4 Ways - Portobello Mushrooms, Recipe 1

Now that I'm starting to get more comfortable with blogging, I thought I'd start a new feature called 4 ways, in which I take an ingredient or combo of ingredients that you can buy/make in bulk, and then use it in 4 different ways. Being a vegan can be really difficult those weeks when a million things are going on and you don't have time to prep a good meal in the evening. Hopefully this feature can enlighten on-the-go vegans such as myself (and busy non-vegans too!).

The first item of this feature are Portobello Mushrooms! I bought four extra large ones with the intention of making a snack with them when my friends were in town, but unfortunately it never happened. Lucky for me, they inspired this feature and now I get to eat them all week long. For anyone that knows me, I used to have a terrible mushroom "intolerance" (my nurse mother assured me it wasn't the same as being allergic) in which I would go into terrible vomiting fits. Gross, right? Well since becoming vegan, I've slowly been trying to introduce mushrooms into my life, and we are definitely a love match again. They were my favorite as a kid and now they're back in full force.

This first recipe is super simple and good for you because of my favorite super-food, quinoa. And I'm proud to say I made up this recipe myself with leftover things around the kitchen.

Recipe 1: Quinoa and Wild Rice Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients -
1 Portobello Mushroom, marinated for 30 minutes in a bowl with a generous pour of olive oil and balsamic vinegar
1 cup quinoa
1 cup wild rice (I used a wild and brown rice combo)
4 cups water
A dash of crushed basil leaves and rosemary
Daiya mozzarella "cheese"

-Combine the dry quinoa and wild rice in a rice cooker with 4 cups water. This could also be done on a stove, but I love rice cookers because I can walk away and be doing laundry and homework. It took about 40 minutes.
-Snap off the stem of each mushroom. I put them into a bag for later - I hear these stems make excellent mushroom stock for Japanese soups! Then delicately wash the mushrooms under warm water -- be gentle!
-Place the mushroom (or mushrooms) into a large bowl or ziplock bag and marinate in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I read online you can marinate up to 2 hours with this particular mixture, but 30 minutes was plenty to give it a rich flavor.
-When the rice is about done, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F and place the marinated mushrooms on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Roast the mushroom(s) for 20 minutes. I freaked out when I smelled burning but it was only some leftover balsamic that had leaked about, so don't fret!
-Next is assembly! Pile on the quinoa/rice mixture, then sprinkle rosemary and basil on top. For added flavor I put some Daiya brand cheese on top, yum! Next time I would cook them a little more with the cheese so it'll melt -- just a friendly suggestion.

And Voila! Delicious! And don't be fooled by that fork so neatly positioned on the side there. I picked up this baby with my hands and ate it like a taco. It's okay, no one's looking.

Shameless,
Kate