Strawberry Muffins and Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

So I had some strawberries yesterday and they were on the edge of being too soft, so I knew I needed to use up the rest. So I thought to myself - strawberry muffins would be good. Using the handy dandy internet google search, I found a recipe I liked and they turned out pretty good, even if I didn't hear the timer go off and they wound up getting overcooked. But they were still yummy and moist. I might add different berries next time, make them bumbleberry muffins.

Strawberry Muffins 

Ingredients
1 2⁄3 cups fresh strawberries
2⁄3 cup sugar
1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 1⁄2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Heat oven to 425 F.
Put a paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups, or grease just the bottoms of 12 muffin cups.
Slightly smash strawberries in large bowl, using fork.
Stir in sugar, oil and eggs until mixed.
Stir in other ingredients just until moistened.
Spoon batter into muffin cups.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown or toothpick poked in center comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes.
Loosen sides of muffins from pan if needed, and take them out of the pan.
Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/berry-smash-muffins-strawberry-muffins-35393

Then I had some portobello mushrooms that I've never cooked with before. And I found a neat recipe that sounded good. It turned out that it was. I didn't have the emmenthal cheese, so I just put on a cheddar mix. It would have been better with the emmenthal, but it was still pretty good without it. The recipe called for salt and peppering at every step, and I was wondering if that wasn't too much, but it wasn't salty at all, in facet I could have been a bit more aggressive with the salt, so it's clearly an important step with this one.


Stuff Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 large or 8 small portobello mushrooms

Marinade
2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon (5 ml) Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Filling
2 slices bacon, about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick, cut into small pieces
2 cups (500 ml) asparagus, cut into 1/2-inch (1-cm) lengths
1 small red pepper, cored and finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth
1 cup (250 ml) small homemade or Store-brought croutons
2 cups (500 ml) grated Emmenthal cheese

Directions
Remove and finely chop the mushroom stems. Set aside. Using a spoon, scrape out the gills (the black part on the underside of the mushroom cap) and discard. Set aside.

Marinade
In a large bowl or freezer bag, combine all the ingredients. Add the mushroom caps and coat well. Marinate for about 10 minutes.

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.

Filling
Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems, asparagus, bell pepper and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the broth. Bring to a boil and reduce until almost dry. Add the croutons and mix well. Set aside.
Remove the mushroom caps from the marinade and arrange them on the cookie sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Fill with the stuffing and sprinkle with the cheese. Roast until the cheese is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
Serve as a starter or as a side dish for grilled meats.

I found this recipe at: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/974-stuffed-portobello-mushrooms


All in all, it was a delicious day :)

Sean
smut fixes everything