Quick 2 Dish Spring Meal: Asparagus, Mushrooms & More

When the asparagus begins to come in it seems that it appears at every meal for a while. I had been thinking about cabbage rolls, but the weather turned cooler for a spring day and a hot meal felt right. So the asparagus went together with the leftover cannelloni beans and tang of tomatillos, not a common combination but delicious. Then the cold temperatures prompted me to impulse-buy Brussels sprouts, and so the sauté evolved to round out the plate.

ASPARAGUS CANNELLINI TOMATILLO CABBAGE ROLLS with Bean Threads!
4-5 large unfurled cabbage leaves
2-3 cups asparagus cut in 2-3 inch lengths
1/2-2/3 cup canned Cannelini beans ( or other beans)
4-5 sliced tomatillos
Mung Bean Threads
3 cloves garlic crushed & diced
Tblsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Tsp oregano

1. Start by steaming the cabbage leaves and set them aside. Don't worry if they aren't intact, you can use 2-3 for each serving to form an informal wrap. This is not finger food after all is said and done. You can soak the bean threads in the cabbage leaf water OR you can use the Brussels sprouts steaming water (I used the same water for everything). After the bean threads soften, put them in a strainer and run cool water on them to keep them separated. They will heat again when you throw them all together in the next step.
2. In a good sized sauté pan, put asparagus, garlic, beans, and sliced tomatillos with a little water and the Bragg's Liquid Aminos, cover and steam (about 6 minutes). Add the bean threads and stir all together.
3. Lay out overlapping leaves, fill with veggies, and gently roll up, pouring any pan sauce over them. This could also have some heat if you add some red pepper flakes.

BRUSSELS SPROUT MUSHROOM SAUTÉ
4 large white mushrooms
2-3 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
1 cup rough chopped onion (I used Vidalia)
Water for sauté (1/4 cup)
5-8 pitted black olives
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
Tsp thyme
Tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper if desired

1. Lightly steam the cut Brussels sprouts in the cabbage water.
2. Saute the sliced mushrooms, garlic and onions in a bit of water with the thyme and rosemary and salt.
3. Combine the Sprouts into the saute, adding the black olives chopped into big pieces.
4. Stir together and add salt and pepper as desired.

SERVE -- with some rough chopped fresh tomatoes drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar ... What a beautiful quick meal!

Portobello Tomatillo Tacos

Traveling from the city to upstate after a long morning, we arrived very hungry and with limited food resources. Having brought along 2 portobello mushrooms, which in a previous time would have been grilled and eaten like burgers, I wondered how to turn them into a lunch that would stand up for itself in spite of that memory. We had just a few corn tortillas left in the fridge, some frozen corn, some frozen fresh parsley, and one tomatillo. That's how it started. This is how to do it -- in about 15 minutes a delicious treat - filling, nutritious and refreshing. You don't have to do the cashew sauce, and you could make a lot more of this and it would definitely disappear. If you have peppers, or wanted to add sliced onions to the saute, that would be marvelous too.  We extended the meal with a few spicy corn chips and half a beer each. A side salad would also stretch this out. The other option is to make a whole bunch of these... with varying ingredients and turn it into a taco party!


Portobello Tomatillo Tacos
For the filling:
4 corn tortillas (6" stone ground)
2 portobellos
1 tomatillo
2 Tblsp parsley
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
For the Sauce:
3 Tblsp roasted unsalted cashews
2 tsp Tamari
mixture of spices:
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp salt
(make it hot if you want it that way)
2 Tblsp hot water or juices from the cooking pan

1. Slice the portobellos in thin strips. Roughly chop the tomatillo. Water saute these two ingredients in about 1/2 cup water, throwing in the shredded cabbage, parsley and corn. Stirring.
2. Put cashews, spices, and 2 tsp Tamari into a narrow tall cylinder for blenderizing ... add about 2 Tblsp hot water or juices from the cooking pan and grind until it is a pureed sauce.
3. Heat each tortilla over the hot burner (on low flame) turning from one side to the other (about 10-15 seconds each side), lay on a plate, load with vegetables, cover with cashew sauce.

Serve two overlapping tortillas per plate, ready  to roll and eat.

Portobello Tomatillo Taco Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Serving (294g) (2 tacos) Amount Per Serving % Daily Value* Calories 379 19% Total Fat 10g 15% Saturated Fat 2g 9% Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0% Sodium 462mg 19% Total Carbohydrate 66g 22% Dietary Fiber 9g 34% Sugars 4g 0% Protein 12g 24% Vitamin A 3% • Vitamin C 18% Calcium 12% • Iron 22% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calories needs.courtesy of cronometer.com using my data.