Aunt Lauren's Vegetarian Crock Pot Mushroom & Kale Stew with Quinoa

Way back in Crocktober, my lovely aunt Lauren (also the creator of this yummy fruit and nut quinoa idea) sent me her recipe for a crock pot stew involving fresh sliced mushrooms, a variety of dried mushrooms, kale, parsnips and quinoa for serving. She even mailed me a big box of dried mushrooms to make it with - is that sweet, or what? And while Crocktober is over, my love for the crock pot is not, so I'm going to share her recipe with you anyway.

Because I'm using a teeny 2 qt machine and we are pretty sure that hers is a 5-quarter, I cut her recipe in half. 2 quarts is kind of absurdly small, I realize, so it might make more sense for you to use the original, so I'll give you her original measurements:

Ingredients:

5 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks

4 large leaves kale, cut lengthwise and chopped

2 cups veggie stock (or chicken)

2 tbsp cornstarch blended with hot water, as needed (about 2/3 cup)

1 1/2 large onions, chopped, or a bag of peeled "pear onions" from Trader Joe's

1 8 oz box sliced fresh mushrooms 

1 cup of mixed dried mushrooms 

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

1 smashed garlic clove

1 1/2 large onions, chopped, or a bag of peeled "pear onions" from Trader Joe's

Cooked quinoa, for serving

Fresh parsley, coarsely chopped, for serving

Directions:

1. Break your dried mushrooms up into smaller pieces (so you don't need to chop them later), and soak in 2 cups hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain, pouring carefully so as to remove grit while leaving mushroom liquor.

2. Combine all ingredients except kale, cornstarch and water in the crock pot. Cook on "low" for 8-10 hours. 

3. One and one half hours before serving, add kale. A half an hour later, stir in cornstarch and water mixture. Leave the lid cracked and continue to cook for about another hour to hour and a half to thicken.

Lauren is a very smart woman. The changes I made were more logistical than creative - So, just so you know, if you come home around 8:30 hungry and tired from work, you can turn the crock to "high" to hasten broth-thickening while you cook your kale with the quinoa on the stovetop instead of leaving that extra time for everything to cook together in the crock. It is probably better Lauren's way, but life happens. The only "creative" change I made to her recipe is adding a little fresh parsley for garnish, which I do recommend.

If you know where to find dairy-free cream of mushroom soup, you can easily make this vegan. And, if you're not the hugest fan of parsnips (like I know Brady isn't), you can use cubed potato instead. And I have to say, now that I know how easy and convenient is is to cook with dried mushrooms, and the rich flavor you get from the variety, I think I'll be working my way through this box in short order.

Quote of the Day: I travel the world, and I'm happy to say that America is still the great melting pot - maybe a chunky stew rather than a melting pot at this point, but you know what I mean. ~ Philip Glass

Mushroom & Barley Risotto

Since it has been steamy and rainy in Philadelphia for about a thousand straight days, it doesn't quite feel like fall just yet, and I kind of wish it would just hurry up and get here. Still, I'm keeping the faith and since the sun actually did come out today, I felt like cooking a fall favorite that I started making at just about this time last year.

You'll be happy to know that this dish is much less annoying than your average risotto. Not that I'm hating on risotto; I respect and admire anyone with the patience to make a good one. Still there is really no need to stand over this, the barely version, adding the liquid one eye-dropper at a time, so you can do other things instead. Like call all your friends and tell them how yummy this smells while it's cooking, and how jealous they are that they're not having dinner with you tonight.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. box of mushrooms, sliced, or 8 oz. assorted varieties
1 bay leaf

1/2 cup pearl barley

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

2-3 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus one single sprig for serving

1 14.5 oz. can or about 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock, low-sodium

Salt & pepper

2 tsp butter

grated Parmesan for sprinkling (optional) 

about 1/4 cup of wine, white or red (optional and recommended)
Toasted walnuts or pine nuts for sprinkling (optional and recommended)

Directions.

1. In a medium frying pan or sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt butter and saute onion and mushrooms until they release their juices and the juices have mostly evaporated. Add salt and pepper. Add wine, and continue to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. (This is my favorite part. It smells so good you practically want to climb inside).

2. Add barley and bay leaf, and stir to toast the grains for about a minute. Once the barley soaks up the juices, add stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, cover and let cook until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. (About halfway through, check to be sure more stock is not needed.)

3. To serve, plate and garnish with a single spring of fresh thyme and Parmesan. Serve with freshly ground pepper.

I'm sure some people would yell at me for opening a lidded pan while it's cooking, but those people weren't around this evening. If there is too much liquid and the barley is ready, just simmer uncovered for a couple of minutes at the end.

