Portobello Eggplant Sandwich

With the vegetarian and/or me working virtually every night this month, my mission has been to find quick, easy and satisfying dinners that will neither require too much prep nor leaving us feeling so full afterwards that we can't go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Last night, that led me down the path of sandwiches. With so much wonderful produce from the greenmarket, I've definitely been on a vegetable kick and I started thinking about grills and, not for the first time, wishing we had one. And what are my three favorite vegetables to cook on a grill? Portobello mushrooms, onions and eggplant. Even though I don't often eat eggplant these days, when I find it fresh and local and organic at the greenmarket, I make an exception.

Alas, we have no grill. But, if you can stand heating up the apartment for fifteen minutes, mushrooms, onions and eggplant are just as (if not more) delicious roasted. And, bonus, you don't have to worry about the bits of onion falling through the cracks of the grill!

I wanted to elevate these from a "typical" sandwich so, while the veggies were roasting, I whipped up a quick tahini spread with fresh basil (better and more nutritious than a more traditional mayonnaise or, worse, ketchup). We also served these with some big arugula leaves on sprouted sesame bread and had a salad on the side. Bon appetit!



 Portobello Eggplant Sandwich

Sandwich

• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
• 1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
• 8 slices bread
• 1 bunch large arugula leaves
• 1 American eggplant, sliced

Spread

• 1/2 cup sesame paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon salad seasoning blend
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Arrange mushrooms, onion and eggplant on a foil-covered baking sheet (or two). Roast 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the spread by blending together all ingredients in a food processor until creamy.

When vegetables are cooked, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Toast bread. Generously spread spread onto half of bread slices and top with 1-2 leaves arugula, 1 mushroom, some red onion and 1 slice eggplant. Cover with second slice of bread. Enjoy!

Links:

• Grilled Eggplant & Portobello Sandwich from Eating Well
• Crispy Eggplant and Portobello Mushroom and Cheese Sandwiches from Food Network
• Grilled Portobello Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella from AllRecipes.com
• Eggplant and Portobello Mushroom Melt from Wine and a Spoon
• Grilled Eggplant and Portobello Mushroom Sandwich from Roman Meal

Mushroom Soup, Pate, Porcini Sandwich

As Fall settles in and I reluctantly admit that the cold weather is here to stay, I crave soups. And no thin vegetable broths for me; I want thick, dense and warming umami-laden stews. But how to make one that's vegetarian (with the possible exception of chicken broth), gluten-free and sugar-free, thereby satisfying all our collective dietary restrictions?

Enter mushrooms; lots and lots of mushrooms. They're chewy, hearty, tasty and the epitome of vegetarian umami. Often sharing the spotlight with barley, I instead made them the star. I strengthened the flavor with homemade chicken broth (although vegetable would do just as well) and Shaoxing wine (you could also use grape juice). The vegetarian partially pureed it with an immersion blender so it was chunky enough that you had to chew, not merely slurp, it.

The soup was rich and filling. One of our guests declared it the best thing I'd ever made and the vegetarian, who normally avoids leftovers like the plague, heated it up for lunch the next day!

In order to make it into a full meal, we also served sandwiches with mushroom jam (made from dried porcini I brought back from Paris last year) and pate (duck liver for the omnivores and faux gras for the vegetarian). It was a delightful introduction to Fall. Bon appetit!

Mushroom Soup, Pate, Porcini Sandwich
adapted from Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird

Porcini Jam

• 1/4 cup dried porcini
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine (or grape juice)
• 1/4 cup lucuma powder
• 1 teaspoon blue diamond salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Szechwan peppercorns
• 1 cup water

Mushroom Soup

• 1/4 cup clarified butter (or coconut oil)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (get as exotic assortment as you can find and afford)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 cup rice wine (or grape juice)
• 1 cup Cocobiotic
• 8 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup pate (faux gras for vegetarians, liver pate of your choice for omnivores)
• 16 slices bread, toasted (use sprouted, gluten-free or whatever's appropriate to your diet)
• 2 tablespoons ghee (or olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon chives, minced

Begin by making the jam. Combine dried porcini, onion, rice wine, lucuma powder, salt and pepper in a saucepan over low heat. Cook for 1 hour, adding water as needed and stirring occasionally, until it achieves a jammy consistency but isn't completely dry and stuck to the pan. Remove from heat and set aside. Puree it or leave it chunky (we did the latter).

Now make the soup: Melt ghee in a pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and salt and saute 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add vinegar, wine and Cocobiotic and cook 2 more minutes. Add broth and potato, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 minutes. Using an immersion blender, roughly blend soup so the base is thickened but there are still chunks of mushroom. (Unless you want to puree it completely smooth, in which case, do.)

