Mustard Greens Pesto and Mushroom Pasta

Yum. I've made this a bunch of times this winter and make it a bit differently each time and it just gets better with every adaptation. It's adapted from this Bon Appetit recipe. The original calls for butter (just a little olive oil will do) and smoked mozzarella. Don't get me wrong, I love smoked mozzarella - but the pasta was too rich and deep for me. I need some freshness and tang. Here goes:

INGREDIENTS

PESTO

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pecans (I've also used walnuts, almonds - all good options)

2 garlic cloves, peeled, quartered

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mustard greens

MUSHROOMS AND PASTA

2 TBSP olive oil

1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thinly sliced (Shiitakes are expensive! Add some button mushies or cremini in too)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 pound fusilli or rotini (spiral shaped)

6-8 oz goat cheese

optional - The rest of the mustard greens from the head you used for the pesto - roughly chopped

PREPARATION

PESTO

Blend nuts, mustard green, vinegar, parmesan and garlic in processor - process to blend. Add oil while processing andblend until smooth. Season pesto with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before using.

MUSHROOMS AND PASTA

Add oil to large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sage and sauté just until mushrooms wilt, about 3 minutes. Add mustard greens and wine and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Return pasta to pot. Add pesto, mushrooms and crumble in goat cheese; toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl and serve.

OTHER ADAPTATIONS - try this in the spring time with arugula instead of mustard greens. warm leftovers and place on a bed of watercress, arugula or spinach for lunch.

Some blog love

I just got a little note from Muse Silking Paintings that she featured me in a post of hers'! Thanks so much! Here it is - my earrings are #4:

Quiet weekend

I can't believe it's over!! I did all the things that you should do during a lazy weekend:

1. Read a book

(not pleasant - lots of tears and cringing and heartbreak, but necessary - seriously - you need to read this)

2. Played cribbage

Totally random - we found a board Saturday afternoon and learned how to play Saturday night. I won :).

3. Made delicious meals

Vegie Thai Spring Rolls and miso soup from my new favorite cook book by Deborah Madison.

4. Went to a movie.

Yep! I'm on the bandwagon. I never want to see a movie that isn't in 3D ever again! AMAZING! Even the trailers were blowing my mind. Can't wait to see Alice in Wonderland.

Does that even sound real??!! I can hardly believe that the hubs and I got to just enjoy each other's company and have such a nice, quiet weekend. Can we do it again??

Just for funsies - here's the trailer for Alice in Wonderland. Just try to imagine it in 3D :)

New Jewelry in my shop!

I've been adding some new jewels in my shop the last couple days. Here's what's new...more to come too!





Oh! And, I also listed the cuff links and money clip that I blogged about a while back. Can't wait to do more men's accessories. So fun.

SMARTFISH

SMARTFISH is getting some blog love today. I first saw these adorable shoes via Mixed Plate and thought... "How perfect are these??!! I want to blog about these too!" Their shoes are handmade, sustainable and vegan. I love seeing CUTE leather alternatives for handbags and shoes.

So, after seeing them on Mixed Plate, I also saw them featured in the Etsy Finds email today. It looks like they are a fairly new shop, so I hope they have fun with their recent press!

I think these flats with the bows are my favorite...

Wheee!!! Tiny Etsy front page feature!

My Crescent earrings made it to the front page...sort of! In one of the scrolling Storque Articles at the bottom of Etsy's home page there is an article called "Basic Skills" and my earrings are featured! Hooray! It's so fun to see the amount of eyeballs that see your product if you are on the home page - it's overwhelming. New views and shop hearts come flooding in. I love it! There are so many Etsy lovers out there. Anyway, here's what the little article looks like. Click it to see all the products featured. My Crescent Earrings are shown again waaaay at the bottom of the article.

Help?

I need some opinions and I know you have them... :). I've been (slowly) working on some brand updates and am stuck on step one and the most important - my logo. I wanted to get away from the big, pink, tropical flower. When I first created my brand, the flower was more appropriate. My jewelry has evolved so much and it's time my brand did too.

I love the script font and I would like to keep the logo somewhat recognizable - so the flower goes and the fonts stay. Here's where I need help. I've narrowed my options down to these 2 logos. I like them both - the first one a bit more, but I think the second one might lend itself to more applications in a better way. Business cards - blog and etsy banners, stickers for boxes, earrings cards, etc...so I am confused!!

What do you think? Leave a comment or email me - erin(at)erinjanedesigns.com. I'll also post them on my Facebook page if you want to leave a comment there. Here are the new beauties: