Vegan Mofo Day 12 Spicy without heat! - Mexican Baked Mushrooms

Today's mofo prompt is "Spicy without chilies".

Mexican food is often made with chilies and yet for those who don't like heat 

Mexican food also had a lot of flavour.

Here I show you how to enjoy some Mexican flavours without adding any chili..... 

and for those of you who do like heat you can always add some chili in!

This is a meal idea without exact quantities stated. The reason I do this is because I always like to encourage people to get experimental in their kitchen and enjoy the cooking process. It a wonderful way to realise that creative meals don't have to be time consuming or difficult to make. Whenever I make meals like this I make a comment to my husband "It's not that hard to make quick, easy yet enjoyable vegan meals! Why do some restaurants find it so difficult!"


MEXICAN BAKED PORTOBELLO'S

                            You'll need:

                                   Large portobello mushrooms

                                   Cooked black beans

                                   Can or tub of diced tomatoes

                                   Mexican spice mix/taco mix or

                                       - paprika, cumin, coriander & oregano

                                   Avocado

                                   And a batch of my basic cheese sauce

Remove the stems from the mushrooms.
Place them in a microwave proof container with 1cm of water and heat for 2 mins. This helps to soften them and significantly reducing oven cooking time.

In a mixing bowl combine the black beans, tomatoes and spices.
Drain the water from the mushrooms and place them in an oven proof dish.
Fill the mushrooms generously with the black bean/tomato mixture and bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 15-20 minutes until mushrooms have cooked through and the black bean mixture is hot. 

Pour a freshly made batch of cheese sauce over the top of the mushrooms 

and serve with slices of fresh avocado.

I feel like this meal looks a little fancy and if I got served this 

at a restaurant I'd be more than happy! 

What do you reckon!!! Does it look fancy enough to be a restaurant meal?

Question of the day: 

What meals do you make at home that are a little bit fancy?

In My Kitchen - April

For those of you who follow my blog, you may have noticed I have taken a bit of a break lately.
We have lots going on for us so I just needed some down time, and that meant time away from the computer.
I have plenty of recipes lined up to share in the coming weeks, but to get back into things I thought it would be a good idea to share what has been happening In My Kitchen so far this year. 

When life gets busy we find that we fall back onto easy meals. Well, to be perfectly honest the large majority of what we eat is easy, basic meals. But in busy times that means relying on some family favourites.

From Top left:
Red Lentil and Spinach Sauce with roasted potatoes and green beans, Veggie Pizza, mashed potatoes with steamed veggies and thick Mushroom Gravy with spinach added, Salad with Potato Waffles and Lentil Burgers, Red Lentil and Spinach Loaf with corn and potatoes, Rice & Veggie Bake, Eggplant Bean Sauce over roasted potatoes with corn, Lentil Meatballs with potatoes in tomato sauce and steamed veggies. 

Easy doesn't mean that dessert is forgotten! 
We often have banana ice-cream, or mini "puddings" that are made with just fruit, dates, applesauce and oats. I often throw together things like this without following a recipe. However when I made these raisin sweetened brownies my family gave me strict instructions to write down exactly what I had done and make them again and again! Recipe coming soon so stay tuned!

Below is a new family favourite that we are working out how to tweak it to be just right. The problem is, I have been slack with writing down exactly what I do, so no 2 batches ever end up the same!
But this is so good that my husband has made up a little song to go with it!

 
I love seeing all the colours as we are cooking our meals :-)
They are just so inviting!

I have been putting our pressure cooker to good use and making large batches of legumes. 
Sometimes though...... it all goes horribly wrong! 

I find that I am still getting used to the exact number of 'minutes' that I should set the cooker to, in order to get perfect legumes. This batch of fava beans that I put on were clearly overdone and they had completely crumbled into a big blob! So instead of being able to use them in a ratatouille like I had planned, I ended up doing some experimenting! I must admit that it brings me much joy to just experiment in my kitchen and not have to bother with precise measurements!
I made several dips and a batch of mini pita breads to go with them. I took this into work for a meeting and everyone really loved both the dip and the pita bread.
These stuffed foldovers were loved by my family too. They were filled with the gone-wrong fava beans, spinach, carrots, peas and corn. Of course, baked til golden brown (not shown).

Talking about baking, there is rarely a week that goes past without our oven producing wonderful aromas.
We made these animal cookies for a "vegan teddy bears picnic" we went to. They had a wonderful texture, quite true to 'cookies' even without the use of vegan butter replacements. I intend to master this creation and blog the recipe soon. However, since they do contain nuts, it is a rare occasion that we eat nuts at home so it may be a while before a final recipe eventuates! 
The "kale" cake shown is the recipe from the new Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, which I finally caved in and purchased! 
Also shown below is a pile of super yummy oat pancakes which we devoured for breakfast one morning. And one of my daughter's favourite after school snacks recently - apple nachos. Sliced apples, piled with goji berries, homemade chocolate sauce, coconut and a sprinkling of walnuts. 

Here's a glimpse of a few of her lunches lately:

More colourful items. She is really enjoying hommus and salad wraps/rolls at the moment. Pictured is also pita bread, banana loaf, fruit wrap and strawberries.  

I bought a new gadget recently - an air-fryer! I am in love with it! Not only does it NOT totally heat the whole house up (like the oven does) but it cooks my potato chips in less than half the time. It is also great for warming up leftovers for school lunchboxes and also makes wonderful crumbed mushrooms (even if the photo looks wrong, I promise you they were delicious! I used oyster mushrooms on this occasion).

Other new items in our kitchen:

PB2 (Powdered Peanut Butter)- Yes, yes I know - processed food! But alas, I just HAD to try this when I saw it in our health food store recently. And with much less fat than peanut butter it ticks the box for an occasional treat.
I bought these curry paste's to try and they are the only oil-free ones I could find. I have only opened the red one so far and it was HOT HOT HOT! So the other three-quarters of the container is still in the fridge!
These relatively new "flats" - available in Woolies and other stores, are made from veggies or fruit with the addition of seeds and/or nuts. They are dehydrated to become crispy. They are quite tasty. Again, not something I would purchase regularly but none the less a great product for when those occasions happen that we need something to snack on and are caught out unprepared (I'm thinking those days when you end up caught back at work for 2 hours!).
Also shown are these White Corn Tortillas. I pictured these because I have been asked about wraps that are oil-free. These are the only ones that I have had any luck being able to find regularly. To be honest, they don't fold real well and are best used in cooked items such as Mexican Pie.

And to finish off this post - here a few items "out" of my kitchen.
Enjoying a delicious Bean & Potato Salad under the Harbour Bridge just before day-light saving ended.
And an amazing oil-free vegan pizza that was made especially for me at a friends birthday party! I felt so blessed! :-)

It's nice to stop and enjoy the little blessings when life gets busy and the weight of everyday things are getting us down!

Question of the day:
What is something that you can stop and be thankful for lately?

Tell us what's been going on in your kitchen this month! And don't forget to add your link at Fig Jam & Lime Cordial. Thanks for hosting Celia! :-)

Filo Fillers

Confession time:
I've had this post sitting in my drafts folder since February.... waiting for me to re-do the recipes and take better pictures. However, since filo pastry is such a rare treat in our home it hasn't happened! And we have refined our diet even more in the last few months so the chances of filo making a re-appearance are now even more rare than previously!
So you'll just have to trust me when I say that even though the pictures are not the greatest, that each of these is totally delicious!!!!!

Filo Fillers - Tasty Pastry Options

There is something tremendously comforting for me about rolling up filo pastry. 
I don't really know what it is..... 
Perhaps it's having to be so tender so the pastry doesn't tear.
Perhaps it's experimenting with the many different types of fillings. 
Perhaps it's the excitement of feeling like we're having something a little bit fancy for dinner even though it's really easy to make.
Perhaps it's the fun of brushing over them knowing that their pale skin is going to come out brown and blistered when it's baked.
Perhaps it's just knowing they are a real treat....

Whatever it is, I recommend you try these fillings! 
And be sure to let me know if you find rolling filo pastry just as comforting as I do!!!

Although they reheat well, the pastry is never quite the same as when they are fresh from the oven. 

