Try cooking quick, easy meals (like this one) at first to experiment how to cook with mushrooms and how you like the taste of them, especially if mushrooms are one of the main ingredients.
Ingredients
·        1 cup spinach
·        4 large flat mushrooms, stalks discarded
·        ¼ cup butter
·        4 cloves garlic, minced
·        2 onions, finely chopped
·        ½ tsp nutmeg
·        1 tbsp olive oil
·        2 tbsp white bread crumbs
·        Salt and freshly black pepper, to taste
·        1 egg, beaten
·        1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
1.     Place spinach into a colander and rinse well. Trim off steams and discard. Fill a small saucepan with ¼ inch of water and lightly steam spinach leaves over low heat. Remove from heat once leaves begin to wilt; set aside.
2.     Preheat oven to 400°F. In a medium sized skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Once melted, add garlic, onion and nutmeg. Allow mixture to gently sauté until onions begin to soften. Transfer pan onto an unheated burner and set aside to cool.
3.     In a separate skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add in mushrooms and sauté until both sides of the mushrooms have slightly browned. Transfer cooked mushrooms upside down onto an ovenproof dish.
4.     In a medium sized mixing bowl add onion mixture, cooked spinach, bread crumbs salt and pepper and beaten egg. Mix until well combined. 
5.     Using a spoon, arrange spinach mixture onto each mushroom cap, shaping neatly. Cover pan with aluminium foil and place into preheated oven.  Bake for 10 minutes.
6.     Place stuffed mushrooms onto individual serving plates. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Serves 4

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge it will keep for up to 3-4 days.
Ingredients
·        2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
·        2 tsp green onion, finely chopped
·        4 tbsp soy sauce
·        1 tsp sesame oil
·        1 tbsp Chinese red rice vinegar
1.     Place minced ginger, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil and red rice vinegar into a small bowl and mix together until well combined. To allow flavours to mix together properly, cover and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve with pot stickers when ready.
Makes approximately â…“ cup

When I first tried this recipe I was absolutely amazed. I was looking into vegetarianism at the time and stumbled across a very detailed book at the library called “World Vegetarian Cookbook” by Sarah Brown. It had great pictures of the food so I decided to try and make these delicious recipes myself. One dish that really stood out was the ‘Sesame tofu’, and get this, ‘with dipping sauce!’ All I can say is that you have to try this recipe for yourself and I can almost guarantee that you will be left with the same thought as I was…”Just how fast can I share this recipe with the world???”
Ingredients
To make the marinade
·        5 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
·        1-2 tbsp sugar
·        2 tbsp rice wine
·        1 tbsp grated ginger root
·        2 cloves garlic
To make the tofu
·        9 oz extra firm tofu
·        2 oz plain flour
·        1½ oz sesame seeds
·        2 tbsp sunflower oil
·        3 spring onions, finely chopped, to garnish
To make the dipping sauce
·        2 tbsp soy sauce
·        2 tbsp rice or cider vinegar
·        ½ tsp sugar
·        2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1.     In a small mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, ginger root and garlic. Set aside.
2.     Place tofu onto a plate lined with paper towel, place paper towel on top of the tofu as well and using the palms of your hands gently press down to remove excess water from the tofu. Slice the tofu into thick slices or medium sized cubes. Place tofu into a large bowl or onto a platter; drizzle on marinade making sure to coat all slices/cubes. Set aside for at least 30 minutes; turning occasionally.
3.     Pour flour and sesame seeds into a small bowl and whisk together until well combined. Once tofu has sat for at least 30 minutes, sprinkle on flour mixture until each tofu slice/cube is coated.
4.     Pour sunflower oil into a large skillet or a wok over medium heat. Once oil has heated place in some of the marinated tofu and fry until brown and crisp. Transfer onto a platter with a lid and keep warm while cooking other batches.
5.     In a small serving bowl pour in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and coriander. Mix until well combined.
6.     Place cooked tofu into separate bowls or leave on one large platter; serve garnished with spring onions and dipping sauce.
Serves 4

Stored in the fridge in a sealed container they will keep for up to 2 days.
 

Ingredients
To make the dough
·        1 cup all-purpose flour
·        2 tbsp butter
·        ¼ tsp salt
·        ⅛ cup warm water
To make the filling
·        1 large potato
·        1 tbsp vegetable oil
·        ¼ tsp black or white mustard seeds
·        ½ tsp cumin seeds
·        1 dried red chile, coarsely chopped
·        ½ onion, finely chopped
·        ½ to 1 dried green chile, coarsely chopped
·        ¼ tsp ground turmeric
·        ½ tsp ground coriander
·        ½ tsp ground cumin
·        ½ tsp salt
·        ½ tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1.     Pour flour into a large mixing bowl along with the butter. Using your hands, rub butter in well with the flour and knead into a soft dough ball, gradually adding in the water. Once dough is soft and has a velvety texture, divide it into 4 even balls.
2.     Using the palms of your hands, rotate the dough balls, one at a time, and press down to make 4 flat cakes. Form flat dough cakes into 4 inch circles and then cut in half. (You should be left with 8 semi-circles of dough.)
3.     Place the potato, with skin still on, into a small saucepan with enough water to just cover the potato. Bring to a boil and cook until potato is tender. Once cooked, set aside to cool. Peel potato skin off and discard; cut potato into small dice. Cover and set aside.
4.     Place a large skillet over medium heat and pour in oil. Once oil has heated add in mustard seeds and wait until they start to crackle before adding the cumin seeds, red chile, onion and green chile. Allow to fry until onion begins to soften. Sprinkle in turmeric, ground coriander and cumin and stir in with mixture. Add in potato dices and salt to taste.
5.     Reduce heat to low and continue to stir mixture until potato is coated with spices. Transfer skillet onto a non-heated burner to allow mixture to sit; stir in cilantro. Allow mixture to properly cool.
6.     Use each semi-circle of the dough as one envelope. Take a small amount of warm water and moisten the straight edges of the dough. Fold in half to make a triangular cone with the dough halves. Press down on the edges firmly.
7.     Using a small spoon, carefully fill the cones with the cooled filling. Be sure to leave a ¼ inch border at the top to insure a tight seal. Once all triangles are sealed, moisten the open top edges and using your hands or a fork, press edges together.
8.     Heat the oil for deep-frying to 350°F or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Fry the samosas, in batches, until golden brown. Transfer onto absorbent paper towels and keep warm while cooking the remainder. Serve at once.
 Makes 8

