Lentil Mushroom Burger

Sadly my picture for these didn't turn out so well, but the burgers themselves were awesome and easy to make, which is always the most important thing... isn't it?

2 teaspoons chia seeds
3 tablespoons warm water
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 cups cooked lentils, drained
1/3 cup old fashioned oats (certified GF if necessary)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos (soy sauce or GF tarmari works too)
1 tablespoon tamato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried orgeano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt, to taste
Generous amount of fresh black pepper

Mix the chia seeds and warm water in a small bowl and set aside. Chop the onion finely. Place the mushrooms into the food processor and pulse until they are finely minced. Mince the garlic.

Add the onions to pan with some olive oil over medium heat and saute until they start to brown. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic, cover and cook until the mushrooms soften, about three minutes.

Once the mushrooms have softened add the mixture from the pan into the food processor along with the lentils, chia seed mixture, and remaining ingredients- pulse to combine. The mixture should be sticky, not crumbly. If it seems too wet, add a little more oats.

Scrape the mixture into a bowl and let rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with non stick spray. Shape the burgers into patties, about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Bake for 25-30 minutes, they should be firm in the middle but not burning.

Serve on a bun with some yummy toppings like sprouts, tomato, ketchup, mustard, etc.

Recipe by Fat Free Vegan

Quick Stuffed Mushrooms

You won't come across an easier stuffed mushroom. You can practically whip these up in your sleep. This is what drew me to the in the first place. I had 25 minutes before I had to run to the gym and was able to get these guys made and just popped them in the oven when I got home. Yeah- my kind of recipe!

2 boxes 1-inch mushrooms with stems, about a pound
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
4 tablespoons plant-based butter
1 cup white onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup white wine
1 cup panko or regular breadcrumbs (I only had GF on hand and it worked perfectly)
1 bunch (3 ounces) chives, minced

Preheat oven to 350° F. Carefully remove the stems and place them in a bowl, as you will be using them later. Using a damp clean kitchen towel rub the tops of the mushroom caps to remove that thin layer of skin and/or any dirt. Then toss the caps in the olive oil, and a few grinds of salt and pepper. Spray a glass dish with non-stick spray and bake (tops up) for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Place the hot mushroom caps onto a plate to cool and set aside- do not throw away the mushroom liquid that was released during the baking process, we will be using this!

Rinse your stems to remove any dirt, then roughly chop. Add the plant-based butter to a pan over medium heat and melt, then add in the onion and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, or until they start to turn slightly brown. Add the chopped mushroom stems into the the pan with the onion-garlic mixture, saute for another 5 minutes. Next add in the white wine and saute until the wine is almost cooked. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl, stir in the breadcrumbs, chives, and reserved mushroom liquid.

Stuff mushrooms, then bake for 8-10 minutes, until warmed through and the tops start to turn golden brown.

*I had a lot of extra stuffing leftover, you can always freeze the stuffing and thaw it for future stuffed mushrooms. Or just bake it and eat it like a holiday stuffing.

Recipe from Sublime Restaurant Cookbook

To Die For Mushroom Tempura with Truffle Salt

One of my girlfriends and I went out the other night and hit up every hot spot from Boca to Ft. Lauderdale and every place in between. We usually end the night with a burrito, because who doesn't love a good burrito? But instead we somehow came up with the ingenious idea of skipping the burrito and went home to make the worlds best mushroom tempura.

(Sorry in advance for the poor quality pictures).

1 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoons sesame oil
1 1/8 cups ice water (you'll have to eyeball this measurement)
1 box of button mushrooms (plus extra, see recipe below for details)
Canola oil
Truffle Salt, like this one

This makes a ton of batter. We battered one box of button mushrooms and an entire eggplant sliced into half moons and still had extra batter left over. The eggplant was a huge success as well but nothing compares to the mushrooms. You can easily have enough batter for 4 boxes of mushrooms, but clearly that would be excessive!

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into the mixture and whisk until a forms a thin batter, a few clumps here and there are okay. Set in fridge while your oil heats up. Using a fryer, or a stock pot, add 2-inches of oil and heat to 350°F. Coat your mushrooms in the batter and carefully add a few at a time into the hot oil. Cook for about one minute, turning halfway through, they will be a golden color when ready. Place them on a rack so the excess oil drips off and dust them with a pinch of the truffle salt (seriously, splurge on the salt, it's incredible), allow to cool before eating.

Tempura recipe by Chef Chloe

Mushroom Stroganoff

Who can say no to a stroganoff? Clearly I can't. I can't say no to anything that falls into the comfort food category. This is so ridiculously easy, and creamy, and delicious! It can be made with or without gluten just by replacing a few ingredients. I made it GF, because I was accommodating someones diet, and it came out perfect.

12 oz box of egg-free ribbon noodles (I couldn't find any that were egg-free so I used brown rice casarecce pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
16 ounces portabella mushrooms, sliced thick
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable broth, preferably vegan beef flavored if your health food store carries it
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (whole foods carries it!)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (I used garbanzo bean flour)

1 cup cashew sour cream (to make this you will need 3/4 cup raw cashews, 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar)

Cook your pasta and set aside. In a saute pan over medium heat add the olive oil, once hot add the onions and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are translucent and the water from the mushrooms cook out. Add garlic to the pan and saute for another minute. Pour veggie mixture into a bowl and set aside. 

In a blender combine the cashew cream ingredients, blend until smooth. You want it to be the consistency of heavy cream, or slightly thicker. It's not an exact science, you may need to adjust the amount of water, etc. 

In the same pan that you used for the onions and mushrooms add the broth and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk in the flour and continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Lower the temperature, stir in the mushroom mixture from earlier along with 1 cup of the cashew cream. Serve over the pasta.

Recipe from worldmom12