For each of these recipes I will give quantities to make 4-5 pastries depending on how generous you are with your fillings.
The instructions are the same for each filling - just different ingredients are used. 
I recommend using 2-3 sheets to roll each pastry. I find that using just one sheet will tear and/or get soggy. And no-one like a soggy bottom ;-) 


Basic Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. 


Place approximately a 1/2 cup of the filling onto 2-3 sheets of the filo pastry in the center and roll the pastry up, being sure to tuck the ends in to minimalise leakage. 





Place on a lined baking tray and brush with plant milk. 

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Tomato and Bean Filo Rolls
4 chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tin drained borlotti beans
1 teaspoon salsa spice mix

Curried Pumpkin Filo Rolls
1/4 small pumpkin - cut into cubes and cooked til tender
1 tin 4 bean mix, drained
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 zucchini, chopped and cooked
1 teaspoon curry powder

Potato and Pea Filo Triangles
2 cups mashed potato
1/2 cup frozen peas, cooked
1 teaspoon Rogan Josh spice blend

(I boil the potatoes and peas together to make life easier. I also like to wrap these ones into triangle shapes just to be different!)

(This is an example of what happens if you overlook the milk-brushing part, still delicious but the pastry ends up really dry.)

Question of the day:
Do you use filo pastry?
What are some of your favourite fillers?

Kids Lunchbox Club - Quick Mexican Quinoa Salad

My daughter has decided that she quite loves quinoa! This is thanks to her testing out a Dreena Burton recipe. So this means now she requests it for her lunchbox salad. We don't often eat quinoa, but I had a batch made up this week and with a few leftover bits and pieces from a Mexican-inspired meal we had prepared earlier in the week this delicious salad was created.
Nevermind the kids! I reckon this lunchbox meal would please any adult too!

QUICK MEXICAN QUINOA SALAD

To serve one you'll need:
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 Tablespoons of salsa
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 small capsicum - chopped
1/2 small avocado - diced

Stir a tablespoon of salsa into the quinoa and mix well. 
Add the other ingredients and stir through. Top with the remaining tablespoon of salsa.


 

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays
You can add your recipe on these blogs:
Vegan Dollhouse 
Rock My Vegan Socks

WIAW - Mexican Tofu Hash

Happy Wednesday everyone!

What did you eat today?
Add your link to What-I-Ate-Wednesday on the Peas & Crayons blog.

   Here's my eats of the day:

Recipe links:
Blueberry Lemon Muffins
Mexican Pizza - slices sandwiched together.
Lentil Pie - just made in the slow cooker instead and sliced potatoes in place of mash.
Tofu Hash - recipe below -->

Mexican Tofu Hash

When I think of a meal called "hash", potatoes come to mind! But who said you can't make a hash with tofu instead?!?!? You can always substitute the tofu for potatoes if you want a traditional hash!

I love coloured cooking!

You'll need:
1/2 cup black beans
100g firm tofu
1/2 red capsicum
1 spring onion
1/2 teaspoon each: paprika, cumin, oregano, chili
1/4 cup salsa



Chop the tofu, capsicum and onion into little cubes. Add to a dry preheated frying pan.
Add the herbs. Stir and add spoonfuls of water as needed to stop the mixture from sticking to the fry pan. Cook for approx 10 minutes or until veggies are soft. Stir in the salsa.

Serves 2.

Gimme a C, Gimme an S, Gimme a T

What's it spell????
Hmmmmm, well I guess I'll never make a cheer-leader....

Cauli, Spinach, and Tahini does make an awesome meal though ;-)

Very versatile, this dish can be served on top of potatoes, pasta, rice, couscous with salad or even as a side dish.

Why not double the recipe and take it to your next pot-luck!!!

For 2 large servings you'll need:
1/2 head cauliflower
1 1/2 cups spinach leaves
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 Tablespoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
cracked black pepper to serve

Chop the cauliflower into little florets. Chop the onion and garlic. Place into a frying pan. Dry fry for approximately 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the edges of the cauliflower and onion are browned.

Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach leaves. Gently stir to combine and the leaves will begin to wilt.
Add the tahini and the tamari along with 1/4 cup of boiling water (this will help the tahini to spread). Add the sage. Stir well so the tahini has just covered all the cauliflower pieces. 

