PW's Pasta with Whiskey, Wine, and Mushrooms - Gluten and Dairy Free

I'm a fool for cream sauces.

I'm an even bigger fool when said cream sauce includes mushrooms.

Throw in some white wine and Jack Daniels, pour it over pasta and my satisfaction meter goes through the roof.

Being gluten and dairy-free you might assume that I've run across a handful of roadblocks in my efforts to indulge my addiction.

Cream + Pasta = A Different Lifetime

I used to have a problem indulging my addiction. But that was the past. Back when gluten and dairy-free was tantamount to dry, bland and lifeless dinners.

Let me tell you a secret. I don't have a problem indulging my addiction any more.

Welcome to this lifetime. The one where I discovered cashew cream. It is the answer to all my problems. Well, not ALL of them, just most of them.

Earlier this week, one of my favorite blogs—The Pioneer Woman—posted a recipe for Pasta with Whiskey, Wine, and Mushrooms. I began salivating. I need. I need now.

I couldn't wait to try this recipe with gluten-free Mostaccioli and dairy-free cashew cream. Lord have mercy, my satisfaction meter was hovering somewhere near the ceiling just thinking about dishing it up on my dinner table that night.

For you today... a gluten-free and dairy-free rendition of The Pioneer Woman's Pasta with Whiskey, Wine, and Mushrooms.

PW's Pasta with Whiskey, Wine and Mushrooms (Gluten and Dairy Free)


Ingredients:
24 ounces thickly sliced mushrooms (baby Portobellos are more than delicious in this recipe)
2 TBS olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
4 TBS olive oil (or even better, 2 TBS olive oil + 2 TBS butter)
1 whole large onion, peeled and sliced
1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc offers nice flavor and is easy to work with)
3/4 cups Whiskey (time to pull out the Jack friends—gulp, gulp, gulp)
1/2 cup chicken broth (or mushroom stock if vegetarian)
1 cup heavy cashew cream (1 cup dry raw cashews* + 3/4 cups plain rice milk + 1/8 tsp salt) — *cashews need to soak a minimum of 4 hours
12 ounces gluten free Mostaccioli, cooked Al Dente

The Preparation Method:

Earlier in the day, say, first thing in the morning, you need to start soaking the cashews in water. It's quite simple and will only take 30 seconds of your time. Seriously, the soaking step is what kept me from trying cashew cream for so long. Don't let this be you. Commit to the soak. It's not hard. Here, I'll break it down so you can see how easy it is.

1) Find a bowl.
2) Dump in 1 cup raw (unroasted, unsalted) cashews.
3) Pour water over the top until the nuts are sufficiently covered.
4) Set aside and don't think about it again until dinnertime.
5) Easy and done. Done and easy. Commit to the soak. You'll be happy you did.

A few things to know about cashew cream...

1) The longer the nuts soak, the smoother the sauce will be once blended. That said, you don't have to soak the nuts if you don't want to. It is possible to make cashew cream with nuts that haven't been soaked at all, or for just 1 hour, or for just 20 minutes. You should know that this will lead to a fairly gritty sauce. Some recipes can tolerate a gritty sauce. Others can't. Sauces that lay over pasta should be smooth, not gritty. Just thought you should know.

2) A healthy dose of salt is everything when we're talking cashew cream. Salt helps seal the deal as you attempt to use it as a replacement for real cream. Without salt, you will certainly be left questioning what all the hype is about.

You put your cashews to soak earlier in the day. You went off to play. Now it's dinner time. This recipe should take you about 30 minutes. Start to finish.

To begin, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lay thickly sliced mushrooms in a shallow baking pan and drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add a few dashes of salt and pepper over the top. Roast approximately 25 minutes—give or take—until the mushrooms are deeply browned. 

While the mushrooms are in the oven, it's time to make the cashew cream. Take the 1 cup of cashews that have been soaking all day (or not soaking at all) and add them to the blender. Add 3/4 cups plain rice milk and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Blend on high until a smooth sauce has formed. Smoothness is key here. Blend, blend and blend some more. Set aside.

