Rustic mushroom salad

Today, we put our clocks back an hour as Daylight Savings come to an end. I was hoping to take full advantage of this event by spending an extra hour in bed but of course with numeric confusion, I ended getting out of bed at 6; 2 hours too early which was a disappointment especially since it is Sunday.

Anyway, after breakfast and a trip to the markets, I made a warm mushroom salad and a ginger-pear cake for a late afternoon picnic at King's Park. The salad is one I have made quite often in the past but for some reason, I moved on to other salads. It made a reappearance sometime last week when I had to make it at work and had me wondering why I haven't made it for so long.

This is so very simple to prepare and Autumn is just the perfect season for it because mushrooms are cheap and in abundance. Of course you can try a variety of mushrooms but I recommend small, tight Swiss Browns and fleshy field mushrooms. Swiss Browns have a sweet-nutty flavour and hold their shape better during cooking while field mushrooms have a nice meaty texture - both excellent for soaking up the delicious savoury and vinegar-y cooking juices. Although this particular salad is inspired by Mediterranean flavours like fruity olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sweet basil and pungent garlic, other cultural renditions are just as good. For example, why not try shimeji, shitake and oyster mushrooms with chilli, garlic, spring onions, a dash of mirin and sesame oil then finish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds?

In a hot pan, saute some sliced red onions (I used 2 medium ones) until brown and slightly soft (don't forget the seasoning) then add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan. Set aside, then in the same pan, saute some chopped garlic in your favourite olive oil then add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms collapse, season well then add more balsamic vinegar to the pan (it should hiss, spit and sizzle!). Mix the cooked mushrooms with the onions then add lots of chopped sweet basil and a slug of good extra virgin olive oil. Crumble your favourite chevre or fetta atop and enjoy it warm with lots of grilled ciabatta.

And if you are feeling more industrious than usual, why not prepare a pot of soft polenta or creamy potato puree as a side dish. For our picnic, I roasted a large sweet potato I had cut into small chunks with nothing but a good splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Topped with the mushroom salad, it made a very wholesome and nutritious meal - with Autumn's colours on a plate.

Crepes and such

I discovered a pile of leftover buckwheat crepes that were slightly stale at the back of my fridge and eventhough they were a few days old (I made them on Bastille Day, not deliberately to celebrate the occasion though), I could not bring myself to toss them into the bin. Apart from the age-old saying, "think of all the starving children" as a constant reminder not to waste food, I do think most things can be salvaged and freshened up somehow to make a decent meal for one with the aid of some inventiveness. The only one exception is of course leftover cooked pasta for I believe no amount of salad cream or condiments can make a salad of cold pasta as appetising as its freshly-cooked counterpart but having said that, I have been known to (begrudgingly) eat day-old pasta.

Crepes are an incredibly versatile food. the type you can have anytime of the day, as a snack, meal or treat, as a sweet or savory item. The other great thing about crepes is that it is incredibly portable and can be eaten on the move, or you can dress it up to eaten in civilised fashion at a table with a pint of cider. Although buckwheat crepes are usually eaten with savoury fillings, I had some after dinner with a liberal spread of Nutella, slices of banana and toasted flaked almonds - yum. Many of my friends who love crepes hesitate at the thought of making the pancakes themselves because they find crepe-making a little difficult and often frustrating. The truth is, it does take some practice and confidence but once you have adjusted the heat of the pan and overcome the awkward twisting of your wrist to spread the batter evenly and thinly, you will be like a fish in water. (For further reading, check out Heidi Swanson's comprehensive entry on how to make sweet crepes and David Lebovitz's on how to make buckwheat crepes). Heck! you may even enjoy it.

Anyway, returning to what I did with my leftover crepes. I simply lined 2 holes of a Texas muffin tin with 2 crepes each (my crepes were very thin and delicate and I didn't want to risk seepage during baking), filled them with sauteed mushrooms and spinach, cracked a free-range egg over the top of each and baked them in a moderately hot oven for 4-5 minutes until the eggs were set but the yolks still runny.

It then struck me as I had my fork in one of my breakfast cupcrepes (I am rather pleased with this word I've coined) what a fabulous way to use up leftover crepes this is. The warm and wholesome savoury filling cradled by a pancake tender and moist with edges crisp, it was like eating a freshly cooked crepe at a creperie - well, almost!