Wild Mushroom Sauce

Shiitake mushrooms, until recently, seemed a bit too expensive to me. I hadn't realized yet that while the mushrooms sold for something like twelve dollars a pound, they are really lightweight. Makes sense. The upshot is you can get a big bagful of these for much less than twelve dollars.

There are few things I like more than a good mushroom. Shiitake mushrooms are very good mushrooms.

So I tried a sauce of them from Simply in Season:

1. Saute in one tbsp oil, one quarter cup chopped onion. Add one heaping cup of chopped mushrooms.

2. Add one half cup water, cover and simmer for fifteen minutes.

3. Add soy sauce, pepper, & fresh thyme.

4. Dissolve four tbsp cornstarch in one quarter cup water, add. Stir in until sauce is thickened.

I was pleased at how much the Shiitake flavor was featured. The texture was also nice.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Unkle Bob- Brighter

Nut & Mushroom Loaf

Okay. This dish took a few hours between prep time & cook time. But it was definitely worth it. Reminiscent of stuffing, or was it turnovers...sure to please any nut or mushroom aficionados.

To begin with I sauteed one chopped medium onion and five stalks chopped celery for five minutes. Then I added one tablespoon of flour and stirred for two minutes. Then I poured in a little over a cup of white wine and stirred for another two minutes. (You could also use broth instead of wine.) Then I set this mixture aside.

Then in a large bowl I combined one and one half cups of ground almonds, two thirds of a cup of rolled oats, one grated apple, two eggs, some orange juice, & salt/pepper. (The recipe called for half of a lemon's juice, but all I had was orange juice.)

Then I combined the two mixes in the bowl.

Next I sauteed one pound of mushrooms finely chopped, one finely chopped onion, garlic, & a little over a cup of walnuts.

The recipe called for a ring mold, but I don't have one. So I used a round baking dish instead. Lined with parchment paper. I poured one half of the first mix into the dish, covered with the mushroom mix, & then topped off with the second half.

Baked at 375 for 55 minutes. Allowed ten minutes to cool before inverting on a serving dish.

(We had this with another dish, but I'll be posting about that dish tomorrow.)

There were plenty of leftovers. This dish is filling, though lighter than I expected.

We lazed the evening away looking forward to the weekend ahead.

Favorite Song (from my favorite radio station): Christy Moore- Tribute to Ewan Mccoll