Tag Archives: mushrooms

May 09 2012
3 Comments
Cooking, Recipes

Weird-Looking Pasta Dish

I mentioned in a recent post that I have been having a gross-looking but tasty week in terms of food. If I were to rank the meals I had that fell into this category, my avocado pasta would have been the clear winner.

I wanted to use the items I had on hand instead of going to the store (the weather was crappy), so I had to get a bit creative.

1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 garlic gloves, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup button mushrooms
3/4 c penne, uncooked
salt, pepper and crush red pepper to taste

I put a pot of water on the stove for the pasta and then prepared the rest of my ingredients while I waited for it to boil and for the pasta to cook.

I stuck the avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic into a food processor and mixed it until smooth. Believe me, I wondered why I even bothered with the food processor since it ended up as un-lumpy guacamole.

I don’t have pictures of the next steps, but I lightly browned the mushrooms with some garlic and then mixed it in with the cooked pasta and the ‘sauce.’

Looks gross… tasted great! I’ll admit that it would have tasted better with some tortilla chips instead and mushrooms and avocado are a bit of a weird mix. Still, it was a hearty meal and I was able to use ingredients that I already had at home. WIN! –Melissa

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Apr 22 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Who needs beef stroganoff? Not this girl.

This sauce is really my interpretation of beef stroganoff. Stroganoff is a Russian dish of sauteed beef served with sour cream. I’m not a fan of beef and dairy and nor is my digestive tract so I’m using mushrooms and tofu for a light version that’s loaded with protein and flavor. I particularly like this recipe with sweet potato or squash gnocchi, but it’s great with regular pasta or over a burger for a new twist on sandwich time. You’ll need the following:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 scallions, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms (any kind will do)
1 tablespoon herbes de provence
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup white wine (recommended)
1 tofu sausage, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 box of Mori-nu soft silken tofu
soy milk

Put the tofu into a blender and blend it until it’s smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Put the olive oil into a large fry-pan. Add the scallion, wine and herbs; saute for 7-8 minutes until the onion is soft.

Add the mushrooms. We actually used dried mushrooms because they were around: reconstituting them with distilled water in the microwave.

Add the sausage [if you’re using it.I actually find it boring against the other flavors… and that’s saying something] and the blended tofu. Add soy milk to adjust the texture.

While I was doing that, Brent was making the rice pasta. I imagine serving this over braised seitan would be fabulous!

Apologies for those of you who know I say this just about every time I cook with wine: I often see people using ‘spoiled’ wine for cooking. Those flavors will end up in your food so I can’t recommend cooking with wine you wouldn’t drink: buy a fresh bottle and try it to see if you like it. If you’re not much for wine, this recipe is definitely delicious with just a mushroom herb sauce but I do love the flavors it brings out in the herbs and mushrooms. If you do leave out the wine, I’d add a medium diced onion and 3-4 minced cloves of garlic.

This recipe is a decadent creamy high protein sauce that’s great over vegetables, pasta, on bread or whatever. We like it because it takes so little time to prepare for how delicious it is. Brent even licked the spoon. We hope you get to try it and love it as much as we do.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off.

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Mar 23 2012
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Thoughts

Cooking Challenge: Aftermath

This particular marvel is the transportation of a Melissa-style cooking challenge into breakfast: omnivores team made corned beef and cabbage and the vegan team made corn, beans and cabbage.There wasn’t enough corn, beans and cabbage to reheat and just make leftovers so we decided to make it into a tofu scramble instead. Image

I’m a sucker for runny eggs… or silken tofu in my tofu scramble. We included all of the typical seasonings in our tofu scramble: nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, nutmeg and turmeric powder. The beans and corn were already seasoned with coriander and a few others and it ended up making the breakfast awesome.

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We also browned some potatoes, squash and mushrooms that were leftover too. There’s a real reason why I’m posting this particular brunch. There was something easy about meat: you could put it into just about anything. You could put it on sandwiches, into a soup, with eggs, whatever… I don’t want anyone to think that vegan food doesn’t have that same kind of versatility – it definitely does.

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You don’t even have to be that creative. We used to call eggs with whatever you had for dinner the night before thrown in “trash can eggs” because that was the only other logical place for the leftovers. Personally I opt for stomach in this particular case.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Mar 04 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Mushroom and Tofu Tacos

I love mushrooms. I love tofu. I also hate both of them a little. There’s something about how mushrooms lose all their water and shrink when you cook them that bugs me. I also sometimes dislike how that mushroom flavor gets permeated into everything mushrooms are cooked with. As for tofu, I sometimes can’t stand that ‘tofu’ taste, like no matter what I do, I can still taste that it’s tofu. (Yes, I know I’m being silly.) Today, the only vegan thing in the fridge was mushrooms and tofu sauteed in garlic. I got so depressed at the idea of eating it. Then, I saw them: tortillas. Beautiful corn tortillas. I also had avocado, cilantro, lime, and tomatoes. So, I gave the mushroom/tofu dish a makeover:

First, I made some taco seasoning by mixing together the following:

3/4 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cumin

Then, I browned the the mushrooms/tofu in some garlic and then added the taco seasoning. When everything was just about heated through, I threw in some sliced onion, mixed everything around (this is where I would flip the stuff in the air if I were someone who could do that without getting food everywhere), and removed from heat.

