Month: January 2016

Balsamic wine reduction…portabella caps!

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 This is so easy I shouldn’t even post it, but that’s the very reason to publish it ASAP.  I could be saving someone from a dinner of Cheez-Its this evening.

Recently I saw a FB post about making a balsamic vinegar and red wine reduction to serve with steak.  While it looked tasty, I wondered what was stopping me from trying it with portabella caps.  The answer, obviously, is nothing!

The “recipe” is a bit of a joke, but regardless… I added a bit of olive oil to my pan, turned it to medium high heat, and removed the stems from the caps.  Next, I added two portabella caps and cooked for a bit on each side.

Next, I added balsamic vinegar, a generous splash of pinot noir (thanks, Camie!), and seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  After a few minutes on medium high, the reduction was…reduced…and dinner was nearly ready.

  Although I’m not much of a bread eater, Sam is…and tonight’s “bun” was a mini-naan cut in half .  (It’s delicious…try it.  Also excellent as a base for pizza.)  Tonight’s topping of choice was mashed avocado with salt and red pepper.  Another excellent choice…although my favorite is to have it over Ezekiel toast for breakfast!

Hope you have a new idea and that you’ll both try it and enjoy it.  Let me know!


 

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My new toy…a pressure cooker!

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Santa (aka Sam) brought me a pressure cooker for Christmas this year. My first experiment is a barley vegetable soup.

  
I must say, I’m impressed! The pressure cooker has the ability to sauté before cooking. 

  
The rest of the process involves adding everything and pressing a button. Not too shabby!

  
I used whatever was on hand. In this case, it included onions, shallots, bell peppers, carrots, sliced mushrooms, and a diced sweet potato. I topped it off with a cup of organic barley, a can of rinsed black beans, and 8 cups of vegetable stock. If you use vegetable stock, I encourage you to consider this product.

  
It’s so much easier than lugging around the big tetra pack cartons from Whole Foods or wherever.

So I press the button on the pressure cooker and here’s what happened 30 minutes later. 

  
Indeed, the barley was soft and everything else was perfect. After the taste test, I found that I needed my magic ingredient. 

  
After a couple shakes of Shoyu, I was satisfied. (Wheat free Tamari works great as well. ) This will be my lunch all week, if not longer with freezer meals. This is a new frontier! 

Do you have experience with vegan meals in a pressure cooker? If so, let me know. I’m eager to learn.

Even if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this in about two hours in a Dutch oven or large pot. Good luck and enjoy your culinary adventures!