The Super Bowl (Featuring Sundried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms and Spicy Vegan Corn Muffins)

Sunday was a great day!  The Packers won the Super Bowl!! Whoo hoo!

As usual, I used it as an opportunity to try out some new recipes.  I also brought along some of the cookies I was busy making last week. 

What a wonderful spread!

 Spicy Vegan Corn Muffins

Adapted from: Agave Nectar Corn Muffins by http://devioussoybeans.com

Also check out her new vegan dessert blog at http://dessertdessert.wordpress.com

The following recipe makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 small cartons of plain soy yogurt (each carton = 6 oz)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup canola oil

1/3 frozen corn kernels 

1 Tbsp cayenne pepper (or more as desired)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line with paper muffin liners.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix the soy yogurt, agave nectar and canola until combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently stir until thoroughly combined. Add the corn kernels and mix.  The batter should be very thick — too thick to pour.

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Use a small spoon or wet fingers to smooth out the tops of the muffins.

6. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

 Notes:

-Adjust the spices to your taste.

-Plain soy yogurt can be hard to find.  I found it at The Willy St Co-op.

-Don't be scared, these muffins are delicious, declared so by vegans and non-vegans alike!

Sundried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms

Adapted from: Vegetarian Times

Makes about 22 mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 lb large mushrooms (roughly 22 mushrooms)

2 Tbsp olive oil

½ of 7 oz. package of firm tofu, finely chopped (about 1 1/3 cup)

8-12 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (about ¼ cup)

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp dried breadcrumbs

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 375 F. 

2.      Line a large baking sheet or jelly roll pan with foil.

3.      Clean mushrooms with slightly damp paper towel and remove stems, chop, and set aside.

4.      Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add mushroom stems, tofu, tomatoes, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Cook 5 minutes, or until tender. 

5.      Stir in parsley, garlic cloves, breadcrumbs, and 1 Tbsp water.  Remove from heat and cool.

6.      Stuff each mushroom cap with filling.  Douse with more olive oil.  Bake 20 minutes, or until browned and crisp on top.

 Notes:

-These mushrooms really reflect my biggest hurdle towards becoming vegan: They would be much better smothered in cheese.  When critiquing them, I had to keep reminding myself that I was missing the point if I really wanted to add cheese.  

-Despite that, these were still on the bland side.  If I make them again I will definitely add more spices and much more garlic.  They were good and people ate them, but I like my food a bit more exciting.

-On the flip side, these mushrooms are much healthier, if not quite as yummy, than traditional stuffed mushrooms.

-You can make these ahead of time.  Just make the filling, leaving out the parsley until you are ready to bake them.  Store the filling in a container until you are ready to use, then add parsley, stuff, and bake!

Mushrooms before the oven.

It was so nice to see Green Bay win and to have a communal reason to celebrate!

Now on to Valentine's Day!