Tag Archives: mushrooms

{roasted garlic & mushroom couscous}

25 Apr

hey y’all.

i love this dish! it’s so easy to make, keeps well, and it’s delicious and filling!

couscous is one of my favourite grains. it’s so fluffy and fun and takes on the flavour of whatever you add to it. personally, i could eat mushrooms basically on the daily. i just LOVE mushrooms! this is one of the staples in the food and foto household. i make it ahead of time and eat it throughout the week. it’s easy to re-heat and the texture maintains throughout.

  • caramelized onions
  • sautéed garlic
  • crimini mushrooms
  • 1 cup couscous
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • parsley, to taste
  • S&P, to taste

the ratio for couscous is 1:1.

i used a combination of homemade chicken bone broth and water for this recipe. simply bring liquid to a boil then toss in couscous. remove from heat, cover, and allow to “steam” for about 6-8 minutes, fluffing with a fork half way through cook time. this grain is so fine and delicate that it cooks rather quickly. finally, add in other ingredients and enjoy! it’s also really good with fresh peas!

nom nom!

 

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{funky fungi}

6 Oct

speaking of mushrooms and fungi – check out this fantastic wild funky fungi that was recently gifted to me. apparently it’s edible, but it was just a little passed its prime when i got my hands on it. this amazing thing grows wild on a tree in a friend’s backyard. i wish i could remember the name. perhaps she will remind me before i decide to post this blog. another good friend of mine said it looked like a brain – haha. {he’s constantly saying silly things like that}

i love the golden colour! it reminds me of {yummy!} chanterelle mushrooms, but i was informed that this is technically a fungi. so now i’m curious about which is which… how to distinguish the difference, if there is one?! i think it may have something to do with the underside – the gills?! i’m going to do more research, and i welcome any insight from my amazing readers and/or forager friends!

so without further ado, here are some artistic fotos i took of this fascinating creation from our incredible earth.

update 03/17/22 : i am pretty confident that this is a “chicken of the woods” mushroom”… 

 

it does kind of look like a brain in this foto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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{fantastic fungi – local edition}

30 Sep

y’all – i LOVE mushrooms! i always have. they fascinate me. i recently watched a super cool documentary that i highly recommend you check out – fantastic fungi. in discovering that film, i learned that mushrooms aren’t really a plant and they aren’t really an animal… they are like their own category. understanding that made me love them even more! i wish i could articulate just how amazing mushrooms really are. essentially they have an entire underground system in which they are all interconnected… and in some ways, mushrooms connect all of us, too! it’s just mind-blowing to learn and think about!

the weather has been just gorgeous here in maryland as of late. simply and purely perfectly autumn – warm sun, cool breeze, crisp air… the best! which means i want to get outside as much as possible! and so i went on a beautiful nature walk the other day and i must’ve seen at least 30 different kinds of mushrooms! i was constantly stopping and marveling at them. i snapped some pics with my phone and so i wanted to share what i saw.

i hope you enjoy and i truly encourage you to watch that film. i think i’ll watch it again and again!

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{mmm… mushrooms!}

8 Dec

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for risotto… nom nom!

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{seasonal eating : wild chanterelle mushrooms}

27 Oct

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i looooooove mushrooms, did you know this?!  it was amazing to discover that some mushrooms grow WILD up here in the high country. morels, boletus, and chanterelles, to name a few. and they are all something special.  when we received some wild chanterelles at the store, i eagerly nabbed some up so i could try them for the first time.  they are only available for a short time, and many of the “professional” foragers are extremely secretive about their “finding spots”  – and who can blame them!!?? – they sell for upwards of $20.00 a pound! we had a very rainy august here in the valley, and that made for some ideal mushroom hunting-and-gathering!

the peak season for chanterelles is in the fall… we have had a little frost in the mornings lately, so i’m kind of assuming they’re done for the year… but i could be wrong. i’m also just a little late in posting this blog 😛

i most likely have had chanterelle mushrooms at some point in my life and not realized it.  i’m sure at some fancy dinner in NYC, i had a couple in a dish once… but i wanted to truly truly taste the mushroom – being a purist and all – so i simply sauteed them in some awesome local pasture butter.

