Trying to Heal plus Mushroom Stroganoff {Vegan & Gluten free}

Sorry! 

This post has been moved HERE, please visit my new site at MintGrapefruit.com for more!

GFAF Expo and an Early Summer Treat

Come September 7th I will be one of the lucky bloggers to be attending the Gluten Free and Allergen Free Expo (GFAF) in Secaucus New Jersey! This is an exciting opportunity for me to meet other bloggers and to check out and share all kinds of products. I am looking to expanding my knowledge, growing as a blogger and sharing it with you! 

The expo will consist of over 150 vendors sharing their gluten and allergen free products, as well as numerous bloggers and writers sharing their experience. My plan will be to live tweet and blog my experiences throughout the day. I will be using the hash tag #gfafexpo as will other bloggers and visitors so if you aren't able to attend you can follow along on all the social networking sites. Check out their website, here.  

But until then...you can follow me and and my foodie adventures!

And so, it is farmers market season again, and I don't know about you but I love walking around the farmers markets! The one in walking distance from my office just started last Thursday and will be every Thursday through the summer. I walked up on Thursday to get a juice from one of my favorite juice bars, Zia's Cafe, and ended up walking around and buying some zucchini.  

I had all this zucchini and needed to use it up, since I am the only one that really eats it in my house, I invited a friend over to help me eat it up. I made a Zucchini and Mushroom Bake, very close to a crustless quiche.

Zucchini & Mushroom Bake

Ingredients:
4 small zucchini
1/2 medium onion
1 to 1 1/2 cups mushrooms
1/2 tsp herbamare
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup each shredded cheddar cheese, Gouda, and ricotta salada (feta or goat cheese would work also)
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Saute the onions and mushrooms just until soft (you can add the zucchini if you would like, I did not.) 

Grease a 9" pie pan, layer the zucchini, and top with the onion and mushrooms. Sprinkle the herbamare over the vegetables. Add the cheddar and Gouda. 


Beat together the eggs and milk, add a little salt and pepper.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Sprinkle the ricotta salada over the eggs and bake for about 20 minutes or until firm.

Enjoy! And keep an eye out for me in September at the Meadowlands!!

Will you be at the GFAF Expo? Let me know, I'd love to meet you!

And what are some of your favorite Farmers Market finds during the summer?

Recipe shared on Easy Green Mama, Gluten Free Linky for August 20, 2013

Quick and Simple Mushroom Tart with Goat Cheese

Today was a beautiful day in southern Pennsylvania, a great day to be outside.  My son and his new best friend (can you have a bromance at 2?) had a play date at our house and we were in and out, and in and out.  We played baseball, colored on the deck, played with all the toys in the  living room and had a great time.  While the boys played, I started preparing the mushroom tart. Don't worry, I kept my eye on them at all times, unless my husband was watching. 

I have been wanting to do more vegetarian foods, as I am sure you know by now, and not only less meat but foods that wouldn't upset my stomach. I have been slowly compiling a list of foods that do and don't irritate me and I am finding that mushrooms are one that do not bother me so, I hope to use them more often.  I also am trying to cut out dairy, which I must say is hard even though I don't really eat that much of it.  I tried some dairy free 'cheese', and I lets just say...I didn't finish it.  Luckily, I have found that goat cheese is okay and I like it so it works for me! So here it is, a simple and easy Mushroom Tart with Goat Cheese.

Mushroom Tart with Goat Cheese

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 a large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp sherry

2 pints mushrooms, sliced (I used button and crimini)

1 sheet of store bought puff pastry, thawed

2 oz goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large skillet, sweat together the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat just until translucent  Add the sliced mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, cover and let sweat for about 5 minutes, turn up the heat slightly to medium-high and add the sherry.  Cook until the mushrooms are very tender.

Lay out the sheet of puff pastry on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Pour the mushrooms on the puff pastry, leaving about an inch around the edges.  Sprinkle with the goat cheese, and bake for about 20 minutes until golden.

Enjoy!

