This gorgeous tutorial for a healthy dinner comes to you from Sabrina- the blogger behind the healthy living (and eating!) blog RhodeyGirl Tests. Great cooking demo, Sabrina!
Archive for July, 2010
Black Bean Mushroom Burgers: A Video Post from Rhodey Girl Tests
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Wordless Wednesday: Goat Cheese, Mushroom and Spinach Pizza from Ezra Poundcake
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
That is one beautiful pizza from Rebecca at Ezra Poundcake. I think this is on my menu tonight, only I’d like to try cooking it on the grill. Silently salivate on that for your Wordless Wednesday.
We Are Not Martha’s Zucchini Boats with Turkey, Mushrooms, and Fresh Herbs
Monday, July 19th, 2010
This week’s featured contributor is Boston-based food writer Chelsee Adams of We Are Not Martha . We Are Not Martha takes the recipes of their food folk heroes (like site namesake, Martha Stewart) and delivers them in a way any kitchen beginner would feel safe to try them.
I always like to experiment in the kitchen when I have a friend over. I know, I know, they always say never try new recipes out on guests, but I like to use my friends as guinea pigs, and hey, they get a free meal out of the deal so no one’s complaining! It’s truly an adventure in the kitchen to taste and sample a dish together, figure out ways to perfect it, or just sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy what you’ve created over great conversation.
The other night one of my best friends came over for dinner so it was the perfect opportunity to test out a recipe I had bookmarked from SimplyRecipes for quite some time for Zucchini Boats stuffed with all sorts of loveliness. It was a hot Summer day and this recipe seemed like it would be perfect, filled with loads of refreshing veggies, herbs, cheese, and of course, mushrooms. And the fact that all of those ingredients are housed in a zucchini shell could only mean good things.
For the recipe you’ll need:
• 1 zucchini about 12 inches long
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 diced tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• Cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the insides making sure to leave the shells around 1/4 inch thick. Save the insides.
• Next, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. Cook the onion and garlic until soft. Then add the mushrooms, insides of the zucchini, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• In another skillet heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium/high heat. Add ground turkey and cook until lightly brown, making sure to stir occasionally, 6 minutes. Add the onion and mushrooms from the other pan. Add wine. Mix in tomato, basil and rosemary and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Drain the excess fat and remove the skillet from the heat.
• Once the mixture has cooled incorporate cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Stuff the zucchini boats with the turkey mixture.
• Fill a baking pan with 1/4 inch of water and place the stuffed zucchini shells in the pan.
• Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until nice and golden brown.
• Serve the zucchini boats while hot.
Two things should be known. 1) As my roommate entered the apartment she very passionately commented on the delicious aroma that was flooding our home. And 2) as my friend and I were eating she didn’t say anything about the dish. I was actually a bit worried she didn’t like it but as she took her final bite and rested her fork on her plate, she slowly looked up and said “Wow. Now that was good!” I think that only means one thing… success was had!
Mushrooms in the News
Friday, July 16th, 2010
Sizzling Good Times Are Here If you’ve been feeling a bit uninspired by “traditional” summer BBQ dishes, our friends up North have some fabulous suggestions to bring more creativity to your grill. Purchasing fresh goods from local food suppliers is one of their tips, as are various original ideas for healthier alternatives to one’s usual daily fare. Mushrooms are highlighted, of course, receiving only praise for their delicious taste and nutritional value. Our favorite part: the mouth-watering (and very simple) recipe for Portabella Mushroom Burgers.
Health Benefits of White Button Mushrooms If you’ve questioned the necessity of having white button mushrooms in your diet, you might find yourself thinking otherwise after you read this awesome laundry list of health benefits provided by AssociatedContent.com. Mushrooms provide 1-97% of the recommended Daily Value of Vitamin D? Check. They contain immunity-boosting antioxidants? Check. Chock full of potassium? Check. White button mushrooms pretty much have it all!
Gloss How-To: Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Every now and then we all feel like we could use a friendly reminder on how to eat healthier and improve our diets. After all, USDA guidelines recommend we each eat 2 cups of fruit and 2 and ½ cups of vegetables each day! MyGloss.com, a popular health and lifestyle blog, published a list of clever tips on incorporating more fruits and veggies into your daily meals. We like this article because the tips are realistic and not out of reach. Our fave suggestion? Replace a serving of meat once a week for a serving of vegetables. Their recommendation? Instead of a grilled hamburger, enjoy a grilled Portabella Mushroom Sandwich.
Fresh mushrooms a virtual powerhouse of goodness, says nutritionist It still amazes us that some folks out there are only now just discovering that mushrooms really are great for you. Our buddies in Canada are once again spreading the word in this interview with Toronto nutritionist Clare Jones. As mushrooms are nearly fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free, chock full of essential vitamins and minerals, and contain cancer-fighting antioxidants, they’re basically a nutritionists dream. Add the delicious taste and unlimited ways to serve them in the kitchen, and you have a “powerhouse of goodness.” Don’t forget to read her do’s and don’ts on care, handling and storage of mushrooms, too!
Work some healthy mushrooms into diet Jackie Silver, founder of Aging Backwards, really hits a homerun with this informative piece on the Tampa Tribune’s website, TBO.com. It is just another reminder of how beneficial mushrooms are to your health. Silver specifically cites an Australian study on mushrooms and breast cancer prevention, not to be confused with the research we’ve help provide funds for at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. But hey, we’re happy to see any research that’s fighting for the cure. Make sure you check out the healthy (and delicious) recipe for Carrot Mushroom Spinach Loaf.
Farfalle with Fresh Mushroom and Prosciutto Ragu Presented by Worth The Whisk
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Editor’s Note: Today’s gorgeous mushroom ragu is from Featured Contributor Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk. Patti is also the founder and “head counselor” of the food blogger boot camp known as Camp Blogaway.
Confession: despite my home economics degree and decades-long food career, I don’t really create original recipes. My vast recipe collection is pretty much everyone else’s work that I have tweaked to suit our tastes. What I’m good at is feeding Larry, someone who likes what he likes. And he likes mushrooms, just not necessarily in fancy-pants concoctions. I needed inspiration that would (a) satisfy my promise to the Mushroom Channel to deliver a few good recipes and (b) be eaten by Larry. Who is Larry? My husband, a somewhat normal guy, no celebrity, no politician, no super hero.
This past month, we were on vacation in Southern Africa. WAIT, this recipe isn’t African. Boarding our flight in Johannesburg, I picked up a copy of the Financial Times (that pink international paper that’s a tough read when your head is on holiday). Odd but fortuitous, this edition had a recipe article, “Gnoc, Gnoc, Gnocchi on Heaven’s Door.” Homemade gnocchi with Mushroom Ragu. They had me at “mushroom” and I tore it out, tucked it away and put that to-do to rest.
Back home, I checked with Larry. “You like gnocchi, right?” “Not particularly.” Dang. So I studied the recipe and figured out a few adjustments ‘cuz I was NOT going to abandon this inspiration, or the story behind it (my blog has as many stories as recipes). One idea was to add prosciutto. Another was to switch the starch to bowtie pasta because the shape would hold this heavy ragu topping, and is a satisfying mouthful o’ pasta. The original recipe called for FOUR types of mushrooms, but I decided two– white button and crimini – were fine and would balance well. Buttons are so delicate in flavor, and crimini are earthy and robust; “more is not better” was obvious to me. Larry ate two portions, score!
Farfalle with Fresh Mushroom and Prosciutto Ragu Presented by Worth The Whisk
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ lb. prosciutto, diced
¼ lb. crimini mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
¼ lb. button mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
1 plum tomato, chopped
½ cup red wine, such as cabernet
1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta, cooked to package directions
Cracked black pepper
Soft, mild cheese such as Taleggio for topping, if desired
Fresh parsley for garnish, if desired.
Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat; add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the garlic and cook a minute longer. Turn heat to medium high, add the prosciutto, mushrooms and tomatoes, sauté. Add the wine and cook until it is almost completely reduced. Season with pepper to taste. Toss with hot, cooked bowtie pasta. Serve garnished with slices of cheese and fresh parsley. Serves six to eight.
Mushroom Pizza with Cambozola and Cherries from Savour-Fare
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
This pizza perfect post comes directly from Kate, the brains behind Savour-Fare. Kate’s creations have been featured on Food52, Tastepotting, Foodgawker, Foodista and The Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen.
When it comes to pizza toppings, mushrooms are pretty classic. The combination of a rich tomato sauce, gooey mozzarella cheese and mild brown mushrooms is the stuff of high school date nights, family dinners at the Jersey shore, and Friday night phone calls by frazzled parents to the local delivery joint. But while familiar can be good, it can also be a little boring. You might look at the combination of mushrooms and pizza and yawn, thinking you’ve seen it all before.
But you would be wrong.
There’s a reason that mushroom pizza is a classic. Nothing quite replicates the intense savoriness of a sautéed mushroom, which gives the pizza an instant flavor boost. For this dish, I prefer the rich flavor of shiitakes, which are easy to find in my neck of the woods, to a milder button mushroom, but you can also do this with portobellos, cremini or any full flavored mushroom. Pair the mushrooms with a brush of good quality olive oil, a few slices of a rich blue cheese to enhance the mushrooms’ natural umami, and a pop of something sweet, and you’ve got yourself an elegant and unexpected hors d’oeuvre, or an easy weeknight dinner that’s a break from your ordinary routine.
The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made in almost no time at all, apart from the actual dough. You can buy prepared pizza dough at many markets these days, or make your own (my favorite recipe for pizza dough can be found here). Form your dough into the desired shape (I always like oval, since it fits so much better into my oven, and it slices up nicely as an appetizer) and preheat your oven to HOT. Slice up the mushrooms, sauté them quickly with some garlic and olive oil, then top your pizza dough with your mushrooms, slices of cheese and fruit. After 10 minutes in a blistering oven, your mushroom pizza comes out bubbly, brown and bursting with flavor.
A classic in the making.
Recipe
Mushroom Pizza with Cambozola Cheese and Cherries
8 ounces raw pizza dough
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme
6 ounces Cambozola cheese
1/3 cup sweet dark cherries (they are in season)
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
Pit your cherries and slice them in half. Set aside.
Shape the pizza dough into one or more oblong shapes and set on a cookie sheet. Don’t bake it yet.
Remove the stems from your mushrooms (you can skip this step if you’re using Portobello mushrooms, but the stems on shiitake mushrooms are woody and should be discarded). Slice the mushroom caps.
Heat 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet. Add the mushrooms, garlic and a generous pinch of salt and sauté over medium high heat until the mushrooms are soft and browned.
Brush your pizza dough with the remaining olive oil. Top with mushrooms, sprinkle with thyme, add cherries and arrange sliced cambozola cheese over the top.
Bake in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust has baked to a golden brown. Slice and enjoy.
The ABC’s of Vitamin D
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Vitamin D is THE talk around town, which you may have noticed just from reading some of our recent mushroom news posts. As mushrooms are one of the only food sources of the “sunshine vitamin,” not to mention the only source in the produce aisle, we’ve invited leading global vitamin D expert Dr. Michael F. Holick to tell us what we need to know about vitamin D.
Q: Why is vitamin D so important?
A: “The benefits of vitamin D are varied and profound. Emerging research suggests vitamin D may be as vital to your heart and brain health as it is to bone health. Increasing levels of vitamin D may also play a positive role on immunity and a remarkable number of daily ailments.”
Q: How can we get more vitamin D?
A: “I recommend a combination of food, sun exposure and supplements for my patients. Research suggests adults should try to aim for about 2,000 IUs daily. I personally take 3,000 IUs daily from supplements and food sources combined. I also expose my arms and legs to natural sunlight for about 10-15 minutes, two to three times a week, while cycling or playing tennis followed by good sun protection. I always wear sunscreen on my face since it is the most sun-exposed and is only nine percent of your body surface.”
Q: What are the best foods to eat for vitamin D?
A: “Mushrooms happen to be one of the top food sources of vitamin D. Mushrooms are unique because they’re the only item in the produce aisle to contain vitamin D. Did you know that mushrooms are actually like humans as they can synthesize vitamin D when exposed to light? You can also find vitamin D in wild-caught salmon and fortified foods like orange juice, milk, cereal or yogurt.”
If you’re looking to add more vitamin D to your plate, check out these D-lightful recipes: Baja Salmon with Mushrooms or a Portabella Omelet Topped with Portabella Bacon. If you’re interested in more information about mushrooms and vitamin D, check out the vitamin D download. A special thanks to Dr. Holick for his special guest appearance on the Mushroom Channel. To learn more about vitamin D and Dr. Holick’s latest book, check out The Vitamin D Solution at DrHolick.com.