In our BC days (before children) we used to go completely vegetarian for lent. I always used it as an excuse to nab a new vegetarian cooking book and work my way through it, which made lent feel as much like an exploration as a time of abstaining. With kids, I’m finding this much harder though. Their food repertoire is so limited anyway, I can’t really imagine taking it even further back. But we’re going to try to go for less meat. For sure we will be completely vegetarian on Fridays, since I never bought that whole “fish isn’t really meat” argument anyway.
For some reason today I have been starving. It’s as if the suggestion of fasting had my stomach immediately rebelling. I woke up hungry and never recovered, despite eating modest but totally reasonable meals. Even now, I’m considering nabbing some more tofu from the fridge.
Tonight we had salad, marinated tofu from Whole Foods, and stuffed portobello mushrooms. I was short on time, so I made the mushrooms by sauteeing them first and then throwing them very briefly in the oven while I set up the salad and plates. Came out great anyway.
- 2 medium large portobello mushrooms, stems removed and mushrooms cleaned
- bunch of spinach
- small to medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 C shredded gouda
- 1 slice of bread, grated
Preheat oven to 400. In a nonstick pan swirl a little EVOO and add the mushrooms. Saute over medium heat, turning occasionally to cook through. In a separate large pan, throw the spinach and 1/4 C water over medium high heat and cook until spinach is very soft and water has boiled off. Remove spinach to a cutting board. Add onions and a bit of EVOO to the pan and cook until onions are soft and sweet. Add garlic and saute one minute more. Chop spinach finely, and then add to pan with onions. Dump in bread crumbs and stir well to combine. Salt and pepper the mix. Add cheese, and then divide the mixture evenly between the two mushroom caps. Bake mushrooms on a cookie sheet for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve.
