Stuffed Portobellos and Steamed Bok Choy

Portobellos are such a versatile fungi.

They make great burgers, a main stir-fry ingredient, and of course, an ideal vessel for other veggies. I wanted to make something wheat and soy-free, which is tough as a vegan, but these really fit the bill. But what to have with them? Before, I would have served bread, but since I that’s out, I decided to steam some bok choy. By the way, you’ll be seeing more wheat and soy-free recipes (although I may use miso from time to time) on my blog, as I am working on eliminating these from my diet. Why? Well . . . you see, I have endometriosis, something I’ve had to deal with for the last seven years, and I’ve now opted to treat it with diet, herbs and acupuncture. Endo is an inflammatory disease, so processed flour aggravates it. It’s also said that estrogen feeds the disease, so there goes soy with its natural estrogen!

TMI? Sorry. I won’t go on about it, but I wanted to explain my reasoning for my decision and to also let other women know that it’s possible to live with endo and not rely on drugs and/or  surgery (at least, that’s my plan). Otherwise, I want to make clear that I have nothing against soy. In fact, it’s worth pointing out that Dr. Neal Barnard has determined that soy consumption is not only safe, but highly encouraged. Oh, and I want to make clear, I’m steering clear of wheat, not necessarily gluten. There’s a difference between the two, so fortunately, whole grains aren’t out of the picture for me, just processed wheat.

So, on to the recipes!

INGREDIENTS:
4 portobello caps, washed and stems and gills removed
1 box Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice Mix
1 small red onion, diced
1 small zicchini, diced
1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegan cheese shreds

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare the rice mix according to the package instructions. This will need to cook for 30 minutes. When the rice has about 6 minutes of cooking time left, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the red onion and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the zucchini and cook another 3 minutes or so.

Stir in the cooked rice and parsley; season with salt and pepper.

Place the portobellos upside down in a large baking dish. Sprinkle some Daiya cheese on the bottom and fill each mushroom cap evenly with the rice mixture, piling it high.

Pour a little water into the bottom of the pan. This will help steam the mushroom caps. Bake for about 15 minutes, then top with a little Daiya cheese and bake another couple of minutes.

While these are baking, I got started on the bok choy.

I think this veggie is so underrated. Low in calories, this lightly sweet and crispy veggie is loaded with vitamins C and A as well as calcium. I cut up some mushrooms and together, steamed the veggies with some (soy-free) Earth Balance for about 7-9 minutes.

Enjoy!