For the past 12 years I have been dedicated to food in various capacities: restaurant pastry chef, cooking instructor, cake decorator, OriginalCinn blogger, recipe writer, culinary project coordinator, and now I have a new life–I’m a mother. What has never changed through the years of cooking and baking professionally is that I’ve always made Dinner for Bae, my wife T. Whether I was working 9-5, or the late night restaurant shifts, I made dinner. When it was us in a little studio apartment, mattress on the floor, I made dinner. After I gave birth, I didn’t feel right again until I made dinner. So this whole new blog, dedicated to dinner will be part of my new life, and I’m pretty damn excited about it.
Starting a new blog is weird. Its foreign, but getting dinner on the table keeps me from dissolving. Its therapy, and the only way I ever truly feel like myself.
So…Dinner with Bae. Recipes and whatever else I decide to put on this thing to show whoever is reading who I am and what we eat for dinner. Tonight, its a special request from Bae who had a terrible, long, boss-lady type week—pasta with veggies and parm.
Serves 2, with leftovers and takes about 30-40 minutes to prepare
Gluten Free Pasta with Veggies and Parm
1 small yellow onion, sliced
2 cups small button mushrooms, halved
2 cups Japanese eggplant, sliced ½” half-moons
Quite a bit of olive oil, maybe ¼ cup total
Kosher salt and pepper to taste*
¼ tsp garlic granules
¼ tsp onion granules
12 oz Brown Rice Penne (or any pasta you prefer)
Grated Parmigiano cheese to your liking
Chiffonade (thin strips) of fresh basil
- place a large skillet over medium heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and stir frequently until just soft and slightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms, another two tablespoons of olive oil, and continue to stir frequently until the mushrooms have softened but have not browned. Add a generous pinch of salt and a smaller pinch of black pepper. Stir to combine, then add the eggplant, granulated onion and garlic, and stir.
- Cook the pasta in very salty water, time according to the instructions on the package. I do a taste test a couple of minutes prior to what it says on the package so I can avoid overcooked pasta. Meanwhile, continue cooking the onions, mushrooms, and eggplant until everything is soft and tastes delicious. Yes, taste test the veggies for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- Once the pasta is done, drain and add to the pan with the vegetables, then stir to combine.
- Serve with a generous heap of cheese, and some basil and snap off a sprig of basil to top it off.
*First post realness–I can’t in good conscience label how much salt and pepper to use in each recipe. The amount of salt or seasoning to add to a dish is a cultivated cooking technique relative to each person–“to taste” is a real thing! What I think is an adequate amount of salt, may be too salty for you, so add salt as you see fit. Plus, when I’m making dinner, I don’t measure it. But if I do, not saying I will, but if I do, I will certainly let you know how much if it is vital to the success of your dish. I will say that Kosher salt will always be used. Cool?
K thanks, dinnertime, bye!
