Hamptons Weekend, Part II

Finally! I'm getting around to posting about how I capped off the some of the last few weekends of my summer. We are on the brink of autumn, (as was clear to me as I sat in Thompkins Square Park today) and I'm ready to move on! But I just have to share what I did back in August before I can proceed to share some of my early fall shenanigans..or veganigans, if you will.

 

At the end of August, I headed to the Hamptons again with David and Sophia to celebrate Sophia's birthday, and you better believe we cooked up a storm!

We had decadent, delicious pancakes made every morning by Sophia. One morning we had apple cinnamon, the next we had banana chocolate chip...

The birthday girl

David clearly enjoying breakfast

The first night, we made roasted mushrooms stuffed with pesto, and whole grain pasta in a tempeh bolognese sauce...

Before

After-

As you can see, we added barley to the pesto, which was a nice, earthy touch.

 

 

 

 

The next day, for lunch, we fired up the grill and had a Mexican-style feast!

 

Grilled fresh corn, peppers, and avocados...pico de gallo, and spiced black beans for our tacos.

 

 

 

In between all of our eating and cooking, we did some summery, Hamptons things.

 

 

On our last night, we made a risotto with oyster mushrooms, leeks, and peas...

We had it with some roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus.

 

 

 

This recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's book, 'The Kind Diet'. Not to be cheesy, but this book changed my life! But I can share more about that another time. I'm going to end this post today by sharing the recipe with all of you. I hope you will try it, and enjoy!

 

Here it is:

 

Risotto with Oyster Mushrooms, Leeks, and Peas

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4-1 cup oyster mushrooms, or 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

2 pinches sea salt

1/2 cup thinly sliced leeks

1/2 cup fresh or thawed peas

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4-1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup Arborio rice (or short grain brown rice)

1/2 cup mirin or white wine

 

Directions

Bring 5 cups of water just to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

 

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and stir until the mushrooms soften. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minutes, or until the leeks soften. Add some water to the pan, 1 tablespoon at a time if the vegetables become dry or start to stick to the pan.

 

If you are using fresh peas, blanch them for 1 minutes in a small pot of boiling water, and then add them to the sauteed vegetables. If using thawed just add them. Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over m edium heat. Add the garlic and onion and, when the onions begins to sizzle, add a dash of salt. Saute until the onions soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stif in the rice and toast the grains until they are opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and begin add the warm water by ladelfuls, stirring it into the risotto, and adding more liquid only when the previous addition has been absorbed. After the rice has cooked for 20 minutes, seas to taste with salt. The total cooking time should be 25 to 30 minutes. The risotto will be creamy, but the rice should retain some firmness.

 

Add the sauteed vegetable mixture to the risotto and stir together until hot. Serve warm.

 

 

xo,

Ellie