It’s been two weeks since I blogged– sorry about that! We went to Vancouver  for the first time in a year (!!) to visit friends and relatives for a few days, and since then I’ve been playing catch-up in the house and practising with my dance class for a little show.

We ate very well in Vancouver (as usual)– Vancouver is known for its wonderful and varied restaurants.  We stayed with my cousin Chris and his partner Roxanne at their lovely little house in the East End:  Chris is a retired landscaper, as you can see:

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We ate in on Sunday–  my youngest daughter Justine and her partner George and my youngest grandson  Logan came for breakfast, along with my stepson Laurence.  Justine brought delicious whole wheat vegan banana muffins, Roxanne made a beautiful fruit salad, we had sourdough bread from a Granville Island bakery, and also a lemon cranberry tea loaf that my sister had brought to us. For the main dish, I made five vegan onion, red and orange pepper and vegan “ham” Spanish potato tortillas (like fritattas/baked omelets)  from my book “World Vegan Feast”)

 

Brian had the BBQ Tofu and Veggie Hash

BRYANNA’S ARTICHOKE-STUFFED MUSHROOMS
 Makes 4 main dish servings
These sumptuous morsels make great appetizers, too (enough for 12 appetizer servings)
MAKE-AHEAD NOTE: You can stuff the mushrooms ahead of time, cover and refrigerate them until just before baking and serving.

 approximately 1 1/2 pounds stuffing mushrooms, white or brown (NOTE: I use mushrooms about 1 to 2 inches across for appetizers and 3 to 4-inch ones for main dish servings.)
1/4 cup finely-chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup low-sodium vegetarian broth or dry white wine (can be non-alcoholic)
1/2 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs (1 slice)
 14 ounces frozen or canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
(NOTE: If you only have marinated artichoke hearts, place them in a colander and rinse them thoroughly with hot water to eliminate most of the oil and vinegar. Drain well.)
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup soy parmesan (I use GoVeggie! soy parmesan, which used to be Galaxy Vegan, but use your favorite)
1/2 cup lower-fat vegan mayonnaise (I use my homemade version or homemade Tofu Mayo, but you could use Spectrum Naturals Light vegan mayo or Reduced-Fat Vegenaise.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
 freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Panko breadcrumbs for topping

 Clean the mushrooms gently with a damp cloth. Remove the stems. Chop and reserve the stems. Steam-fry the mushroom stems, onion, and garlic in a large heavy nonstick skillet sprayed with oil from a pump sprayer, until soft, adding a squirt of water or white wine as needed to keep it moving.

 Add the broth or wine and cook until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the bread crumbs. Remove the mixture from heat and let it cool. Combine the onion-bread crumb mixture in a medium bowl with the chopped artichokes, green onions, soy parmesan, vegan mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.

 Fill each mushroom cap with the filling so that it’s gently mounded. Arrange the stuffed mushrooms, just touching, in a shallow baking pan which has been sprayed lightly with oil from a pump sprayer. (At this point, you can cover the mushrooms with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.)

 When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350°F. Sprinkle the stuffed mushrooms with a little of the panko breadcrumbs (for crunch) and spray with a little oil from a pump sprayer. Bake the mushrooms for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot.

 Nutrition Facts: Nutrition (per serving): 144.4 calories; 9{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} calories from fat; 1.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 448.8mg sodium; 534.1mg potassium; 21.4g carbohydrates; 6.7g fiber; 2.5g sugar; 14.8g net carbs; 7.6g protein; 2.2 points. Enjoy!