Serve topped with freshly cracked black pepper.

Shown here with wholemeal couscous, and lentil burgers.

Meal Planning Tips

Where do you stand regarding the whole meal planning issue?

Do you find it easier to meal plan? Does it help your week feel more organised?

Do you wish you could meal plan but it just doesn't seem to happen?

I have meal planned for a few years now. Though it has always seemed to be in a different way!

I am amazed by the people who say they can meal plan for a month in advance!!!! That just simply blows my mind!
To be honest I struggle with planning a whole week at once!!!

And besides, I like my fresh fruit & veg too much!

Here's what working for me currently:

I have recently decided to shop 2 times a week instead of once.

Sounds silly, but it actually SAVES us money! And it also makes each shop much quicker. I was finding that by the middle of the week we needed fresh bread & more vegetables and other random odds and ends which somehow didn't make it on the list the first time. This always meant that even if I intended to get just 3 things, I would always come out with another trolley load! Come on admit it..... that happens to us all hey ;-)

This helps us also if we have last minute plans for the weekends, extra leftovers that we weren't expecting to have or if we decided we feel like something special.

It has really helped us to reduce waste & feel a lot more organised when it comes to our pantry and fridge. 

An overloaded fridge at the start of the week can be so frustrating. Shopping twice a week stops the fridge being so full that you can't get to the things at the back of the shelves.

So I shop on Sunday & Thursday. Each of those days I sit down and plan what we'll have til the next shopping day - taking into account, what we already have as supplies, what we felt like during the last couple of days and what leftovers we have that need to be used up.

I always leave Sunday nights as 'free' meals to be filled in later with whatever we have on hand.

Here's our meal plan board:

Its a contact chalk board that we purchased from Myer.

Works a treat & so easy to use. It sits where visitors cannot easily see it and doesn't then look 'messy' in the kitchen (yes my writing on here is not so neat and its often written in code!). 

Because I eat different meals to my husband (mostly) we have a separate column for dinner each & there is also a column for my daughters lunch (she has the same dinner as me). I like to give her a variety of lunch box items so she isn't always having a sandwich (post on that coming soon).

I have a column for Fuhrman's gombbs to remind me of all the healthful food I should be eating each day. 

Its also nice to be able to at a glance note if either of us will be out for the evening meal. I am often home rather late on my travel-to-work day, so I often use Wednesday as leftovers day - alternatively I am catching up with friends and have a meal out with them. 

This is also a great way to be able to note food that is in the fridge that needs to be used up asap. I can just write a quick word in the gombbs column to remind me. I guess its more like a reminder column than anything else!!!!

I am finding that I only really need to 'plan' our evening meals as breakfast is easy enough & I usually just have salad for lunch, or any leftovers that need to be used up. I used to plan the other meals though.

I haven't always had this marvellous board (don't I have a clever hubby! <3)
I used a printed spreadsheet for ages, that I just printed multiple times and then would fill in each week.

So don't think you need anything special to make meal-planning work.

I always make a shopping list - ALWAYS!

Yes, I literally sit down with a pen and paper and go through catalogues! It doesn't really take that long and it saves me time in the grocery store.

I always check out the weekly specials at the grocery stores to work out what items I wish to purchase from which stores. 

This is another reason I find shopping twice a week works out better.

I used to get so annoyed that half the things we needed were on special at one store and half at another store & I did not like having to decide which to shop at!!!

Problem solved - on the weeks where they have equally inviting specials, I can do one shop at either!

It makes "cactus" hour so much easier!

There is nothing worse than getting to meal starting time and having no idea what you should make. It takes forever to decide and then it always seems that you don't really have 'all' the ingredients you need!

And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that always the time when children are the most grizzly too?!?!?  ;-)

I have always involved my daughter in my cooking since she was quite young. I found that when she was younger this really helped me cope with cactus hour. She would nibble on chopped veggies (chick peas have always been a huge favourite!) & get odds and ends out of the cupboard for me. It has well and truly paid off now! She is an amazing little helper in the kitchen & finally I can say that she really is more help than hindrance!!! There are several things that she can even cook herself like pasta, pancakes & cookies. Not bad for a 7 year old! I wonder how many more years til I don't even need to cook at all ;-) 

Only joking, I LOVE cooking, and its soooooooo much more enjoyable with a plan to stick to! Even if that means I just write a few ingredients on the board so that I can experiment with a new recipe!

