Spinach and Mushroom parcels - Meat Free Monday

The last 2 weeks have been rather tedious. I was helping my dad out answering phones while his receptionist was away on annual leave. I spent many an hour playing facebook games and wishing I had uploaded some images for blogging. I was not on my own computer so had no pictures with me and so you didn't get any new recipes to try. Sorry :(

However you did get a new look and feel, like a new space to visit. They say a change is as good as a holiday :)

So it is Monday again and with it comes the dulcet sounds of my family moaning at me that they don't understand how 1 day a week can make a difference. With it also comes me ignoring them. Some weeks I just quietly make my own little meal to eat, others I make a dish with several components so those who choose to can eat Meat-free and other days I make something so delicious, they don't care if there is meat or not.

Such was the case with these little phyllo parcels. With the meatiness of the wild mushrooms and the creaminess of the spinach, these edible presents ticked every box in the house.

What you need:

3 bags baby spinach

1 box mixed wild mushrooms

1 tub fat free smooth cottage cheese

1 onion

1 medium potato

½ fairview single salad serving feta (or 1 wheel)

garlic

smoked paprika

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Phyllo pastry

What to do:

Wash the spinach very well (rule of thumb is at least 7 times, no one likes sandy spinach)

Chop half the onion finely, do the same with the potato (the pieces should all be roughly the same size and very small). Heat up some olive oil in a wok or large pan. Saute the onions and potatoes then add the spinach and mix till wilted (depending on the size of your wok/pan you made need to add the spinach in stages). When all the spinach has wilted add the garlic ad stir well. Then add the cottage cheese and crumble in the feta. Turn off the heat and stir well. Slice the other half of the onion into slivers. In another pan toss the onion and the smoked paprika in some heated olive oil, then add the mushrooms and fry until browned. Add the mushrooms to the spinach mixture, mix well then season to taste.

Cut your phyllo into long strips (I use scissors). Brush one piece with olive oil and stick another piece on top of it. Spoon some filling into it and fold as you wish, using a little more olive oil to seal it. Heat up the oven nice and hot and turn on the grill  and grill until golden brown and crispy (you filling is cooked and should be warm, if the filling has cooled then place the parcels into the oven at 180°c for a few minutes and then pop them under the grill)

You can serve them steaming hot, or even instead of sandwiches for school or work the next day

Sushi for beginners

I am one of those people who wishes the "sushi fad" will pass, I have been wishing this since it started being a fad. Since people started eating sushi with a knife and fork, with salt and pepper. Since people started putting biltong and cream cheese in sushi. What do greek restaurants have to do with sushi exactly? I may be unpopular for my thoughts but so be it. I started eating sushi 15 years ago when it cost a lot less because it was less in demand and I would really like it to stop being a luxury already.

It's not all bad though, while in most places sushi is still stupidly expensive, without it being a fad we wouldn't have great all you can eat specials. Sushi supplies are also a lot more readily available in shops all over the place. So not all bad because it means I get to make sushi.

There are 2 secrets to great sushi. The rice and the fish. The rice needs to be slightly sticky but not mushy and the fish needs to be as fresh as possible. If you have those 2 things right, the rest is all just practice, practice, practice.

I learned by watching sushi chefs when ever possible, for me the videos and "sushi making kit" booklets were just confusing but watching masters at work put it all in perspective. I roll the pieces with my hands then shape with the mat, I find that the easiest. You, however, must do what feels right. Make sure your nori is fresh, if it's not 100% fresh, toast it a little. Fill it with what ever your hear desires and remember to clingwrap your mat.

Sushi rice

What you need:

4 cups sushi rice

4 cups water

1 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp salt

What to do:

Soak the rice for an hour. Drain then put in a pot with a tight fitting lid and add the 4 cups of water. Bring to the boil, cover and drop to the lowest heat possible. KEEP COVERED, do not lift the lid. Cook for 15 minutes then take off the heat. DO NOT LIFT THE LID! Steam for another 15. 

In the meantime heat up the vinegar with the salt and sugar till everything dissolves. 

When the rice has steamed, you can now take the lid off (no more shouting I promise), pour the rice into a plastic or wooden bowl. Pour the vinegar solution over the rice, dispersing it evenly. Mix the rice using a cutting motion to avoid squishing (yes, squishing is a perfectly acceptable word) the grains.

Allow to cool. 

As for the actual rolling part, that is something you need to see but make sure to make the rice layer thin and don't press the rice down or squish it too much

Meat free Monday - Parmesan Pancakes with Blue cheese mushroom filling

I have another meat free monday post waiting in the wings and while it was super tasty I just couldn't help it and had to post this one first. 