Serve alongside pate, jam, bread and additional ghee. Allow your guests to make their own sandwiches. Sprinkle soup with chives as a garnish. Enjoy!

Links:

• Pates aux Cepes from Serious Eats
• Pressure Cooker Porcini Mushroom Pate from hip pressure cooking
• Warm Porcini Mushroom Flan with Wild Mushroom Confit, Truffle Emulsion and Crispy Phyllo Threads from Food Network
• Creamy Chestnut Soup with Porcini Mushrooms and Sauteed Root Vegetables from Food Network
• The Real Mushroom Soup from Jamie Oliver
  
  

Quick Sauteed Wild Mushrooms

Not surprisingly, the most difficult thing to get used to when adapting to eating animal proteins at every meal is how to still make a satisfying meal for the vegetarian without too many extra dishes and too much extra work. When we're both home early enough, the vegetarian helps, often making an extra starch for himself and/or baking a few veggie burgers alongside my protein of choice.

But many nights I'm alone in the kitchen, which I find surprisingly relaxing. Those nights, my movements are more fluid and I follow my recipes less closely. I cook more based on taste and smell and excitedly await when the vegetarian comes home and (hopefully) remarks on how delicious the house smells.

I'm sure not everyone would agree with this, but I think sauteed mushrooms (especially with lots of garlic and shallots) are a delicious smell. And they have enough substance to be a perfect meat substitute. Over quinoa linguine, they became the vegetarian's main dish. And a smaller portion alongside deviled eggs with anchovies was a perfect dinner for me. You could also up the protein by adding some crushed almonds on top of the mushrooms or (if you're cooking only for omnivores) mixing in some anchovies. Bon appetit!

Quick Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
(adapted from Whole Foods and Macrobiotic Cooking and Healing)

• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms
• 4 ounces cremini mushrooms
• 8 ounces portobello mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Innergy Biotic
• 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped

With a damp paper towel, clean mushroom caps. Remove woody stems from shiitakes and slice all the mushrooms thinly. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms, stir frequently, and cook 8 minutes, until they become fragrant and begin to brown.

Add garlic and Innergy Biotic, increase heat to high and cook 2 minutes, until liquid all-but evaporates, stirring occasionally so as to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat, add thyme, salt and pepper and stir well. Serve, sprinkled with parsley. Enjoy!

Links:

• Sauteed Wild Mushrooms from Food Network
• Sauteed Wild Mushrooms from Food Network
• Quick Sauteed Wild Mushrooms from Whole Foods Cooking
• Wild Mushroom Saute from Epicurious.com
• Wild Mushrooms Sauteed in Butter, Sherry and Lemon from Closet Cooking

Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding

I spent my junior year of college abroad in Paris, France. For the first time, I was in charge of my own meals, cooking dinner around 5 nights a week. Much to my surprise, I started coming up with some wonderful creations and, wanting to remember the recipes, I started blogging. My blog was the now-defunct Noshes, Thoughts & Reves.

When the vegetarian and I started this blog, it was for several reasons. One was to bring us closer together, to create a way in which we could become excited about food together. It was also a way for me to share my own triumphs and tribulations of cooking mostly vegetarian with a wider audience. In the back of my mind, I think I imagined myself eventually becoming an occasional meat-eater myself, with virtually all my cooking becoming sustainable and vegetarian.

When I adopted the Body Ecology Diet, my food needs changed again and I adapted our diets to become gluten-free and sugar-free. At first, I made a point of making meat or fish several times a week but I slowly got tired of putting so much effort into a meal that only the two of us were eating and, mixed with all the reading I do about why vegetarianism is better, our kitchen produced more and more vegetarian meals.

Sadly, a year after starting the Body Ecology Diet I still have a compromised immune system and tire easily. Last month, I took the inevitable next step and consulted a holistic doctor. He explained that I'm suffering from adrenal fatigue, so I've been focusing more on being good to my body and resting. I'm also taking homeopathic supplements. I am continuing to avoid sugar and gluten, although I can now have sprouted grains. I can't have dairy, potatoes, peppers or eggplant. And I have to eat animal protein at every meal.

So what has this meant for our home? I've started cooking fish and meat again. Not all kinds -- I'm avoiding pork, beef and processed meats -- but it's definitely been a change. We add veggie burgers for the vegetarian to many meals and share a vegetable dish. And I've been eating a lot of eggs. It's taken adjustments but so far it's fun. It means I have to plan meals farther in advance than I was wont to do. And I really miss cheese.

