{"id":10217,"date":"2014-10-24T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2014-10-24T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/?p=10217"},"modified":"2021-04-27T14:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T20:14:08","slug":"cheesy-farro-bake-with-mushrooms-tomatoes-shallots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blissfulbasil.com\/cheesy-farro-bake-with-mushrooms-tomatoes-shallots\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheesy Farro Bake with Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Shallots"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cheesy<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you ever been cruising along in life thinking everything was generally fine yet experiencing a nagging edginess as if your happy, go-lucky mojo had gone awry? Have you ever retroactively\u00a0identified that you were stressed once\u00a0the stressor was removed? This might sound like the makings of a snazzy infomercial for a\u00a0magical stress-relieving pill; however, I promise you it's not. Rather, it's a realization I had yesterday night.<\/p>\n

Way back in early September, I mentioned<\/a> that our kitchen was torn apart due to a leaky roof\u00a0and<\/em> leaky walls (note: our building is only seven years old). Well, it\u00a0remained in shambles until yesterday. We had a full seven weeks of ripped open walls, cabinets in our living room, and granite counter tops adorning our floors. For the first several days, I was in a mental battle with the reality that there wasn't a set end in sight for the chaos. I wanted to know the date that my usual kitchen life could resume. However, as soon as they opened the walls, things became complicated (e.g., black mold, not knowing where the water was getting in, etc). After letting the stress of the situation grip my day-to-day lighthearted happiness for that first week, I put my foot down and decided I wasn't going to let it get to me. After all, there are much worse and far more stressful things in life.<\/p>\n

Dan and I formed new routines around the construction zone and found our groove in a cabinet-less kitchen. I even figured out how to work around and\u00a0on<\/em> the kitchen gear\u00a0that inappropriately accessorized our living room. It turns out that granite slabs on the floor make excellent substitutes for workout mats. I yoga-ed and burpeed my way through September and most of October on what we once knew to be our counters.<\/p>\n

However, despite my declarations of acceptance and new workout routine, I felt on-edge and out of sorts for much of the last several weeks. I kept blaming it on the transition from summer to fall, but my go-to fall funk fixes weren't having the same helpful effects that they always do.<\/p>\n

It wasn't until I walked into our place after work yesterday and saw that our kitchen was almost completely back to normal that I realized how much our home being in disarray had been\u00a0affecting me.\u00a0When I turned the corner and saw the cabinets hanging on the wall, I reflexively let out gasp of air as if I had been holding my breath since this whole process started so many weeks ago. As someone who relies on routine and prefers to be in control, having no control over this particular situation for an extended period of time got the best of me. Plus, the loss of control was occurring in and around a room that is the heart of our home: the kitchen. Although the situation initially seemed silly to be stressed out over, I now realize that had I offered myself some self-compassion and understanding early on, I might have avoided a consistent undercurrent of stress. C'est la vie.<\/p>\n

If\u00a0you read all that, you deserve an award\u00a0and<\/em> this cheesy farro bake...<\/p>\n

\"Cheesy<\/p>\n

Nutty farro\u00a0and saut\u00e9ed veggies are\u00a0cooked, tossed in a creamy vegan cheese sauce, topped with an eye-popping array of tomatoes, and baked to perfection. The \"cheese\" sauce is lower in fat than more traditional vegan cheese sauces because the primary ingredient in it is eggplant rather than cashews. I wish I could take credit for the brilliance of using eggplant as the base\u00a0in this sauce, but the credit is 100% owed to one of my absolute favorite blogs, Minimalist Baker<\/a>.\u00a0I altered their recipe quite a bit to fit the flavors in this\u00a0farro bake, but followed the same technique of broiling and blending the eggplant with other flavors to create a super-creamy cheese sauce.<\/p>\n

That cheesy deliciousness coats the\u00a0farro, mushrooms, tomatoes, and shallots in most wonderful way. Then, the flavors meld together even more as they bake up in the oven under a sheath of tomatoes and herbs. The result is like a nuttier, veggie-laden version of mac and cheese. Perfect for chilly fall nights and offering oodles of comfort in both stressed-out and stress-free times.<\/p>\n

\"Cheesy<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cheesy<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cheesy<\/p>\n

\"Cheesy<\/a><\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udcd6 Recipe<\/h2>
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\"Cheesy<\/div>\n\t
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5<\/span> from 2<\/span> votes<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Cheesy Farro Bake with Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Shallots<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
Nutty farro and saut\u00e9ed veggies are cooked, tossed in a creamy vegan cheese sauce, topped with an eye-popping array of tomatoes, and baked to perfection. The \"cheese\" sauce is lower in fat than more traditional vegan cheese sauces because the primary ingredient in it is eggplant rather than cashews. I wish I could take credit for the brilliance of using eggplant as the base in this sauce, but the credit is 100% owed to the lovely Minimalist Baker blog. I altered their recipe quite a bit to fit the flavors in this farro bake, but followed the same technique of broiling and blending the eggplant with other flavors to create a super-creamy cheese sauce.<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Course <\/span>Grains, Main, Pasta<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Prep Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hour<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Cook Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hour<\/span> 10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div>
<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Total Time <\/span>2 hours<\/span><\/span> hours<\/span> 10 minutes<\/span><\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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<\/g><\/svg><\/span> Servings <\/span>8<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/h3>

For the Cheese Sauce<\/h4>