It might seem weird to use red wine in a risotto, but it's what I had on hand so I tried it out, and it was completely delicious. There might be a rule against this, but if you're anything like me (meaning that you like things that are delicious), the rules are irrelevant. White wine might be better, but I'm not disappointed with how this turned out. I believe wine is necessary for a really great risotto, but I've made this dish without it in the past and while it's less attention-grabbing, it's still yummy. If you're not the boozing kind, don't fret; I'm pretty sure all the alcohol cooks off anyway.

The original recipe that I read for this dish many moons ago called for thyme and dried marjoram. Since then I've tried all thyme, mostly thyme and a little marjoram, and thyme and marjoram with a dash of dried, ground sage, and all have been delicious. The rich flavor of the sauteed mushrooms with the hearty chewiness of the barley and the herbs... Yum! You can't lose.

Quote of the Day: “In the age of acorns, before the times of Ceres, a single barley-corn had been of more value to mankind than all the diamonds of the mines of India." ~ Henry Brooke

P.s. Good luck finding a quote about barley that isn't from the Bible. Weird.

Note: To veganize, use veggie stock, olive oil instead of butter, and obviously skip the Parmesan - but not the wine! You really need one or the other.

Savory Dinner Oatmeal with Mushrooms & Herbs

For those of you who started reading this blog before I entered my current existence as a solo-living, studio-apartment-dwelling graduate student, I'm sure you've noticed a trend in the posts I've made since. Generally it's simple, easy, and basically-healthy comfort food that appeals to the cook in me these days, and since it's a gross rainy day here in Philly (and, okay, I'm a little depressed at the prospect of not seeing Brady for another five weeks), I surely was not about to deviate from this theme tonight. So in the spirit of semi-wallowing in my school readings and Netflix reruns, I thought I'd take a stab at using a super basic whole grain as the base for this vegan main dish. If this idea seems a little weird to you, keep an eye out for my mushroom barley risotto, coming soon. It combines very similar flavors but bypasses any potential is-this-breakfast-or-dinner confusion.

Ingredients:
1/4 large white or yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 zucchini, sliced
2 tsp Italian herb mix
1 cup rolled oats - not instant or "quick-cooking"
About 3/4 cup water or vegetable broth
1 small clove garlic, smashed
Fresh parsley, diced avocado, or toasted pine nuts, for sprinkling (optional)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Saute mushrooms until they release their juices, and the juices evaporate. Add garlic and onions and cook until softened before adding zucchini. Saute for about 1 minute then salt (generously if you're using water, less generously if you're using veggie broth), add a drizzle of water (a few teaspoons) and stir. Cover to cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are very soft.
2. Add oats, pepper and herbs. Stir, and gradually add about 3/4 cup water or vegetable broth. (You may use slightly more or less, but add it gradually so you know if it's getting too liquidy). Turn heat to low and cover to cook for a few minutes until oats are well softened. (I also added a dash of ground sage, dried marjoram and dried thyme just for fun).
3. Serve sprinkled with diced avocado, fresh herbs or pine nuts.

I won't act like this is my favorite thing ever, but it is somewhere between "not bad" and "pretty good, actually." So I'm not gonna hate on it. Just like for breakfast, oatmeal for dinner is low-glycemic, filling and heart-healthy, and with all the herbs and veggies, it ends up more like a thick risotto than "oatmeal" per se, which is probably the best outcome that I could expect.

Quote of the Day: One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you've got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference. ~ Robert Fulghum

Curried Lentil & Tofu Cakes

Given my love for both lentils and cake-shaped things, I guess it shouldn't be much of a surprise that eventually I would try to make a cake-shaped thing out of lentils. I had also been wanting to make something with soft tofu, which until now I had never tried, so I tried combining the two. These cakes turned out very tasty, and with the addition or substitution of your favorite spices and herbs, the flavor is totally flexible.

By my system, this recipe made seven cakes, or about two dinner servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked lentils

1/2 cup soft tofu

1/2 large onion, diced

3ish medium mushrooms, diced

1 small carrot, grated

1 clove garlic, diced

3/4 tsp curry powder

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a medium frying pan, heat about 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat and saute mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add carrot, onion and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.

2. Add lentils, tofu, and spices and/or herbs. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, or until mixture holds together in clumps, stirring regularly smooshing out tofu as needed. Let cool.

