Pumpkinspun’s Musings

subtitle: in which Grace endeavors to cook something that does not contain beans, spinach, or garlic for a change.

Trying to do such a thing may be overrated, but these are pretty darn good.

28 large white or crimini (baby bella) mushrooms

wipe the mushrooms clean, then pull out the stems. If pulling the stem out doesn’t leave much of a well for stuffing, you can also dig it out a little with a knife.

chop up the mushroom stems and such, then saute them in about 2 Tblsp. butter, along with
1/2 med. onion, minced
1-2″ piece of chorizo, finely diced

then add:
1/4 c walnuts, chopped pretty fine
1/2 chipotle pepper (though tasty in the mix, really only there because i made a sacred pact with a can of chipotles that i would put them in everything i made until they were gone…good thing i opened it after i made the cookie dough…though gingerbread with chipotle could be interesting)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tblsp. chopped parsley
3 Tblsp. cream

turn off the heat and mix in:
1 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. brown mustard
1/4 c. ricotta
1/4 c. grated sharp cheddar

meanwhile, brush or toss the mushroom caps with olive oil.
spray down a baking sheet, put the caps on, and stuff. This is enough stuffing to be generous in the stuffing.
Bake at 400 for 15 min., or until brownish on top.

These can also be prepped ahead of time, wrapped up and put in the fridge, then baked off just prior to serving.
If you do this, though, you might want to put them in the oven at a slightly lower temp (325 or 350) for about 10 min, then crank it up to 400 for another 10.

This is the recipe the Coakley sibs grew up making and eating every Christmas.

It’s that chilled dough that gets rolled out and cut in so many shapes, then sprinkled with colored sugars and festooned with silver balls, M&M’s, red hots and other like goodies. You can even paint them up with a glaze of egg yolk and food dye before baking or confectionary sugar with food dye (and few drops of water) when warm from the oven.

Cream together:
¾ cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup sugar

then Mix in :
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

after sifting together blend in:
2 ½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Shape in to log and Refrigerate at least 1 hour
Roll out about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface.
Cut and decorate on pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes till lightly brown on the bottoms. Oven temp 400 degrees F.

Note: I often make a double batch of this. A single batch yields me about 30 to 40 cookies, but this depends on thickness and size of cookies. I usually break this into 3 or 4 logs and only take one log out to work at a time. Its great to make this dough a day or 2 ahead of time before the “fun part”. You can gather up the scrapes after cutting and roll this “used” dough again. If it gets too soft, just put in back in the frig as you work another piece of dough. Baking parchment paper is great for reusing and reusing on the kind of project.

Ann

This is the long awaited recipe of Ann’s famous lentil burgers. If we’re not careful, they may even turn Ian into a vegetarian.

1 cup of Lentils
1 cup of brown, short-grain rice dry
1/2 cup Oats, rolled or quick
3 TBSP nutritional yeast (get from local health food store.. it’s yellow flakey stuff)**
1/2 cup bread crumbs or ground crackers
1 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 small to med onion, minced
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
Hot Sauce to taste
several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP ketchup
1 egg (optional)

**The yeast is a critical ingredient. Don’t omit. (for nutritional and flavor reasons)

Rinse and sort lentils. Put lentils and rice together in same pot and over medium heat with 4 cups of water bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes. Check for lentils being tender.
If pot is near dry, add another cup of water. Once lentils are tender add the salt. Simmer another 15-25 minutes until rice is plump, lentils are falling apart, and pot is nearly dry. Keep a close eye on the pot. Add more water as needed.

While lentils/rice are cooking, mince onion, gather other ingredients.

In blender or food processor, grind oats until flour (about 30 seconds). Grind crackers if needed.

With lentils and rice cooked down to near dry, dump into large mixing bowl and stir in minced onion. Next stir in oats and bread crumbs. Add all seasonings and check to taste. Adjust to your own taste. The mash should start getting sticky. After well mixed and slightly cooled, add egg if wanted (egg adds body but requires stricter care and handling for food safety).

Shape mash into burgers of desired size and cook in lightly oiled pan, browning each side about 5 minutes/side. If cold, the burgers may take longer to cook.

Makes about 6 burgers.

Ann makes a larger batch of this up and refrigerates the mash up to a week in a tightly sealed plastic container.