Crazy stuff going on in this house. There is no time to rest. The noise, the activity, it’s all just crazy. 

We’re getting our guest bathrooms remodeled and the noise doesn’t make lunch time very enjoyable.  Not to mention the results of the bangs and booms and all around vibrations.

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As I let the dogs in from the rainy weather today, moved the car really quickly to get out of the way of some other work going on, little did I know what was happening inside the house. Within 2 minutes of the pups being unsupervised, a wine glass fell from a shelf (due to the banging from the work upstairs) and shattered on a bench underneath.  When I came in, I saw the glass all over the carpet and there was Shane in the middle of it and Zoey with the broken glass stem in her mouth.  FREAK OUT time!

Shane heard the panic in my voice and high tailed it to the kitchen. Zoey on the other hand saw the opportunity to play chase with the glass stem.  Ohhhhh How Frustrating! 

In the end, no bad effects only a broken wine glass. Needless to say, anything that can fall off the walls from the work going on upstairs is now OFF the wall.

Parchment Bags

One advantage of being a life member of CookingClub.com is that we get to test new products. 

This month was the PaperChef Parchment cooking bags. 

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Culinary Parchment Cooking Bags are an innovative and convenient way to prepare sumptuous meals in the tradition of cooking with parchment. Cooking Bags will elevate many of your favorite meals to a whole new level by intensifying the foods’ natural flavors.  Source

I thought it would be an easy side dish with little clean up. That wasn’t the case.

I made Braised Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Herbs

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  • 3 oz mixed mushrooms such as oyster, shiitake, and portobello – cut all stems off and reserve
  • 1 small onion, cut in half
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • mixed herbs such as rosemary, basil, all your favorites.
  • *You can use bacon if you eat meat, just cut into small squares and brown it before adding to the bag.

Add stems from the mushrooms with the onion, garlic into the water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to cook at a rapid simmer until the water is reduced to about 1/2 cup.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Wash the mushroom caps and put into a Culinary Parchment Bag with the herbs, garlic, tomatoes, a little salt and pepper (bacon if you’re using it) and 1/4 cup of the liquid from the mushroom stems.

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Close the bag by folding 3 to 4 times and crimp to seal. Place in a baking pan and bake for 15 minutes.

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Open bag carefully and serve.

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The taste was delicious but the bag fell apart.  The liquid seeped out of the bag and when I picked the bag up to put the contents in a bowl, it fell apart.

If the bags were a bit thicker, or maybe if I used them for dry cooking, they would work better. I’ll try again because when they do work correctly, they seal in flavor and moisture to create a delicious dish.

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Have you ever used parchment bags?

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