Mushrooms by Betsy

In ancient Egypt it was the food of royalty forbidden to the common man.  Food that is capable of producing super human strength and mystical powers. These were some of the qualities that have been attributed to mushrooms.  Although their consumption dates back to ancient times mushrooms were not commercially produced in the U.S. until the late 19th century. 

They are very nutritious but are probably valued mostly for what they do not contain: low in calories, no fat or cholesterol, no sodium, no sugar, and no gluten. (N0 fun)

Personally I dislike mushroom soup, but I do use raw mushrooms. They are a good vehicle for getting warm artichoke dip or some other yummy sour cream based dip to my mouth.  Someday I may try making mushroom soup.  It’s the canned kind that I dislike.  It’s something about the flavor. I hated mushrooms as a child, but am quite fond of them as an adult; that is, when they are sautéed in plenty of butter with onions. One of the best pizzas I ever ate was called a wild mushroom pizza.

According to Wikipedia there are 14,000 species of mushrooms. I have never tried to learn to identify them and so have never gone hunting for edible varieties. Something tells me not to eat the kind commonly known as toadstools.  Those are the ones that look like umbrellas that crop up in my lawn. I have heard the horror stories of whole families being wiped out after eating a meal containing poisonous mushrooms. Interesting to me how one variety of a food can be a delicious, nutritious addition or accompaniment to a meal, while another is a deadly poison.  Technically I suppose those are different species, not different varieties.

There are thousands of mushroom recipes.  This one recently got my attention.

BAKED MUSHROOMS CONTRA COSTA

12 large white mushrooms

1 clove garlic, minced

4 T lemon juice

2 T minced onion

2 T olive oil

1 t black pepper

2 T minced parsley

2 - 4 T dry sherry

Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Sprinkle lemon juice on each cap, and set in 9X13 baking dish. Mince stems and sauté in olive oil.  In a medium size bowl combine sautéed mushroom stems with remaining ingredients. Spoon stuffing generously into each mushroom cap.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes.  Serves three to four.

And there it is.  I do not have a lot to say about mushrooms.

© 12 September 2013

About the Author 

 Betsy has been active in the GLBT community including PFLAG, the Denver women’s chorus, OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change).  She has been retired from the Human Services field for about 15 years.  Since her retirement, her major activities include tennis, camping, traveling, teaching skiing as a volunteer instructor with National Sports Center for the Disabled, and learning.  Betsy came out as a lesbian after 25 years of marriage. She has a close relationship with her three children and enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren.  Betsy says her greatest and most meaningful enjoyment comes from sharing her life with her partner of 25 years, Gillian Edwards.