pesto-stuffed mushrooms with roasted cherry tomatoes, simple leaf salad with honey mustard dressing

welcome to brittany's breakfast cafe! ahhh, first entry and i am not quite sure how to start off. i have so many things to say but none of it looks quite right in print. first thing, i guess, is that my name is brittany... and i do not own a breakfast cafe (one day, maybe). right now, i am intending for this to be some kind of vegetarian recipe blog that i've decided to adopt as a sort of side project.... once in a while i stumble upon a really fantastic recipe or sometimes even create something as a product of my own genius (haha). aside from giving me a go-to database for all my favourite recipes, i am hoping that these tasty tricks and tips will find their way in your kitchens' as well. on this blog you will find more than just breakfast recipes but brunch, lunch and dinner... everything from homemade soups, salads and sandwiches to vegetable entrees, ethnic dishes, sweet treats, quick and easy snacks to elaborately prepared meals. for me, there is some kind of special pleasure in taking the time and effort to prepare the food that i eat, some type of simple delight in eating and enjoying fresh foods and homemade meals. and supposing that is a good enough of an introduction for now, on with the actual recipes.

pesto stuffed mushrooms with roasted cherry tomatoes

pesto

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves

3 tbsp. pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

4-6 tbsp. olive oil

2/3 cup parmesan cheese

black pepper

8 portobello mushroom caps, stemmed

40 cherry tomatoes

olive oil, for brushing

sea salt and black pepper

to serve

extra basil leaves

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

(for me, september is a perfect time of the year for recipes that use lots of basil and lots of tomatoes, because it deals with two (of many) things that are growing rampant in mom and dad's garden right now.)

process the basil, pine nuts,, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. add in the oil, parmesan and black pepper to taste, and process until blended (one variation on this is to separately process some slices of fresh bread here, with crusts removed, to make coarse crumbs, which you can later than blend into the prepared pesto).

in a roasting pan, brush the mushroom caps and cherry tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and fill the mushrooms with the pesto stuffing. Roast in a preheated oven, 400 degrees F, 8 minutes (or until tomatoes start to burst).

to serve, sprinkle the plate with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and even top with some spare basil leaves if you want.

simple leaf salad with honey mustard dressing

dressing

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp honey

2 tsp dijon mustard

sea salt & black pepper

3 tbsp poppy seeds

any mixed salad leaves; i had a spinach-arugula mix on hand when i made this but anything works really.

i also added some chopped cucumber, red onion, and an edible nasturium flower (which i scooped this up on my way home from class.... they grow in one of my neighbors garden right on the edge of the sidewalk... i justified the petty thievery because they are great for adding some colour to even a plain lettuce salad and the nutty-spicy flavour goes oh so wonderfully with the sweet and lemony dressing).

add all dressing ingredients except poppy seeds to a bowl or jug and set aside to infuse for at least an hour. just before serving, strain out garlic and add the poppy seeds. leftover dressing can be sealed and stored in the fridge for a couple of days). if you are not a fan of the strong olive-y flavour that olive oil imparts to this dressing, you could try an extra-light tasting olive oil or a milder tasting oil all together.

together, the salad with the mushrooms and roasted tomatoes makes a perfect light dinner, especially at this time of year with the bounty of fresh produce that is available (cheap! cheap! cheap!!!) either from your own backyard garden or from roadside stands and city square markets everywhere.

i suppose it is only fair to now give credit where credit is due. the recipe for both the honey mustard dressing, the pesto-stuffed mushrooms, and the roasted tomatoes all came from one of my all-time favourite cookbooks, easyvegetarian. i should let you know in advance that you be seeing a lot more of this book on here... i recently found in a little hobby shop in goderich while vacationing nearby this summer, and it is brimming with all sorts of things that i am just dying to try. that's it for now - but i'll be back in the kitchen again soon.

truly,

brittany.