I made this bread pudding for our last dinner party. I adapted it from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Foolproof and I think it's a keeper. We served it with Accidental Turkey and Ratatouille with Penne. Bon appetit!

Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding
inspired by Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

• 1 1/2 loaves sprouted French bread, diced into bread cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 4 leeks, sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup CocoBiotic
• 1 tablespoon special pasta/ratatouille blend
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/3 cup Italian parsley, minced
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread bread cubes out on a baking pan and bake 15 minutes. It's ok if they get a little browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile, over medium heat, heat oils in a large skillet. Add leeks and cook 8 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, basil, Cocobiotic, spice blend and pepper. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk and chicken stock. Add bread cubes and mushrooms, stirring everything together. Push bread cubes down into liquid so they're as submerged as possible. Set aside for 30 minutes so bread can absorb the liquid. Pour into a 13 x 9 baking dish and bake 45 minutes until custard is set. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Links:

• Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding from Food Network
• Savory Prosciutto-Gruyere Bread Pudding from Discover Rias Baixas Wines
• Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding from Noble Pig
• Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding from Garnish with Lemon
• Mushroom, Leek and Parmesan Bread Pudding from Food & Wine Magazine

Braised Pinto Beans & Shiitake Mushrooms

Back before Hurricane Sandy, I went to Tokyo for a week for work. Luckily, I was able to to have most afternoons (and several evenings) to myself when I could explore that exotic city -- definitely the most foreign place I've ever been to. Never having been somewhere where I couldn't at least read the street signs, it was a totally new experience for me and one I hope to be able to share with the vegetarian at some point in the future!

Of the culinary delights, I of course indulged in fantastic sashimi (it's so hard to eat it back in the States

now!), udon and lots of tea. Not being able to speak the language, I mostly ordered by pointing at various items on a menu so half the time I didn't really know what I was eating: not something that bothered me in the slightest!

My favorite afternoon in the city was spent in the company of Mom's best friend from high school, who happens to live in Tokyo. She took me around kappabashi, "kitchen town", where we wandered in and out of various kitchenware, restaurant depot and dried goods stores. Of the delicacies I brought home, the largest was a package of dried shiitake mushrooms. I could smell them even through the plastic and they sat on our hutch waiting to be used.

The opportunity presented itself last week as I scanned my brain for what to braise my newest batch of beans with. Mushrooms! I exclaimed. I soaked the shiitakes all day and then when it was time to make dinner, I was also rewarded with the soaking liquid which turns into a fantastic stock (I've since used it several times). Serve these over linguine. Leftovers? We had them over spaetzle one day and as part of a mixed green salad the next. I recommend a rioja alongside. Bon appetit!

Braised Pinto Beans & Mushrooms

• 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil with chili (you can substitute olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 10 yellow onions, finely diced
• 12 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 cup chicken broth (can substitute vegetable broth)
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons oregano, chopped

Soak mushrooms in a bowl of clean cold water for at least 1 hour, ideally 8 or overnight. Drain and slice thinly. Save soaking liquid and use as mushroom broth.

Heat oil and butter together in a pan over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and saute 8 minutes, until onions are soft. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomato sauce, paprika, beans, salt, pepper, broth and fennel seeds. Cook another 15 minutes, until beans are warm and soft has thickened slightly. Garnish with oregano and serve warm.

Links:

• Braised Beef & Mushrooms from Eating Well
• Black Beans with Mushrooms from VegWeb.com
• Onion Rings & Green Bean Casserole from Jules Speaks Gluten Free Blog
• Grilled Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Mango Black Bean Salsa from Tasty Yummies
• Mushroom Burger from Vegetarian Food
• Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili from Eating Well

Braised Black Beans with Potatoes

When we first moved in together (and it became clear that I was the more comfortable in the kitchen), the vegetarian assured me that he would never expect me to have dinner on the table waiting for him when he got home. And he's been wonderfully true to his word! In fact, some of our happiest memories have been cooking together.

But these days I've been getting home first most nights. And with the vegetarian leaving the house at sunrise five days a week, dinner gets pushed earlier and earlier. Not to mention the fact that winter braises take longer to cook than a quick summer salad! And so one night last week when I knew that I'd be home first, I pulled several ingredients out of our cupboards and refrigerator (along with some fresh potatoes) and made these black beans. I also made some cornbread so that, when the vegetarian came home, it smelled like baking. As Cher said in Clueless, "Whenever a boy comes, you should always have something baking." Serve with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Bon appetit!

We shared this post with Gluten Free Fridays. Head on over and check out all the other great entries!

