30 Minute Meals? I don't think so, Rache!

If there is anything on earth that tastes as great as gnocchi, the government is probably hiding it in a lab somewhere. It rules!!! Fast, easy to cook and self-timing. Unlike other pasta there's no throw-it-against-the-wall, or bite test to see if it's ready. Dump it in boiling water, and when it floats to the top it's done. Usually in about 3 minutes. Score!

So, gnocchi and mushrooms is something you can cook in a flash, and it could not be easier. One pot, one skillet, and a slotted spoon.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, add 1-2 tsps of salt.

In the skillet, heat 1 1/2 tsps of olive oil and then throw in about 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms, (or chopped if that's easier). Push them around with the spoon, add a little salt, a little pepper (white pepper is great, but not essential) and a pinch of thyme.

Now your pot of water should be boiling, so throw in about 3/4 c of gnocchi. Then check your mushrooms. If they are brown, and a lot smaller, turn down the heat to medium, tip in a splash or two of beef broth, and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. By this time, your gnocchi have floated to the top of the pot, so dip them out of the water with the slotted spoon, and toss them into the mushrooms. Mix them around a bit so they soak up the sauce then slide it all into a bowl. You can throw a little grated parm on top, but frankly, I like them just like this.

The cool thing about this is that you can get majorly fancy with it if you want. Cook some bacon in with the mushrooms and skip the olive oil, or you can get a variety of shrooms. You can make it creamy by stirring in a little sour cream right before you serve. You can make this for a crowd if you just multiply the ingredients.


Make this one night and you will thank me for the rest of your life!

Boxed In

"We recycle absolutely EVERYTHING!"

My friend Heather was, as usual, trumpeting her green-ness at me long distance. Heather is very green. Heather and husband eat nothing that was produced more than 100 miles from where she lives (not counting the Imported German beers and fine Italian wines they favor.) Heather does not wear fur (fine leather shoes and bags do not disturb her conscience, though.) Heather sorts her recycling into seven separate bins, each with its own little name tag that she stenciled herself on recycled paper.

I strive to be that green, although without the attendant smugness. And though my entire apartment is about the size of Heather's kitchen, I actually did manage to get myself a nice little recycling scheme recently. Those cool cubes that Target sells at back-to-school time make fantastic recycling sorters, and since they stack, I can have them in a corner of the kitchen and take up very little space.

I figured out I wasn't going to be able to recycle EVERYTHING. Mainly because the public recycling area I can get to doesn't take everything. For example, corrugated cardboard is okay to leave, but the shiny cardboard that forms the outer wrapping of virtually every other product in the grocery store? Nope, sorry...that's garbage.

Unless you can turn them into something useful, like...gift boxes! Check out this instruction guide and use up all those stray Corn Pops boxes. After all, Christmas is coming.