At the same time, I took some leftover (read: on the verge of spoiling) rice (brown/white mix) and decided to make a really weird version of fried rice:

3 cups of rice, cooked (this will generally work better if you use leftover rice that is not heated)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth (I used a ‘not-chicken’ bouillon cube)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen lima beans
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 diced onion

When that was done, I made an avocado salad of sorts to top the tacos with. Um… I was so excited to eat that I didn’t get a good photo of it:

1 ripe avocado
1/2 diced plum tomato – mine was on the verge of being ripe which was perfect because it wasn’t too soft and had a nice little crunch to it
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
juice from 1/2 lime
salt, to taste

By now, I was beyond ready to eat, and boy did I eat. I kept eating and eating and eating!

I sprinkled some Tapatio on everything and it was so delicious. I’m so proud of this that I have to post another pic.

I love food makeovers and I love stuffing my face with delicious food. It makes me happy. I hope you get to stuff your face with delicious food today… Melissa

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Feb 24 2012
3 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Vegan Butternut Squash and Mushroom Risotto… want some?

I have been missing this comfort food so I decided to make some. I’ve never had so many pots and pans out at once. I’m a lazy simple girl when it comes to food and this was a first. You’ll need a baking sheet, a sauce pan, and 2 medium fry pans. You’ll need the following:
1/2 cup of arborio rice (this is more than enough for 2 servings)
1/2 liter of water
1 cube of veggie bouillon
1 cup of butternut squash
1 quart of baby bello mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1/4 onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
salt to taste
herbes de provence
white wine, I prefer pinot grigio for this recipe. Just use something you would drink. Don’t cook with wine you wouldn’t drink. That’s just nasty.

I cut the top off my butternut squash (guestimating a cup) and wrapped it in tinfoil. I put it in the oven at 350F/175C for about 30-45 minutes or until the skin gets translucent and it starts to become tender.

Set it aside to cool.
I put about half a liter of water into my sauce pan along with a bouillon cube and brought it to a boil. Then I turned the heat to low.

While I was waiting for the water to boil, I added the onion, garlic and olive oil to one of my fry pans and heated them until they began to sputter. Then I added the mushrooms and turned the heat to medium-low and began cooking the rice.

I put the rice in a fry pan with a cup of wine and a generous pinch of herbes de provence. I turned the heat to low. I sliced up the squash (no skin) into 1 cm cubes and added it to the risotto.

I added the broth 1/2 cup or so at a time until the rice began to get tender and the liquid was mostly absorbed. It should be translucent except for a little bit in the middle that should still be opaque white when it’s done. You might not use all the broth. I mixed in my mushrooms and added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast but I do that to everything. I garnished it with some basil from my balcony garden.

I was pretty pleased with my ability to make some serious comfort food. If you get to try it, let me know what changes you’d make to improve it.

This is Christie, signing off.

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Feb 22 2012
5 Comments
Cooking, Recipes

Stuffed Mushrooms? Shut Your Mouth! I Mean… EAT IT!

Me to Younger Version of Myself (YVoM): Guess what? I made stuffed mushrooms today.
YVoM: Shut up! Who do you think you are, Giada DeLaurentis or something?
Me: Haha. No, I’ve gone vegan and I actually cook now!
YVoM: Wait, what?
Me: I know, it’s unbelievable.
YVoM: I can’t believe you cooked stuffed mushrooms. I can’t believe you’re vegan.
Me: Listen to me. We are stronger than we think!
YVoM: Grrrreat, Future Me is still sentimental and introspective.
Me: Call the blog ‘Turning Veganese.’
YVoM: I still blog? Mmmkay. Hey, I need a photo of those mushrooms to post on the blog.
Me: Here you go.

 

Talking to yourself is normal, right? It doesn’t matter. The point is, cooking and eating vegetables is my new normal. I had some mushrooms that I bought over the weekend, and I really wanted to cook them today. So I Googled “mushrooms recipe vegan” and found this recipe from Healthy Vegan Recipes. It’s so easy and versatile and delicious! The stuffing is basically made up of spinach and ground toasted almonds with onions, garlic, and chopped up mushroom stems. I can’t wait to try it out with different spices and nuts. Oh, by the way, I burned my nuts when I toasted them the first time so be sure you watch them. Heh, burned nuts. I ended up with 10 stuffed button mushrooms and ate seven with them with some brown rice. Dinner was served!

I kind of love being vegan. xoxo… Melissa

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Dec 07 2011
4 Comments
Main Dishes

WTF is moussaka!? (kinda like lasagna but not…)

The final product in this recipe fell apart and wasn’t ready for it’s close-up, Mr. DeMille. I thought about scrapping it and waiting until the next time I made it but then I put it in my mouth and realized it would be criminal not to share.