Borlotti Bean Bites

Here's another quick & easy meal that is very satisfying.

Also great for lunch accompanying a fresh salad.

Enjoy :-)

1 cup borlotti beans

1/4 red capsicum

1/2 red onion

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

Chop the onion & capsicum into little pieces. 

If using canned beans, drain them before putting into a bowl to mash well. Combine mashed beans with chopped vegetables & the tomato paste.

Mix til well combined.

Shape into little patties

Baked at 180C for 1/2 hour.

Makes approx 5-6 medium size patties - enough to serve 2 people.

Mixture nearly all used up!
Just wanted to show that it holds together well without anything added other than the tomato paste.

Ready for baking

As part of a meal with steamed veggies, brown rice, salsa & crumbed mushrooms.

Super Simple Soup

Is that a tongue twister for you??? ;-)

Really though - it is super simple!
And that's why I love it.
I can quickly make this up on my lunchbreak & know that by dinner time I have a hassle free meal.

Simply chop up:
one large brown onion
1 large carrot (or 2 smaller ones)
1 large potato
1 parsnip
1 swede
2 stalks of celery

Put all the chopped vegetables into a slow cooker with a tablespoon vegetable stock & a litre of water.

Add half a cup of dried soup mix :-)
I love the McKenzies one.

Heat on low for 6 hours.
Done!

Yum!

Serve in big soup bowls and put some herbs on top if you want it to look a bit fancy (isn't that what restaurants do)! My choice is parsley.

Day 3 - Fallback food

Wednesday's are my busy days. I drive into work - I work from home on other days.
This week it took me 3 hours to drive home!
I need quick and easy food, not only for dinner when I'm coming home late, but also for my rushed mornings.

A smoothie is so easy to make for breakfast & I can sip it while I'm getting files & other things ready.
This one is a berry green smoothie - I love the deep purple colour it comes out.
I blend blueberries, spinach, banana & blueberry juice. Very Tasty.

I like to take my own lunch to work as often as I can.
I usually make something simple that I can wizz up quickly in the morning.
This morning I make some dip & cut up some fresh veggies, served with strawberries & brazil nuts.
The dip is so easy - can of red kidney beans, mashed with a fork. Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder and a tablespoon salsa. Mix.

Making the dip

Today's lunchbox:
Strawberries for crunch & sip break.
Morning tea of banana muffin, and cinnamon roasted cashews.
Sandwich is mashed red kidney beans with tomato paste & corn.

So after my extremmmmmmmmmmmmely long drive home, we decided to have pizza! Who says you need to have cheese on pizza to make it tasty??!!??
The italian restaurant not far from us makes great pizzas. I always ask for a bit of extra sauce to make up for no cheese.
I was rather greedy & ate away without remembering to take a photo until it was nearly too late - proof it was so yummy!

Easy Zucchini Fettucini

This makes a great lunch for one, esp on cold days. It's very quick & easy.
Or dinner if you wish!

You'll need:
1 zucchini
4 asparagus spears
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 tin italian tomatoes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
black pepper, dried parsley to garnish

Step One:
Spiralize the zucchini & put in a microwave dish with 1/4 cup water.
You can just use a vegetable peeler if you don't have a spiralizer.
Microwave for 1 minute til zucchini is tender - longer time if you like your zucchini soft - or not at all if you want it raw!

Step Two:
Place cut asparagus, peas, garlic & lemon juice in a frypan. Lightly fry until asapargus has browned. Add the tomatoes & cook until tomatoes are bubbling - approx 4 mins.
Stir until well mixed.

Drain the zucchini, place in a bowl with the tomato mixture on top.
Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley to your tasting.


Note:
I have a Betty Bossi Spiralizer.
It's so easy to use & doesn't take up alot of cupboard space like a lot of other spiralizers do - also it is inexpensive by comparison.
Check it out here at victoriasbasement.