Tag: mushroom

terrariums

Posted by – 30 Mar ’11

After the wedding* Shawn and I kept talking about how we wanted to put our wedding in a jar and keep it. Obviously, we couldn’t put the food, the cake and all the guests and everything in a jar, that’s crazy. We could on the other hand, take some of the decorations from our rehearsal party and a few from the wedding and make terrariums. More

Hello September (and a giveaway!)

Posted by – 8 Sep ’10

Today was a beautiful grey day here in Los Angeles. While we didn’t have much of a summer, I’m ecstatic about the arrival of fall. Why? Because fall is the best. The best time to get baking away. And of course Halloween is just around the corner. I can’t contain my excitement. On top of that, I’m happy to be hosting a giveaway for a $70 gift card!

With Labor day off, I wanted to spend some time in the kitchen. I made the Cauliflower and Mushroom Pot Pie from Veganomicon. This is the perfect recipe for the transition from summer to fall.

making of a pot pie

This pot pie is  full of fresh fragrant vegetables with a good dose of spices. While the pot pie is leaning towards the heartiness of fall, the vegetables still have a hint of summer.

pot pie

Check out all that cauliflower. This pie is packed with it. It cooks down to a soft and insanely delicious treat. It meshes greatly with the mushroom and other veggies.

cauliflower and mushroom pot pie

The pie is topped with a biscuit like olive crust. The savory crust is salty and crunchy and a nice contrast to the soft veggies; all in all, wonderfully balanced. While this pot pie is fairly large, Shawn and I were able to finish it off in one sitting. It’s that good, and not overly filling.

Ok, now back to that giveaway. I couldn’t have made this pot pie without the help of my Dutch oven. Well I guess I could have but it wouldn’t have been nearly as simple. But let’s not kid around, these guys aren’t cheap. Cookware.com has offered to give a $70 gift card to one lucky reader (which doesn’t quite pay for a dutch oven, but would definitely make one affordable).  The great thing is that you can buy anything on their site…or any of their affiliated sites, like AllModern.com or 200 other sites. That’s a lot of options.

All you have to do is comment on this post before midnight on September 13th. If you want another chance to win, follow me on twitter (and make sure to mention it in your comment). I’ll pick a winner at random when the giveaway closes. Good luck!

Update

And we have a winner! Congratulations to Meghan! She’s gonna get to go on a fancy shopping spree. Yay!

Mushroom & garlic tofu ravioli

Posted by – 6 Oct ’09

It’s official. Making ravioli makes me feel like a real cook. A chef even! I’ve made pies and crepes and hundreds of cupcakes, but this did it. Ok, so I did make one mistake in the process which made the end result not as pretty as I would have liked, but they still tasted amazing.

I started out using this homemade pasta recipe. I got a little excited at the market and got a few different flours so I’m going to try a semolina flour version as well. For the filling, I sauteed some chopped baby bella mushrooms in olive oil and some white wine, with just some salt and pepper and a touch of basil.

I wanted to add some tofu ricotta, but I realized I didn’t have all the necessary ingredients. Then I got a little carried away with the minced garlic (as usual). So it’s more like garlic tofu ricotta. That is not at all a bad thing.

Garlic Tofu Ricotta


7 oz firm tofu (about half a container) drained and crumbled

3 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp tahini

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp onion powder


Put all ingredients in a bowl and combine using a fork.

After rolling out two sheets of the pasta dough, spoon on a little of both the mushrooms and tofu, trying to stay in a grid pattern as much as possible. Cover with the second sheet and seal in the filling with your fingers, starting in the middle as to not make air pockets. Cut each square with a pie cutter or sharp knife.

Cook in a medium pot of boiling water for approximately three minutes, being careful not to split any holes in them. Definitely don’t put them in a bowl before you put them in a pot and let them get all stuck together. Who would do something like that? Definitely not me! I’m a pro! Oh wait….