Tag Archives: mushrooms

Gourmet Poutine

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There’s a little poutine place called La Belle Patate on Davie Street in Vancouver and every time I walk past it I have to resist the urge to go in for a huge portion of their delicious fries with gravy and melted squeaky cheese. They don’t just have traditional poutine but lots of add-ons like Montreal smoked meat, bacon, and jalapeno peppers just to name a few.

Today I almost went in, the urge was strong, but instead I thought, why not make my own fancy poutine? The grocery store was only a few feet away. I picked up a bag of frozen fries (I had thought about making them from scratch but that would just take longer and I was STARVING), canned gravy, shredded mozzarella cheese (sadly the store did not have cheese curds), and a package of bacon. And once I got home Jay suggested I add some of the dried mixed mushrooms his parents gave us this weekend. These mushrooms come from places like Chile, Serbia, and Montevideo and then packaged in France and then shipped to the Costcos of North America – crazy!  After cooking the bacon I sauteed half an onion and the already soaked and boiled mushrooms together in the bacon grease and once the fries and gravy were ready I put it all together and congratulated myself on my decision to make my own yummy poutine.

 

Experimenting With Quinoa

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I’ve finally come to accept quinoa as a healthier substitute for rice (high in protein and fibre compared to white rice). To make a simple pot of  quinoa, like rice, you boil water (2 cups water for one cup of dry quinoa), add the quinoa and let it cook covered on low heat for about 10-15 minutes. Also like rice, you can mix quinoa with anything you would normally eat with rice. I figured, let’s pretend this quinoa is rice so for tonight’s veggie dinner I made…Mushrooms and Quinoa Risotto Style!

I read the article on Wikipedia for risotto and followed the instructions to use butter, olive oil, garlic, and thinly sliced shallots to sautee the quinoa. But first I quickly sauteed the vegetables I chose to use:

2 celery stalks, diced

1 small orange (or red) bell pepper, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, whole – did I mention yet how much I love to bite into these? Careful though, I nearly burned my mouth with delicious hot tomato juice

I used a 454 gram/16oz package of mixed mushrooms – the package I found had enoki, crimini, oyster, portabellini and button mushrooms…of course half were button mushrooms. Coarsely chopped.

On medium heat in a large skillet heat oil and add celery and bell pepper until a bit soft (I like the celery to have a bit of crunch to it).  I added fresh ground pepper, oregano and fennel seeds at this point.  Add the mushrooms and cook until their liquids have released and are starting to evaporate. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and set aside.

For the liquids I used about a quarter cup of dry sherry and three cups of broth, your choice of flavour but I used beef…I was craving meat! In a saucepan heat the broth and keep on medium heat so the liquid stays very hot.

Now begins the risotto part. In a large skillet or a large pot, heat olive oil and cold butter. Toss in chopped garlic and shallots and cook for about 30 secs on medium heat. Add the quinoa and stir to make sure the grains are well coated. Look out for quinoa shrapnel!

Pour sherry into skillet and stir gently. When it has evaporated start adding the hot broth half a cup at a time and stirring constantly. Continue to add the broth in half cup measurements until it’s all incorporated into the risotto.

Just when the last bit of broth has been stirred in, add the vegetables and cherry tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes or so for flavours to mix. Remove from heat and stir in some cold butter and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and devour. I won’t post any pictures because I fear if I do you may not want to make this and it is SOOOO worth it!

What I did with a Tex-Mex Mushroom Ragout

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A few days ago I made a vegetarian dinner from the Weight Watchers Turn Around Program book. It’s called Tex-Mex Mushroom Ragout and this is how it’s made:

Makes 2 Servings:

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 lb fresh cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered

1/2 lb fresh portobello mushrooms, stems removed and diced

1 (15oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 fresh ground pepper

4 tsp fresh lime juice

In a pan, cook onion until soft, about a minute. Add the garlic and stir constantly for about 20 secs then add the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms have released their liquid and then reabsorbed it, about 5 mins. Stir in the beans, chiles, spices, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened (I’m not sure what they mean by this because I didn’t notice any “thickening”) for about 15 mins. Serve and squeeze some of the lime juice on top. I sprinkled some shredded Havarti cheese.

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It was tasty and flavourful…but not as fantastic as I thought it could be. It’s more of a side dish than as a main meal as the book says it should be. It’s very good because it has lots of protein and fibre but if you’re eating a whole bowl of the stuff, it can be a little boring. Needless to say I didn’t eat a full serving and I put the rest away in a container.

Two days later my little sister came over and she was hungry. “You have food at your place right? I’m reeeeeaaaally hungry.” Unfortunately I hadn’t done any groceries yet and I didn’t have much in my fridge except the leftover ragout. I brought out the container and told my sister to try it but she didn’t seem too keen on it, “Hm, smells spicy…do you have anything else?” Sigh.

