My Mushroom Farm

I can't believe I have forgotten to tell you about my mushroom farm! My favorite store in the Ferry Building is the one all about mushrooms. I have to stop by every single time I'm in the building to see what new, fanciful products they have and literally stop and smell the mushrooms.

A few weeks ago I went by while traveling in the Bay Area for work and they were selling mushroom farms - basically a brown brick of earth that was promised to grow sweet, delectable mushrooms. I had to have one! The one I bought was shiitake and the lady behind the counter said they guaranteed the first harvest and if you cared for it properly you could get as many as 5-6 harvests. Of course my next question was how do I make it live forever! Unfortunately at some point the brick loses all moisture and sprouts its last. For $19.50 I was more than willing to take on the challenge of giving the mushroom farm immortality and even if I failed I hoped to get pounds of shiitakes in the process of trying.

Here are some pictures of my first harvest - 16oz of beautifully browned shiitakes. I marinated them in sherry, garlic and SnP overnight before sautéing them for a Goat Cheese Bechamel Mushroom Pizza. (Yes, I know that makes me melt just thinking about it too!) The pizza was rich and creamy and totally sinful.

I can't wait for my next harvest already! It supposedly sits dormant for 3-4 weeks, but I'll be sure to keep you posted on its development this time around.

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French Lentil Dip

I served the dip with roasted garlic on homemade cumin-spiced pita chips.

The dip and pita chips.

Lee S. of Richmond, VA suggested a lentil recipe. I couldn't think of anything I had made with lentils other than soup. There had to be something else to do with lentils so I put on my thinking cap and got down to some research. I read about a split pea spread and found several lentil dips. After much comparison and figuring, I adapted this lentil dip to have a French flare. It's low in calories and fat and high in protein and fiber - a yummy snack that's good for you! It gets better with age so if you can let it chill over a night or two, it'll be even better. Bon appetit!

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French Lentil Dip

Servings: 12 (Twelve) 1/2 cup servings

Time: 20 minutes active; 1 hr total plus chill time

Price: <$8.00 total; ~$.60 per serving

Nutrition: (per 1/2 cup serving):

Calories: 107

Protein: 8.8g

Fat: 0.47g

Saturated Fat: 0.14g

Carbohydrates: 17.8g

Fiber: 7.9g

Sodium: 316.1mg

Cholesterol: 0.38mg

1 1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium celery, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp ground allspice

SnP, 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp, respectively

8 oz nonfat yogurt (this is so low in fat that you could splurge and get the low fat stuff)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Juice of one lemon

1. In a medium pot add lentils, onion, celery, carrot, thyme and stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

2. Remove lid, bring heat up to medium and add allspice and SnP. Cook 10 minutes to evaporate some the remaining liquid.

3. Remove from heat and puree with yogurt, parsley and lemon juice. Chill before serving.