A chat with Heather today reminded me of all the things I did with mushrooms back when I was a vegetarian and didn’t have a zillion insane food allergies to attend to (no, not magic mushrooms, and ds1 is allergic/intolerant to gluten, cow dairy, soy, nuts, peanuts, possibly food colorings, sugar makes him crazy, and certain fabric softeners give him rashes. ::sigh:: ).

So that said, I thought I’d share a couple more favorite recipes I’d forgotten about.

Wild Mushroom Pate

8 Servings

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray

12 ounces coarsely chopped shitake or portobello mushrooms (I like to use a little of both, why not mix it up.)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2-4 cloves garlic, minced (i use about twice this but flavor yours to taste. i like garlic)

1/4 cup dry sherry or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons grated fat free parmesan cheese (I say screw you and use the full fat stuff)

2-3 teaspoons lemon juice

salt and peper to taste

bruschetta

per serving nutritional info: (as written, without my additions)

calories 42

% calories from fat: 2

fat g: .1

saturated fat: 0

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium mg: 14

Protein g: 1.4

Carbs g: 8.4

Directions:

Spray skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat until hot. add muschrooms, onion, garlic, and sherry, cook covered over medium heat until mushrooms are wilted, about 5 minutes. Cook, uncovered, over medium to medium low heat until vegetables are very tender and all liquid absorbed, about 8-10 minutes. Cool.

Process mushroom mixture and cheese in food processor until smooth. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate 2-3 hours for flabors to blend.

Spoon pate into a crock or mound it on a serving plate. Serve with bruschetta (bread not included in nutritional data.)

Mushroom Salad

Ingredients:

1/3 cup clam juice

1/3 cup pol

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 teaspoon tarragon (I LOVE tarragon)

1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 to 1 1/2 quarts salad greens (escarole, chicory, romaine, boston, and leaf lettuce), crisped

1 tomato, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a glass or ceramic bowl, combine the clam juice, oil, vinegar, salt and tarragon. beat with a rotary beater until well blended.

Add mushrooms and onion. Chill well.

Place crisped salad greens in a salad bowl (go figure). Add mushroom-onion mixture and toss. Garnish with tomato wedges and serve immediately.

Six servings.

And this has nothing to do with mushrooms but is one of my favorite recipes this time of year. I imagine you could throw some mushrooms in it and be no worse for the wear.

Millet Stew

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup peeled butternut squash cubes (about 1/2 inch cubes or this is gonna take forever to cook unless you use canned)

1 cup whole hulled millet

4 1/2 cups water (i wind up using more as it cooks down)

1 tablespoon tamari

Directions:

Heat the oil in a sauce pan nd saute the onion in it. Add the squash and cook five minutes longer.

Add millet, water and the tamari. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil 45 minutes. Stir to mix and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves four.

(I’ve thrown this all in the crock pot in the morning with good results. feel free to throw in a blender for a smoother soup.)