In a large pot, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat (or 2 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons butter). If butter is a part of your diet, then you should by all means use butter here. Butter makes everything better. I, myself, don't tolerate butter very well so I use olive oil instead. It works just fine.

Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onions. Saute until they are soft and translucent. You may even choose to let them caramelize just a touch for added dimension.

Now add the whiskey and wine and allow to bubble for a minute or so. Add the broth and allow the liquid to reduce for a few minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of cashew cream. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Add mushrooms and pepper to taste. Continue simmering while sauce thickens. While thickening, taste for proper saltiness. Keep adding more salt until just right for your palate. If the sauce doesn't taste like it's drawing together well, keep adding dashes of salt until it does. Like I said before, the proper amount of salt is everything when cooking with cashew cream.

Pour sauce over gluten free pasta. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever noticed that Beyonce's got some moves? Just sayin'.

Beyonce - Run The World (Girls)

Butternut Squash Breakfast Tacos for Dinner

I cook dinner for my brood nearly every night of the week.

Only recently have I come to realize that many of my meals are a slight variation on a theme. Take for instance the taco theme. There are a million and one ways to make a tasty taco. Why not explore them all?

This recipe is one that came together on a moment's notice. It's not that I had a moment's notice to prepare dinner. For I know this is part of my job description from the moment I awake any given  morning. But a moment's notice because the day got away from me and it was suddenly 5pm and I had three hungry munchkins at my feet demanding I feed them.

With no real plan for dinner in that moment, I began fantasizing about placing a carry-out order at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. In all practicality—and back in reality—I began pulling items fast from the fridge and frying them up. First came the chorizo, then the red onion, red bell pepper and butternut squash. Next the egg. I threw it all together on top of a corn tortilla and called it a night. My sweet hubby was so impressed with the flavor he couldn't stop raving about my new taco creation in-between bites.

There was something remarkably special about the caramelized butternut squash that put this dish over the top into the "Best Taco Ever" category in The Little White Kitchen. Perhaps it will fill the role of "Best Taco Ever" in your Big Blue Kitchen, or Awkwardly Tight Yellow Kitchen, or So Large I Can Hardly See You Across the Room Gray Kitchen, or ....

Butternut Squash Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients:
1 pound ground Chorizo sausage
8 eggs, fried
3 TBS vegetable oil
1/2 large butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 large red onion, diced
salt & pepper, to taste
1 TBS brown sugar
8 soft corn tortillas

The Preparation Method:


This is going to require all four burners on your stovetop to be working at once. Get ready!

In one pan, over medium-high heat fry the chorizo sausage until cooked through. Set aside.

At the same time, in another pan, heat 3 TBS vegetable oil. Add the diced red onion, red bell pepper and butternut squash. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to suite your tastes. Saute over medium-high heat until the onions start to caramelize. Add 1 TBS brown sugar. Stir to combine. Continue to saute until onions are nicely caramelized and the butternut squash is easily pierced with a fork. Set aside.

At the same time, in a third pan, begin frying the eggs. We like ours over hard. Set the fried eggs aside.

In a fourth pan, heat a touch of vegetable oil and fry the corn tortillas to make them super pliable. Corn tortillas just aren't quite right unless they're gently fried.

Once sufficiently warm, pile each tortilla high with one fried egg, a heaping spoonful of chorizo, and a double-heaping spoonful of sauteed veggies. 

Yum-yum-ya-yum-yum.

------------------------------------------------------

This is the jam that inspired my four-burner stovetop session. I may have played it five times over during the fifteen minutes it took me to prepare this dinner. I may have broke out a few hot Bollywood moves on my linoleum floor. I may have busted into a few old-school breakdancing moves in front of my three young children. Or I may not have done any of those things.

