Cheesy Mushroom and Spinach Tart

 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes 

to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

Food for the Palate

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp butter

4 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced 

3 cups fresh baby spinach

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup Monterey jack cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp fresh basil, julienned

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg, whisked

Fresh basil leave, for garnish (optional)

Instructions: Preheat Oven to 375F

Add olive oil to a medium sauté pan and cook mushrooms over medium-high heat until all of the water is gone from them. Set aside to cool.

In the same pan, lower heat to medium and add butter. Once melted, add your garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add baby spinach to the pan and cook down until there is no more liquid in your pan. Add the mushrooms back into your pan. Add salt, pepper and fresh basil. 

Strain the mushroom-spinach mixture until it is without any liquid and set aside to prepare your puff pastry.

On a flat piece of parchment paper, roll out the puff pastry so it is the size of the baking sheet. Put on parchment paper and rolled out puff pastry on baking sheet. Score your puff pastry around the edges about 1/2 inch from the edge. Do not perforate the dough. 

Cover the center of the puff pastry (inside the scored edge) with the two cheeses. Now top the cheese with the mushroom-spinach mixture. Brush the egg wash all over the border of the puff pastry. 

Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. You want the puff pastry to be golden brown. Remove from oven once done and top with parmesan cheese. Serve in squares. Tasty to the Palate! 

Food for the Soul

If you aren't already familiar with puff pastry, let me tell you about this convenient and delicious baking sensation. It is buttery, flaky and used in savory and sweet pastries.

Making puff pastry from scratch is not a simple task. It is a very time-consuming process that must be done correctly and in a controlled temperature environment. Making it from scratch takes several (and I do mean several) steps that are repeated multiple times in order to make this taste like such a delicate French-inspired treat, which is why I absolutely love the shortcut of being able to buy this dough in the supermarket ready to use! 

And while I love nothing more than finding “shortcuts” when it comes to cooking in the kitchen, there is one place where shortcuts are not going to cut it! This is an absolute when it comes to our eternal life. 

Jesus does not mince words when He said in John 14:6 , “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Jesus wants to make sure that everyone understands that there is absolutely no possible way for anyone to be able to spend eternity in heaven unless they go through Him first!

These words that Jesus declares aren’t just a declaration of how to get to heaven, although He makes it clear that He is the only way. Jesus is also declaring in John 14:6 who He is. In the Scriptures, the term "I Am" in Hebrew is Yahweh, the personal name of God Himself (See Exodus 3:14).  So He is also staking His claim as the very God of Creation Himself. For only God has the ability to save us! A.W. Tozer was one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, and he said it best, “Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way.”

 So, while it is nothing short of miraculous when a cook can find a way to improvise when it comes to making a difficult dish taste as if you know what you are doing, there is no such things as finding an alternate route into heaven. Only Jesus, our God who became man, can make that happen for you and me. No shortcuts here! Satisfying to the Soul!