3. Once the lentil mixture is cool enough to handle, form into small patties, packing together well.

4. In the frying pan, heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook patties for 5 minutes per side.

In truth, I used 1 cup of tofu, and not the 1/2 cup I've listed in the recipe. The flavor of these was great, but since I had a 50% break-apart rate while frying, the texture of the cakes definitely needed to be improved, which could probably be achieved by cutting the tofu back to 1/2 cup to let the clumpyness (for lack of a better term) of the lentils take hold. Still, they were quite tasty when pan-fried to a golden brown, and the crumbly rejects will be delicious with some scrambled eggs for lunch tomorrow.

Quote of the Day: Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger, but a heart as soft as tofu. ~ Chinese Proverb

Veggie Week: Portobello Mushroom Cheeseburgers on Pretzel Rolls & Stoplight Salad

As is inevitable, the menu for this week got switched around a little bit. Last night I made sesame-peanut noodles with broccoli, which while delicious, wasn't anything exceptional. I used a jarred sauce, okay? I admit it. I did doctor it to make it more delicious, but I can't act like I now know how to make a peanut sauce. So, moving right along, we find ourselves here at the Portobello burgers that I promised you yesterday.

Portobellos have long been the omnivore's cookout concession to their vegetarian friends, which has earned them kind of a bad rap. They're looked at by the meat-eating population as a bland, bloodless (literally) farce of a burger. This is pretty unfortunate. I won't even get into the question of whether they're "just as good" as a beef burger, because that's a fight nobody is winning, but I will say that they are certainly delicious. The texture is a bit softer than I was expecting, but the yummy nutty flavor made up for it. Mine were grown in Chester, Pennsylvania, which is a big plus to good sense and a big minus on fuel use. I based my 'bellos off of this recipe:

Ingredients:

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Portobello mushroom cap - 1 per serving

Goat cheese (I used garlic & herb), slightly softened

Pretzel roll, or other fresh deli roll

Veggies for topping, like lettuce and/or tomato, & condiments

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to form a vinaigrette. Pour this mixture into a shallow bowl or container, and place both mushroom caps inside.

2. Allow mushrooms to marinate at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, flipping once. (For the sheer fun of it, when they were upside down I filled in the little crevices in the underside with the balsamic mixture. As a flavor-boosting technique, It was pretty effective).

3. Heat grill or grill pan on medium heat, and grill the mushroom caps for about 5 minutes per side, or until tender.

4. Once cooked, spread the mushroom caps with goat cheese, pop them in a bun, and top with whatever you like. (We had ours with some baby spinach on top.)

Brady is admittedly not the hugest fan of mushrooms, but I think he wants to like them, so when I ran this idea by him he was on board, and ultimately did enjoy them. This is one of the things that I really love about him: Whether in food or politics or anything else, he is interested in new ideas and experiences. I know so many guys that would think Veggie Week was an incredibly dumb idea and not even pretend to play along. This is why I am not dating any of those guys.

As for the salad... I am a huge fan of zucchini, and at this time of year, I'm coming up with every reason I can think of to eat them. Stoplight salad is a super simple, tasty way: Slice up some zucchini, yellow summer squash, and red bell pepper, and toss with a little olive oil and vinegar, or a vinaigrette or Italian salad dressing. (Also, I just came up with the name "Stoplight Salad" today - is it working, or is it too Rachel Ray? Sometimes I need to be saved from myself.)  

Portobellos make a pretty satisfying meal, I would say, though I was pretty surprised to find that they only contain about 3 grams of protein. I think it is only surprising because they've been compared to burgers for so long that I assumed the protein count was a little closer to being comparable. Nope! Still, I ate a Greek yogurt earlier today that had a whopping 14 grams of protein in it, so don't think that veggie week is going to kill me or anything.

Brady tells me that the texture of these portobellos, when grilled, is very similar to eggplant, something I have avoided like poison since an unsavory experience with it in my childhood. I guess an eggplant recipe or two is in our future.

Quote of the Day: Love is like a poisonous mushroom: You don't know if it's the real thing until it's too late. ~ Unknown

Quinoa Garden Burgers

Despite our omnivorousness, Brady and I are always interested in vegetarian (and sometimes even vegan) food options. Even if you love chicken and beef, a little variety is nice, right? For us, eating meat only 3-4 days per week is part of our small-time effort to be more Earthdwellers. So when we started trying meat-free burgers made with veggie protein and the like, I started to think, why can't I make these? I can make these, right? I'm making these.