Panjabi MC featuring Jay-Z — Beware

Simple Joy

Once a week I slip out of the house at the break of dawn for some me time. It's one of my sanity strategies. On my walk the other morning I saw these sunflowers beautifully illuminated by the rising sun. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction in my soul. Hooray for getting out early and enjoying nature like I'm the only person on Earth it was created for.

Good morning starshine. The Earth says hello. You twinkle above us. We twinkle below. 

[Name That Tune]

Five Minutes Alone

A couple of months before I started this here Dance While You Cook blog, I had an idea for a website that I believed would help validate my chaotic existence as a full-time stay-at-home mother to three wild and unruly children.

I envisioned the site as a community space to share photos of the crazy things little kids can do in those horrifying moments when you realize the pip-squeaks have been utterly too quiet for entirely too long. 

I pray I'm not the only mother who walks down the stairs to a pantry ripped apart, tots covered in vaseline head to toe, fresh baked birthday cakes smeared all over the cupboard doors or a carton of eggs smashed on the dining room floor. 

Knowing that other capable and loving parents go through this same course of events could be satisfying to my stay-at-home mothering ego.

That said, I went through a long creative process about what the site would be called. I drank a lot of iced chai. I ate a whole ton of organic dark chocolate. I landed on the perfect idea. I bought the url right then and there. 

And then I told my closest friends. They laughed. They snickered. They blushed. 

They told me I should NOT start a website with that name. They thought it would too easily be confused with a pornography site... or worse.

But I've been thinking about it lately. Scenes like this happen all too often in my daily existence. I need an outlet. Maybe you do too?

Five Minutes Alone is the place where I'll be posting the cold hard evidence of those instances when I leave the children alone for five minutes only to find an hour's worth of clean-up as my punishment.

It'll be good for a laugh. 

It'll be good for validation.

It'll be good for our collective mental health.

Please, please do join-in the fun by uploading your photos to the Five Minutes Alone Flickr Group.

It'll make me feel better.

If folks choose to contribute, I'll be regularly posting all the great photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog so we can all laugh together.

If I'm the only woman on the planet who encounters this reality, I'll be posting my own photos on the Five Minutes Alone blog and I'll be crying to myself.

Super Thick Strawberry Almond Milkshakes

I may have mentioned how ridiculously hot my house is lately. We have no air conditioning, very little cross ventilation and one ceiling fan. That said, I have been ridiculously under-motivated to spend any time in the kitchen creating new recipes. Unless they are frozen. And include ice. And can be consumed through a straw.

Today I bring to you a recipe for something that will cool you off and replace a meal if you so choose. 

It's a milkshake. Not a true milkshake because there is no cow's milk in it. In fact, when I told my children that we were having milkshakes for dinner they asked me with such sweet innocence, "Mama, what's a milkshake?" It's a funny thing being dairy-free for so long. The children are not entirely aware of all the divine pleasures that exist out there in the world of eats and treats.

The unique thing about this milkshake, besides the absence of milk of course, is the addition of oatmeal. For months now I've been considering creative ways to use the leftover oatmeal from the morning's breakfast. 

Finally, the excess oatmeal has found a happy home in my Super Thick Strawberry Almond Milkshakes.

Super Thick Strawberry Almond Milkshakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 cup smooth almond butter (or less if you don't prefer your shake to be sooooo thick)

1 cup cooked oatmeal

2 cups frozen strawberries

1 banana, fresh or frozen

2 cups ice

1 1/2 TBS honey

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

The Preparation Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Turn on high and puree until smooth.

For the Visual Learners Among Us:

Begin by measuring out your ingredients. One and a half cups almond milk—original or vanilla, sweetened or unsweetened—whatever your preference. I love, love, love Almond Breeze!

One cup creamy almond butter. Use half this amount if you would rather your Super Thick Milkshake move more quickly through the straw when all is said and done.

One cup precooked oatmeal. I love, love, love Bob's Red Mill Certified Gluten Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats.

Two cups frozen strawberries, or more for a stronger strawberry presence.

One banana. Use a frozen one for proper milkshake thickness. Use a fresh one if that's all you have because you've made smoothies for dinner every night this week and you don't have any frozen bananas left.

