food as experience

I've declared my cookbook challenge over and completed - okay, so not quite completed but definitely over. I ended up giving away a couple of my least favourite recipe books to a secondhand book sale, so obviously I can't use them now. And then the recipes in the other couple of books are very difficult to adapt for a flat with a vegetarian in it.

However, the plan is to keep trying new recipes from different places. And my new favourite lunch recipe is sooooo yummy I thought I would share it with you.

The other night I made calzone based on Jamie Oliver's recipe, here. I loved the filling so much and it was so quick and easy that when someone at church gave me a big bag of free mushrooms, and I just happened to have bread dough in the breadmaker at home getting ready for my lunch, I decided to adapt the recipe somewhat.

Firstly, make bread rolls according to your own recipes or your breadmaker's instructions, or buy some bread rolls. Always better fresh!

In a frypan, heat some olive oil, and then sauté about half an onion, chopped, with some crushed garlic and thyme. Chop up some mushrooms and add them to the pan, frying until they look good. Add a tablespoon or two of butter. Then add some pasta sauce of the tomato variety - Jamie Oliver has a recipe for it in the link above but I just used the canned stuff. Throw in some spinach leaves and cook until it looks about right!

I know it doesn't LOOK particularly appetising, but it tastes amazing, especially with fresh bread. And it's very quick and easy.

In other food news:
- I went out for dinner last night for a friend's birthday. This was very exciting because so many restaurants are closed after the earthquakes that it's just such a pain to go out that I haven't been out for ages. I hadn't realised how much I missed it!
- We dined at a Vietnamese restaurant and the food was amazing! The service left much to be desired, however.
- Afterwards we went across the road to Misceo Café to have dessert and I was privileged to eat the most delicious and perfect chocolate mud cake I have ever tried. I was completely incapable of making myself feel guilty about it afterwards, because it was truly an art form. Such a cake SHOULD be eaten and enjoyed.