Mushroom Stroganoff

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Song recommendations:

• Spooky - Dusty Springfield

• Bluish - Arlo Parks

Ingredients:

• 1 onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 6 tbsp white wine (optional)

• 1 tsp paprika (plain or smoked)

• 1 tsp ground cumin (PT: em vez de cominhos, use 1 Cc erva doce moída)

• 1 200ml carton soy cream

• 200g mushrooms

• 1/2 litre veggie stock

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 bay leaf (use if using white wine)

Recipe:

1. Put the kettle on! Start by making the stock: dissolve 1/2 a stock cube in 1/2 litre of water.

2. Dice the onion, peel and mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms.

3. Lightly fry the onion and garlic in olive oil, on a medium/low heat, until soft.

4. Add the mushrooms and the seasonings. Mix until everything is evenly coated in seasonings. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms start to soften.

5. Add the white wine and bay leaf, if using it, and reduce almost entirely.

6. Add the stock bit by bit and simmer until almost completely reduced.

7. Stir in the cream and simmer until warm.

Serving suggestion: rice and chopped parsley. If you’re feeling fancy, chuck a star anise into the rice as it cooks.

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A Bite Out of Life

No cooling rack? No problem.

I take other people’s birthdays very seriously. Birthday bops all day long, homemade cakes, party poppers, sparkler candles, you have one day to go big! Having lived away from my extended family almost all my life, I never got to spend birthdays with cousins or grandparents. Since going to uni, I started to be able to travel and make it for birthdays; celebrating with family and making up for lost time are priceless memories I’ll always cherish. My grandparents love learning about British culture, so for Grandad’s birthday on this year, I made him a traditional Victoria Sponge cake. He practically inhaled the whole thing in one; here’s a photo of him rejoicing having made it to 83 just before doing so. Aside from a good cake, a birthday in my books isn’t complete without a trip to the local Arts & Crafts shop to get supplies for making party hats. Straight to the kids section, A3 coloured card, grab all the glitter stickers you can find and you’ve absolutely smashed it.

enjoy food, enjoy life.