For my first recipe, I will start with...

The Humble Mushroom...

Now, I will admit with my first foodie that I am not a massive stickler for measurements when I'm cooking up a storm..  Baking, sure.  There you need to be more precise and method really adds to the final outcome, but delicious savouries can have a bit more jazz and swing to them, so I tend to improvise.

My style of cooking is generally hearty, healthy and wholesome, don't let that put you off, it's also super delicious - or at least my wonderful, willing guinea pig, Mark and I think.  I try to use mostly fresh ingredients but have a stash of tinned/jarred goods in my cupboard and am always packing a healthy stock of spices and herbs for every occasions.

The first port of call when it comes to culinary creation is generally a good delve into my cupboards.  Shopping can't be an everyday event so as long as I always have some form of fresh veg on the side I cater to what else is in the house.  Delicious concoctions can start with a peculiar mix of ingredients but experimenting is fun and makes the outcome more exciting...

I tend to go through phases in the type of food I enjoy making and since going to Rome earlier this year everything has had a certain Italian quality to it..  Mostly, it has to have pesto and lots of it (I'm currently trying out recipes of my own so that may appear on here soon), sun dried tomatoes feature quite highly and this past week, mozzarella.  So when these juicy fat field mushrooms caught my eye I had to have them and create some pesto/cheese topped treat that could be had as a starter, side or as I ended up doing, a delicious easy lunchtime meal.

For this recipe, you will need:

2 field mushrooms

2 scoops of green pesto

small pile of sun-dried tomatoes

handful of rocket

half a ball of mozzarella

half a slice of toast's worth of breadcrumbs

freshly ground salt and pepper

First things, first.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

Now for the foodie bit..  Start by plucking out the stalks of your mushrooms, don't throw them away though because they will come in handy later.

Now, smother with plenty of pesto.  I used about a dessert spoon in each..

The rest of the process is about chopping!  Chop your sun-drieds, mushroom stalks and rocket into small chunks and combine with the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Shred the mozzarella and give the whole thing a jolly good mix.

Now it is almost complete, so evenly stuff your mushrooms with the mixture (unless you want a bigger mushroom than whom ever you are kind enough to share this delight with..) and top with a little more mozzarella and pepper for good measure.

Pop it in the oven and leave to bake for 10 mins.

After a quick cup of tea, your mushrooms will be ready for you to enjoy..  Like I said there are many options for consumption.  Go straight in and have it on it's own or with salad as a starter/light bite..  

This time I went with cous cous, and a salad of pea shoots and rocket, specially presented in tupperware for my lunch at work - it's equally delicious cold.

Or, as the next day I still had a craving for stuffed mushrooms I made them to accompany homemade cheesy burgers and sweet potato fries - these recipes will follow soon.  I had to make a small alteration here as I had ran out of sun-dried tomatoes so I swapped them for hot and sweet, red jalapenos (rest of the recipe the same)

- Note my healthy salad and one burger option compared to Mark's no salad and two burgers!