I bought this bad boy at my farmer’s market. It’s an “heirloom zebra eggplant” or so the sign said. For this recipe, any eggplant will do. Moussaka is a dish I was introduced to by a Greek friend. She’s from Cyprus so my recipe might have a different flare than you’re used to. I learned to make this dish with cream and lamb. There’ll be none of that today. Moussaka is kind of like lasagna: it’s comfort food layered with eggplant (or zucchini), meat, potatos, and mushrooms and then smothered with a bechamel cream sauce. But like I said… no meat or cream. This recipe is comfort food with fiber, protein, lutein, vitamin C, and enough other nutrients to make your mom proud. Okay, get a load of this.

1 eggplant, sliced longwise, 1/4-1/3 inch thick and soaked at least 4 hours in lightly salted water (zucchini also works and you don’t have to soak it)
1/4 cup bread-crumbs or blanched almond flour
For the filling…
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1-2 chopped soy sausages (optional, or you can use my black-eyed pea burger *winkyface*)
1/2 onion, diced
1 chopped tomato or 1/3 cup canned diced tomato
2-3 tbsp tomato paste
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp sage
salt and pepper to taste
Combine the onion and garlic in a medium frying pan. Sautee over medium-high heat until the onions begin to become tranlucent. Then astir in the sage.
Add the rest of the ingredients and set heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally while the mushrooms cook down and get tender and allowing some of the moisture to evaporate.
Make the bechamel sauce while this happens. No pictures… it just looks like ranch dressing.
‘bechamel’ sauce
1 box silken tofu
1 tbsp onion salt
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 dash of lemon juice
1 pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste
Combine all the ingredients for the bechamel sauce in a blender or food processor. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Preaheat the oven to 350C/175F. Coat your pan lightly with olive oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with half the bread-crumbs or almond flour (I used almond flour). Add a layer of eggplant, overlapping if necessary (you can sautee it lightly first if you want it extra tender but it can make them harder to work with and I like mine a little chewier), the mushroom/soy sausage filling, another layer of eggplant and top with the bechamel sauce and the rest of the almond flour or bread-crumbs.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the moussaka begins to bubble.
EAT IT!
This is Christie, signing off. I’m full.
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Dec 03 2011
11 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Who can live without burgers? Not this girl.

Okay, I love sausage and burgers. I just hate that they’re full of stuff that’s not very good for you like cholesterol and lots of fat and that animals have to die to make them. This is a recipe I’m still working on but it’s more than good enough to share. To make my black-eyed pea burgers (taste better than they sound, promise) you’ll need to combine the following in a large bowl.

2 cups/15.5 oz tin of black-eyed peas (field peas also work), drained and set the liquid aside
2 tbsp tapioca, potato, or arrowroot starch
2 tbsp flour (I use oat but whatever kind you like)
2 tbsp rolled oats or quinoa
2 tbsp flax meal (optional)
1/4 very finely chopped mushrooms
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1.5 tbsp Italian seasoning (if you don’t like your sausages spicy, I recommend herbes de Provence instead)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp coriander seeds
garlic salt to taste
hot sauce to taste
oil for frying

Once everything is in the bowl except for the garlic salt and hot sauce, start mooshing. This might be a great job for any children in the house, it’s fun and can be done with your hands. Add the liquid from the canned peas until the mixture is doughy and somewhat dry but not crumbly. You shouldn’t have to add very much.

When it starts to look uniform (as above ) take a taste. Don’t worry, there’s no risk of E. coli or Salmonella, it’s not meat! Start adding hot sauce and garlic salt and continue mooshing until it tastes right to you. When you like the flavor and texture, pick up a good handful of the mixture and form it into a patty shape. This recipe should make 3 generous patties for a regular sized bun. They won’t shrink much during cooking because there’s no lard to dribble off into the pan leaving you with an emaciated burger.

I prefer to bake mine at 350F/175C for 25 minutes or until crispy outside and still mooshy inside but you can pan fry them in olive oil to the same effect if you’re feeling decadent. I like that these are fat and cholesterol free but mostly because my Dad and sister have high cholesterol and I’m sure they’re not alone.

I toasted my buns and melted my cheese for the last 2-3 minutes of the bake. This cheese is Daiya. They sell 5 lb. blocks and shreds. Yeah, I admit it. I have a 5 lb. block of non-dairy cheese in my fridge. I’m not ashamed of my 5 lb. block of non-dairy cheese. Daiya is the best cheese substitute I’ve found for cooking. It’s great in quesadillas, on ‘burgers’, for mac and cheese, pretty much anything you can think of… okay, that’s my Daiya plug. There are other non-dairy cheese that I like but that’s another blog post.

Did I mention that you can refrigerate these burgers for 2-3 days until your ready to cook them up or freeze them for up to 3 weeks? Yeah. You can. Also, the buns came from the Zen Cat Bakery (http://zencatbakery.com/) a gluten-free and vegan bakery. They are also awesome and make gluten-free vegan brownies that can defeat my PMS with a single bite!

This didn’t last long. If you try it, would you let me know how it goes? Here’s to your healthy burger!!!

this is Christie, signing off.. to eat another guilt free burger.

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