Braised Black Beans with Potatoes

• 1 can (2 cups) black beans, cooked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cremini mushrooms
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun spice mix
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 22 red-skinned potatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Rinse beans in a colander and drain well.

In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and peppers and cook 5 minutes, until fragrant. Add beans, Cabernet, broth, Cajun spice mix and salt. Stir well, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 minutes, until beans are soft.

Add onions and potatoes. Replace cover and cook 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Partially remove lid and cook another 10 minutes until everything is soft. Season with pepper. Enjoy!

Links:

• Braised Beef with Potatoes from Southern Food and Recipes
• Green Beans with New Potatoes from Food Network
• Potato, Kale, and White Bean Hash from Beard and Bonnet
• Chicken Chili with White Beans, Sweet Potato and Lime from Gluten-Free Goddess
• Potato Veggie Burgers from Vegetarian Food
• Slow Cooker Green Beans, Ham and Potatoes from Allrecipes

Green Peas with Allspice and Mushrooms

Happy November! Not sure where you are, but, here in NYC, we've just survived a hurricane -- Hurricane Sandy. Now, don't get excited, the vegetarian and I are fine. Actually, I wasn't even in NYC -- I spent the last 2+ weeks in LA and Japan for work (enjoying some wonderful sashimi in Japan!) and was lucky enough to get one of the first flights into the newly-reopened JFK airport.

The vegetarian and our apartment lost cable and internet for a couple of days but it returned shortly after I did. Now we're enjoying a few days off (reduced subways make it quite difficult to get around) and, as I nurse a nasty cold, I'm getting reacquainted with our kitchen!

Tonight's offering is a simple Syrian-Jewish dish, very gently adapted from A Fistful of Lentils. Served over rice (we used a smoked basmati, wild rice and quinoa blend) and lentils, it was a perfect meal. Enjoy!

Green Peas with Allspice and Mushrooms
adapted from A Fistful of Lentils

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup water
• 20 oz. garden peas, defrosted if frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 teaspoon allspice, ground

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil until it moves as easily as water. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and cook 3 minutes. Add water and peas. Cover and cook 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and allspice and mix well. Cook another 2 minutes so flavors meld. Adjust seasonings. Serve warm over rice. Bon appetit!

Inspirational Links:

• Peas with Mushrooms from Allrecipes.com
• Mushroom and Green Pea Risotto from She Knows
• Green Peas and Mushrooms from Food.com
• Mushrooms with Peas from Manjula's Kitchen

Stir-Fried Brown Rice with Salad Greens

In my ongoing efforts to like salad, I started thinking about other ways I could use salad greens. Everyone always has them raw, but what if I tried cooking them? There are many salad greens that do double-duty as cooked greens and raw greens (spinach, arugula, escarole and radicchio all come to mind) so why stop there? I've heard of wilted lettuce before so I decided to turn my spring salad mix into a stir-fry.

This was honestly one of the easiest and most successful dishes I've ever made. A (mostly) vegetarian friend stopped by last night and, since I can't resist feeding people, he happily stayed for dinner. And he couldn't stop raving about the stir-fry! The vegetarian's only complaint? That I didn't make enough. So, if you're feeding more than two, make extra!

To preserve the "salad" feel of the greens, I stir-fried them in olive oil along with 4 cloves of garlic (to add some heat). Make sure you have everything prepped and your rice cooked and cooled (you can even be lazy and buy already-cooked brown rice) before you start. We enjoyed it with Mixed Green Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, as well as a bottle of Vinho Verde. Bon appetit!

Stir-Fried Brown Rice with Salad Greens
adapted from Food.com
Serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups salad greens, packed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup vinho verde
• 2 ribs celery, diagonally sliced
• 10 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Heat wok over high heat until smoking. Swirl in olive oil. Add greens and garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Remove greens and garlic to a bowl. Without cleaning out the wok (or removing it from the heat), add vinho verde, celery and mushrooms. Stir-fry 3 minutes.

Add rice, green onions and greens and garlic. Stir-fry until everything is heated through, breaking up the rice with your spatula if it's clumping together. Drizzle with soy sauce. Serve immediately.

Links to other salad green delicacies:

• Asian Greens Salad from From Scratch Club
• Orange, Walnut, Gorgonzola and Mixed Greens Salad with Grilled Chicken from Pasta Princess & More
• Grilled Bitter Greens Salad with Roasted Beets, Spiced Pecans and Roquefort from The Kitchn
• Roasted Greens Salad with Balsamic Drizzle from Eighty Twenty
• Warm Broccoli and Baby Greens Salad from the rebel grrl kitchen