recipe: portobello vegan burger and oatmeal raisin olive oil cookies

I saw a picture of a grilled portobello mushroom burger recently somewhere on the internet and couldn’t not dream up my own.

I roast the portobello mushroom in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. In my cast iron skillet I heat up some olive oil on medium heat and toss in half a poblano pepper, half a green bell, and half a cubanelle, chopped. I let them blister a bit while I decide I want to add some chopped up red onion. I sautée it wok style by adding some water until it steams out and repeat that process. I put a slice of Chao vegan cheese atop my portobello and let it roast a bit longer.

Earlier this week I made a loaf of olive oil whole wheat bread. I slice two thick slices off my loaf, slather it with vegan mayo and stripe it with mustard. I place my cheese melted portobello on a slice of the bread and put my now tender yet crunchy pepper/onion mixture on it. I follow that by fresh red onion slices, fresh poblano slices, two tomato slices, and lettuce. Before I put my other slice of bread on top, I place a fourth an avocado sliced up on it. I press it all together to form a large, deliciously juicy vegan burger. Mmmm.

It’d be great to say I finished my burger and then was satisfied for the night. It’d also be great to say I ate my healthful burger before indulging in dessert. Both are false. Before I made my burger I whipped up some oatmeal cookies. It’s nice to be able to say I can “whip up” anything in the kitchen… especially cookies.

I whipped up Olive Oil Walnut Raisin Oatmeal Cookies. This cookie recipe is health beneficial for several reasons, only slightly detrimental if one over indulges. Beneficial because of the good fiber – soluble and insoluble – and good fat – it’s heavily monounsaturated. Half of the sugar used is low on the glycemic index. One day I’ll try them with only whole  wheat and coconut sugar and see how it goes.

These cookies are all of this stuff added one after the other:

1/2 c coconut sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2/3 c olive oil (yes-you heard right! First press extra virgin good for you olive oil ☺️)

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla

1 c whole wheat flour (you heard right again!)

1/2 c AP flour

1-2 T water (as needed for ease in mixing)

3/4 c oats

1/2 c walnuts

1/2 c raisins

I put these ingredients one after the other in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the paddle attachment. I gave a little mixing time after the addition of the oil and prior to and after the addition of the flour. I added the flour in parts so as to make sure it mixed evenly. After it’s mixed, I place dollops on a cookie sheet, place in the oven preheated to 350, and pull them out when they smell awesome and look done. Good-for-you (ish) cookies!