Orzo Pilaf with Mushrooms

Week 452. Fall 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like cinnamon and falling leaves and this is my life. This is the life I built.

The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.

Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.

Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made harvest pasta this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

When I say I made harvest pasta this week, this is what I mean — a warm pot of orzo with mushrooms, earthy and simple and exactly right for a Tuesday in fall, when the clinic has worn me out in the best possible way and the kids are doing their homework and the house smells like something good. It doesn’t need to be complicated to be the thread. It just needs to exist, made by my hands, in this kitchen.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional; substitute broth)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

Toast the orzo. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the dry orzo and stir frequently for 2–3 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant.
Soften the aromatics. Add the butter and diced onion to the pan. Cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
Cook the mushrooms. Add the sliced mushrooms, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are lightly browned.
Deglaze and simmer. Pour in the white wine (if using) and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it cook off for 1 minute, then pour in the broth. Bring to a gentle boil.
Finish the pilaf. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the orzo is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. If the pan looks dry before the orzo is cooked through, add a splash of broth.
Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and adjust seasoning. Top with fresh parsley and serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Orzo Pilaf with Mushrooms — The Thread That Connects Every Week