Foraging the Giant Puffball

It's a good time for foraging here in NY. We have been getting lots of goodies. Just last week we scored a haul of Chicken of the Woods and Puffball mushrooms as well as white oak acorns and plantain (not the banana!). I needed to get more plantain before the frost to make my healing salves. My husband was after those acorns, he is going to make acorn flour out of them. If I don't eat them all first as a snack!

This is a lovely white Puffball Mushroom. I set those two brown ones in the background to show you what not to eat. A Puffball is good when it's all white, feels firm and a bit spongy. When they are brown they are past eating and have moved on to their spore making phase. They are quite large and easy to spot. I grabbed two this size, but left a larger one for the next human or animal forager.

You can see how easy the dirty outside peels right off. You should not eat this mushroom raw. In fact it's best to not eat any raw mushrooms.

I treated the first Puff like tofu, sauteed and seasoned with cajun spices. That's my default way of cooking and it's always tasty. But since I had so much of this mushroom I decided to experiment.

 This idea came to me while I was slicing it up. The slices really held their shape, which made me think of eggplant. Puffball parmigiana was born! 

Here you can see what the inside looks like, the texture was very good this way. There is no poison lookalike for this mushroom, so feel free to forage up some yourselves.

Fall Food

Fall has hit New York. I have a fire in the fireplace, an ever brewing teapot, knitting projects in full swing, and a mind filled with the tastes, colors and smells of autumn. I recently discovered this one and have already made them four times. Sweet potato ravioli in browned butter with basil. They are so good and very addictive.  I make them when I am having company, so I don't eat too many.

I found them in Simply Ming One-Pot Meals. What makes them so easy is that you use pre-made wonton wrappers. I baked up a bunch of sweet potatoes and mashed them up in the Vitamix. I actually do a batch of sweet potato puree each week because I love my sweet potato smoothie every afternoon. When folks get that mid day coffee craving, I get a sweet potato smoothie craving.

I got that over at Sweet Potato Soul.

Super easy, I flavor the mash only with ground ginger and black pepper. You must use a little egg was to "glue" these guys together. 

When they are all assembled you brown them in salted butter, throw in lots of chopped fresh basil and there it is. Easy to make and way too easy to eat. A great appetizer or meal.

a sucker for mushrooms

With the variety of shapes, colors and flavors, I just can't resist mushrooms. They are so clean and easy to cook.

Especially when they are packaged like this! So cute and tasty, I can't say no.

Breakfast is one of my favorite times for mushrooms, with scrambled eggs and basil...

or cabbage and fried egg.

In salad

In soup

Anywhere is right for mushrooms!

steam once, eat much

I've been doing this a lot lately. Early on in the day, usually after breakfast I will steam my veggies. Carrots, zucchini  snow peas, broccoli, asparagus, whatever I have all layered up. The more delicate ones on the top. I steam them just as they turn bright green. I uncover them to stop the cooking and they are ready to use in many dishes throughout the day. 

They can be tossed into a salad. (Don't you love these paper animals? My girls print and build them from this site for free!

Or made into a quick soup. A bit of my kimchi to finish it off.

Steamed broccoli teamed up with rice and other veggies becomes filling for an omelet.  I've mentioned this before, having ingredients ready makes cooking easier and brings vegetables to "fast food" convenience. 

Dipping Salads

What makes fast food so easy to eat? It's available when you feel hungry. I often put together a "dipping salad" for those times when you might reach for a bag of chips or cookies. First off, I try not to buy chips and cookies often. I mostly do when I am having guests. For everyday I go with raw fruit and veg with a tasty dip. It's crunchy, it's colorful (big plus for me!), sweet  and salty. 

Dipping salads are so hands-on they sometimes do end up being played with. Sword fights with celery, making faces or other designs with the veg, and if you are small enough you can even wear it!

Yesterday we had this beautiful hot pink veggie. Do you know what it is?

Radish! Aren't these pretty? They are very sweet too. I have been eating these with slices of tart green apples, layering them together to make little sandwiches. I have mentioned this before, if you wash all your vegetables at one time to have them ready it will be much easier to eat them quickly. Remember, what makes it "fast" is that it is available immediately. With a bit of preparation you can have quick healthy snacks always at hand.

