Food is better when shared with friends

I am SO THANKFUL that my dear dear friend Bekah (holla!) is visiting me from good ol' Ohio. It has brought joy to my all parts of my heart to be able to have time to REALLY talk and visit. I will admit that we talk about food a lot :-) Mostly because she is pretty much the only other person I know who eats like I do. We like the same things and have the same convictions. She is a vegetarian who married a carnivore, and I almost never eat meat while Brian needs meat at every meal (in case you were wondering- I cook all the beef or pork on the side for all the dishes I make and everything still tastes great. I don't alter the recipes when I post them for you since I know most people eat meat!). We literally have almost identical likes and dislikes when it comes to food. It sure makes cooking when she visits SO MUCH FUN!

So, in the spirit of sharing- here are our recipes from yesterday!

Edamame Pate

Yield- 4 Servings

1 1/4 frozen, shelled edamame- thawed

1/2 cup walnuts

1/3 cup mint leaves

1 green onion

1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoons lemon juice

8 slices of whole grain bread

4 jarred roasted red peppers

2 small cucumbers

1. Puree edamame, walnuts, mint, green onions, and salt in a processor until finely chopped.

2. Add lemon juice and water until motor is running. Process until smooth.

3. Spread each of 4 slices of bread with 1/2 cup pate. Top with arugula, cucumbers, and peppers.

Mushroom and Sausage Ragu with Polenta

Yield: 4 Servings (1 cup polenta, 1 cup ragu); 428 calories per serving

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

8 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage

1/2 chopped onion

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

2 1/2 cups fat free, lower-sodium chicken broth (I used veggie broth and added an extra pinch of salt)

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup uncooked polenta

4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3. *Bring broth and 1 1/2 cups water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add polenta, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 20 minutes, or until thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, cheese, and butter. Serve with sausage mixture.

* I used pre-cookd polenta. Just heat in a saucepan. You can add a little broth to make it smooth. Then I added the salt and cheese and stirred until hot. It worked great.