Zach and I had a lovely Valentine’s Day this past weekend. I
had originally planned to make a special five-course meal for us on Saturday to
celebrate, but the weather ended up being so nice (65 degrees!) that I didn’t
want to spend the day cooped up in the kitchen. So on Saturday we went on a
lovely hike. It felt pretty surreal for February, which is usually unbearably
cold and snowy. Then Sunday I made the fancy meal that I wanted to share with
you.
Here's us on our hike Saturday. We're smiling even though we're pretty sad about the lack of snow.
The appetizer course was stuffed mushrooms from a recipe we
made up using flavor affinities listed in The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. These
are actually the best vegan mushrooms we’ve ever made (and we’ve tried a lot of
recipes), so I’ve shared the recipe for these at the end of this post.
First Course: Spinach and fennel stuffed mushrooms
The next course was a lovely pea and Boston lettuce soup. This
was very light and spring-y and matched the uncharacteristically warm weather
we’ve been experiencing.
Second Course: Green Pea and Boston Lettuce Soup
Following the soup course were these scrumptious smoked Salmon pizzas. This was the first time I’ve tried making individual pizzas and I think
I’ll actually do this more often. This allows Zach and I to add toppings
individually so we both get the exact pizza we want.
Third Course: Smoked Salmon Pizza
After the main course I served a grapefruit and fennel salad. Serving
salad after the main course is pretty fancy for Zach and me, but it was a nice
follow-up after the rich pizzas and it got us primed and ready for the best
course of all…
Fourth Course: Grapefruit and Fennel Salad
Dessert! To celebrate this silly holiday I made one of my
favorite desserts ever, chocolate cream pie. I made the crust from homemade graham cracker crumbs, filled with this chocolate filling, and topped with coconut
cream whipped from coconut milk.
Fifth Course: Mini Chocolate Cream Pies
So all-in-all we had an excellent Valentine’s Day. I hope
all of you enjoyed the weekend as well. As promised here’s the recipe for
perfect stuffed mushrooms:
Spinach and Fennel Stuffed Mushrooms
vegan, makes enough for about 15 large mushrooms
Ingredients:
15 large mushrooms, stems removed
1 fennel bulb, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 large handfuls spinach, chopped
Juice from ½ lemon
½ cup of ohsheglows.com Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Sauté fennel with garlic and lemon juice in a non-stick pan
for about 5 minutes. Add spinach and cook for another 2 minutes. Stuff mushrooms with fennel mixture, then top with “Parmesan
cheese”. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (I baked mine in silicone cupcake
wrappers to stabilize them).
So yummy...