For some unkown reason I decided to browse my old food24 blog, I think I wanted to check when my blogaversary is supposed to happen but I got caught up in reading my old posts. There I found a recipe I really enjoyed and completely forgot about and the cheese-slut in my rejoiced at the find.


What to fill it with though? The first time I served it with a beef stew but I wanted this for meat free monday so narrowed it down to 2 choices. Mushrooms or Cheese

What was I thinking?!?! Some twitter friends put me right and reminded me that I can must combine the two. Things happened, people were late so I had to rush my shopping. 1 box mixed button and wild mushrooms and then for the cheese...what cheese? Originally I wanted to get some ricotta but the cheesegods did not will it so there was none in the shop. First I picked up a block of haloumi, went to get another can of Dr Pepper and decided Haloumi would not work. I went back and had a brainwave while staring at the contents of the cheese fridge. BLUE!! I grabbed a triangle of the strong and creamy cheese and I was ready for a Meat Free Feast

Wholewheat parmesan pancakes with a mushroom and blue cheese filling

What you need (feeds 2): 

For the mushrooms:

1 box mixed mushrooms, chopped but not finely (or any mushrooms)

1 triangle blue cheese (I used Blue Rock from Fairview)

1 small onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

For the pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups milk

4 jumbo eggs

1 cup parmesan, grated (or to taste)

Olive oil

What to do:

Suatee the onions and garlic in some olive oil till they start to brown. Throw in the mushrooms and stir fry until that lovely smell of cooked mushrooms wafts from your pan (I used a wok) and the mushrooms are about ½ the size. Crumble in the blue cheese and lower the heat so it melts slowly, then pour in the milk and simmer till it all thickens up.

In the meantime mix all your pancake ingredients until smooth, the batter must be slightly watery so if needed add more milk. Heat up a pan nice and hot and coat with olive oil (I pour in a little oil then use a kitchen towel to spread it evenly). Pour enough of the mixture in to make a nice size pancake and swirl around the pan to spread it evenly. When holes appear on the top and don't close up, loosen the ends and flip over. Repeat as needed.

To assemble: 

Pop a pancake on a plate. Put some of the mushroom mix on the one side, then roll that side over, fold up the 2 ends and roll again till the end.

Suggestion: Add some chillies or mix up some herbs for more complex flavours 

Chicken Mashroom La la lasagna

I invited a friend over for supper and asked her what she felt like. She said something with cheese so I offered lasagna. Then she asked for it to be with chicken. Perfect. So off I went to shop for what I needed and decided that mushrooms were a must for this project. The result is this:

What you will need -

The chicken mushroom layer:

4 Chicken breasts

2 Large brown mushrooms (diced)

½ an onion (diced)

1 cup milk (I used low fat, you can use any milk or even cream or ideal milk)

basil infused olive oil (or died basil and olive oil)

Jenny Morris Italian herb mix

1 tablespoon flour (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the white sauce:

¼ cup lite butter

¼ cup flour

4 cups milk (more or less depending on your dish size and amount of layers)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 tsp mustard powder

Salt and pepper to taste 

The rest:

1 box spinach lasagna

1 cup grated cheddar and mozzarella

What to do -

For the chicken and mushroom layer:

1. Use a nons tick pan with a bit of oil or olive oil spray and cook. Fry the chicken breasts until cooked. Set aside

2. Use a tablespoon of the basil infused olive oil or a tablespoon of olive oil with a teaspoon of dried basil. Throw in the onion and pour about ½ a cup of water in.

3. When the water boils off (the onion should be clear) throw in the mushrooms. Cook for about 1 minute.

4. Add in your milk and let it simmer

3. Cut up the chicken into bite size chunks (At this point you make take chef's tax) and add it to the mushroom sauce, season with italian mix, salt and pepper.

4. When everything else is ready, if the sauce has not thickened add the tablespoon of flour and stir well.

For the white sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a small pot (preferably one with a long handle) then add the flour and stir fast and well.

2. Mix the mustard powder and the garlic in with the milk and add to the pot. Stir as you pour to avoid lumps.

3. Stir well and remove from heat when sauce thickens.

To assemble:

In your dish put down a layer of white sauce, followed by a layer of lasagna and then a layer of chicken and mushroom. Repeat. The top layers should be lasagna, white sauce and then the cheese on top of that. Leave to rest for 30 minutes (If, like me, you leave this to the last minute and dont have time to let the lasagna rest you can do the following. While you are busy with the other parts of the dish soak the lasagna sheets in hot water) While its resting heat the oven up to 190°C. Bake the lasagna until golden brown on top.


 The shopping list