Portabello Road

My mom recently switched her diet to vegan.

Oy vay.

I am SO not a vegan.

I like meat.

Meat is my friend.

But mom is trying very hard to be as healthy as she can be going in to her upcoming hip replacement surgery next week. Kudos to her! She's actually doing a very good job of it. She went vegan about 3 weeks ago. And before you ask, she's breaking for Thanksgiving. THANK GOODNESS...the thought of Tofurkey just makes me want to hurl.

The challenge, for me, is coming up with dishes that she can eat along with the rest of us. Tonight I struck GOLD.

No, I struck TECHNETIUM (the most expensive metal on this earth...go look it up).

Tonight, I fixed a wonderfully satisfying dish using stuff I had in the house. Amazing. I stumbled upon the recipe while I was cruising Pinterest. Let me tell y'all right now. It is ABSOLUTELY delicious. Truly. It is a PERFECT autumn dish. It's hearty and filling and oh-so tasty. It's great as a side dish, but could also stand on its own as a main course. AND, the best part...it's really nutrient dense.

Oven Roasted Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

Ingredients
4 large Portabello mushroom caps
2 large sweet potatoes
2 cups fresh spinach
1-2 cups PREPARED quinoa
1/2 cup slivered almonds
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (yeah, hot oven)
2. Clean off the mushroom caps of any soil using a dry brush. Don't get them wet if you don't have to...they're like sponges. Remove stems (you may cut them up and use them in the stuffing or discard them).
3. Peel raw sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes
4. Place cubed potatoes in large mixing bowl,  drizzle with olive oil (about 1-2 Tbs), season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
5. On cookie sheet, scatter almonds in single layer and bake in oven (just put them on rack below potatoes). Toast the almonds until golden brown (you'll need to watch them so they won't burn).
6. Spread potatoes on SEPARATE cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake in oven for about 20-30 minutes until soft and brown on top/bottom.
7. Remove potatoes from oven and scatter raw spinach leaves over potatoes. Return pan to oven for 1-2 minutes more--just enough to wilt the spinach leaves..
8. Prepare quinoa as directed (1 part quinoa, 2 parts water...bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until liquid absorbed--do NOT stir while cooking).
9. Let potatoes, almonds, spinach, and quinoa cool slightly.
10.  In large bowl, gently combine the stuffing ingredients.
11. Brush smooth sides of mushroom caps with olive oil (it will IMMEDIATELY soak in...that's okay).
12. Place mushroom caps on cookie sheet with smooth side down.
13. Fill each cap with stuffing mixture in mounded heap.
14. Drizzle olive oil over each filled cap.
15. Bake stuffed mushrooms for 15 minutes until the mushroom is cooked.

Makes 4 servings.

Serve HOT.