Two cups ice cubes.

One and a half tablespoons honey.

One half teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

Blend it all up on high for a few minutes until you've achieved a Super Thick Strawberry Almond Milkshake.

 

Insert straw, enjoy the cool refreshment and sit outside under a shady tree where the cool wind blows.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Now that we've all cooled off a bit—let's dance!

Toby Keith - Beer For My Horses featuring Willie Nelson

Simple Joy

Summertime Free Creative Play... There is nothing on Earth quite like it. 

Little kids dreaming of being bigger. 

Big kids wishing we could steal back our younger years. 

Around and around we go. 

Cherish the moment, my friends. 

Breath deep. And find yourself a moment to cherish today. 

A Diversion: La Iguana

This summer in The Little White Kitchen I've been doing my fair share of dancing but have been majorly slacking in the recipe creation department. There are a number of reasons for this, namely...

1. I have been out-of-town or preparing to be out-of-town for nearly half of the summer.

2. I have been sick with a relentless head cold (could I be developing allergies for the first time in my life?) for the other half of the summer.

3. I do not have air conditioning in my house and it is 87 degrees in the kitchen before I even begin thinking about cooking dinner.

4. I have three rowdy children home all day, every day, and barely have a moment to think straight let alone concoct a fancy meal plan.

So there you have it. It's been salad and pasta and BBQ and tacos for this family for the past nine weeks. Despite how much I love summer, there is a little part of me that is longing for the rhythm and routine that comes with the start of a new school year. And then there will surely be more scrumptious gluten and dairy-free recipes coming your way.

Until then, a diversion from the packing and unpacking, the heat and the utter chaos constantly unfolding on the premises. 

La Iguana and Other Creatures: A Poem

'Twas an early summer day nearish the Pacific,

When up in the tree came a sight most terrific.

Over the branches and through the leaves,

Up climbed a massive iguana we just couldn't believe.

Small glimpses of its body didn't reveal quite its size,

Until he maneuvered out into the open to catch some flies.

He hung around for hours—so majestic, so grand.

A six foot long iguana—King of the Land.

Simple Joy

Please pardon the one-day delay in my Simple Joy this week. Normally I post one simple joy from my week on Monday mornings. But this week I'm posting on Tuesday morning, as you can clearly see.

I took a weekend trip to Boston for business and am just now getting an opportunity to reconnect with this here bloggy-blog.

Boston is a delightful city, one that I hope to return to many times over. One evening after a productive day of work I found such joy gazing out my hotel window at the setting sun over the cityscape.

I simply can't get enough of the architecture in big cities. In Boston, there was something historic and regal to see at nearly every turn. As I sat and watched the sun set with great pleasure behind many of these buildings, I imagined all of the people throughout recent history who have stood gazing out this same window. Watching this same sun set. Dreaming of tomorrow. I was having a moment. My business partner may have thought I was crazy, but I was having a moment.

I hope to see you again soon Boston. Until then, stay historic and regal.

Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup by Health Valley

There are moments in every woman's life where a good can of chicken noodle soup is downright necessary. As a gluten-free family, we long ago bid goodbye to this modern convenience.

I like to make chicken noodle soup from scratch. It's better that way. But there are times when this mama needs it to come from a can.

Take this week for instance. It's the middle of the summer. A massive head cold hits. It lasts longer than any stay-at-home-mom can reasonably afford.

I need comfort in a can and I need it quick. Campbell's chicken noodle soup has always been one of my favorite go-to comfort foods when I'm under the weather. Comfort foods are crucial to my healing. Canned comfort foods are crucial to my mental well-being.

It has been years since I've indulged in this canned comfort food tradition with chicken noodle soup. Until this week, that is. I was so pleased to find Health Valley's Gluten Free Cafe line on the shelves at my supermarket. And to think, they offer a gluten and dairy free chicken noodle soup! I was thrilled. Well, as thrilled as a woman with a head full of soreness and congestion can possibly be.

