Stuffed Mushrooms and Spicy Squash

The seasons have changed since the last time I posted, so I figured it was high time to move on to something more in keeping with them: hearty mushrooms and winter squash just seem to say autumn. 

Portabella steaks with vegan feta and savory stuffing, runner beans, and spicy caramelized squash

This meal was inspired by Michelle at Lovinlivinvegan, who has been posting about portabella steaks recently, and she pretty much convinced me it was high time to bring on some 'shrooms. She linked to Happy Herbivore's recipe, which includes a nice gravy.  I followed the recipe faithfully, except that I upped the sherry and reduced the balsamic in the gravy, and thickened it with a little arrowroot powder.

After I simmered the mushroom steaks, I decided to go a step further and stuff them with some of Happy Herbivore's vegan feta combined with a savory bread stuffing.

Happy Herbivore's Fat-free Vegan Feta

I really liked the feta recipe and that she included white miso in it. I added a little umeboshi vinegar to the mix. I'll definitely make this again, but next time I'm going to try it with a little less red wine vinegar and more lemon juice.

For the stuffing, I sauteed some onion, garlic, and celery; tossed in some sprouted grain bread crumbs and herbs, salt and pepper and a bit of veggie broth. I should have added walnuts and parsley, but I forgot.

After they were stuffed, I baked them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 F, until the tops started to brown and turn golden. 

   Stuffed Portobellos pre-baking

Thanks to both Michelle and HH for the recipes and inspiration! 

Now, on to the squash. I got three mini hubbards out of the garden this year...that's it! Three. Pitiful. There were lots of squash on the vine, and I hand pollinated them just to make sure, but the squash just kept fading as if they hadn't been pollinated. I've grown squash and the like many times and done the hand pollinating, so not sure what went wrong. Any ideas? 

But, I'm moving off topic...I talk about the hubbards because that's what I used to make some spicy, garlicky, caramelized, oven-roasted squash.

I drizzled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the squash chunks and sprinkled it liberally with red pepper flakes and some coconut palm sugar (wanted to use maple syrup, but I was out). Then, I baked the squash at 375 F for about 20-30 minutes. The squash chunks kind of look like avocado, because they  were slightly immature and still a little green under the skin. 

About 10 minutes before I took them out of the oven, I poured a mixture of soy sauce and water blended with about 8 cloves of garlic over the top. The result was some spicy, garlicky, caramelized squash.

Last but not least, hats off to all you Vegan MoFoers out there! I participated in '09 and in 2010, but I'm sitting this one out. That's partly because I didn't think I'd have the energy or time to blog that much this year, but mostly because in years past, I was so busy doing my own posts that I didn't have anywhere near as much time as I would have liked to read and explore other blogs. So this year, I'm cheering from the sidelines and reading to my heart's content.

Talk to you soon, and Happy October everybody!
Rose Tobin
Roseann LaPonte
Rosanne Marie Tobin

Hey, It's Still Summer Chili Dog

I think I may have been cyber bullied into doing this post. (j/k Shen!). But, I know I wasn't the only one who was moved to make chili after seeing Shen's appetizing batch last weekend. (Just in case you don't already know, that's Shen of Shenandoah Vegan fame, aka SV)  Her chili looked so beany and thick and delicious, I had to make a batch the following day. I mentioned this to SV, and at her subsequent request, here are some pics.

We've been eating it since last Monday, so by today, I only had a bit left...just enough for a chili dog. I also thought this was a good time to try out the new Field Roast Frankfurters that have been in my freezer for about a month. I guess they sell them at the baseball park here, which I have to say is cool.

Here's one frying up in a pan:

As far as the frankfurers go, they seemed drier and grainier to me than other veggie dogs; the texture is similar to their veggie sausages. The flavor is distinct and savory; overall, I liked the taste and the texture. I don't buy veggie dogs too often, only when I get a hankering. I think I'd buy these again, but maybe not to the exclusion of the occasional Smart Dog.

On to the chili...Shen, per your request, this one's for you:

Shen's batch was far more delicious-looking than mine; hers was the quintessential bowl of chili. I didn't have Crystal's chili mix, but I did base mine off the what I could gather Shen put in.  It had onions, garlic, and pepper (anaheim, sweet banana, and poblano) sauteed with chili flakes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and ground coriander,  tons of par-cooked beans and a large can of tomatoes tossed in with salt and pepper, cooked for several hours. Chili always tastes better the next day, and the day after, and the day after that...

On a side note, I tried some spiralized oven potatoes. I used the largest blade on the sprializer and I was hoping they'd come out like curly fries, but no go. Even the largest blade is too thin; they were more like hash browns--not bad, just not like fries.

Summer is still in full swing around here, but this weekend will probably be the last blast of it. Both the chili and the chili dog really hit the spot: spicy, tasty food that goes great with beer. Thanks for the inspiration Shen!  

Speaking of beer, I love seeing signs like this:

Yes, please!!

Rose Tobin

Roseann LaPonte

Rosanne Marie Tobin

Gone Spiral

summer squash, daikon and carrot noodles with cinnamon basil pesto

Holee molee, this post has been a long time getting off the ground. It's been sitting in my publish Q since last Sunday...better late than never, I guess. 

Last Saturday, when I received my latest kitchen acquisition, I couldn't wait to try it out:  

I'm a big believer in the saying that the best tool in the kitchen is your hands but, I'd be hard pressed to do this to such effect with my bare hands: 

spiralized veggies 

I've been wanting one of these for a while, and in looking around for which kind to buy I read several product reviews. Some spiralizers were said to produce a lot of waste, leaving a lot of the vegetable unspiralized after it was all over. Others worked on soft veggies like zucchini but didn't do so well with hard ones like carrots and beets. This one got good reviews on both those counts. 

It has a simple design, which is an attractive characteristic in a gadget if you ask me. It may seem a little pricey for what it is, but it works well, is easy to use, and easy to clean. I feel like it's worth the money, provided it's something you'll use with some frequency. It's funny, you read such wildly different reviews; some people hated this product, others loved it. In the end, everyone has to decide for themselves. 

I know a lot of you have spiralizers: any tips or tricks or things you especially like to use them for? There's a picture in the instruction booklet of potato curls...(I'm thinking curly fries). 

For my first run, I decided keep it tame and make some veggie noodles to toss with pesto.

Speaking of kitchen gadgets, I don't know whether a pestle and mortar qualifies as one or not, but either way, I don't have one.  A shameful state of affairs really, so I usually make pesto by chopping it up really fine, tossing it into a bowl and stirring in a tablespoon or two of oil at the very end.  I used cinnamon basil for this batch--the leaves are less spongy than sweet basil and it has a subtle cinnamon scent and taste. It's great used in desserts and produces pretty purple flowers.

In other new products, I ran across these tofu-based dips:

We tried the curry flavor, which was tasty...it reminded me of tofu "egg" salad, but, I'm not sure I'll buy it again. They have a few other flavors, has anyone seen or tried any of them? 

We spent most of the weekend lazing around in the garden, which gave way to making pickled nasturtium seeds.  I have lots of them in the garden and it was easy to gather a little jar full of fresh green seeds. It's an interesting idea from one of my fav kitchen books called The Magic of Herbs; they're supposed to be a similar to capers when they're done, which makes sense. They won't be ready for another six weeks, and I'll post more about them then if they turn out well. 

green nasturtium seeds

And finally, please ignore my gnarly knuckle, but here's a cute little ring made from a blade of grass, a clover, and some teeny yellow flowers. It actually stayed on most of the day; I was quite chuffed about it: