Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms and Kale

So, I wanted to test my vegan culinary skills on some other people...

Last Saturday we were celebrating my niece's birthday, this would be the perfect opportunity!

Eme is 3!

I had been playing around with the idea of polenta, topped with roasted mushrooms, something green, and marinara sauce.  I don't exactly know what to call it, except for darn good.  :)

I started with the mushrooms...  

Do you know how to tell a fresh mushroom from a not so fresh mushroom?

            

fresh

not so fresh

On a fresh mushroom the gills on the bottom are closed up nice and tight, 

on an older mushroom...well, not so much...

 I cleaned and quartered button mushrooms, added sliced shallots, and chopped garlic.

Then mixed it all with salt, pepper, olive oil, and sherry.

and roasted them until they looked like this...

I also added some red wine to the pan about 10 minutes before they were done.  

Altogether I roasted the mushrooms for maybe 45 minutes or so.

Then I took the kale...

washed it and tore it into pieces and put it in a large pot with a little garlic, salt, and pepper.

and cooked it down until it reduced in size...by a lot.  :)  

I drizzled a little olive oil on top with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Then I took ready made polenta, basil and garlic flavor...

 

sliced it...

it is fully cooked but I wanted to crisp it up a little, and sprinkle on some sea salt.

Next, I layered on the kale, roasted mushrooms, and topped it all with
Trader Giotto's Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce...

with kale

and roasted mushrooms

and topped with marinara

and just before baking I sprinkled it with nutritional yeast...
(which really is much more tasty that it's name makes it sound)

I baked it for 20 minutes or so at 350F, really just to warm it through.

It turned out like this...

please excuse the yellowish picture...apparently my brother's house is very yellow...  :)

SO YUMMY!!

It turned out great and everyone loved it!  

Well, almost everyone...my dad did not like it, but I would have been surprised if he had.  :)