. Add the tomatoes and sausage if desired. Serve immediately.
P.S. This can be made with any vegetables available such as summer squash, spinach, mushrooms or carrots.
P.P.S. I have learned in my mushroom class that it is very dangerous to eat mushrooms raw as they can absorb chemicals from the surrounding environment (they will get cooked out). This means that even a safe, edible mushroom can make you sick if consumed raw.
Enjoy!