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i sauteed the golden fungi for about 15 minutes, until they were nice and aromatic… then poured the whole mixture over a yummy baked russet potato…

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it was a taste of heaven…

do you like mushrooms? have you had chanterelles? what is your favourite mushroom?? 

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{divided}

4 Aug

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sometimes i feel like these mushrooms… totally divided.

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{meatless mondays : colourful roasted mushrooms w/ veggie ribbons}

24 Mar

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i noticed a few new followers have joined the fun – thank you and welcome!

in case you don’t know this about me, i love to eat anything with colour. i believe in living by the motto… well, a lot of “mottos” really – but one of them is “eat the rainbow.”  if your food has colour naturally, it is good for you!  this dish definitely meshes with that motto.  i whipped it up last week when i was doing a short veggie cleanse.  i just love mushrooms – do you?!

this is a great vegan dish, or a healthy random way to get in a ton of veggies all at once.  sometimes i’ll construct meals entirely of vegetables… this one i just made up on the spot, when inspired by the fresh-looking produce in the market.

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simple ingredients : portabella mushrooms, zucchini, purple cabbage, shredded carrots.

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i’m fascinated by the intricate insides of certain vegetables – like cabbage. Continue reading →

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{meatless monday} mushrooms as the main dish

1 Oct

i seriously LOVE mushrooms.

i could eat them with every meal.  and sometimes it seems like i do. contrary to what many people think when they meet me, i’m not a vegetarian or vegan and i do not follow a rigid diet plan of any kind — however, i do try to eat about 80-90% fruits and vegetables every day.  i find that mushrooms make a great meat substitute, mostly for the texture. some of my favourite meat substitutes are mushrooms.  the texture is great, there is such a variety, and i just LOVE the flavour!  of all kinds, really… i don’t necessarily find the need to “substitute” my meat, it’s just that i find my body doesn’t crave the meat as much as it does fish or beans or other proteins.  every now and again i’ll have a burger or once in a blue moon i’ll have a steak, however i can’t remember the last time i did that. point is – mushrooms are great!

Continue reading →

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{meatless monday} — creamy sauteed leek and shitake mushroom risotto

10 Sep

i have been wanting to try to make my own risotto for weeks now.  there seems to be a stigma attached to making risotto – like it’s the hardest thing in the world to make or something. i don’t know, i think it’s just time consuming, so many people don’t want to bother with it.

when i batch cook, i don’t mind taking a little extra time to make something i can eat for a few days. also, someone recommended another sweet recipe for leftover risotto, which i plan to make this week for thirsty thursday – so stay tuned for that!

i was inspired by leeks. i never really use them and yet i love the flavour. mushroom risotto is kind of classic, so i figured i’d just toss the leeks in with the familiar favourite.  shitake mushrooms are loaded with flavour as well, and they have wonderful healing properties.  plus, they were one of the only organic and local mushroom selections available, so i opted for them. Continue reading →

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poblano, tomato, and brie stuffed portabello mushrooms

13 Jun

so – just to preface this real quick — apparently one can spell the mushroom in this photo either way – portobello {which spell-check recognizes}, portabella {which i personally think just sounds prettier}, or even portabello {meet me half-way?! – i like this one best}.  — all acceptable spellings.  i swear — read this if you think i’m nuts.

anyway… i’m going to always call them portabello because i think it’s a nice medium… just so you know 🙂 Continue reading →

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mushroom mania

31 May

i love trying new things.  especially local, seasonal things.  for example – in this dish, i tried morel mushrooms for the first time — grown right here in colorado soil, not an hour up the highway.  this ensures their freshness as well as an amazing taste! Continue reading →

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{vegan} meat and potatoes

30 Apr

now, it’s not what you think.  no soy products, no “fake meat” textures, no lackluster flavours.

i feed this meal to my roommate at least twice a month.  it is a standard in this home.  a healthier spin on the classic meat and potatoes dish. my roommate loves it, even requests it from time to time – a regular “meat and potatoes” kind of guy totally short of licks his plate dry, he likes this meal so much. Continue reading →

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