Long distance locavore: Linguine with foraged chanterelles from Seattle, cooked in Chicago

Mushrooms, shallots, sage, cream and Parmesan combine to make a rich, satisfyingly “meaty” vegetarian meal. Recipe for Sautéed Chanterelles with Cream and Linguine Fini below.

chanterelle-mushrooms

The day before Marion cooked these chanterelles in our Chicago kitchen, they were in a stall in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Not much more before that, they had been in a nearby forest. We were in the market on the last morning of our first visit to the Pacific Northwest. Our luggage was already overstuffed with food purchases, many in glass containers padded with laundry in the hope they would survive the flight home. But when we saw these mushrooms, we knew we had to squeeze some into our carry-on bags. I’ll turn the kitchen over to Marion now and let her tell you what she did with them.

In another earlier life, I used to gather chanterelles in the wild all summer. It was such an everyday thing that I took it totally for granted. It was part of the season, like swimsuits and the beach. Continue reading “Long distance locavore: Linguine with foraged chanterelles from Seattle, cooked in Chicago”

Grilled cheese with an autumnal touch, lentil soup with cilantro and cumin

Two recipes create a satisfying vegetarian dinner this week: Quickly sautéed apple slices and arugula liven up a classic grilled cheese sandwich, and cumin and fresh cilantro do the same for lentil soup.

grilled-cheese-lentil-soup

The Russet apples Marion had picked up at the farmers market had sat in a bowl on the kitchen counter for days now, their rough skin inviting an occasional touch and the promise of delicious tartness encouraging ideas for their use. Continue reading “Grilled cheese with an autumnal touch, lentil soup with cilantro and cumin”