And it was good! Very good! Hearty thick noodles, wholesome bites of chicken, and perfectly mushable carrots and celery. I was pleased. Very pleased. 

Thank you Health Valley for thinking of us gluten free mamas who need our canned comfort foods every once in a while!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is not a paid advertisement. I like soup from a can every now and again. Who can blame me?

Please note that companies can change their ingredients at will. If working with a severe food allergy always double check the ingredient list before consuming this product. 

Nifty Rain Boots ~ Join in the Kickstarter Fun and Win a Pair

Have you heard of Kickstarter? I don't know what planet I've been living on, but I hadn't heard of this most fantastically awesome concept until today. Somebody dig me out from the dust on planet Mars, please.

Earlier this morning, I unassumingly opened an email from an artist friend of ours to find my heart skipping a beat and nearly jumping out of my chest.

Rain boots? Kickstarter? What's this?

Jessica Swift is a remarkable woman living in Atlanta, GA spreading her message of love and empowerment through color, patterns and positive messages. Her artwork graces the walls of my home in two spots. I never tire of the whimsical cityscape that sets the tone for my living room.

Jess and I met a long time ago when she and my hubby worked together at the art museum in town. She moved away years ago to continue her pursuit as a full-time artist. Her smile will never leave my heart. It's contagious.

Besides her contagious smile and darling laugh, she is a highly talented artist with a deeply soulful spirit. Here's what she has to say about the mission behind her work:

We are all powerful human beings who deserve to be happy. We are each profoundly unique, and possess the ability to make our wildest dreams come true. And I believe that color and art are essential parts of living into our dreams and in experiencing life in a deeply happy and fulfilling way!

And with that, she's spreading the love in the form of Patterned Rain Boots with Secret Messages.

Now comes the cool part.

As with any dreamer who wants to make something out of nothing, start-up costs are necessary to bring the vision forth. This is where Kickstarter comes in. Jessica is funding her project by accepting donations through the Kickstarter program. The thing that makes Kickstarter so genius is their "all or nothing funding" rule. A project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Read more about this brilliant concept for funding creativity and the arts here.

And now the really cool part.

Jessica is giving away a pair of her most amazing rain boots to one lucky contributor to her Kickstarter project as a celebration for reaching her funding goal. The project will carry on! There will be beautiful rain boots on the streets! In the puddles! In the mud! I need me a pair of this goodness. You know how I like to splash in the rain.

Any and all contributors, even those contributing $1, will be entered into a random drawing for a pair of boots! To qualify, all contributions must be made before Thursday, July 21 at 8am.

Click here if you are so inclined to contribute to this fabulous creative project and take your chances at being a winner!

Go ahead now. Get used to seeing yourself in some sexy colorful rain boots. You deserve it!

Simple Joy

This photo was taken with my iPhone

It's not often I take the opportunity to lay still and gaze up at the clouds.

This week I made a point of it. Every day.

I laid out my blanket.

Flat on my back I lay to watch the clouds roll by.

I made sure to remain as still as possible.

As a busy mother, this practice was incredibly therapeutic.

I'm still asking myself why I haven't made a practice of cloud gazing sooner.

Slowing down. Breathing. True joy.

Another photo taken with my iPhone

Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

Garage Sale Rule of Engagement 

#2: Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

This summer I have a new found fervor for accomplishing small projects around the house. Could it be due to the fact that my dear husband has finally finished school and I feel a thousand tons lighter on my feet? Indeed, I do believe so. 

One such project that has been on my list for far too long is finding a workable solution to the mass insanity I call a jewelry box.

For years now, I have been looking for an alternative to my current arrangement for all my earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Truly, I do not have many of the aforementioned items, but what I do have has been crying out for help.

From the outside, this four-tiered jewelry holder looks nice enough. The inside, however, is a different story. 

