This week...

Right now, I'm in mourning for my kitchen. Due to circumstances out of my control, I've had to make a move back with some family. So I'm slowly, quietly, plotting a hostile take-over.

I would even use my grief as a cloak!

Sure, I have my spices, my precious non-stick pan. But the disappearance of my knives has been heartrending. I've been digging through every box I can find, cursing to high heavens for that little Japanese chopper. I'm a simple creature; I just want a good chopping knife, a good pan, and ve-ge-tables.


On the upside, I'm sneaking more organic vegetables into Grandma's kitchen. She's looking at me quite confusedly, as she says: " I'm not as fussy as you are. I just like my corn and my ham." Okay, sure. But in my snobbery, I'm thinking about the little Turkish place, the Indian food, the bread that I used to bake. I'm envious of cupboards and silverware drawers. I'm digging, digging, and sorting.

I'm trying to take this as a test of my constitution...more specifically, my endurance and patience. I realized that I've had a good two years. My kitchen which once felt too small, too disorganized, and frankly alien became my bat-cave. It is the symbol of Home and the labor of my loves.

Also, there is this:

The Back is me, the kitten is Deimos. 

In my kitchen I tried to make goodness for those people in my life, as well as use it to support what I chose. I would buy as much organic dairy as I could (to support healthy cows, as well as my cheese addiction!) and I would eat lots and lots of mushrooms and fewer chickens. When I went to clean a chicken or bake a fish,  I'd try to be grateful.

 This is now a new form of growth--reaching out, compromising, and explaining why it is good to grow one's own herbs, and how much better raspberries can taste. Sharing garlic, sea salt and rosemary bread :

I really can't say anything more than yum! 

And this, too, shall pass.

Obsessed With Stuffing Things

So at my place, we're obsessed with stuffing foods with tasty things, and then stuffing ourselves with stuffed food. And, we also have a mushroom ...problem. I go to the store and buy four or five different varieties, and then worry over the cart that we're going to run out. The worst part is...

We do.

This is mostly because we're ...mostly vegetarian. Except for those nights of the week when I feel like mac'n'tuna. Or when I just can't help myself at the local Turkish place. And instead of eating "textured vegetable protein", we usually do other things.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing TVP, and I eat tofu-turkey sausage on my veggie pizza.  But I've stopped kidding myself that a non-meat item will taste like meat, or that it should, or that I should want it to. So I go with what I know we will eat and feel full with, and get what we expect and/or possibly wanted.

Which leads to the subject of this post: Stuffed Mushrooms.

We've eaten these each week for three weeks solid, so far. As a main course. It's doesn't take long to chop up the stems, sautee them with some other stuffs, and slide them into the oven.

I get a big pack of "stuffing mushrooms". Just regular white buttons, but larger than average. You could even do it with normal sized ones, but I like that these guys are two bites.

For two of us, I do about 12 mushrooms for stuffing. Wash them, remove and reserve the stems. You can decide what you want these to taste like...But I've had success with a combination of garlic, red onion, fresh parsley, feta, and bread crumbs from whatever loaf-ends I have around.

Most of the time I'll want to add another mushroom or two to make sure that I have enough stuffing. The stems don't seem like quite enough, and I want to have that nice rounded top spilling over the caps.

 I don't want to overdo the bread crumbs, and I don't usually use the store bought kind. I crumble up some leftover soda bread, or whatever I have around. You could put it in the food processor and make them bitty, but I like them a little fluffy.

Here's a rough list of proportions:

Stems of 12 mushrooms
2-3 whole mushrooms
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 medium cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, don't worry about packing it
4 (or maybe more!) oz cheese, I used feta
1/2 a cup (or more) of breadcrumbs (better if they're not toasted)
1-2 tbs olive oil for the pan

I'll sometimes put in other fresh herbs that I have on hand, such as chives or rosemary, but you may want to adapt your cheese selection if you do. I found fresh oregano will go well if you use some mozza, and maybe a little basil or rosemary.

I will probably revise this the next time I put it all together, so don't freak out if you need to adjust this.

Sauté your stems and other filling ingredients until the mushroom bits release their juices and your cheese mixes in. Mushrooms and onion in first, they'll take longer. Throw your cheese in before the garlic and herbs, and be attentive; you'll want to add the breadcrumbs while it's melting so that it will absorb the other flavors.

Heat your oven up to 400 or so, and while that's going, pull your filling off to the side and let it cool a bit. Then, when you can manage it, stuff it into the mushrooms so they're laying with their caps down on  your baking sheet.

They will bake for around 13 mins, but my oven could be smoking something when I'm not around. Your clue will be that moisture collects under the caps. Don't let them stay in too long, or they'll get wrinkly!

Anyways, eat them with whatever you want.

Getting Messy as Usual

Today I'm trying to get some art-related work done, and this is one thing I've committed myself to work on. And with my new found free time, I should be able to take pictures of plenty of food ideas, while still trying to get the masters' soap out and not contaminate the food.

So this is a step at both organizing and sharing a continual fascination with food. I'm not pretending that anyone would want to read this, but the pictures might look tasty. Or you would wind up like me: crazy, covered in paint, looking like a tornado hit half your apartment, but with plenty of good things to fill your time (and stomach.) It's not so bad, really.

To dispense with the formalities:

These are pan fried potatoes. Oh yes, French as all get out. I say French because I had them first at this darling little cafe, and I am French-ish via my father's side, who taught me to make them later. They've been   relatively ignored and are perhaps forgettable by modern standards. But with fresh rosemary, cultured butter, and sea salt....It's breakfast. Or whatever you feel like.

I prefer some moderate sized red potatoes. You'll have to forgive my non-specific nature, as I've never really cooked from a recipe book. So I apologize in advance for what may be confusing and/or require more than one attempt to enact.

Slice the potatoes thin enough so that they will cook to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Probably around an eighth of in inch...like so:

 Slice more than you think you'll need because they will lose volume during the process. The amount I'm showing there is slightly more than enough for two (as a side).

You can start heating your pan while you're slicing. Put a tablespoon or so of butter in there, to get melted and coat the pan well. Be prepared to add more, as this is not pretending to be..fully healthy and does need to be well lubricated.

Once the pan is heated to about medium, your butter is coating the pan well, and your potatoes are sliced...throw 'em in there. Put whatever seasoning suits you.. Fresh herbs do well, particularly dill or rosemary. Or, just throw a little salt and garlic powder in there.

Don't turn the potatoes too quickly; you'll want them to go golden and crispy in patches. Evenness isn't really important, just so long as all the slices are soft to the tooth and partially crispy. This should take around 25 minutes overall. Snatch one out with your spatula, blow on it, and nibble to make sure they're ready.

I'd serve them with an omelette and some fruit, but that's your call.