Stored in the fridge in an airtight container they will keep for up to 2-3 days.
Ingredients
 To make the spring rolls
·        ¾ cup broken rice vermicelli noodles
·        6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
·        ½ cup carrots, slivered
·        1 cup bok choy, thinly sliced
·        1 cup green onion, slivered
·        2 tbsp chopped coriander
·        Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
·        2 tbsp soy sauce
·        ½ tsp granulated sugar
·        1 tsp sesame oil
·        2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
·        Eight 8-inch square spring roll skins
·        3 tbsp all-purpose flour
·        ¼ cup water
·        4 cups vegetable oil
To make the salad
·        1 cup daikon radish, slivered
·        1 cup carrots, slivered
·        4 green onions, slivered
·        ½ cup red onion, slivered
·        1 cup slivered cucumber, juice squeezed out
To make the dressing
·        2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
·        1 tbsp soy sauce
·        ½ tsp sesame oil
1.     Place noodles and mushrooms into individual bowls and cover with hot water. Cover bowls and set aside for 20 minutes. Once noodles and mushrooms have properly soaked transfer noodles into a colander and drain properly; transfer into a large bowl. Drain mushrooms as well and transfer onto a cutting board. Remove and discard stems and slice mushroom heads thinly. Add into large bowl with noodles.
2.     Add carrots, bok choy, green onion and coriander onto the bowl of noodles and mushrooms and mix together. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, to taste, and toss mixture to combine. Cover and set aside.
3.     Pour soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and fresh ginger into a small bowl. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until well combined. Cover and set aside.
4.     Gently pull spring roll skins apart and place them onto a flat clean surface (that is preferably glass so they won’t stick). Using a small spoon, place ¼ cup of the noodle and vegetable mixture onto the upper third part of each spring roll skin. Roll once and then take the 2 ends and fold them in and continue to roll the skins forward until it forms a cylinder. Whisk together flour and water in a bowl until well combined. Using a small pastry brush, coat spring roll with just enough of the flour/water mixture to seal the edges. Repeat until done with all the spring rolls.
5.     In a large wok, heat some of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Once wok and oil are very hot add spring rolls in 3 at a time and fry until they turn golden brown which shouldn’t take longer than 2 minutes. Transfer rolls onto a rack with paper towel to drain. Repeat with the rest of the batch.
6.     To make the salad, place radish, carrot, green and red onions and cucumber into a bowl and toss together until well combined. In a separate bowl pour in rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil; whisk together until well mixed. Drizzle sauce mixture over vegetables and toss together until all vegetables are lightly coated.
7.     Once spring rolls are properly drained, place onto a cutting board and slice each spring roll in half on an angle. Place 3 halves onto individual serving plates, standing up so that their cut ends are facing up. Served garnished by arranging salad around the rolls; serve at once.
Makes 8 rolls but serves 5 if you serve 1½ pieces to each person.

To get that authentic Mediterranean flavour, use balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice. And remember to use the freshest, ripest tomatoes you can find!
Ingredients
·        4 muffins
·        4 garlic cloves, crushed
·        2 tbsp butter
·        1 tbsp chopped basil
·        4 large tomatoes
·        1 tbsp tomato paste
·        8 black olives, pitted and halved
·        1¾ ounce mozzarella cheese, sliced
·        Salt and pepper, to taste
·        1 tbsp olive oil
·        2 tsp lemon juice
·        1 tsp clear honey
·        Basil leaves, to garnish
1.     Place muffins onto a cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice each muffin in half. Transfer muffin halves into a toaster or oven and toast until they turn crisp and golden.
2.     Preheat oven to 300°F. Place butter, garlic and chopped basil into a small mixing bowl and using a small spoon, stir until well combined. Once all muffins are toasted, spoon garlic mixture of each muffin half.
3.     Pour boiling water into a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice a small cross shape at the bottom of each tomato and then place into the bowl of boiling water. After the tomatoes begin to soften, which shouldn’t take longer than a couple minutes, remove tomatoes, one at a time from the boiling water using a fork. Using your fingers, peel away the flesh from the tomatoes.
4.     Once all flesh is removed, chop tomatoes into small dice. Pour diced tomatoes, tomato paste and sliced olives into a mixing bowl and blend together. Spoon onto the muffins. 
5.     In a separate small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice and honey.  Using a spoon, drizzle mixture over tomato covered muffins and lightly place mozzarella slices on top. Sprinkle on salt and pepper.
6.     Place muffins onto 1 large or 2 medium sized baking sheets and place into the preheated oven. Bake until cheese melts, about 1½ to 2 minutes.
7.     Transfer ready muffins onto a platter or tray and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately. 
Serves 4