Eggplant, Bok Choy, Hen of the Woods Mushrooms Stir Fry

Mushrooms add such a delicious substantiality to any dish. They can be quite delicate though, so the quick cooking times of stir fries are particularly great for these delicious fungi. Pair them with eggplant, and even the most dedicated meat eaters won't find anything missing in this vegetarian dish.



For this dish I used Hen of the Woods (or Maitake) which don't require (and nor can they really withstand) much cooking. If you used a sturdier mushroom, like a cremini or a portabello, you would need a slightly longer cooking time.

Heirloom Tomato Fennel Salad with Fennel Tahini Dressing

Usually when salads get dressed at casa M in the World, they're dressed in vinaigrettes, light and airy, sometimes spicy, sometimes honeyed. But here we are at the very tail end of summer, and although some delicious heirloom tomatoes are still peeking out of the corner of stalls at local farmer's markets, the air is crisp, the wind has a bite to it, and it just seems like everything, including salads, needs to be a little sturdier, a little more substantial.

Orecchiete with Spinach, Cauliflower, and Hen of the Woods Mushrooms

It's Mushroom Week at M in the World! I've never yet met an earthy umami meaty mushroom that I haven't liked, so this week I'm going to post a few recipes that just wouldn't be the same if you left the ol' fungus out (queue a fungus among us joke). First up, a cheesy 'shroomy pasta dish because I'm done with light summer soups, and it's time to move on to heartier fare.

This is a pasta dish that's perfect for fall. Just this side of stick to your ribs, but hearty enough to tuck into when you've brought out your first warm scarf. It looks like it has a lot of parts to it, but it all comes together in the amount of time it takes for your pasta to cook.

A riff on Palak Chicken

We've all had the palak paneer at our local India Palace or Taj Mahal. The same dish tastes excellent with chicken too if you're in a non-vegetarian mood. And, having spinach (palak), chicken, and onions on hand, I thought I'd try my own riff on this old favorite, especially since the clouds were rolling in, and it was a cool summer night - perfect for a nice rich stewy curry.

Summer Pesto

You know those days when you're hungry and tired and even sauteing up a few veggies for dinner sounds like the most onerous task imaginable? Living in this city means that we have a world of cuisines just at our fingertips - a few clicks on Seamless, and voila, 30 minutes later a yummy hot meal is at your door. Unfortunately, those yummy hot meals are also more often than not just a slick too greasy and just a lick too salty to be healthy. So for those nights, it's nice to have a home cooked healthy meal on hand for which all you need to do is to boil a pot of water. Enter home made pesto! Full of nutritious greens with a generous helping of mint and basil to give it a fresh zing, and a scattering of cashew nuts to add a buttery richness.