Green Morning

You have to use your veggies while they are ripe and fresh. Herbs and avocados are especially prone to deteriorating. It's miserable to let that window of opportunity slip by and have to dispose of good food. This morning my cilantro, basil, kale and avocados where ready to go. The rest of my week will be busy. I figured I might as well go ahead and make them into things that will keep that I can use later on. 

I made some kale chips, guacamole, pesto and a cilantro lime salad dressing. It made a big mess, but it was one big mess to clean and I was done. Instead of many small messes over a couple of days. 

We had the kale chips for breakfast as soon as they were done. The girls had theirs with sourdough rolls and fried garlic. I had them with a mushroom omelette and continued munching on them throughout the day.

For lunch I had the cilantro dressing on salad and some of the guacamole on a raw seed cracker. There is plenty leftover for whatever meals or snacks come next. The point here is to make a few things all at once. Since you're making a mess you might as well go for it and then you can reap the rewards for days to come.

watching the celery grow

We are coming down from a week of busy- busy- busy. It feels so good to just stay home and *watch the celery grow. 

By coincidence (more like divine synchronicity) two of our friends, Rin and Holly  happened to be visiting us here in NY from Cambodia during the same week.  They both work with an organization called Water of Life. That's how we met them. Water of Life is a church and an orphanage in Pnom Phen. A couple of years ago my church began visiting and helping to support Water of Life. Through our close contact visiting and working together on various projects these folks have been knit into our family.

 Rin had never been to NY before so of course we wanted to show him a good time. Central Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the B'way production of Les Miserables were some of the things crammed into our week together. On top of that we had to show them the natural beauty of NY State. So we climbed a mountain...and had to climb back down. Whew!

Add to these activities VBS (Vacation Bible School) every day. My daughter signed up weeks ago to work at VBS, so we couldn't very well back out now. Our crazy week finished up with my big girl's 15th birthday. By then neither of us wanted or needed to plan a celebration. The whole week was a party! A friend suggested that a bunch of us gals could meet at our favorite tea room for a no stress/ no work birthday tea, so that's what we did. 

It was a wonderful and memorable week, but I'm really happy that I have no plans or obligations this week. The only deadline I have is to make a dress for my young one to wear to the Ren Faire this weekend. Ahhh. 

* The celery thing is fun to do with kids and you get some bonus food. It's a kind of recycling. My young one likes to measure and document the growth. Just take those cut base ends of celery stalks and put them in water. They will not only grow roots, but they will grow more celery. They won't get as big and as thick as they once were but they will grow. 

Ready Veggies

I often eat vegetables at every meal. Breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and even snacks. I don't do this only to be healthy, but I actually like it! I crave them. 

Friends will often say to me that they wish they could eat more veggies. "What's stopping you?" I ask. The main answer in that it is just "easier" to eat other things. They say that it's a hassle to eat raw veg. for snacks and sides. "You don't have to cook!" I say. 

Yes, but as they are busy moms it's not easy to stop and prep vegetables. It is easier to whip out some cheese and crackers, a slice of bread smeared with peanut butter. Those things can be o.k., but why not put out some raw veggies alongside? 

My secret? Just have vegetables available all the time. It's fast food! Before I grocery shop I'll clean off the counter and lay a towel out. (Also clean out the sink.) When you get home fill the sink with water and whatever soap you use to wash your veg. I plop it all in the wash before it ever gets to the fridge.

Lay it all out to dry while you put everything else away. By the time it is dry expect some of it to be gone! Everyone who walks by grabs a bit here, a bit there. Which is exactly what I want. 

 I put everything away in towels or in suitable containers and everyone knows that it's up for grabs. Ready and available fast food. Putting a plate of veggies, fruits, even mushrooms or herbs is a guaranteed invitation to eat it. Let's face it, we humans are lazy and if we are hungry we will go for the easiest thing we can lay our hands on. That's how chips and candy get devoured instead of healthy food. When we are hungry we'll grab what will fill that need quickly, but our bodies are not being fed what they really need.