Ode to Stuffed Mushrooms

I have loved stuffed mushrooms since the first time I tried them in 7th grade. Before that moment, I really didn't care for mushrooms at all. It helped that the boy who made them made them well (and was also my then-crush). Since then, I've always wanted to experiment with recipes, and I have over the years. Sadly, I didn't record them as they were usually free-style. But today, that changes, because I am pleased with this batch. Introducing:

Gluten-Free & Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients: 

1 package mushrooms

cream cheese (don't skimp on the fat!) (1 package is more than enough)

1/4 cup green onions

1 sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

spinach (est 3-4 cups before cooking)

1 small sweet red pepperyour favorite Parmesan cheese

freshly ground pepper

salt

your favorite hot sauce 

***This recipe will make extra stuffing. This is intentional-simply add more creamcheese and you have a fantastic dip.

As I said before, I like to free-style my stuffed mushroom recipes, so please feel free to use more or less of any ingredient. These mushrooms are creamy, juicy (no breadcrumbs!), with lots of garlic and onion coming through. The red pepper adds a really nice burst of flavor and pairs well with the parmesan.

Directions:  

1. Preheat your oven. 350 F should work fine. If this is the only thing you're baking, I suggest using a
     small convection oven. 

2. Wash all of your vegetables. To preserve taste, mushrooms should be "washed" with a damp paper
     towel. Missing a little dirt really won't hurt you, I promise. 

3.  Scoop out the center of your mushrooms (stems)-this is where the filling will go. I find a spoon
     works well-but you can use your thumb if you're worried about breaking the mushrooms. Save
     the stems for later!

4. Grease your baking tray with a little olive oil/vegetable oil. Then, the most important step:  place
     your mushrooms upside down on the tray (holes on the tray), and bake for 10-15 minutes. Since
     this is a gluten-free recipe, there are no bread crumbs in the recipe. Those crumbs normally absorb
      seeping water from the stuffing and mushroom, so you need to ensure that the mushrooms are
      "dried". Make sure the shrooms are upside down so the water drains onto the pan (you'll need to
      empty it a few times-more on that later)

5. Heat a medium size pan with a little oil. Chop your sweet onion, garlic cloves, and mushroom
     stems and add to the hot oil. Let the water evaporate.

6. Check your shrooms, empty the leached water into the pan to pump up the flavor. 

7. Chop the red pepper into 1/4 inch pieces. Add the red peppers to the oven tray so they can also
     dehydrate. 

8. Chop the spinach (feel free to use more) and add to the pan once the onions are translucent.

9. Mushrooms are dehydrated! Take out of the oven to cool.  Add red peppers and any liquid into the
     pan. If veggies are cooked, turn off the burner. 

10. Finely chop green onion and grate parmesean cheese. 

11. Bring out your cream cheese from the refrigerator. 

12. Assemble all of your ingredients.

13. Roll cream cheese balls to match the size of the mushroom holes. Roll the cream cheese balls in
       chopped green onion. 

14. Salt and pepper the shrooms to taste. 

15. Place cream cheese balls in the right-side-up shrooms. Add the mix of veggies onto the shrooms. 

16. Top with parmesean cheese. 

17. Pop stuffed mushrooms into the oven. Bake for approx 10 minutes, longer if using full sized
       oven. Monitor closely. 

18. Serve hot and add your favorite hot sauce if you like some kick! 

 Enjoy! 

-S.

 

MK in Central Rama 3, Bangkok

So one of my favorite things about Bangkok is the plethora of delicious, cheap international food. From street food to restaurants, there are so many options.

These photos are from MK, a Thai restaurant chain that capitalizes on suki- boiling vegetables and meats instead of frying them. It is often compared to both the Japanese shabu shabu and the Chinese steamboat dishes.

It's large-group friendly because at the table, there are large pots of broth where you boil your selected foods. This allows you to experiment and be adventurous and suit the tastes of whoever is with you. We had a group of 6, with some vegetarians and non-vegetarians, so we just separated the food into 2 pots. We also ordered specialty dishes that aren't boiled. Here's what we chose!

tofu, 2 types of mushrooms, corn, carrots, etc

You can choose which boiled items to put in your bowl,
allowing for different flavor combinations.

Roast duck w/ cucumber and ginger. Delicious.

shrimp dim sum

shrimp and pork dim sum

We didn't order this, but I was amused.

I really enjoyed the food here, and at about 10 USD a person, I'm definitely coming back!

CELTA-first week done!

I've completed the first week of my CELTA course. I was warned that it would be too time consuming for a temporary job/sight-seeing, and it has lived up to its claim. So that's why I don't have too many pictures of Bangkok at the moment. But I have accomplished a few things, like....

