Tale of Toadstools

Lunch today was portobello mushrooms, but not just ANY portobello mushrooms...

Actually, they were pretty much "any" because I just grabbed a few plastic wrapped caps and called it a day. But they were cooked and loved into awesomeness, which in my opinion is quite difficult to do because, A) I don't like cooked mushrooms all that much, and B) I ran out of olive oil mid-soiree.

I'm not sure why I have an aversion to certain types of mushrooms--only cooked. I will eat button mushrooms raw like apples. Just give me a bushel and some ranch. It's the rubbery consistency.

But for some reason I do OK with portobellos... most likely because it is the goliath of toadstool fungi, so much so that you can hardly recognize it for what it is until it's too late. I like two portobello recipes, including a caprese salad spinoff and the ones I made today, which were basically stuffed with cannellini beans, feta cheese, and breadcrumbs. Good stuff. Also relatively healthy... albeit there is a bit more fat than you'd expect, but there is also good protein and fiber. It's one of those Everyday Food concoctions.

Side not: I live and die by my Everyday Food subscription because, well, I eat food... everyday... and it will feed me with delicious (healthy!) recipes... everyday.

It also gives me a week's worth of planned meals complete with shopping list and sometimes I get lazy.

I used the Everyday Food recipe photo instead of the one that I took because mine somehow turned out orange tinted. There was bad, bad lighting in my cave and light must have refracted off of Venus and my plastic ZooPal utensils.

Side note, side note: I am not a professional. Goodness, if that wasn't obvious by now then clearly you're not a professional either. I don't even really know if I'd go so far as to say I'm a foodie because when it really comes down to it I just love to eat and cook. I'm not hyper obsessed with techniques and new tools and stuff. Just give me some herbs, meat and a sack of potatoes and I will be like "wooo! I'm like Martha! Look at my roast!" So I rely on other people's recipes, just like a lot of the rest of the working world. I don't care for recipe books that like to use lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of ingredients. (I'm talking to you, Cooking Light) Everyday Food, on the other hand, generally sticks to the 6-10 ingredient range, and those ingredients tend to revolve around a core of 15ish ingredients that I've learned to always keep on hand. They don't make me buy a 24-ounce bottle of special super duper awesome sauce if I'm only going to use a teaspoon and I'll only use it once.

So far my experiments have taught me to always stockpile:
Chicken stock
S&P
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Citrus (lemons, limes, oranges)
Garlic
Ginger
Onions
Spinach
Rice
Scallions
Jalapenos
Dijon mustard
Thyme
Cilantro
Fish sauce
Potatoes

Some lemon zest, S&P, and garlic will go a long way...

Until next time, cheers! It's the weekend, so let's get crunk!