Thai Mushroom Ginger Coconut Curry

I first ate this dish when I was living in Prague.  My Danish friend and schoolmate Nicolai had me over for dinner, and was trying to explain to me how to make the dish since I thought it was so delicious.  Unfortunately, he didn't know the words for some of the mushroom types, but I eventually deciphered his recipe, which is actually quite simple once you know what mushrooms you're looking for.

Very rarely will you dumpster ALL the mushrooms that are in this soup, so don't feel horrible if you're missing some.  I just lucked out and happened to dumpster most of the ingredients prior to making it.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 pkg white mushrooms
- 1 pkg shitake mushrooms
- 1/2 pkg baby bella mushrooms
- 1 pkg oyster mushrooms
- 1 yellow onion
- As much ginger as your puny mouth can handle
- 1-3 cloves garlic (you can do more if you want)
- A handful of 3-minute noodles (rice noodles or ramen are ideal, but I've used spaghetti and it's worked out fine - spaghetti is pictured above since I was saving my rice noodles for a batch of pho)
- 1 can sweetened coconut milk (If it's unsweetened, just add a teaspoon or two of sugar) (coconut milk is a rare but exciting dumpster find in my experience)
- Water
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh basil
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
- Green or red curry paste (optional)

Cut up the ginger into very small chunks (but don't grate it or mince it).  Throw pieces into about 2-3 cups of boiling water for 15 minutes (you don't want it all to evaporate, though or else you'll lose the gingery flavor the water takes on).
ADD SALT.  This step is important.  If you don't, your mushrooms and pasta won't be as flavorful.
Add your onion, garlic, and mushrooms to the water and let it reduce a little bit - until there's about 1 cup left.
Next, add coconut milk and bring to a low simmer again.  If you're using real noodles vs. quickly cooking ones, you'll need to bring the liquid to a bit more of a boil.
Add your noodles.  If you're using real noodles, cook until the noodles are tender.  Otherwise, just drop your ramen or rice noodles in for about a minute, then take it off the heat.
Add to taste - go overboard on the basil and add maybe just a teaspoon of green curry for the best results.

Ingredients not dumpstered or donated: Ginger, salt & pepper

Pasta Bakes

Pasta bakes are all-encompassing. They make enough food for an army (or you for a week), are super easy, and clean your fridge of pretty much everything. That, and they're pretty tasty.

In the pasta bake above, I used:
- Pasta
- Spicy frozen breakfast sausage
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Tomato sauce
- Jalapeno Pepper
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Spices to taste (I used basil, oregano, salt & pepper)

Basically, you brown your meat (if you don't want to be a vegetarian about it), pre-cook your veggies a bit in olive oil (or the meat juices), boil your pasta, and stick it all in a tin-foil lined pan with some sauce and spices.

Now, stick the pan in the oven (at about 350-400 degrees Farenheit) for 15-20 minutes to let the cheese melt and get golden brown.

Now you have leftovers to take to work for the next millennium.

Items not dumpstered: Mozzarella cheese, parmesean cheese, olive oil, herbs (from garden), salt/pepper

Spinach-Basil-Cashew Pesto

Homemade pesto is a great way to make almost-wilted, almost-sad spinach (or basil) much happier and live longer. It's the route to take when your spinach is starting to wilt and isn't that appetizing in a salad anymore, but still usable for cooking. Pine nuts are traditional fare for pesto sauce, but I dumpster cashews more often (and they still taste great). You can also add parmesan cheese for protein.

SPINACH-BASIL-CASHEW PESTO
(vegan or vegetarian, depending on parmesan usage)

Ingredients:
- 1 bunch or bag of spinach
- 3 tbsp fresh garlic
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup raw, whole cashews
- 1/4-1/2 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch basil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese (optional)

Using a food processor, finely chop cashews & olive oil.
Add garlic and process again.
Add spinach, basil, & lemon juice (and nutritional yeast and parmesan cheese verrryyy slowly).
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Chill and serve.
In a tupperware, this pesto will last at least a month (without parmesan), oftentimes more.

So, what can you use pesto for?

Pesto tastes great with chicken, salmon, shrimp, tomatoes (bruschetta!), grilled cheese, eggs, and pasta. It's also great to use as a twist on pizza sauce.

Here's how I used my batch of pesto:

CHIK PATTY & PASTA WITH PESTO PARMESEAN CREAM SAUCE
(absolutely not vegan, but very much vegetarian)

Ingredients:
- 1 chik patty (highly recommended)/chicken breast/light protein thing meat whatever
- 2-3 cups pesto
- 1-2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (if it's not in the pesto already)
- 1-2 cups heavy whipping cream
- A butt-ton of nutmeg
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 sprig fresh basil
- A few cups of whatever pasta you have on hand (I used farfalle)

Throw your pesto in a pan at medium-low heat.
As the oil in the pesto starts to melt a bit, stir in cream slowly, mixing constantly with a wooden spoon.
Sprinkle in Parmesan, constantly stirring (this is important, or else burning is imminent).
Everything should start to melt together - don't let the sauce bubble much or the milk will scald.
Sprinkle in a liberal amount of nutmeg (super awesome tip: nutmeg makes all cream sauces taste better. The French know what's up).
Keep adding milk and cheese at medium heat until everything tastes balanced and yummy and the sauce reduces a bit (about 15-20 min).
(Adding the cream looks pretty. Who says food isn't aesthetic?)

Simultaneously cook up your pasta and chik patty/preferred protein.

Mix it all up, shred some fresh basil on top, and enjoy! This is a super-easy recipe that looks impressive.
A word of advice: Microwaving pesto is a bad idea. It separates the oil from everything else and makes your dish all oily and kinda gross. It still tastes good, but the texture is a little weird.

Items not dumpstered or donated: Olive oil, garlic, spices, basil (from window garden), nutritional yeast