So my Nan is in town! She often comes for the weekends, but sometimes stays a few extra days so I can take her for doctor’s appointments and things like that. For Meatless Monday I wanted to come up with something simple that Nan could enjoy with us.
Sarah and I have the same rule in our respective houses- whenever there is a new food to try, everyone has to take a “no thank you” bite of it. If they take a bite and do not like what they’ve tried, they simply say “no thank you”, and can move on from there.
Nan has graciously tasted many “no thank you” bites of my tofu, but is simply not a fan. Hence, I don’t think my original idea of tofu fried rice will be a good choice for this evening’s dinner. As she catches me milling about the kitchen in search of inspiration, she says, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll just have a grilled cheese”.
Wait a second…
Ok! The gears are turning now. I know Nan loves grilled cheese and tomato, and I happen to have some yummy Springdell tomatoes! My boys are an easy sell when it comes to grilled cheese, and I’d love to try to make that Maple Shiitake Bacon one more time! Let’s do this!
- Shiitake Mushrooms, stems removed (save them for veggie broth!)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp soy sauce
- Combine olive oil, maple syrup, and soy sauce in a small bowl
- Slice the mushroom caps thinly into strips (about 1/4 inch thick)
- Toss the mushrooms with liquid in the bowl, making more liquid as needed (the mushrooms absorb a lot)
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes
- On the stove method- Toss the mushrooms in an nonstick pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until desired crispness (I personally like crispy but not burnt)
- In the oven method- Place mushroom slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then
- place in a preheated (350) oven for 10 minutes or until desired level of crispness is achieved
- I found that when cooked on the stove, the mushrooms retained their moisture, texture and "mushroomy" taste more so than when cooked in the oven. If you prefer a dryer "bacon", I think the oven may be the preferred option.
I readied some multi-grain bread, topped it with muenster cheese and sliced tomato, then placed the warm bacon on the tomato (trying not to eat it all along the way) and sprinkled with mozzarella cheese.
I melted some Amish roll butter on my griddle and grilled the sandwiches to a crunchy perfection. Given the luxury of time, I would love to try this sandwich with some caramelized onion and maybe a little bit of goat cheese. This went great with some of the Sweet Potato Chowder, but that’s another recipe for another day!
