Oct 16
2007
Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, YUM!
I didn’t set out to eat that big shiitake mushroom growing in my mushroom patch last night.
But as I pulled off the humidity tent to spritz it with water, the mushroom fell right off. As luck would have it, I was already roasting a turkey breast and making mashed potatoes for dinner, so the instant idea was, yep, mushroom gravy!
More or less, here’s how I make mushroom gravy.
First, you buy a mushroom patch from Gardener’s Supply. You refrigerate the patch for a couple of days and then soak it, totally submerged, for 24 hours. After that, you place the patch under a humidity tent and spritz it with water regularly.
Once you have a great big mushroom, keep watching it and spritzing your patch with water until the mushroom practically jumps off in your hand.
Then you chop up the mushroom with some celery, onion and garlic.
You saute the mushroom, onion, garlic, celery mixture with some butter until everything is nicely browned.
You then add 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth mixed with one tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir this into the gravy until it is thick. Then continue adding the broth a little bit at the time, just mixing it in so that the gray stays nice and thick. Season with salt and pepper. You can also add thyme and marjoram.
Sadly, I do not have a nice photo of the finished gravy because it was already 8:30 at night and everyone was hungry.
(Note to self: If you plan to do a food photo series, get a shot of the finished product.)
I did nibble on the fresh mushrooms prior to cooking and have to say that there is NOTHING like a fresh shiitake mushroom. It was fresh tasting and firm. It didn’t have any of that mushy, musty flavor that you sometimes get with store-bought mushrooms. I am anxiously awaiting more mushrooms. (Hurry up, mushrooms!)
Tomorrow on Bumblebee…
How my brother-in-law can turn a discussion of lawn mowing into a 30-minute rant about the importance of his hair. Here’s Captain, the brother-in-law, with his important hair and Ben, my 16-year-old son, also with his hair–perhaps not as important.
Until then,
October 17th, 2007 at 2:18 am
Oh man, Robin, I can almost smell the (organic?) onions and celery cooking! That looks so good. I almost never make gravy, but I can envision a really yummy pot of mushroom soup on my stove…..
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Hello….
I am fascinated absolutely with the photos …. and with the idea of eating mushrooms whenever it is appetizing.
I would like knowing of what the base is done from where they are born.
Thanks for your attention….