Well, I was half right. I made them. They were tasty, but they were not what I would call a "burger." More like quinoa falafel. They were fragile, and too soft to be eaten in a bun. I think I had all the right ingredients happening, but perhaps in the wrong ratios. Also, the addition of black or pinto beans would do a great deal to improve their solidity. I was going for the "vegan" thing with these, so I used ground flax instead of egg as a binding ingredient. With about 1/2 cup of beans and an egg or two, these would be a much more solid patty. Hindsight is 20-20.

I used quinoa as a base because of its protein, fiber, and  hearty texture. I happened to have a little pearled barley hanging around from some more wintry recipes, which I decided to add, but I think you could use all quinoa, increase the barley ratio, or use a mixture of quinoa and brown rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa 

3 1/2 tablespoons ground flax

1/2 onion 

2 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1/2 - 1 chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (optional)

4 oz fresh, clean mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup - 3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

small handful cilantro, torn

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the garlic, salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, the onion, cayenne, ground flax, cilantro, and chipotle chili if you're using one. Combine well.

2. Add bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Process until veggies are chopped - not liquefied.

3. Dump the contents of the food processor out into a large bowl, and mix in the quinoa. Sprinkle in breadcrumbs until the mixture is just solid enough to form into patties. Mix well, and form into patties.

4. Cook garden burger patties in a grill pan for 8-10 minutes each side over medium heat, or cook them in a George Foreman Grill for about 8-10 minutes total. Serve on a bun or in a pita with veggies or a yogurt sauce.

I served these on burger buns with a super simple tzatziki sauce and steamed green beans on the side. Besides eggs lurking in the buns, and the tzatziki (which is easily swapped out for lettuce and tomato, or an animal-free topping like salsa) this is a vegan meal.

In the end, these weren't what I was going for, but if you made them as mini-patties and served them in a pita, they would be just as delightfully delicious as the dish I had imagined.

Quote of the Day: CBS has no problem with airing commercial after commercial advocating the consumption of fried chicken, pork sausage and fast-food burgers, even though eating these products are making Americans fat, sick and boring in bed. ~ Lisa Lange

NOTE: I have to say, since Lisa Lange is a well-known figure and the VP of PETA, I do not support or advocate for PETA in any way. I believe there is a relatively humane and compassionate way to enjoy reasonable amounts of meat in our diets, and I am a really big fan of animals in general. This quote is funny and poignant, but I do not support the guilt, exaggeration, and fear-mongering perpetrated by PETA. Of course, we all have our own feelings on the topic and must do our own research and make the decisions that are best for us and our families.

7-Ingredient, 3-Step Mushroom Balls with Simple Gravy

In the spirit of full disclosure: These are loaded with butter, they're a little bit fragile, and I made mine much too big. None of these things are bad, per se, but your experience with making these little guys might be kinda different from mine.

They are also delicious. I mean really delicious. We both thought they tasted a bit like Swedish meatballs, which we are a little crazy for.

Ingredients:

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups seasoned dry breadcrumbs - I used plain whole wheat breadcrumbs with a 1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

[Preheat your oven to 350 Farenheit]

1. Mix together the first 6 ingredients. Gradually mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is just stiff enough to shape into balls. (You may not need the full 2 cups).

2. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls, and place on greased cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Or until they smell so delicious that you have the be held back from sticking your head in the oven.

I think I only ended up using about a cup and a half of breadcrumbs, because I was determined that nothing would overwhelm the mushroomy goodness. They were the slightest bit fragile, and they flattened out the tiniest bit when baking, but I still recommend playing around with what amount of breadcrumbs is right for you. If I wanted to eat bread balls I'd eat bread, but that's me.

Mushroom balls

Yeah, mine were too big. This recipe is supposed to make about 22 mushroom balls, and I made 15. Whoops! They cooked for more like 26 to 28 minutes.

We had them with whole wheat pasta in a quick gravy I made by sauteeing a small handful of chopped mushrooms, and the same amount of chopped onion with 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme in yep, you guessed it, butter - about 1 1/2 tablespoons. I added just under 2 cups of chicken stock, then gradually added about 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, whisking while adding to prevent lumps. If you don't have cornstarch on hand (I can't believe I did), white flour works, too, you'll just have to add it a little bit at a time to see how the gravy responds. Stir the gravy frequently until thickened, then toss with pasta. These would also be great with egg noodles, or alone as an appetizer. These can be made ahead of time and heated up in the oven.

If you know of a suitable substitute for eggs, you could make these vegan, but I don't know what you'd do about the butter. These need butter. I have never tried vegan butter so I can't recommend it.

Quote of the Day: “Love is like a poisonous mushroom - you don't know if it is the real thing until it is too late." ~ Unknown