I bought it at a garage sale and was delighted that my bodily adornments would finally have a home. Up until that fine summer day years ago the top of my dresser was scattered with heaps of tiny metal, leather, ceramic and plastic jewels. It was a practice left over from my teenage years. A practice that drove my mother crazy. Now that I'm a mother myself, it was a practice that was starting to drive me crazy too. I won't even get started on how my husband felt about this practice. All I can say is I'm surprised I even have any jewelry left.

It didn't take long before the dreaded table mess transformed into the dreaded Box of Mangle and Frustration.

Earrings would be tangled up with one another.

Necklaces intertwined in tight knots.

And if I'm being completely honest with you, I barely have time to take a daily shower, let alone time enough to sit around and patiently detangle intertwined ropes and hooks. If I'm planning on adorning myself with jewels, it's got to be fast or it ain't happenin'.

I had been dreaming of a simple wire rack to hang nicely on my bedroom wall hoping to bring a semblance of organization to this mass pile of ornaments. I realize they sell things made for this purpose at most major retail outlets, but since I typically do not purchase things like this at normal stores, I sat around waiting for the jewelry rack of my dreams to magically appear. I waited. And I waited. It didn't appear. I couldn't find a single jewelry rack for sale at the garage sales and thrift stores I was frequenting.

Which brings me to Garage Sale Rule of Engagement #2: Open Your Eyes to Creative Solutions

With no suitable jewelry rack in sight, I readjusted my perspective on what I was looking for. Immediately, almost magically, I set my sights on this shabby chic iron wall hanging. It is a candle holder for tealights. The sticker on the back says PartyLite. It is the perfect jewelry rack for my bedroom.

Who knew that all this time I would find exactly what I was looking for in a PartyLite wall hanging? I was certainly surprised. And I couldn't be happier!

Ice Cube Pops

I realize this is no revolutionary recipe. Heck, it's not even a recipe. It's more of a sanity strategy if nothing else.

This Mama needs plenty of sanity strategies to make it through the day in one piece. Luckily, the other night when I was feeling overly tired and unwell I got myself into bed at 7:30 and fell fast sleep. In my stead, Dada had an evening of fun and adventure with the littles in the kitchen.

These orange juice ice cube pops were just one result of the troop's freewheelin' late night capers.

The concept is simple. Yet, somehow, I have never done this with my children in all my years in my role as mother. I suppose it takes Dada and his freewheelin' ways to come up with such an exciting plan for morning joy.

Pour your favorite juice into an ice cube tray. Cover with plastic wrap so the toothpicks remain upright. Insert toothpicks. Wake up in the morning and dig in.

Enter the Sanity Strategy. 

Imagine if you will...

Mama is still in bed trying her darndest to sleep in, if there is such a thing with young children in the house. She hears the pitter patter of little feet in the kitchen. Dining room chairs are being pulled over the hardwood floor to the freezer making a highly undesirable noise at such an early hour. Little hands reach deep in to the back of the cooler box and grab the little blue tray of delight. They start in on the ice cube pops. Everything is quiet. For minutes. For tens of minutes. Pop after pop and the children are quiet. And delighted. Mama nuzzles her head under the covers for just a few minutes more. All is well with the world.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Gregory Alan Isakov - If I Go I'm Goin'

Simple Joy

It has been decades since the last time I found myself dancing in the rain. If my memory serves me right, I believe I was three feet tall and wearing Big Bird galoshes.

This week, however, I reacquainted myself with the glorious feeling of dancing my heart out in the middle of a wicked downpour.

I had the good fortune of attending an outdoor concert at the most majestic outdoor venue on the planet. Even with nine hours of unrelenting rain the place was packed. The rain never stopped. Yet no one went home. 10,000 sopping wet human souls enjoying music together—singing along to every song—it's what memories are made of.

So the next time you see clouds building up to unleash a mad fury of miniature water bombs over you, quick grab your galoshes, crank up the tunes and get out there.

Splash around in the street. Stomp in puddles. Feel each and every droplet bouncing off your skin, trickling down to the ground with the force of gravity. You'll be glad you did!