Mushroom & Kale Noodle Kugel

Trying to find meatless meals that my whole family will enjoy is not easy, the younger of the two is slightly easier since most of what i make are still new tastes/flavors to him, plus he really likes to help in the kitchen.  The older one, well you know...he has a few dislikes. I came across this recipe while looking through my Whole Foods Recipes app, I have a tendency to browse food apps during various down times. But I looked at the ingredients and there are a couple that my husband doesn't care for, but oh well. I know he likes (or at least doesn't mind) the main ingredients so I thought I would give it a go. (Needless to say, he isn't overly excited to try it.)  I mean come on, it a kugel, a baked pasta what is not to like. So for those who don't know, a kugel is a Jewish casserole that is traditionally made with egg noodles, it can also be made with potatoes or other vegetables, served as a side dish or like in my case the main dish with a salad or other vegetable.

This weekend my son and I went to our first farmers market of the season, and he made sure to sample everyone's strawberries and snap peas.  There were a lot of people selling greens, so I picked up a really nice bunch of kale from one of the local farmers.  (I also made some kale chips, but that is a whole other story.) I must admit that even though I added this recipe to my "favorites" is wasn't until I saw the kale that I decided that I would actually make this, that and the mushrooms looked good at the store. (We also bought the strawberries that were used in the Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream that I posted earlier.)

I didn't stray from the original recipe much other than halving it, since I didn't want to get stuck eating kugel for the next week because the boys didn't like it.  I did add parmesan cheese and a little pit of panko breading on the top.  I put this together the night before so my husband could just put it in the oven when he got home, I would think you could probably even make it ahead and freeze (if you aren't weird about freezing dairy, I know some people are.) Anyway here it is...

Mushroom Kale Noodle Kugel
(adapted from Whole Foods)

Serves 8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (16 oz) package wide egg noodles
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 pound white or cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used some of both)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 bunch kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/4 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch dish; set aside. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain, rinse and drain again; transfer to a large bowl. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, until golden, 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook until mushrooms are very tender, 8-10 minutes. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes; add thyme. Add to noodles, toss and set aside.  Whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, remaining salt and parmesan cheese. Fold into noodles. Transfer to prepared dish, press down gently, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until lightly browned, about 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*This would be really good with spinach also, next time I would make sure to use small curd cottage cheese and I think I would even add one more egg.  I could have eaten the whole dish, my son ate most of the noodles, he wasn't too sure of the kale. My husband, well if he was my son he wouldn't get any ice cream.

Make ahead Lunches: Vegetarian Salads

This post follows my Day of Preparation post. I made three salads this weekend, all can be eaten cold but at least one I would recommend eating warm. I made these looking for a protein packed vegetarian lunches that will keep me feeling full longer after a workout.  Each salad was made to have two servings. I don't plan on eating these salads all on their own, I have various other items to go along with the them.  All of the salads can be tweaked to you tastes, and can even just be used as a side dish.

First, I made a Garbanzo and Rice Salad. 

1/2 cup of cooked rice
1/2 cup of garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
3 cucumber slices, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
2 green onions, white and light green only
1/8 cup chopped tomatoes, more if you would like
2 tablespoons basic vinaigrette (recipe below)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator.

Basic Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, mashed
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

The second, Warm Mushroom and Pearl Couscous Salad

2/3 cup pearl couscous, cooked
1/2 cup sherry mushrooms
1/8 cup marinaded baked tofu, cut into small cubes, I used Trader Joe's
2 tablespoons soybeans, steamed and shelled
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave or on the stove top, if you use the stove top you may want to add a little vegetable broth.

The third, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad

1/2 cup black beans, cooked or canned
1 cup roasted sweet potato, cut into bite size cubes
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tsp chopped jalapeno
1/8 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
a dash of Cheyenne (optional)
1/2 tsp Chipotle Seasoning
1 tablespoon basic vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator. (This can be eaten warm or cold)

Meatless Monday: Cauliflower & Mushroom Pasta

Lately when it comes to meatless meals I lean towards pasta dishes, I am sure it do to the fact my husband will usually at least try anything was pasta. This week was no different.

When I went grocery shopping I had it in my head I wanted to use cauliflower but didn't really know what I wanted to make, I also picked up baby portabella mushrooms because they looked good. I have been trying to get my husband to eat cauliflower for a while but he never will, I must say it gets frustrating! You can't not like something if you have never tried it (or if it has been more than twenty years, there's a statute of limitations on everything.) Anyway...

I would really like to make more family meatless meals but because of my husbands eating habits I fund it difficult. Unlike him I do not need to eat meat at every meal. I have gotten him to try and like new things so one step at a time. And by the way...he tried and liked this pasta dish. He didn't know what was in and he said he liked it! So yay!