My First Lesson!
           Taught my first lesson on Wednesday, day three of the course. It went pretty terribly, but I did manage to "pass". I was teaching a reading lesson, but as most of the learners are taking the course to improve their speaking skills, I was supposed to get them talking about the material. We do that by staging a "lead in" story/anecdote/question, etc. So, I asked, "Who has a job?" as my first question of the lesson. It took me about two seconds after the fact to remember that on Monday, when we'd interviewed our students, I'd learned none of them had jobs. As I watched all of them become uncomfortable because of the question, a small voice inside me muttered, "None of them have jobs because they are all refugees or asylum seekers, you idiot." Clearly, I had not thought through my questions when planning the lesson. It was hard to recover from that gaff, but despite the students not speaking much at all, the lesson went over all right. I stumbled over giving clear, short directions for the activities, but they understood.


Taking Pictures of Food

Sweet potato patties and paneer (middle)

pumpkin soup

Bean noodles (boonsen) with phanang curry (Thai)

Building Rapport with My Learners
       I have an interesting mix of students. Though I'm learning to teach in Bangkok, only one of my students is Thai. Four of my students are Pakistani, two are Japanese, one is Somali, one is Sri Lankan, and one is Chinese. This makes the class special, because the students are less likely to speak in their L1 (native language). Managed to crack a few lame jokes, and made a point of using their names and smiling more while I taught.

Upset stomach and homesickness....
    Solution? Coconut milk (settles the stomach) and making pizza! Bf's Dad recently traveled to Europe for business, and brought back some delicious cheeses. The pizza didn't taste like American pizza at all, but it did help. As did the glass of wine we had with it ;)

Guess this cheese?

Fresh!

Food Adventures at Home and Abroad

So, one of my goals for this blog is to keep a food journal of sorts while I am abroad. My peers at the institute will be from Israel (Israelis, Palestinians), Jordan, other Middle East states, the US, and possible Europe. I am hopeful that they will share their food customs and favorite dishes. Here in the US, my friends and I cook and eat together to de-stress and make some time for friendship. It'll be something I miss when I'm abroad, but I do hope to make some new food memories.

A meal last summer

I ditched my college's large food plan last semester, so I could save money and learn to cook for myself. Learning to cook has been frustrating at times, but really, it's been a very rewarding experience. Last semester, I was limited by a very small kitchen (no oven, 2 burners), which was challenging. But the situation made me expand my "taste" horizons, and I'm thankful for that. The past few weeks, I've been staying with some friends, many of whom are vegetarian. That led me to try eggplant (eggplant parmesan), and now, I'm hooked. I wanted to see what else I could do with eggplant.  Here's what I made today with the housemates:

Eggplant Burger 

Eggplant Burger w/ Mozzarella Cheese

The burgers reminded me a bit of baba ghanoush.  The Tolerant Vegan provided the recipe. My version was sans tahini, but it still turned out delicious. I added a few garnishes: fried onions, fresh mozzarella, frank's red hot sauce, sour cream, spinach. I also substituted pinto beans for cannelli beans. This was definitely a hit and something I want to share. I'd love to try this later with tahini.


If you'd like to make these, here is the reposted recipe from The Tolerant Vegan: 

Baked Eggplant Burger
Recipe found at:  http://thetolerantvegan.com/2011/08/baked-eggplant-burgers/
Makes 4 big burgers

Burger ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more to brush on eggplant before roasting
1 red onion, diced
1 14 ounce can cannellini beans
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 an eggplant (should equal about 1 cup)**I used half an eggplant and got about 8 burgers....
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
 1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup classic hummus (or your favorite flavor hummus)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
tomato, sliced for topping (optional)
lettuce, for topping (optional)
I recommend either tahini sauce or hummus as the topping for this burger. I ate both versions and they were equally awesome. Here is the recipe for the tahini sauce in case you decide to go that route. It's the same sauce I used on the Baked Broccoli Burger.
Tahini Sauce ingredients:

1/3 cup sesame tahini
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
 

Directions:

To make the burgers, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roast the eggplant by cutting it into 1/4" slices and brushing each side with olive oil.
Bake for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the slices and bake for another 5 minutes.
Once the eggplant is done and you remove it from the oven, turn the oven down to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the eggplant is roasting, place the diced red onion and 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onion softens
Place the eggplant, onion, beans, bell pepper, parsley, pine nuts, garlic, sea salt and cumin into a large bowl.
Add the hummus and stir.
Place the mixture into a food processor and blend everything together. It should only take about 15 seconds.
Pour the mixture back into a bowl, stir in the breadcrumbs, and use your hands to make four large patties.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray the foil with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.
Place the patties on the foil and bake for 45 minutes, turning once halfway through.
While the burgers are baking, make the tahini sauce by tossing all of the ingredients into a food processor and blending until fully combined.
Remove the burgers from the oven and eat!



Thanks for reading!

-S.