Tips & Tricks - Storing Mushrooms

Published November 1, 2001. Cook's Illustrated.

What's the best way to store mushrooms?

Given their damp, shady habitat, it is no surprise that button mushrooms have little tolerance for careless storage. When stored at home, mushrooms go quickly from proud and plucky to shriveled and dispirited or slimy and discolored. To test the best storage method, we purchased several 12-ounce packages of button mushrooms. We stored one in its original sealed container, one in a paper bag (suggested by the Mushroom Council and thought to promote air circulation), one in a perforated plastic bag (thought to promote air circulation and hold moisture simultaneously), and one in its original cardboard container with the wrap removed and mushrooms then covered with a damp paper towel. (We did not clean the mushrooms, which can cause bruising and would affect our results.)

At the end of five days, the mushrooms in the paper bag were completely dehydrated. The mushrooms in the perforated plastic bag were spongy and discolored. The mushrooms under the (ever-refreshed) damp paper towel were also discolored, but in relatively good condition. The mushrooms in their original sealed container experienced the least deterioration; they were perfectly good after four days. By the fifth day they looked slightly dry and flaky in their container. The moral of this story: Sometimes ready-made packaging has a function beyond simple convenience—sometimes it actually helps to preserve the contents. If you open a sealed package of mushrooms but don’t use all the contents, simply rewrap the package (with the remaining mushrooms still inside) with plastic.

Recipe - Roasted Brussel Sprouts

See pic Below.

SUPER EASY kids! Slice off the ends. I cut in quarters to reduce cooking time. They'll take 30-40 mins whole. 10-15 quartered. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 400 degree oven. Make sure to shake up/stir a few times while cooking so nothing gets too browned. I think i ate a whole pound of these... lol.

Recipe - Parsnip & Yam Mash

I had left over protein so i figured i had time to make 2 veggie dishes... I never cooked or even tried a parsnip before. You can eat them raw as they have more of a carrot consistency than potato. I really think it would be something fun/dif to add to a veggie tray. It's got a carrot/anise sort of taste. So anywho, i tried this recipe and i think i used too much parsnip. Or maybe it was just too parsnipy for my liking so, i did a 50/50 ratio. next time a 75/25 will work better i think...

This will serve about 4 for a side dish.
1 medium parsnip
1 large-xlarge yam
evaporated skim milk (or almond or regular..whatever u have. I'm not a regular milk drinker so i have evaporated on hand)
nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste
Sliced Scallons

Peel and diced parsnips and yams. Throw in pot and cover with cold water. bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender. Mash, add milk and spices. Serve.

Recipe - Easy Tomato Basil Salad

Super easy. I usually always try to have fresh herbs on hand. Cilantro, Basil, Mint, Parsley. Sometimes i dont have all 4. Usually 2 at a time. Basil doesn't last long so make sure you use it a few days after you buy it.

1 Plum Tomato
Fresh Sliced Basil (Take all the leaves and put on top of each other. Roll up and slice.)
Fresh Sliced Scallions
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
S&P

Recipe - Thai Curried Veggies

This turned out pretty darned good. Was testing out more veggified recipes for "Meatless Mondays" meals... I wanted a simple curry sauce so i found one and doctored it up to my liking. I wanted to use a lot of veggies cause i have a ton, but if you only keep this to 3 it'll be quicker to prep.

Veggies I used
Cabbage - which i par-boiled
Snow Peas
Carrot
Onion
Crimini Mushroom (baby portabella)
Red and Green Pepper
1-2 inch chunk of ginger root grated
2 cloves garlic

1 can light coconut milk
2 tsp thai curry paste (i used green) - this will be spicy! use less if ur scurred
1/3 c stock or broth
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp thai seasoning (found at reading terminal) you don't really need to use this at all if u don't have it
1/4 tsp salt
Cilantro leaves (optional)
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
2 tsp corn starch

The 2 steps below you can start at the same time and they'll finish at the same time..

Shake can of coconut milk and pour into medium saucepan, heat over moderate heat. Add the curry paste and cook stirring, for 3 minutes. Whisk in broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, thai seasoning and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. I added cornstarch later cause i like a thicker sauce. Just stir in a little bowl w/ cold water or broth and gradually pour in while stirring. Add cilantro at the end.

Saute all veggies except mushrooms and par-boiled cabbage over medium high heat in peanut oil. After 2 mins, add in the ginger and garlic. Throw mushrooms in after everything's already cooked for 5 or so minutes. Throw par-boiled cabbage in at the very end just to coat it w/ garlic/ginger flavors.

Spoon on as much sauce as you want and serve over rice. If it's still too spicy for you, squeeze some lime juice over it. The acidity cuts the spice a bit.

Recipe - Vegan Curried Split Pea Soup

So i'm in the process of trying to eat less meat. reason for this is because I really don't feel like i need so much of it in my diet. so, in order to eat less meat i have to eat more of something else... gotta crowd out the meat... it took me all my might and power not to make this split pea soup a split pea and ham soup, cause well, my split pea and ham soup is amazing... i decided to look up some vegetarian options and i combined a few and came up w/ an original idea of my own. (using a yam). I thought it would be really yummy to sweeten up the recipe since using curry...I have to say that i'm pretty darn happy with how it turned out...

1 cup chopped onion
1 med-large diced yam
2 diced carrots
olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
12 ounces dried green or yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water
1-2 tablespoon curry powder (depends how currified you want it)

Saute the veggies in olive oil until tender. Do not let get brown. Add split peas, water and curry. The recipe i found called for 1 tblsp but i added an entire tablespoon more and i could have prob even added more. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper. I never puree my split pea soup, as i like it chunky but i thought it would be a good idea to do so to incorporate the sweetness of the carrot and yam into every bite. Puree the soup w/ a hand or traditional blender until the desired consistency. Watch out for hot splatters.

Recipe - Lemon Roasted Asparagus & Red Pepper

1 Bunch of Asparagus (or 2 if u don't use red pepper)
1 Red Pepper
Juice of one Lemon
Green onion tops or chives
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Bake at 400 for 10-15 mins.

Recipe - Thai Baked Chicken Fingers

So, last week or a few weeks ago, I had a moment of being upset about something. I was home and I just was like, what do I want to eat? and... chicken fingers popped in my head... ahhh yes, chicken fingers... so i was gonna say f it and order them out. i allow myself to have whatever I want... it's been working for me in my weightloss success so what the heck.... and i just remembered to take a step back and ask myself, why am i doing this? why do i want to put my body through fried greasiness? And it hit me.. COMFORT FOOD. I wanted comfort. So I was like, i have chicken.. lemme see if i can find a quick recipe cause i'm hungry now and i dont feel like messin in the kitchin forever... welp i found one.. and they're delish. I've made them once/week now just cause i love that comfort so much... and i tweeked the recipe a bit. I like that this recipe used oil because i wanted that comfort food crunch. so it uses a bit for that...

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. (30 mL) vegetable oil
1 cup bread crumbs (i used my own from leftover bread that i let get stale and pulsated)
1 tbsp. Thai seasoning (i bought at spice market at reading terminal)
1/2 tsp. (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) black pepper
Store bought Thai chili sauce for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Spray a baking sheet with nonstick vegetable oil spray.
Cut each of the chicken breasts into 4 or 5 lengthwise "fingers." Place in a bowl. Add the vegetable oil and stir to coat everything evenly.
In a bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, Thai seasoning, salt and pepper. Transfer to a plastic bag (make sure there are no holes). Add the chicken strips and shake to coat with the crumb mixture. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, turn the strips over and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned and cooked through.