Onto the pasta...

1 medium head of cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil, split
1/2 pound mushrooms
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 box of pasta, I used rigatoni
Grated parmesan, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bring a pot of water to boil.

Chop/break the cauliflower into bite size pieces. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for about 20 mins until tender.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and onion and mince the garlic. Sauté in the remaining olive oil until the onions are just translucent. Add pasta to boiling water.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and add to the mushrooms, add the vegetable broth. Toss all together and simmer until pasta is cooked. Add the pasta to the vegetables. Serve with parmesan cheese.




Baked version with Parmesan cheese through out.

Vegetable & Tofu Stirfry

When your child doesn't want to eat meat, substitute it! This recipe was great because my son helped make the dinner, which made him excited to try it, and he got to try something new. I choose certain ingredients that I new he could help with. He broke the green beans into small pieces, pulled the broccoli into florets, and took the caps off the mushrooms and tore them in to smaller pieces. He did this while I cut up the squash and tofu.

My little helper

Ingredients:
Fresh Green Beans
Fresh Broccoli
Yellow Squash (I used yellow for color)
Shataki Mushrooms
Green Onions
Firm (or Extra Firm) Tofu
Sesame Seeds
Sesame Oil
Peanut Oil
Hosin Sauce
Soy Sauce
Ginger

Jasmine Rice (I used Trader Joe's Thai Jasmine Rice, Frozen)

Stirring the Veg while tofu cooked

This is really a recipe that doesn't use measurements, it is all about taste and how much you want to make. So here it goes as we made it... Drain tofu, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, place on a towel to remove extra moisture, set aside. Meanwhile, start preparing the vegetables, cut into bite size pieces. Start heating about 2 tablespoons each of the sesame and peanut oils, in a large skillet. Toss the tofu with about 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu and cook until golden brown on all sides. Once the tofu is finished, remove from pan and place on a towel to remove any excess oil.

Ingredients

Add the broccoli and green beans to the oil and cook until starting to get tender, add the squash and mushrooms. Stir until coated with the oil and cook everything to crisp tender. Once the vegetables are cooked, mix in about 2 tablespoons (the magic measurement) of the hosin sauce and about two shakes of soy sauce. Add the tofu and green onions and toss to coat. Serve over rice.

My Plate

He wanted me to take a picture of his plate too.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Simple Meatless Pasta

This is a light and fresh pasta dish using vegetables that looked good simply roasted.

1 pint cherry or other small tomato
4 small peppers
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
about 1/2 box linguini
parmesan cheese to taste

Preheat oven to 350, cut vegetables and toss lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta.

Once the pasta and vegetables are finished cooking, toss the pasta in the pan with the vegetables. Add pasta water if needed. 

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper if needed.

As an option you can add seared scallops.

Mushroom Bisque

My mom brought me a lot of button mushrooms from her trip with my aunt to the Brandywine area of PA. So I was trying to figure out what I wanted to make with them, and after my request of ideas via social networking, soup was the answer. I looked online and in my cookbooks to try to find something that sounded good, and the winner was the mushroom bisque from my Moosewood Cookbook.

A little background on Moosewood if you don't know. The book I have is the 15th anniversary, New Revised Edition by Mollie Katzen; which means the recipes are a little lighter and use less dairy and eggs. The cookbooks are vegetarian and she also has a restaurant named Moosewood in Ithaca New York.

Now for the bisque... (side note, this could easily be made vegan if you wanted)

2 medium potatoes, I used russet
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups chopped onion
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms, I used button
1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt
1 to 2 small cloves or garlic, minced
1/4 tsp thyme
3 Tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
Fresh black pepper to taste
1 cup milk, or soy milk
Optional:
Croutons
Minced scallions

Peel potaoes, chop into small pieces, and place in a small saucepan with water. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a deep skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion and celery, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and salt, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Somewhere in there, add garlic and thyme. (Adding garlic later keeps its flavor stronger.) Remove from heat; stir in sherry, soy sauce and pepper.

Use a blender or food processor to puree both the potatoes in their cooking water and the mushroom saute in its own liquid. (When you run out of the liquid use the milk.) Combine yhe purees in a kettle or Dutch oven.

Stir, and heat gently; taste to adjust seasonings. Serve very hot, with optional but highly recommended toppings.