Sautee King Trumpet Mushrooms

This is a very interesting mushroom, has a thick and very meaty stem and the cap is kind of small compared as a whole. After cooking the texture of this mushroom is different from the others species of mushroom.

Ingredients:

1 pack King Trumpet Mushroom
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/3 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Wash the mushroom and remove the bottom part, where the mushrooms attached to the soil (brown and flaky). Slice it approximately ½ inch and boil in water for 2~3 minutes. Drain it and reserve.

In a pan sautee the garlic in butter until brown, add the sliced onion, let it cook for 1 minute, add the mushrooms, soy sauce, salt and pepper to your taste. Stir gently, until well distributed.

Finally, add the chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Did you know that king trumpet mushroom is also called French horn mushroom or king oyster mushroom? Is the largest one in the oyster mushroom genus.

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Spinach Rice

This is a very simple side dish with lots and lots of green…spinach!

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach
1½ cups long grain rice
2 tablespoons onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese grated

Method:

Wash the spinach and boil in approximately 4 cups of water. Let it cook for 2 minutes. Drain the spinach and save the water from the spinach. Chop the spinach and set aside.

In a small pot add the olive oil and the onion, let the onion brown. Add the rice already washed and drained.

Saute the rice so it is covered with the olive oil. Add the chopped spinach and 2 ½ cups of the spinach liquid, salt and pepper. Bring the heat to high, once it starts to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

Top with parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Did you know that spinach is a rich source of iron and calcium? Moreover, spinach contains more iron than meat and other vegetables. But the iron in spinach is poorly absorbed by the body unless eaten with vitamin C, which is not the case of the iron found in meat. Nevertheless, spinach still has a large nutritional value, it is a rich source of vitamins A, C, E, K, magnesium, and several antioxidants. In addition spinach is an excellent source of manganese, folate, vitamin B12, B6, calcium, potassium, fiber, copper, protein, phosphorous, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, niacin, and selenium. That explains why Popeye the Sailor Man loved spinach!

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Salad with Strawberries

When I heard for the first time the term “fast food”, immediately came to my mind that is a dish that you can prepare really fast. Only later I learned the real meaning of “fast food”. Here is one of my version of fast food. It is really fast if you have handy the ingredients, I promise you that it will not take more than 15 minutes. You can substitute “Old Bay” spice with celery salt, pepper and paprika.

Ingredients:

2 filets of salmon
Old Bay spice
1 tablespoon olive oil

½ bag of mix greens
1 carrot shredded
3~4 leaves of romaine lettuce
½ cup of strawberries
2 tablespoon pine nuts
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Method:

Turn the convection oven to 375F, if you have a timer, set it to 15 min. In the meantime, in a oven safe dish add the olive oil and place the salmon, turn it so the whole filet is cover with the oil. Sprinkle with the Old Bay spice and place in the oven for 12 minutes.

Once the salmon are in the oven, prepare the salad.

Rinse the romaine lettuce and strawberries and cut in small pieces. In a salad bowl, place all the greens, and top it of with the carrot, strawberries and pine nuts.

When the oven goes off, add the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the salad and mix gently. Serve with the baked salmon.

Did you know that balsamic vinegar is not a vinegar? But a product make from a reduction of cooked grape juice.
Aged balsamic vinegar is rich, thick and has a deep brown color. The flavor is a balance between sweet and sour elements of the cooked grape juice, with a hint of wood barrel that was aged in.

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Israeli Couscous

This is a totally cool vegetarian dish that looks great and taste even better. It is a great side dish for all kind of meat, chicken and fish. The Israeli couscous has a distinctive “chewy” texture.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of Israeli couscous
1 medium size carrot, chopped in small size
1/3 cup frozen green peas
1 medium size zucchini, chopped in small size
2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a small pot add 2/3 cup of boiling water to Israeli couscous and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Let it simmer until all the water is dry.

In another pot boil the carrot and the frozen peas for 2-3 minutes. Drain and reserve. In the same pot heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the zucchini, the carrot and the green peas.

Stir fry for 2 minutes and mix the cooked Israeli couscous and stir gently.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Did you know that Israeli couscous is also called as Ptitim or Ben-Gurion’s Rice? It is a wheat-based baked pasta resembling rice.
Israeli couscous received the name Ben-Gurion because during the Austerity period in Israel, rice was scarce, and in order to provide the need of the population, whose diet was mainly made of rice. The prime minister, David Ben-Gurion asked the largest food company in Israel, Osem, to come up with a wheat-based substitute to the rice. Therefore Osem came up with ptitim, which is made of hard wheat flour and roasted in an oven. Like pasta, ptitim can be used in many type of dishes in both cold and hot.