1/4 of a jar of Classico pasta sauce

3/4 of a can of diced tomatoes

generous splash of heavy cream

1 1/2 servings of leftover Tex-Mex Ragout

Make 2 servings of whatever pasta you like, I used angel hair. Heat the ragout in a pot along with the tomatoes and pasta sauce, stir. Once it’s heated, add the cream and stir until it’s all blended and heated through. Serve over noodles.

So very yummy! I think I’ll be making more pasta sauces like this one.

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Chanterelle Risotto and French Bread

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On Monday, Jay and I made a little trip to our local farmers market at Sorauren Ave Park near Dundas West and Lansdowne. It’s open on Mondays from 3pm to 7pm, Summer to Fall. It’s a very small market and even though we were disappointed by the lack of variety, we still managed to spend close to $50 on produce, meat, cheese and chanterelles. After visiting the farmers market I realized I should have been buying a large portion of my groceries at markets like this one. We bought a cucumber that Jay kept marvelling over, “This looks like a real cucumber, not like the cucumbers we see at the grocery store. This is what a real cucumber looks like.” I was drawn to the beautiful summer squash and zucchini so I had to buy some. They’ll be perfect for the eggplant pizza I’m planning to make this week.

There was a stall with all types of dried mushrooms and jellies and Jay decided to smell all the dried mushroom sample jars. I wasn’t too impressed and I began to walk away thinking he’d also be done shopping. That was not so. Jay would not budge from that stall until he had asked the vendor how to cook, store and use the mushrooms. He eventually bought a bag of orange-coloured chanterelles, excited at the prospect of making something with them.

“Smell them!” he said. I did and I was surprised by their apricot-y scent. They had a very subtle smell.

Anyway, last night Jay decided he would use the chanterelles to make dinner and forbade me from entering the kitchen. I was only allowed to be in the kitchen long enough grate Parmesan cheese, for the risotto he was making, and to make dough for French bread. I left after placing the dough in the oven to rise I and went to do other stuff. When I went back to the kitchen about 40 minutes later, I was welcomed by a delicious tangy aroma.

The risotto was amazing, lots of Parmesan cheese, carrots, white wine. I bit into a chanterelle and was pleasantly surprised at how much flavour it had absorbed and yet it had kept most of its fruity taste. Why hadn’t I known about chanterelles before!

Later that night, I finished making the bread. A bit too late for dinner but no matter. I have to say it’s probably the best French bread I’ve made to date. I guess I must have followed the directions in the book. This French bread recipe comes from a Company’s Coming book, Bread edition. I “borrowed” the book from my mom.

French Bread, makes two loaves

2 cups All purpose flour

2 tsp Salt

2 8g pkgs Active dry yeast

1 tbsp Sugar

2 cups Warm water

3 cups approx. All purpose flour

Sprinkle of cornmeal

1 Egg white

1 tbsp Water

Stir the first four ingredients in a large bowl. Add warm water, beat on low to moisten. Work in enough of the remaining flour until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Or use the dough hook on your stand mixer, which is what I did. Thank God for that stand mixer!

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover it and place it in the oven with the light on and door closed for 1 to 1 1/4 hrs until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough and divide into two equal portions. Roll each portion into a rectangle on floured surface. Roll up from long side, pinch to seal, press ends to taper and place seam side down on greased baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Beat egg white and water together and brush over loaves. Cover and let it stand in the oven with the light on and door closed for about 45 minutes. Make 3 diagonal cuts across each loaf and bake at 375F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Food for the sick

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I returned home almost a week ago from my vacation in Central America where I enjoyed beautiful scenery and amazing food. However, upon my return to Toronto, my body decided to get sick. Plagued with coughing, sneezing, wheezing and a very achy body, my one solution to freedom from illness was chicken soup. And, of course, cold medicine.

This deliciously aromatic, fresh and comforting soup is a variation of a recipe from my Mexican cookbook. The original recipe only contains shredded chicken, avocado, chili pepper strips, scallions and broth. I wanted something a little heartier. Here’s what I did:

Chicken, Avocado, Potato and Mushroom Soup

Alternately, you can omit the ingredients or see the note with a * beside them to obtain the original version from The Mexican Cookbook.

Makes about 3 servings

4 chicken thighs, cooked and shredded * (Chicken breast, cooked and shredded)

1 avocado, cubed and tossed in lime juice to prevent discolouration

4 oz white mushrooms, coarsely chopped *

6 mini potatoes, cooked and sliced *

1/2 an onion, thinly sliced * (3-5 scallions, sliced)

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 pickled jalapeño pepper * (chipotle pepper, cut into thin strips)

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

4 cups water * (4 cups chicken stock)

Directions:

Place water and chicken thighs in a pot and cook over medium heat until chicken is done. Remove the chicken onto a plate and continue heating the water. This is the broth. Add the garlic, potatoes, mushrooms, onion and jalapeño pepper to the broth and cook until mushrooms have been reduced slightly but don’t let the onions get too soft (unless, of course you prefer soft onions). While that is cooking, shred the chicken.  Once the broth is ready, arrange the chicken and avocado and cilantro in the base of  soup bowls and pour the broth and vegetables over. Squeeze some lime juice for more flavour and wonderful aroma.